Catheter Questions

[Guest LOSTinDiapers]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has or has had an indwelling catheter. I currently have one and it sucks. I have had this one for about a week now and should be getting it out next week. Once it is out, I'll be taught to self cath, which I hope is a lot better than having to wear a bag all the time.

So, I have some questions, if you all don't mind. Is it normal for the skin around your urethra to peel, leaving raw skin? It hurts like hell and I don't know what else to do other than keep it clean and put antibiotic ointment on it. Also, is it supposed to burn all the time. I'm kind of getting over that part, but I don't know if something could be wrong. The people at my urologist's office are less than helpful. I had to go online to find instructions on how to care for it and sterilize the bags. I wound up buying all new bags yesterday because the ones I got from my urologist were so bad.

Thanks for any help/advice in advance.

[Guest LOSTinDiapers]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has or has had an indwelling catheter. I currently have one and it sucks. I have had this one for about a week now and should be getting it out next week. Once it is out, I'll be taught to self cath, which I hope is a lot better than having to wear a bag all the time.

So, I have some questions, if you all don't mind. Is it normal for the skin around your urethra to peel, leaving raw skin? It hurts like hell and I don't know what else to do other than keep it clean and put antibiotic ointment on it. Also, is it supposed to burn all the time. I'm kind of getting over that part, but I don't know if something could be wrong. The people at my urologist's office are less than helpful. I had to go online to find instructions on how to care for it and sterilize the bags. I wound up buying all new bags yesterday because the ones I got from my urologist were so bad.

Thanks for any help/advice in advance.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their helpful replies. Your support really helped me not feel so utterly alone and depressed. It was really nice to see our community step up like that.

I had the catheter removed today and everything seems to be back to normal. That was the worst experience I have ever had. I don't envy anyone who has to do that often or at all. Also, I'm sure glad that I didn't try to wear a diaper with the catheter draining into it, like I have heard of others doing. That would have certainly lead to an infection since a catheter is a direct opening into the bladder. There's no telling the kinds of bacteria that breed in a wet diaper during the night.

[Guest LOSTinDiapers]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their helpful replies. Your support really helped me not feel so utterly alone and depressed. It was really nice to see our community step up like that.

I had the catheter removed today and everything seems to be back to normal. That was the worst experience I have ever had. I don't envy anyone who has to do that often or at all. Also, I'm sure glad that I didn't try to wear a diaper with the catheter draining into it, like I have heard of others doing. That would have certainly lead to an infection since a catheter is a direct opening into the bladder. There's no telling the kinds of bacteria that breed in a wet diaper during the night.

I wanted to apologize for being a dick. I was really depressed during all of this and was looking for some support. I had thought that someone on here must have gone through what I was going through and could give me some advice. As it turns out, I guess I really was alone in it after all. I hope everyone doesn't think less of me for venting.

[rickibrat2]

not sure what you are going thought at this point so i can not comment on that,

but as afr as cath go i can comment as you are finding out the suck big time for in dwelling type, as afr as self cathing goes it is pretty easy to do and the rules have been changed so you are allowed more of them then in the past.

biggest issue with self cathing is the risk of infection, wash hards wash areas then do it again.

what happpened that you eed to have one installed to start with

[Radioman]

Clean, clean, clean.... That is the best advise I can tell you. Dont take shortcuts.

You have to remember, you are putting something into your body that is bypassing all the normal

protections. It can be VERY easy to get a serious infection. The last one I had put me

in the hospital for 5 days.

Wash everything, use batadine or some other cleaner before you insert. I use

gloves every time and do not reuse anything to goes internal. I dont care how much

someone says its been cleaned. It never is 100% clean. You can buy a full sterial cath tray

with everything you need for just a few dollars. They are a one time use kit. It has

gloves, lube, cleaner ect.

As for the skin, most likely you issue is with the cath rubbing. Try to find a way

that works for you to stabalize the cath. The more it moves, the more raw you will get.

Over time, it will not be so bad. Try to use the smallest cath the will get the job done.

The larger the number on the cath, the smaller the size. An 18F is enough for most people.

