31 replies to this topic

[blakeperkins]

I went to The Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia for rehab and was recommended to cath at LEAST 4 times a day, with no longer than 8 hours between those instances (4-6 hours is considered ideal). What were you suggested by your respective institution?

[Wicky]

it was also recommended that i do every four hours. right now i have a foley cathiter with allows me just to have a bag that i attach to my leg and i dont have to worry about getting wet unless the cathiter get stopped up but that rarly happens, the foley has honestly been a life saver and a money saver

[Xbikerchic78]

It depends on how much your fluid intake is. I was at Jackson Rehab in Miami,FL... started at every 6hrs, then every 4hrs because of my increased intake.

Veronica ")

[Lou05]

yeah i agree with bikerchic it depends on your fluid intake. you eventually get to the point that you know how much and how long it takes for differet quantities to go through. i went to shepherd too and they told me the same thing but you find your own groove if you stick with it.

[hannibal]

When I was in rehab, they said every 6 hours. Again others say it depends on fluid intake.

[trynity7]

When I was in the hospital I was every 4 but then then they changed it to every 6. so I cath at every 6 and 12 o'clock. I never monitor my fluid intake because I dont drink aloeut. I often have to remind myself to drink more

[airart1]

yeah, drink a six pack, and you have to pee a dozen times!!!!!! ;) but i was told normal 12 oz. would turn into about 300 cc's approximately, depending if dehydrated or not.......your low injury like me, you might be able to tell by tightness in the lower belly when full......maybe....sometimes i can and sometimes not, it is aggrevating.......

[Charlie-boi]

Ive noticed when i stoped doin as many catheters i also stoped voiding.. i try to always do over 6 hours...

[blakeperkins]

I appreciate the comments. I'm just trying to find a balance between sleep, ICs, and turning in the middle of the night and was curious as to what some more experienced folks' routines were. I've had a couple nights that I forgot to wake up in time to do my 8 hour IC (ended up being 10 hours) and was getting worried. I can now confirm that worry.lol

[Trinity]

Personally i really wouldn't worry about not waking up overnight, especially if the amount you cath in the morning is not massive. If you are waking up halfway through the night to turn then combining the 2 would be a good idea, however I never wake up specifically to either turn or pee I just do last thing before sleep and first thing when I wake, the less disruptions to my sleep the better!

[rodinsoca]

When in first hosp after accident nurses and Drs. kept repeating never above 500, over and over. At that time it meant five times a day. Now at 1st anniv. of accident nearly every day I go over that amount over night. Hate to cath in the first place, middle of night is out of the question. Now during the day five times, all invariably under 500, but the one in morning is between 500 to 900. I know the 900 to 1000 is very high but as yet no leakage. Just can't bring myself to get up in middle of night. I guess the rule of thumb is <500. I asked about foley and was given the brush off. Why use it if you don't need it.

Edited by rodinsoca, 09 January 2012 - 12:24 AM.

[Beautiful]

Yeah, I never worry about cathing during the night. I don't drink anything while I'm asleep, so why do I need get up to pee? I cath before bed and when I wake up. Even then, if I'm just sitting at home, I may not cath for an hour or two after I get up. Probably not the best thing for my bladder, but eh. My morning pee is never more than 350-400 cc. During the day I cath whenever I have to pee. Could be only 2 times. Could be 4. Terrible to admit, but I don't drink a ton of fluids, so I don't have to pee that much.

[pistol_pete]

I was told every six hours when in rehab.
Eventually (about 7 months post accident) I was able to sense when I needed to go. It's a hard feeling to explain but it starts with a rise in blood pressure.
Interestingly, may be a coincidence, but this feeling only started to happen at the time that I got my first UTI. I've had it ever since. I was ecstatic because now I just piss when I need to like everyone else.
I don't know how far on you are post injury but you may develop the ability to know when you need to go. But I also know that low level thoracic injuries have different trouble with the whole bladder/bowel thing.

