[wendza64]

Hi, i was just wondering if anyone else empties their bladder using intermittent catheterisation, and if they had any problems. I was taught at hospital how to do it, and told to watch what i drank, or just had 2 drinks in 4 hours. But once at home i found it very hard and had many "accidents".
After a while i got used to it! [if ever that was possible] and don't go by what they told me in hospital.If i want a drink i have one, but i just make sure that their is a loo handy, and the added protection of a pad!! just in case.
wendi

[dom]

hi wendi
i'm an incomplete L1 para like you and use intermittents,it has'nt been too difficult for me [except the first few times] i too learnt in hospital but they gave me rubbishy dry caths which i had to apply gel lubrication and it was chafing me,my doc told me that my sphincter is locked tight which may be a good thing.
I still have sensitivity down there and it was unconfortable to say the least.i heard that it is even more difficult for women?
can you feel a bloated feeling in your tummy when you want to 'go'?i drink all the time-tea water coffee etc and don't ration myself even late in the evening, i think its better to not be thirsty and have to get up in the night than to go without and dehydrate.
what sort of accidents? is it where you're having a leakage?[without being too crude ] this could be dangerous if you have an overfull bladder cos it eventually leads to kidney damage if i feel a slight uncomfortableness in my tummy/nether regions i cath
I've had one uti in 4 years and one test of my kidneys and was given the all clear[supposed to have the more regular]take care

[Dancingdolphin]

Hi! I self cath...everything usually goes great for about 6 weeks...drink whatever I like...then become incont about every 2 hours..so I get catherized for a week drink lots ..take the catheter out and am ok again for about 6 weeks...I always send a sample of urine to the lab..always come back clear...x-ray of kidneys + bladder clear... Any ideas anybody???

[Joed]

I've been intermittent cathing for over 20 yrs., and I've always drank what and when I wanted. I cath about every three hours or so, and/or before leaving the house, etc.

I can sense when my bladder is full....but the problem is, and as dom mentioned, I don't sense it until my bladder is already over-extended. And even though my sphincter muscle is also constantly locked up, I would experience episodes of stress incontinence, coughing, sneezing, due to the bladder being too full before I was aware of it. So after my stay in rehab ('03), I began cathing by a loose schedule, instead of when I sensed having to go, and this seems to have improved things considerably.

UTI's will also make me more vulnerable to incontinence too.

StayFree Overnight Maxi Thins are my friends. Don't leave home without 'em!

[Avocado Baby]

I self cath too. About every two hours but I do still have quite a few leakages and have to watch what I drink. I also get quite alot of UTI's but I think that maybe due to not drinking enough sometimes toi avoid accidents! Like Dom and Joed, I can also sense when I need to go, but not until it's too late!

The only thing I can advise it to make sure you find an accesible toilet wherever you go so you can drink whatever you need to, rather than limiting your drinks because of your toileting needs and risk getting a UTI.

[dom]

I don't understand that dancing dolphin? how long is your period of incontinence between normal cathing? and when you cath in that period do you mean indwelling?
I checked for a long time how much i pass,i used a plastic hospital bottle with a measurement level it stayed between 350/450ml, i find if you gently press your stomach [by the bladder] it feels uncomfortable if full

[Dancingdolphin]

[quote name='Pink Ali' date='Jul 7 2006, 10:13 PM' post='12157']
I self cath too. About every two hours but I do still have quite a few leakages and have to watch what I drink.



Every 2 hours...how do you manage? Do you work? I'm lucky usually last 4-4 1/2 hours but don't think I could cope every 2 hours. (Perhaps you're quicker than me! :-)) The boys don't know how lucky they are!! I get pressure when to go..about 60% reliable..clock is more reliable!!

[Dancingdolphin]

dom, on Jul 7 2006, 11:12 PM, said:

I don't understand that dancing dolphin? how long is your period of incontinence between normal cathing? and when you cath in that period do you mean indwelling?
I checked for a long time how much i pass,i used a plastic hospital bottle with a measurement level it stayed between 350/450ml, i find if you gently press your stomach [by the bladder] it feels uncomfortable if full

Thanks for reply. Normally cath every 4-4 1/2 hours 350-500mls...no leakage....When i get incontinent every 2 hours ..stick in an indwelling catheter for about a week then take it out and everything seems ok ...
(I work as a nurse examing patients...would be a bit embarrassing if I had a puddle of pee under my chair!! : )

i really can't figure it out!

