Prostate Size and Difficulty with CIC
Posted , 10 users are following.
Prostate size is close to 300gm. Each time I try CIC, I get stuck at some point which I think is the prostate area. I tried several times, and no longer inclined to want to try again.
Used different sizes of Coloplast Speedicath. Recently tried Bromed Nelaton brand FR12, same difficulty.
So my question to those of you finding easy with CIC: do you have large prostate sizes like 250-300gm or over? Or are there any particular tips for dealing with large sizes?
Sunny side - my prostate seems to be growing outward, so I'm still able to get some decent flow, though with some strain sometimes.
0 likes, 30 replies
Howard31850 emmanuel43036
Posted
Hello Emmanuel,
I also have a 300 cc prostate and learned to do CIC 3 years ago when my only other choice was simple prostatectomy. It was a steep learning curve but with help from jimjames and others here I enjoy CIC 4 times a day without any issues. I also have a good natural void as I have no median lobe so I tend to natural void half my bladder and then CIC the rest during the day. At night I awake once and cannot NV so just CIC.
I use Coloplast Speedicaths 14fr coude tips hydrophilics. I have done over 4200 now and never tried any other catheters as these always worked for me. The coude tip is critical to get past our big prostates. I hope you are using the curved tip as straight ones can pierce the prostate.
Initially I had a great deal of trouble getting past my large prostate. i would get to the start of it ok but then I would wait for several minutes until the catheter slipped in.
The trick for me was twofold. First I added a small amount of lubrication down the sleeve and let it coat the catheter before taking it out of the sleeve. That really helped a lot. My catheters are hydrophilic but the lube still helped a lot.
Second I got a chart of the entire urethra from the penis tip to the bladder and tried to angle the catheter as I slipped it in to follow the "S" curve. So first I point the penis straight up at the ceiling and then drop the catheter in slowly for a few inches. I hold my index finger over the green cup to help stabilize the tip from swinging.
Then I slowly swing the catheter horizontal continuing to push in very slowly. At this point the resistance starts from the prostate. Then after a few inches I swing the catheter straight down towards the toilet and gently push up on the catheter as it goes through the prostate and enters the bladder. Once empty i reverse the entire sequence.
Since doing this procedure for 2 years now I have never had any difficulties getting in in less than one minute. it is important to never push too hard or it could cause bleeding. If that happens just take the catheter out and try again in a few hours.
Hope this helps.
Howard
emmanuel43036 Howard31850
Posted
Thanks Howard, this is very helpful.
And to the rest of you for your helpful contributions.
I stumbled upon this forum, some time early 2018, and it has made all the difference for me.
I have learned enough to help me understand my prostate and the every day experiences. Especially that I'm dealing with 300g and median lobe.
Living in a 3rd world country, many of the options shared here are not available to me. The only urologist I have seen in over 20 years left me to my fate with AUR and in the night! Same with the GP who brought him. Because my PSA is in double digits, they concluded on pc and pushed me for long time to biopsy, but I refused when I considered the hospital environment. Since then, I have done several scans including 1.5T mri this year, and consistently been negative for PC.
I learned about mri here, also CIC, the several procedures, other than TURP, plus understanding that there's some rough correlation between prostate size and psa. And maybe age. I'm almost 63.
Hoping in about 2 to 3 years to travel to UK, US or India for a procedure. Right now I'm fairly ok by doing one cap Alfuzosin every two or three days. Still trying to figure it out by myself on CIC, just for back.
Thank you all.
Howard31850 emmanuel43036
Posted
You are welcomed. You are very fortunate that jimjames has joined your thread. Try to follow his advice as much as possible. He has simple effective solutions that can be adapted anywhere.
Regarding prostate size and prostate cancer here is a useful rule of thumb: what matters is not the PSA number but rather the PSA density number which is just the PSA divided by the size. So in my case my PSA is 20 and my prostate is roughly 300c so my psa density is 0.06 approx. Any number less than 0.1 is considered very good.
derek76 emmanuel43036
Posted
I'm told that India with its huge population has many large hospitals that specialise in prostate conditions and of course are many time cheaper than European or American hospitals.
frank27027 emmanuel43036
Posted
MY PROSTATE IS 117 GR,this was back in January 2019 .DON't KNOW SIZE TODAY.
Doing Cic 3 years with not much trouble,now i spent 3 days in hospital flushing out my bladder blood cots.They tell it's the catheter causing the problem,it hits my prostate and causes blood clots. Have you had this happen to you?
frank,
DaveCanPee emmanuel43036
Posted
Hello, Emmanuel:
My prostate "was" measured at 265gm. No issues until abrupt retention hit me like a brick during the summer of 2018. First Uro tried to teach me how to manage my retention through self-cathing. Terrible experience! Nurse failed at trying to show me, Resident failed at trying to show me. Each did nothing but make me bleed and cause blood clots, which is bad when on a Foley. Was on a Foley bag for two months while trying to figure out how to solve my abrupt problem. Two Uros later, and two months later, I had a Simple Robotic Prostatectomy to remove the mass. I am now 14 months post procedure and life (and peeing) is great. No meds and no cathing. Problem solved.
Dave