Good Luck

[Charlie-boi]

Beautiful, on 09 January 2012 - 12:33 AM, said:

Yeah, I never worry about cathing during the night. I don't drink anything while I'm asleep, so why do I need get up to pee? I cath before bed and when I wake up. Even then, if I'm just sitting at home, I may not cath for an hour or two after I get up. Probably not the best thing for my bladder, but eh. My morning pee is never more than 350-400 cc. During the day I cath whenever I have to pee. Could be only 2 times. Could be 4. Terrible to admit, but I don't drink a ton of fluids, so I don't have to pee that much.

goood point.... im the same. It acyually realy helps me feel more like my old self not catherising through the nite. I didnt usualy pee through the nite b4 injury so i dont now.... all these guidlines can be abit heavy and have your mind always on the disability stuff. If you have a partner or your dateing its allt better for both of you if you can sleep straight through with out pissing in a bag for obviouse reasons...

i also make a point never to piss in a bag.... i alway go to the tilet and catheterise staingth through the tube into the toilet. Its little things like this that can make you feel less different.

remember your bladder wasnt designed to have a tube poke into it every 4 hours...your sub consiouse will probably start tracking how much yoou drink and catheritise accordingly... i got rraly upset when i would d it by the book every four hours and then every transfer i would void... so i trained the bladder up by doing less and now i never realy void.

its my saveing grace so i dont wear a leg bag... all the best

[mcjane]

In rehab they had me cathing every 6 hours but I think that was for the nurses convenience. There I was told "Your bowel is like a dog, you can train it. Your bladder is like a cat, you cannot control it." Proved true! Medicare allows 6 catheters per day. My bladder started voiding on its own and my mentor was jealous...lol! She HAS to cath ... but has bowel accidents. I think I'm lucky in that regard too!

I was told that you should never wait more than 300 cc, but in rehab I drank so much water that it would often fill the 1000 cc urinal. 700 was not uncommon. Now I use pads and diapers so I don't have to worry about that (expensive!) but I usually cath every 4 hours during the day and once during the night. I don't leave the bed and go into an empty water bottle so I can practically do it in my sleep. If I drink beer of course I pee more. I would like to have a Foley to use occassionally, in fact a friend gave me one, but I wonder how hard transferring is with a bag on your leg. When I go from chair to bed I kinda fall back and grab my legs and wonder if the bag could handle it. Anyone know ?

[kim wright]

instead of a bag you could use a flip flow .
it is like a tap that fits on the end of the foley.
your bladder fills as normal but you just flip the lever to empty.
flip flow is a few inches long and comes to about your knee depending how long your legs are .
i use them instead of leg bags and no one can tell it is there.
i dont even get out my chair to use it .
just roll up my trouser leg and either pee in a bottle or over the loo.

[Chococat]

Yes flip flow thing is really useful. I only started ic about 6 mths ago. Was desperate to go on hol but worried about cath esp on plane. Urology nurse fitted this thing. Has worked a treat. v discreet.

Back on topic, the advice i got was to cath every 4 hours. Confess im not always good esp at work when time just flies. I try to stop drinking after about 8pm so no need to cath during night.

[Priscilla]

On average I do every 4-6 hours, depending on how much caffeine I have to drink, like coffee. That fills up my bladder quicker than anything which of course I can never feel. If I am going out for PT or for lunch/dinner I make sure to cath myself beforehand, so no real hard and fast rules. I tried to go 8 hours at night from 10pm - 6am but ended up with incontinence, so went back to getting up at 2am. Do not have any problems waking myself up in the middle of the night strictly because I do not work at all during the day. Knowing I can take unlimited naps during the afternoon helps a great deal. I can also void on my own during the day when I am up but not at night. Takes so long to get my bladder to work when I wake up from a dead sleep.

[Liz56]

When I got taught to self cath I was told that my bladder shouldn't get to over 450 ml (female. Male limit I think was 500). I was the only one in the ward doing ISC so the nurse did a bladder scan whenever I thought my bladder was full, or if I hadn't done a cath for 4-5 hours or so. From seeing how much was actually in my bladder, and getting to try and feel the sensation of fullness I worked out a bit of a routine, that wasn't exactly by the clock. Initially she had said five times a day, but in the end I needed 6 and sometimes 7 for the amount I was passing. It doesn't entirely work though, and I know now I frequently get up to 600 or even 900 overnight, but go from 9.00 am to 4 pm with only 300 ml at the end. One way I tell how full my bladder is, is by just a light press over the area. If full, I can often get a bit of a nerve buzz down there.

[airart1]

but it is still going to come down to how much goes in, how much will come out........just have to use your common sense with it all and time will make a differencewhen u figure out how your body processes your fluids, some days i will go very little and then at night i will turn loose several times, i find vit c will make me pee quite abit, there are a bunch of factors for sure, but i usually start leaking when i ge about 400 cc's in me......so it gives me a little warning, and then sometimes i will just leak for no reason...it's somewhat frustrating at times, no doubt.......

[nnnnnnn]

I've been doing every 5 to 6 hours or so, but sometimes I get 200ccs and sometimes 1200ccs. I guess it has to do with how much I have been drinking. What's worse is sometimes I feel like I need to go but only get 200 ccs out.

