using catheters

Mep

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,461
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I wound up in ER last night due to bladder retention. I was in a lot of pain as my bladder doesn't tolerate my own urine.

Well to cut the story short I've been told it's likely I may now need to learn to self catheterise myself since this bladder condition is doing this to me. I had a discussion before about this with my doc and he wasn't keen on it at all because he said I'm highly susceptible to getting UTI's doing that. But here's the kicker, I'm also prone to UTI's and possible bladder damage if I put up with the retention. ugh.

I'm going to see if there is any other way they can help me. But now I have to see a specialist nurse, and I also have to get referred back to a urologist. They explained to me that retention is an emergency to me last night and how it can damage bladders left unattended. They said acute retention can be life threatening (that's not what I had exactly as tiny bit coming out). But still they said it's not good either way.

I see my doc this Monday and will have to have this discussion again. Is there anyone else on this forum that is in the same boat? Are you already having to regularly catheterise yourself? Do you get the infections or not? I was assured last night by a more highly trained nurse that it can be done to avoid infections... I hope so.
 

poshtotty

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,012
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I'm sorry to hear of your latest problem.

To answer your questions: We have close family member who has been catherterised since birth due to a bladder deformity and a lot of complex and pioneering surgery when a child. She was only the second child in the country to have a mitrofonoff stoma and bladder augmentation Now a young adult, she self-catherterises very successfully. She has built up a natural resistance and rarely has infections. Her paediatric urologist was very against antibiotics and believed in allowing her build up her own natural resistance which is what has happened. She takes no medication for any conditions and is incredibly healthy, despite her disabilities. It was recommended that she drinks Cranberry juice daily which she has done for years.

I think she would say that this is a very convenient way of dealing with a complex bladder condition. There is also a lot of support available from specialist nurses.

I hope you get some answers and reassurance soon
 

Mep

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,461
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm sorry to hear of your latest problem.

To answer your questions: We have close family member who has been catherterised since birth due to a bladder deformity and a lot of complex and pioneering surgery when a child. She was only the second child in the country to have a mitrofonoff stoma and bladder augmentation Now a young adult, she self-catherterises very successfully. She has built up a natural resistance and rarely has infections. Her paediatric urologist was very against antibiotics and believed in allowing her build up her own natural resistance which is what has happened. She takes no medication for any conditions and is incredibly healthy, despite her disabilities. It was recommended that she drinks Cranberry juice daily which she has done for years.

I think she would say that this is a very convenient way of dealing with a complex bladder condition. There is also a lot of support available from specialist nurses.

I hope you get some answers and reassurance soon

Thanks for your reply. :) It sounds like your family member has done very well.

My situation is most likely quite different to hers in that I live with multiple diseases and I can't have the usual remedies used to prevent UTI's such as cranberry juice. My doc did have me on hybrex for prevention at one point when I was getting UTI's, but that was causing me a lot of pain as of course it's acidic, so he had to take me off it.

I guess I'll be a work in progress until they figure out how to control my bladder condition properly. I'm trying to help with diet but that doesn't really eliminate the symptoms for me. I'm on amitriptyline for the pain as well.
 

Rooeydoo

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi,

Only just joined so bit late to be helpful, hope all is going well, Mep. Have catheterised most my life so happy to help if I can.

Poshtotty, interested to read your reply, I had my bladder augmented in 1986 at the age of 6 and have catheterised ever since. I then had my mitrofanoff in 1990, was told I was the 3rd in the UK to have it. It was done at GOSH. It's great to see your relative has done so well with her ops and is healthy.

Take care xx
 
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Mep

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,461
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi,

Only just joined so bit late to be helpful, hope all is going well, Mep. Have catheterised most my life so happy to help if I can.

Poshtotty, interested to read your reply, I had my bladder augmented in 1986 at the age of 6 and have catheterised ever since. I then had my mitrofanoff in 1990, was told I was the 3rd in the UK to have it. It was done at GOSH. It's great to see your relative has done so well with her ops and is healthy.

Take care xx

Thank you. :)

My latest experience of being catheterised was last week when I had a serious car accident and I couldn't urinate at all. The hospital wouldn't let me move due to possible spinal injury so they put me on a bed pan... absolutely nothing came out. They then did a bladder scan and said I had 730ml in my bladder (apparently leaving 500ml+ in your bladder can damage it they said... plus I can't tolerate more than 400ml) and I had to urinate. So they decided they were going to insert a catheter. Well yet again they had trouble inserting the catheter. In the end after numerous attempts by various nurses and docs in the ER they went and got 2 surgeons to come and see me. The surgeons took a while to get one in as well. I asked them why they were having trouble? They just commented there was nothing wrong with my anatomy, just that they were trying to figure it out. ugh. I worry that if medical staff have all this trouble, what hope do I have? I know urologists don't have a problem though as they insert cameras, etc. within seconds. I have to admit getting this catheter was very painful last week as I was already in a fair bit of pain from the accident.