Neo bladder question

Thanks Pat,

I think I need to speak with my doc regarding catheterizing at our next meeting. Thanks for sending the link. By chance, do you know is there a general time to stop catheterizing for people with neo bladders?

Karl

Hey Irish Guy.......take a look at these...coude tipped caths...they work especially well with men......www.exmed.net/dept.asp?dept_id=27
Also call the mfg. Bard at 1 800 532 5274 and see if they will send you some samples to try out. I did this when i was trying to find the right cath for myself..i actually keep two kinds on hand..when one doesn't work the other one does..i have a tempermental conduit also.
i hear what you say Zack about diet and mucus but i would swear when i eat ice cream i've got a lot more mucus..maybe its all in my head!!
Pat

Thanks Leigh,

I didn't know one could get a catheter with a turn on the end. Maybe this would be the one for me. I wouldn't like to do it, but if it helps to avoid getting stones at a later date, then I would gladly do it. I'll speak with my doc regarding the above.

Take care,

Karl

Hey Karl,

I had problems with self cath also, I had a short stay in hospital...3 days... to have the catheters removed and then taught how to self cath.

The first time was also very painful and I kinda got stuck half way and when the nurse tried she got stuck at the same point. That day the nurses and Urologist tried 8 times to insert a catheter with no success. This did not give me a very good impression...and they expected me to do it alone at home twice a day. As you can imagine my urinary tract was pretty sore and I was not looking forward to any more attempts.

The next day I was scheduled for a cystoscopy to see if I had a blockage, the cystoscopy went straight into the neo bladder with no problem....The Urologist turned the monitor to me so I could watch him do it again and follow the path of the urinary tract....I too had a bend which was were I was getting stuck...

Later that day I tried again with a different catheter that turned up slightly at the end which helped me get around my bend...It is not a pleasant experience when I self cath although it has become a lot easier with time...just uncomfortable when I get to my bend...I just give it that extra push and it goes in...thankfully.

Regards
Leigh

Zachary, thanks, looking forward getting on my way to a fine vegetable stock! After 3 ½ months I think there is definitely less mucus than there was over the last month or so.



Leigh, welcome to the club! Regarding catheterizing – From the start I couldn’t do it. It was just way too painful to perform on myself. My Doc, my Uro or anybody always had difficulty getting one in. It’s something to do with having bends in my plumbing. I was lucky in the fact that I didn’t have any problem with blockages or too much mucus post-op, so my Doc agreed to let me go home without having to do it. I’m happy not to cath, but now after reading you do it once a week to avoid complications I'm not so sure? I would like to avoid stones at a later date. I'll speak with my doctor next appointment about it.

I too have woke with the sensation of my penis filling with pee, but for me, this is by no means a fail-safe way of getting up on time to void. I do still have to set my alarm every two hours(until my doc tells me otherwise) although, I can now go up to three hours without leaks. It's a hard slog this night-time activity, but at least it's a means to an end - and we'll hit that golden four hour mark sooner rather than later.



Best of luck with your new neo,



Karl

Hello Karl,

My cystectomy and neo-bladder replacement was also performed this year in September in Holland.

I too was told by my Urologist to void every two hours day and night for the duration until told otherwise.

I was also told to catherterize twice a day although I felt I was doing this for no reason as the mucus was coming away when I voided.

I had a check up last week and I explained this to my Urologist and he advised to self catherterize once a week from now on. He explained that this was important to continue to flush the bladder to prevent other health issues eg.stones forming.

During the night I wake automatically every two hours to pee, mainly with a sensation in my penis that it is filling with urine. Sometimes by the third time I wake I am so tired I say to myself just a few more minutes...just a few more minutes..and this leads to leakage which luckily I feel immediately and run to the loo. lol

Since the catheters were taken out three weeks after the operation I have not had one good night sleep as like you I have to pee every couple of hours... I am told by my Urologist this will get better over time and the need to pee every two hours will extend to 3 then 4 and so on.

It has now been seven weeks since my operation and I feel that my capacity to hold urine has increased especially in the day time.

Good luck with your neo-bladder and wishing you lots of good quality sleep...

Regards
Leigh