Continent Diversion - Indiana pouch - questions and concerns

Joe i probably pay a bit more for my insurance as i have a PPO and not an HMO but it gives me more benefits. My husband was a teacher and though he was never paid what he was worth his insurance is excellent...not that i haven't battled them. I battled l l/2 years on the caths but the letters from the surgeon and urologist and my sending in a sample of my caths with the printing on them "Do not re-use"...got me all the back benefits and they are now paying 80% of everything....and trust me i am also a Po person. Pat

When I run out of the saline my wife is a nurse and she makes my saline right at home. All it is one quart of tap water and she boils it and 2 teaspoons of salt let cool they say refridgerate I never do because I go through it so fast at the present. So being she boils it she makes a batch up and I got 3 of them big bottles Saline that you buy. I buy saline from time to time so I am not using the same bottles forever.Easy enough home brew saline lol. And Pat you are lucky insurance wise on the catheters cause we are po folks here lol. But I'll tell you this I am going to check into this further about the Caths that is. Joe

gamedoll..your doctor can write the prescription for the saline solution...always read the bottle and make sure its the injectible kind.....my pharmacy got the wrong stuff once....my Rx is for a years worth...I really don't need it much anymore..but in the beginnning i was using it almost every cath as i had so much mucus. Have the pharmacy order the smallest bottles of these as it should not be left out longer than 24 hrs...in the beginning you'll use it all anyway within that period of time. Don't worry if you don't get all the saline back out...thats not a big deal. Check with your pharmacy..maybe your doctor wrote the prescription for refills?
My stoma nurse said to put in 30cc's (you need the syringe that has the measurements on it) at first and just move the catheter around to pull the solution or excess mucus out..don't try to suction it out with anything. Sometimes i would add an extra 30cc's when i was particularly plugged.
Hope this helps.......Pat

Melodie,
It was so good to hear from you. I was beginning to think I was stupid or missed something. This site is so benifical to me. My appointment at the doctor is a week from Tuesday. I need to get a prescription for disposial caths, especislly when I go out. I need to know what supplies I need to irrigate. When I got home from the hospital I irrigated with saline solution (I needed a priscription and it was cheap.
I had a two ounce srynge and I inserted it in a carh sticking out of my stoma and then pulled the water back out. What do I need to get bottom line and where to get it.

Gamedoll,

You aren't alone...I wasn't given much in the way of instructions either when it came to catheters and what to do...I learned more from Pat and this website than I did from the doctors & nurses at the hospital. Later on I realized that most of the RC's they do at UW Medical Center where I went involve the outside bag...if I had realized that earlier on, I may have chosen a different hospital.

My insurance will only pay for 10 a month for me and was told that Medicare allows only 5 a month. I too, use the red rubber ones as those were the only ones the hospital would give me..was given 5 and told to reuse them, although the package on mine does say, "do not reuse". When I asked the nurse about that she replied that the bladder isn't all that sterile an environment and it is OK to reuse as long as they are washed in some mild dishwashing or hand soap and dried. I never saw iodine either and was told to just use baby wipes but without alcohol...I keep a container at home and then when I'm away I use the small packets "Wet Ones" that you can flush...you can buy 20 in a box.

As for creatin levels...I've never heard the doctors talk about that so I'm not sure where I am in regard to that...my surgery was 7/25...I did have a nuclear scan with lasix done on my kidneys and was told that one does 75% of the work while the other is lazy and works at 25%....the doctors didn't seem to be concerned.

Anyway, it's good to hear from another Indiana pouch owner. Take care, Melodie

Patrica,
My caths are not clear and does not say one time use. They are red rubber and give no insructions. You must think I'm really crazy, but I was not provided with any help at all. I was suppose to get a special nurse for instructions, but somehow she never showed up. I came home knowing nothing. I guess I still don't, that's why I was glad to meet you.