Does anyone have a home ultrasound machine like they do in the hospital to check if you need to go? That would be convenient.

[julibugs]

I really envy some of you - my CES has damaged the nerves to my kidneys which has made them overactive. I am always really thirsty and drink loads, I cath every 2-3 hours during the day and have a foley in overnight - my hubby has to empty my night bag during the night - most peoples kidneys go to sleep when their owners do but mine don't know how to stop!!! I have to drink during the night - I wake 5 or 6 times desperate for fluids.

[Tetracyclone]

I cath when I need to. Having full intestines interferes with natural bladder function, so on these days I might cath every 3 to 4 hours. I do flush the bladder to prevent infection, and otherwise greater frequency seems to serve me well. i have not seen sediment for a long time.

[Edinburgh Colin]

julibugs, on 07 February 2012 - 05:08 PM, said:

I really envy some of you - my CES has damaged the nerves to my kidneys which has made them overactive. I am always really thirsty and drink loads, I cath every 2-3 hours during the day and have a foley in overnight - my hubby has to empty my night bag during the night - most peoples kidneys go to sleep when their owners do but mine don't know how to stop!!! I have to drink during the night - I wake 5 or 6 times desperate for fluids.

You put a fresh Foley in every night? sounds like a real chore.
Also if you have a high output at night it's quite common for the kidneys to be more active at night and if you have any fluid retention in your legs or so that will all come draining out when you lie down.
EC

[Tatiana]

Hi,
I cath every 4 hours-ish but i do earlier if i drink more.

I cath before i go sleep and more often than not im fine till i wake up and then i cath.

[julibugs]

I really envy some of you - my CES has damaged the nerves to my kidneys which has made them overactive. I am always really thirsty and drink loads, I cath every 2-3 hours during the day and have a foley in overnight - my hubby has to empty my night bag during the night - most peoples kidneys go to sleep when their owners do but mine don't know how to stop!!! I have to drink during the night - I wake 5 or 6 times desperate for fluids.


You put a fresh Foley in every night? sounds like a real chore.
Also if you have a high output at night it's quite common for the kidneys to be more active at night and if you have any fluid retention in your legs or so that will all come draining out when you lie down.
EC




EC - I have tried all sorts of solutions along the way. I tried an indwelling for a while and it was a real chore as I had to empty the leg bag every hour, I had a few burst which was fun! My bladder has a much bigger capacity than a leg bag. Before I had the ok to use a foley overnight I would be up 2 sometimes 3 times a night because I had wet the bed, I used pads but they just couldn't cope with the quantities of fluid. Putting the foley in is just part of our bedtime routine now - my hubby usually does it for me and it only takes a few minutes and for drry nights its well worth it.


Can someone please tell me how to use the quote function?

[Edinburgh Colin]

julibugs, on 09 February 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

I really envy some of you - my CES has damaged the nerves to my kidneys which has made them overactive. I am always really thirsty and drink loads, I cath every 2-3 hours during the day and have a foley in overnight - my hubby has to empty my night bag during the night - most peoples kidneys go to sleep when their owners do but mine don't know how to stop!!! I have to drink during the night - I wake 5 or 6 times desperate for fluids.


You put a fresh Foley in every night? sounds like a real chore.
Also if you have a high output at night it's quite common for the kidneys to be more active at night and if you have any fluid retention in your legs or so that will all come draining out when you lie down.
EC




EC - I have tried all sorts of solutions along the way. I tried an indwelling for a while and it was a real chore as I had to empty the leg bag every hour, I had a few burst which was fun! My bladder has a much bigger capacity than a leg bag. Before I had the ok to use a foley overnight I would be up 2 sometimes 3 times a night because I had wet the bed, I used pads but they just couldn't cope with the quantities of fluid. Putting the foley in is just part of our bedtime routine now - my hubby usually does it for me and it only takes a few minutes and for drry nights its well worth it.


Can someone please tell me how to use the quote function?

click the reply bubble on the bottom of the box containing the quote you want to include and start typing after the last word quote in brackets and you should get a message that looks like this

[julibugs]

Edinburgh Colin, on 09 February 2012 - 12:09 PM, said:

julibugs, on 09 February 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

I really envy some of you - my CES has damaged the nerves to my kidneys which has made them overactive. I am always really thirsty and drink loads, I cath every 2-3 hours during the day and have a foley in overnight - my hubby has to empty my night bag during the night - most peoples kidneys go to sleep when their owners do but mine don't know how to stop!!! I have to drink during the night - I wake 5 or 6 times desperate for fluids.