[Avocado Baby]

Hi,

Yeah I have worked. It is a bit of a pain in the arse! Especially when you're in the middle of something. Sometimes I do leave it longet to cath if I can't stop what I'm doing. It's just what I've been told to do and I guess what my body is used to!

[wendza64]

Hi Dom,
Dry caths?What are they like?i've not heard of them. I have just stuck to the ones i originally started with 21 years ago, no doubt there are some better ones out there. I don't have any sensation down there, and don't know when i need to go, i even sometimes forget that i have been to the loo!! and go again to make sure. If i am at home i just drink what i want when i want cos then at least if i have a leakage, i'm at home and can deal with it. But when out i tend to lose confidence and worry about leaking and go to the loo more than i need to or should. At night i have to have my last drink an hour before going to bed, in the early days i used to wet the bed [which was so embarrassing] so the doc advised me to do this and so far it works. Apart from when i was pregnant with my two daughters. Everything went out the window!! One day i just stood up and it was like the flood gates had burst!!!! The health visitor supplied me with these huuuuuge incompetance pads, and this truck would deliver them every month, i don't know who was more embarrrassed me or the driver!!!
wendi
P.s can i just say , that it is great to be able to talk to people abpout this kinda stuff who will understand ,cos no-one else can, and it is awkward, in fact , i never tell anyone, if they ask about my accident i don't mention te toilet side!

[dom]

hi wendi
dry caths were given to me in hospital and some ky gel to moisten them, i think they are old-fashioned and i use easicaths now which go slippery when wet and are much easier to insert,its often hilarious when i go to the chemist to pick them up,i order 6 boxes at a time which usually lasts about a month and the chemist gives them to me in a huge box,other customers look at me as if i am a super hypochondriac and obviously i don't tell them what's in the box
It's a shame you have no sensation at all cos it must be worrying for you knowing when to 'go' i should imagine to err on the side of caution and go more frequently than needed
I too had accidents in the hospital which were cringeworthy to say the least! i remember in stoke mandeville i hobbled in the lift and had an accident right there in front of other patients and after physio on the way back to my ward i had another one in the hallway! i told a nurse quietly but she asked me to 'speak up' and gave me a noncomprehending look [which i felt to be ridiculous because surely she must've come across this before] so i called her out into the hall and pointed at it
I suppose when you were expecting there was more pressure on you rbladder so you could'nt hold so much?
still 21 years is a long time and i'm sure you know your own body by now -good luck keep chatting

[wendza64]

Hi Dom,
I know what you mean about the chemist's, i too go to collect them and they bring out a huge box, which someone carries to my car for me. When i ask for the prescription i always say, it will probably be quite big! cos i've waited ages i the past whilst they are looking for this small prescription.
Which spinal unit were you in, and how long is it since your accident? I only joined last month and i wish i had found support group years ago, it's great.
wendi

[dom]

yeah, i get them to carry it to the car-they treat me like royalty
It's been 5 years since my accident, i fell from a first floor window in Slovakia onto concrete, i was in Stoke Mandeville for recuperation but was glad to get out because after a while i felt that i was becoming institutionalised.
The following year i took a coach ride back to Slovakia [24hr nonstop journey] and married my then fiancee,
I made many friends in there but have'nt kept in touch with them,lots of sad stories,surprising that in an instant someones life could change so radically

[dom]

btw Wendi,don't you use the same chemist every time? i do and they know me,they order them specially beforehand so that when i come in they are already there to take home,maybe you should ask them seeing as its a regular order?

[wendza64]

Hi Dom,
I used to have a good chemist who would always have them ready in stock, but over the years the chemist's have changed and with cutbacks etc they never seem to have all the order when it comes and i get messed about a lot. They always seem to have some sob story, so usually order in advance. So, you had your accident in Slovakia, that must have been hard, do you speak the language? I had my accident in Cyprus, and found that most of the older nurses didn't speak english, so it was quite dificult and boring cos there was'nt anyone to talk to. I made friends with some of the student nurses because they spoke some english.
wendi

[dom]

hi again Wendi,yes i speak the language,i picked it up when working there as an English teacher,when i was in their hospital i lost a lot of weight due to not having an appetite for their food.
What happened to you in Cyprus? its a horrible feeling to have an accident so far away from home,i felt completely out of control Cyprus is a beautiful island, i went there years ago on a cheap winter holiday, if i remember rightly it was in limassol-golden arches hotel.
Do you work? or what do you do,i know from previous posts you have children,they must take up a lot of your time
at the time of my accident i did'nt trust the doctors so was flown home to have the op,in Slovakia they said there was'nt enough blood in the transfusion centre and that really freaked me.

