Urinary Retention? Need to cathertise?

[PB&J32]

I can't offer much support on straight cathing, but can offer support and insight about foleys......I haven't had any luck with hydrophilic coatings or latex anything catheters.....I do not have a known latex allergy or even a sensitivity but I cannot do latex foley's. Silicone only for me

[JDinVirginia]

PB&J, any idea why the hydrophilic coatings did not work for you?

--John

[wheels5894]

Juts a small point but the coatings on Foley catheters, designed to last weeks to months are rather different from the coatings on Intermittent Catheters designed for single use.

[JDinVirginia]

Wheels, good point!

--John

[JDinVirginia]

Well, it happened again. I was down to my last sample catheter from my urologists office and did not check to see which brand it was. I used it only to find discomfort and some bleeding. It turned out to be the same one that previously had caused me discomfort and bleeding.

The catheter appears to have very large eyelets that are sharp. Definitely not fire-polished. Not a name brand - probably a cheap catheter. I think the sharp edges of the large eyelets scratch against the urethral lining.

I'm going to call my urologist's nurse and recommend that they trash any remaining ones they have on hand.

Boy, this experimentation thing can be painful!

New samples just arrived from my medical supply company. Good brands. Hydrophilic coated with a coudé tip. That seems to work ok.

--John

[Patrick]

I hope these work for you. Catheters that injure their users are the pits. Too often, 'live and learn,' makes us 'sadder but wiser,' too. But, because manufacturers are continually changing their products, experimentation must become endless for us. Good luck.

[wheels5894]

I think the trick is being taught how do catheterise properly by someone who knows. It isn't something to try on your own. Either a doctor or nurse or a continence advisor whould be competent to teach this. No one should 'have a go' without a lesson.

[JDinVirginia]

I am pleased to report that all is well. The self-catheterization is becoming routine and I am feeling very little discomfort. As I no longer am experiencing discomfort with the procedure I no longer dread each time I have to repeat it. Perhaps both the mind and body needed some time to adjust to what is going on. Nonetheless, my hat is off to those of you who need to catheterize 4 - 6 times a day!

In another posting I mentioned that my post-void retention seems to be decreasing. Of course, it is too early to say what is happening. Guys and gals, do your post-void retention levels seem to be fairly constant or do you see a lot of variation?

--John

[wheels5894]

Glad things are going well, John.

My impression is the the amount retained after a normal void varies quite a bit. From time to time I void normally, measuring the volume, and then measure what's left by catheterising. My residual varies between 200 and 500 mls.

[JDinVirginia]

Wheels, that is a fair amount of variation.

--John