You put a fresh Foley in every night? sounds like a real chore.
Also if you have a high output at night it's quite common for the kidneys to be more active at night and if you have any fluid retention in your legs or so that will all come draining out when you lie down.
EC




EC - I have tried all sorts of solutions along the way. I tried an indwelling for a while and it was a real chore as I had to empty the leg bag every hour, I had a few burst which was fun! My bladder has a much bigger capacity than a leg bag. Before I had the ok to use a foley overnight I would be up 2 sometimes 3 times a night because I had wet the bed, I used pads but they just couldn't cope with the quantities of fluid. Putting the foley in is just part of our bedtime routine now - my hubby usually does it for me and it only takes a few minutes and for drry nights its well worth it.


Can someone please tell me how to use the quote function?

click the reply bubble on the bottom of the box containing the quote you want to include and start typing after the last word quote in brackets and you should get a message that looks like this

Thank you sir

[Edinburgh Colin]

julibugs, on 09 February 2012 - 12:12 PM, said:

Edinburgh Colin, on 09 February 2012 - 12:09 PM, said:

julibugs, on 09 February 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

I really envy some of you - my CES has damaged the nerves to my kidneys which has made them overactive. I am always really thirsty and drink loads, I cath every 2-3 hours during the day and have a foley in overnight - my hubby has to empty my night bag during the night - most peoples kidneys go to sleep when their owners do but mine don't know how to stop!!! I have to drink during the night - I wake 5 or 6 times desperate for fluids.


You put a fresh Foley in every night? sounds like a real chore.
Also if you have a high output at night it's quite common for the kidneys to be more active at night and if you have any fluid retention in your legs or so that will all come draining out when you lie down.
EC




EC - I have tried all sorts of solutions along the way. I tried an indwelling for a while and it was a real chore as I had to empty the leg bag every hour, I had a few burst which was fun! My bladder has a much bigger capacity than a leg bag. Before I had the ok to use a foley overnight I would be up 2 sometimes 3 times a night because I had wet the bed, I used pads but they just couldn't cope with the quantities of fluid. Putting the foley in is just part of our bedtime routine now - my hubby usually does it for me and it only takes a few minutes and for drry nights its well worth it.


Can someone please tell me how to use the quote function?

click the reply bubble on the bottom of the box containing the quote you want to include and start typing after the last word quote in brackets and you should get a message that looks like this

Thank you sir

You are most welcome madame, I am also glad to hear you have found a solution that works for you at night.
One thing that I remember from hospital is you can get drain-able night bags and the nurses used to put the input for a second bag into the output drain of the first, leaving the tap open. to double the quantity, usually for guys who had drunk a lot in the evening !!.

[julibugs]

Edinburgh Colin, on 09 February 2012 - 12:17 PM, said:

julibugs, on 09 February 2012 - 12:12 PM, said:

Edinburgh Colin, on 09 February 2012 - 12:09 PM, said:

julibugs, on 09 February 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

I really envy some of you - my CES has damaged the nerves to my kidneys which has made them overactive. I am always really thirsty and drink loads, I cath every 2-3 hours during the day and have a foley in overnight - my hubby has to empty my night bag during the night - most peoples kidneys go to sleep when their owners do but mine don't know how to stop!!! I have to drink during the night - I wake 5 or 6 times desperate for fluids.


You put a fresh Foley in every night? sounds like a real chore.
Also if you have a high output at night it's quite common for the kidneys to be more active at night and if you have any fluid retention in your legs or so that will all come draining out when you lie down.
EC




EC - I have tried all sorts of solutions along the way. I tried an indwelling for a while and it was a real chore as I had to empty the leg bag every hour, I had a few burst which was fun! My bladder has a much bigger capacity than a leg bag. Before I had the ok to use a foley overnight I would be up 2 sometimes 3 times a night because I had wet the bed, I used pads but they just couldn't cope with the quantities of fluid. Putting the foley in is just part of our bedtime routine now - my hubby usually does it for me and it only takes a few minutes and for drry nights its well worth it.


Can someone please tell me how to use the quote function?

click the reply bubble on the bottom of the box containing the quote you want to include and start typing after the last word quote in brackets and you should get a message that looks like this

Thank you sir

You are most welcome madame, I am also glad to hear you have found a solution that works for you at night.
One thing that I remember from hospital is you can get drain-able night bags and the nurses used to put the input for a second bag into the output drain of the first, leaving the tap open. to double the quantity, usually for guys who had drunk a lot in the evening !!.

If I ever get to the point where I sleep all night I will remember that tip.