UTIs and CIC
Posted , 9 users are following.
I am now in the middle of my 3rd UTI since starting CIC in earnest last Sept. ( 4 times per day ). The first time was just inexperience but the last two were due to severe irritation of the urethra which rubbed off part of the protective mucous lining and allowed opportunistic bacteria to take hold. The first irritation was caused by not usinf sufficient lubrication and the second was from holding it in for 16 hours during a trip and not cathing.
The latest lab report is the same as the others: colonization with Enterococcus species. My symptoms are also always the same: rapid increase in burning and pain while urinating over the course of an hour or two followed by pink urine and having to pee every minute a few drops while also screaming.
The first time I was given Macrobid and the last two times Cipro. In all three cases the symptoms all but disappeared within 3 hours of taking the first pill! But of course I have to finish the whole 5-day bottle.
I wanted to invite everyone who has had experience with UTIs due to CIC or cathing in general to share their knowledge about this dark-side of cathing. Also guys who have avoided UTIs are welcomed to share their secrets.
Thanks to everyone.
Neil
0 likes, 52 replies
jwrhn1951 Howard31850
Posted
Hi Jim and Niel
Havent been able to get on this board for a month or two due to graphical interface not working on my laptop but for some reason it started working again.
I get a UTI a few months ago whille trying to CIC while travelling. I find unless I can use a private restroom I get rushed and either damage the urethera or contaminate the catheter itself and get an infection. So far I haven't taken antibiotics right away, I just monitor it with the test strips, drink lots and lots of water and pop a couple of the wife's cranberry caps and so that has worked within a day or so.
At home I use the generic baby wipes I buy from my local grocery, on sale they are about ten bucks for a box of five hundred. Use one to wipe my hands, another to wipe the penis and then bombs away.
For me at least it seems the longer I have been self cathing the less problems I have. Luckily I can still do a litle bit of a NV. I have settled into a 4x day schedule about every six hours and usually the voids are around 200 to 250 but the first in the morning is four hundred or a little more if I have two consecutive of four hundred then I add an extra CIC every four hours until the void is about one hundred..
I'm thinking that for me anyway, keeping the bladder empty actually makes more difference than what wipes I use....
jimjames jwrhn1951
Posted
Hi Jw,
Studies suggest lower bladder volumes equal lower incidence of UTIs. In fact, I've read more than once that if you drop the catheter on a public bathroom floor, you should pick it up, rinse and use it because you will have more chance of infection from the full bladder than from the compromised catheter. In a 100 years I would never take that advice but it does suggest emptying your bladder is important!
You might want to try the new Coloplast Flex Coudes. They are the closet thing to a closed system out there meaning the catheter is almost 100% protected from contamination either by yourself or from the air. They may be a good solution for you in a public restroom although they do take a little longer to use than the regular ones.
Jim
jwrhn1951 jimjames
Posted
Hi Jim
i was thinking I'd like to try the new Flex Coudes but I get my Speedicath's from the VA. I've read I need a prescription for samples and as I don't get down to see my PCP very often (its a 500 mile trip) I guess I'll keep using what the VA sends until I can get a script..
jimjames jwrhn1951
Posted
Jim
jwrhn1951 jimjames
Posted
I'll try that..although the return address is my VA medical center.. they are sent from an outfit in Illinois called MedLine Industries. Maybe if I put down Medline they would have a record...
jimjames jwrhn1951
Posted
Sounds like a plan. Or maybe the VA, or Medline, will email you a copy of your Rx which you can forward to Coloplast. The folks at Coloplast are pretty helpful on their call-in line but sometimes they put you on hold for awhile. It's a shame, because a couple of years ago, they would send you samples without an Rx. I mean, what do they think we're going to do with these catheters, get high on them
Jim
jwrhn1951 jimjames
Posted
who knows... When I first started CICing I'd Google urinary catheters and sometimes I'd get a link to a porn site...ewww ...never checked it out..but like everything in life there was probably somebody who spoiled it for everybody and Speedicath decided to require the presctiption...
Waffalobill jwrhn1951
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Waffalobill jwrhn1951
Posted
I had to have IV antibiotics for a week in the hospital. While waiting for the doc to decide if I was going to need more after I went home or be sent home with pills I was talking to the nurse. She said if I needed more IV meds at home they would have to decide if I could have a picc line put in. I said decide? She said if there's a record of drug abuse, they won't. I said never did drugs and don't drink. But why would it be a issue. Your sending me home with a tube in me for meds. Not the actual drugs. She said ppl with a drug problem use picc lines to do crazy things. I said what??? So I am not surprised if they found a use for caths other than there intended use. Lol
jimjames jwrhn1951
Posted
I think it's more a state by state regulation, which are always changing. I'm pretty sure you can still buy catheters online without a Rx if you look hard enough. I did about a year ago when I wanted to try a new catheter and had a problem getting it from my distributor.
Jim
jwrhn1951 jimjames
Posted
I put in a request with Coloplast for the Coude Flex samples I'll wait and see if anything happens. It they show up and it they work I'll probably have to find a source outside of the VA anyway as I don't think they are on the pharmacy formulay. The Speedicaths work very well as long as I don't have to use a public rest room so a box or two of would probably last me a year with the amount of traveling I do,
I've more or less come to terms with the fact that I'll probably be doing CIC for the rest of my life as my problems seem to be nerve related so having a back up plan for traveling seems like a good idea and I do seem to have a tendancy to drop the things when I'm not in my comfort zone which for me seems like the best way to avoid UTI's
hank1953 Howard31850
Posted
Hi Neil, I cathed 3-4 times a day for 7 months and have not have any signs of UTI. I did have cloudy urine a few times but I think that it is due to RE. I use cheap CVS alcohol pads (not stinging at all) , one pad for each cath. One side of the pad is for the penis tip, the other side is for my fingers. If I cath right after a bath, I don't even use the pad, just NV and cath. I also try to hold it in a little longer before a cath so I can NV more, kind of flushing out the pipe. Everyone is different. I read from another forum (inspire) that a fellow CICing for 11 years and having only 2 UTIs. Hank
Howard31850 hank1953
Posted
hank1953 Howard31850
Posted
Howard31850
Posted
Neil
jimjames Howard31850
Posted
What's going on? How long? Any leakage? Any recent diet changes? UTI?
If that's what you have, yes, it could be also caused by CIC if you irritated something but CIC is also one way to treat bladder spasms.
Jim
Howard31850 jimjames
Posted
Sorry - I was only asking a general question about bladder spasms - I'm ok.
I was just wondering if CIC can cause bladder spasms and if so what can be done to keep this from happening but if it does happen then how it should be dealt with. I should have been clear that I don't have it and don't want to ever experience it! Thanks.
jimjames Howard31850
Posted
It's not a common side effect as far as I know and not listed as such, soI don't think you have to do anything different or special. I think it's more common when first starting CIC or when a Foley is introduced into someone not used to catherization. CIC should always be done gently but you know that.
Jim
Howard31850 jimjames
Posted
Waffalobill Howard31850
Posted
I didn't actually cic , but after my operation i woke up with a cath. The nurse in recovery room gave me a suppository to stop bladder spasms. It worked fast.