Tips, Tricks, Seasoned Pro Advice for Self-Cathing Please!
Posted , 13 users are following.
Hi Guys
As of yesterday my urologist wants me self-cathing each day until my prostate surgery sometime next month.
We went through the whole process step-by-step in her office, but once I was home and needed to do it on my own last night it was a bit of a nightmare. I'm just so squeamish and each movement upward of the cath had my urethra (and then prostate) in freak-out mode.
I finally was able to do it, and I'm hoping it gets easier with time (my doc says a kind of mucous lining starts to happen after you do it for awhile, which I thought sounded unlikely). But I thought I'd ask you guys if anyone has any advice about what will make it easier and less agonizing.
• Is standing in the bathtub or shower easier than sitting on toilet?
• Are there any stretches or moves you can do prior that help thing go easier.
• Any breathing exercises?
• Is going faster with insertion better than slowly pushing it in (my style of cath has that angled tip on its end)? I tend to go excruciatingly slow which I think makes the whole thing more arduous and freaky. But I'm worried about jabbing to fast into something
Thank you all for any words of wisdom!
DK
0 likes, 21 replies
DaveCanPee DavidKMentor
Posted
Hi David:
I had an SRP this past August. I refused to self-cath after one urologist tortured me with first his nurse , then his resident. I went with an indwelling cath until surgery. Still not fun, but easier to manage emptying a bag, than stabbing myself multiple times a day for weeks.
Now, post surgery, I can put out fires.
Dave
norman85944 DavidKMentor
Posted
Hi David,
I am in the USA and have been doing CIC for several months, as needed. I started with 14Fr straight catheters. I was getting blood at every cath so my uro did a cystoscopy and found that I was encountering some "false passages" which were causing my bleeding. He then put me on Coude tip (curved tip) catheters. I found that the SpeedyCath by Coloplast worked best for me. The other hydrophylic types that require you to break a water pouch to activate were not as slick. I think one has to wait for half minute for the water to take effect. I also tried other varieties in my search tor what worked best for me. I tried the kind that are dry where you add lube like KY Jelly from a packet. They worked well but were more messy and took longer to prep. Then there are pre-lubed types that had lube that was very thick, which made insertion slow and more painful.
After using the Coude tip for several weeks I encountered a problem where it would stop about 2 or 3 inches from the bladder and wouldn't go any farther. I reverted to straight tip catheters which work OK for me now.
As far as position goes, I find that standing in front of the bathroom sink works best for me. I put a 500 ml graduated cylinder in the sink and direct the flow into that to measure my retention. I always try to void naturally first to avoid urgency on insertion and leaking around the catheter. I've even gotten lazy enough to cath in bed at night on occasion. I keep a bottle that can be tightly capped with me to avoid spills.
One strange thing that I found that makes self-cathing easier is to have an erection when starting insertion - it goes easier with less discomfort.
To prep for cathing, I wash hands and wipe hands and penis with a BZK wipe to disinfect. Then with the left hand I open the urethra, and holding the funnel end of the SpeedyCath with my right hand, I carefully aim it at the urethral opening. I push the catheter in slowly using gentle pressure, having my right index finger over the funnel opening to prevent the flow of urine until it reaches the bladder and urine pressure is present. Then I aim it into the graduated cylinder and release the flow. Using this method I never touch the part of the catheter that goes into the urethra. The SpeedyCath is just stiff enough that I don't have to touch it close to the penis to guide it in.
Recognizing that what works for me may not work for you, I hope you find this helpful.
Norm
DavidKMentor norman85944
Posted
Thank you Norm. Wow, what a review!
I have those curved tip too.
What is that silver packet of water for that is included in those for though? It's confusing.
My urologist had given me separate packets of lube which she said is better.
My main problem now is post insertion burning and irritation of the urethra after I cath. Is that common? It's driving me crazy.
My god, you must be a pro, doing it in bed. :-0
hank1953 DavidKMentor
Posted
...burning and irritation of the urethra ....
Probably you are using too large a size. Hank
norman85944 DavidKMentor
Posted
The SpeedyCath that I use does not have the silver packets of water. They are pre-wet and ready to use right out of the package. If your catheters have that silver packet of water, you need to burst them before you open the catheter and let them set for 30 seconds at least to wet the hydrophylic coating. That way they will be more slippery than if you open after the water packet is burst.
The lube packs that your uro gave you are good for the catheters that have no lubrication. I'm not sure how they will work with the hydrophylic catheters with the silver pack of water.
All the best,
Norm