Increased viscosity from catheterization

I don't see that limit 24-48 limit on the bottle Pat. There are also others that make sterile water. I don't remember what I got in the hosp but it wasn't baxter. When I was irrigating my cath after surgery I ran short of water and went to a local med supply store and they sold me a bottle of baxter water.

Later I got a another couple of bottles to use in a water cooled computer.Great for that function.

Mike the saline solution actually needs a script for it......dumb i know. Its a 0.9% sodium chloride solution for internal irrigation only...there are others out there but not for internal irrigation. I wonder why they don't advise that for the neobladder as they certainly do for the Indiana...i mean mucus is mucus right? I get the small 250ml bottles as they are only supposed to be open for 24 to 48 hrs...really 24. They are out there but usually need to be special ordered. Its made by Baxter Healthcare Corp.
A l6 french will also be larger at the tip but if you don't have a problem passing it i guess its worth a try. I know i can't get one in. I actually got a bad batch of l4" from Kendall the last time...they are considerably larger than the other l4"'s have been....new machine?...new calibration?..who knows........of course they're made in china!!..Anyway i reported them to Kendall and they're looking into it and sending me a new box of a different lot.
Try the cranberry also...couldn't hurt unless you hate cranberries!!
Pat

I had some issues with this in the beginning. I still flush with saline twice a day - its keeping everything clear and flowing and most importently - no UTI's!(I'm a little over a year out) I am thinking of cutting down that to only once a day.

Mike, I would be hesitant to manually enlarge the holes in the catheters. It would seem that it could create jagged edges which could create other issues.

I know that some of the ladies have said that their diet often affects the amount of mucous - particularly dairy products. You may want to think about that as well.

Hope things clear for you - I know how frustrating it can be.

Gracie

Mike,
I had lots of mucus in my urine for the first 8 months after my neo surgery. It has decreased over time and I now have very little.

KC

Pat,

No, I haven't tried a sterile irrigation fluid. Is that just sterile water (from the drug store)?

I will look up how to put the sterile water in there.

I read that report on NAC but it seems like they put it in urine so I'm not sure that taking tablets would do anything at all.

Kind of like sterile water can kills cancer cells when applied directly to the cells but drinking it will do nothing.

My next move will probably be to try to get the 16 French size also. It's what the uro originally prescribed but they sent me home with some 14's to get me started and they seemed to work just fine. I'm guessing the 16 Fr will have slightly bigger holes in the tip which would draw thicker fluid easier.

I should probably send a note to my uro about it. That would have been my advice if I read my own post as if it were somebody else.

Thanks,
Mike

Mike have you tried putting in the sterile irrigation fluid through the cath when its slow......i know with the females we do it all the time through the first year as mucus is pretty plentiful and thick......this lessens in time. I hardly ever use it now. Also because of the shape of the neo sometimes you have to gently push it back and forth slowly and find the pockets where it likes to hide.....Hal does that to me every once in a while..i've never quite figured out if maybe my bowel is obstructing a bit or if Hal is just stubborn? Also i found this.....maybe ask your uro about it? i've read pro and con about this.
cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=13691503
And i read an article that said cranberry will reduce the viscosity..this from the nurses
www.perspectivesinnursing.org/pdfs/Perspectives6.pdf
Pat