Hope your feeling better..

Radioman

[Guest LOSTinDiapers]

not sure what you are going thought at this point so i can not comment on that,

but as afr as cath go i can comment as you are finding out the suck big time for in dwelling type, as afr as self cathing goes it is pretty easy to do and the rules have been changed so you are allowed more of them then in the past.

biggest issue with self cathing is the risk of infection, wash hards wash areas then do it again.

what happpened that you eed to have one installed to start with

Thanks for the reply. My doctors don't know what happened that cause me to go into retention. Thankfully, it appears to have resolved itself once again. I'm going to undergo more tests next week to get to the bottom of it.

[Guest LOSTinDiapers]

Clean, clean, clean.... That is the best advise I can tell you. Dont take shortcuts.

You have to remember, you are putting something into your body that is bypassing all the normal

protections. It can be VERY easy to get a serious infection. The last one I had put me

in the hospital for 5 days.

Wash everything, use batadine or some other cleaner before you insert. I use

gloves every time and do not reuse anything to goes internal. I dont care how much

someone says its been cleaned. It never is 100% clean. You can buy a full sterial cath tray

with everything you need for just a few dollars. They are a one time use kit. It has

gloves, lube, cleaner ect.

As for the skin, most likely you issue is with the cath rubbing. Try to find a way

that works for you to stabalize the cath. The more it moves, the more raw you will get.

Over time, it will not be so bad. Try to use the smallest cath the will get the job done.

The larger the number on the cath, the smaller the size. An 18F is enough for most people.

Hope your feeling better..

Radioman

If I have to do it again, I'm definitely going to use latex gloves. It seemed like I was contaminating my hands constantly when changing bags. I had heard that I should use alcohol wipes to clean the connections before disconnecting and before reconnecting. Unfortunately, this is very drying and causes irritation if it comes in contact with skin.

I finally found a fix for the rubbing issue. I put a little bit of KY on it. Then it didn't matter how much it moved.

Thanks for the reply.

[dl247]

After my accident that was all I had, and they SUCK!!! I have tried the caths, clamps, and none are worth the infections/pain. After I started wearing and got over the issues of dealing with fulltime wear then they seem like "underware".

Caths and all junk get in the way of "adult" fun, and will cause infections.

[Baby Brian]

I've been self cath to treat urge incontinence for just over a month now. The first 2 weeks I was constantly sore and irritated but that has resided. At first I couldn't masturbate without great pain too but now my body has adjusted to the cath and I'm slightly active. I've had a UTI once about 5 years ago while self cathing so keeping clean is important. That said having a completely sterile environment is completely overkill. If you really want to reduce your risk of a UTI then drink a lot of cranberry juice.

[nappied]

Ive been using Cath's for years, easy to use, just make sure they are steril when you insert into the bladder

and when you have used them for a while you either love them or dislike them, great for No Control, and it's a great feeling when you climax.

[WildKat]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their helpful replies. Your support really helped me not feel so utterly alone and depressed. It was really nice to see our community step up like that.

I had the catheter removed today and everything seems to be back to normal. That was the worst experience I have ever had. I don't envy anyone who has to do that often or at all. Also, I'm sure glad that I didn't try to wear a diaper with the catheter draining into it, like I have heard of others doing. That would have certainly lead to an infection since a catheter is a direct opening into the bladder. There's no telling the kinds of bacteria that breed in a wet diaper during the night.

I just joined, so this information might be a bit late. I had an indwelling cath after my spinal cord injury in 2004. Your right, it is a pain in the butt to deal with! You should feel a lot better once you learn to cath yourself. I've been doing that for five years now and although it's more work and involves more scheduling it is a lot better.

You could have been irritated by the latex in the cath. My latex allergy started off as a rash on my inner thighs and ended with a softball sized blood clot inside my bladder! Mention this to your Dr. and ask if you can be switched to non-latex caths. The thing is with latex allergies the more exposure you have the worse they can become. I can't even touch anything with latex in it now for a second without breaking out in a rash where I touched it and I have nearly stopped breathing when latex gloves ere used around me because I inhaled the powder from them.