[dom]

oh, sorry-just read motorbike accident

[wendza64]

Hi Dom,
I understand completely how you felt,when you had your accident. You feel so alone. I had mine in the Limassol mountains. I went on this boys motorbike, with a friend and the boy's friend on another bike. We went out for the day to a hotel to swim and on the way back down crashed with a truck, i went under the truck, and no-one else was injured. I had no helmet on, shorts sandals and a bikini top! So i was so [i don't want to say lucky, cos what is luck!!] but it could have been worse!
They took me to an RAF, hospital and they weren't very nice to me cos i was a civilian. and wouldn't answer any of my questions,after 2 two days they flew me in a helicopter to Nicosia, to a cyprian hospital. It was hard because i was in Cyprus with a dancing troupe, their was 6 of us and we were working in a caberet club in Limmassol. So i was really all alone, my friends tried to visit me but it was a long way away, and they had to continue with the show. After 4 weeks my mum flew out, and it was only then that they would operate because i was 20 i was under the age of consent - in Cyprus, so they wouldn't operate until they had her permission.
I stayed there for 6 weeks then flew home ona stretcher. So you flew home then had your op, it must have been painful!? I was in agony before my op, i used to dread them coming to change te sheets, could it hurt so much when they moved me.
I was so relieved to be back in England, i bet you were too!! It must ave been awful for you when they didn't have the blood, i had 2 transfusions in Cyprus, but it was at the time when Aids was all in the news and their was talk of blood being infected, so i was quite worried.
I went back to college when i got out of hospital, and took my O'levels, and studied Art, Design and photography. So i like painting now, and would love to have an exhibition one day. My children are getting older now, they are 10 and 12. So i have a bit more time now, although, i seem to spend a lot of time taking them here, there and everywere!!
What do you do?
wendi

[Dancingdolphin]

I had my accident while on holidays..(fell off a wall in the pyrenees). the hospital in Barcelona was fantastic..docs spoke English but none of the nurses..was relieved to fly back to Ireland!


BTW, I was 1 antibiotic every night but stopped as after 6 months assumed it was probably useless at that stage my body would have become immune to it. What do you think?

This post has been edited by Dancingdolphin: 13 July 2006 - 04:46 PM

[dom]

hi Wendi,sounds like you had a really tough time!!its crazy what we did when we were younger,my big sister was in corfu once on holiday and hired one of those mopeds for getting around,she too only had shorts and a t-shirt,she went over the top of the handlebars when she braked sharply,luckily she only hurt her ribs but it could have been so much more serious.
When you're on holiday sometimes common sense goes out of the window and you don't think of the risks as you would do when you;'re at home[not saying you did'nt]
I too have two children,both boys from a previous marriage,they are 10 and 14,i see them regularly and they are both just normal,healthy kids who tell me what they've been doing when i see them
I don't work as such but teach piano lessons part-time which i enjoy.
A dancing troupe! i would have enjoyed watching that sounds like the classic 'theshow must go on'
Yes i was in agony and kept on painkillers,the hospital was in Bratislava and the nurses and doctors seemed to me to be really unsympathetic,once they moved me from my bed to have an mri scan or something and they just transferred me from my bed to a stretcher using the sheet with six of them round me to lift me! asyou can imagine the sheet 'bent' in the middle with no hard support and the pain was excruciating, i said some choice words then i can tell you
I told them i would sue the whole hospital if i find out later if anything was damaged but never did know
you paint? what sort

[wendza64]

Hi Dom,
The piano; that's great!! i'd love to be musical. Do you ever write your own stuff? It must be nice to teach, rewarding. I've been thinking lately of learning the guitar, i've been trying to get one of my girls to learn, maybe if i do , then they will.
You must have been so relieved to arrive back in England, it must have been awful for you. It's true all commonsense goes out the window when we are young. That's what i worry about, being a parent, but i suppose we have to let them make their own mistakes. Are your boys protective of you. My girls are. The eldest even said to me the other day, i wouldn't want you to be "normal".
Do you walk? I walk with a calliper on one leg, the other is nearly ok. but my bad leg was completely paralysed when i had my accident, then after two years i got a twinge in my thigh muscle, and physio's helped me build it up, i now walk with below knee calliper.
I paint oils on canvas', i like to do big canvas's, but is difficult, cos of carrying etc, i have been dabbling abstract lately and really love painting. I would love to have an exhibition, maybe one day.
wendi