8 replies to this topic

[Fairygirl72]

Hello everyone, my poor husband has another UTI...we just can't seem to keep them away from him for very long. I try to be as clean as I can with him....what to do....

Well my main concern is he has "accidents" between cath's, sometimes without a UTI. I do it every four hours and sometimes 5 (he can tell if it can be put of for a bit). The main problem seems to be at night. I wake up to cath him again 4 hours later and his depends is full and the bed is wet...I hate it, it brakes my heart to think of him laying in is own piss...We've been wanting to get him out of the depends also....he hates having to wear them so we tried ditropan (sorry about the spelling) and it really didn't seem to make much of a difference. Any suggestions on products we could use at night so he doesn't soil himself?

Also anyone know of the best places to buy these products? I've been lucky the past few months and have been given some but now I need to buy them and there are tons of places...

Thanks for listening!

[kdenon01]

ugh. I totally know how you feel. It looks like my hubby may be coming down with another UTI also.

My husband went through a phase where he would be leaking in between caths and it turned out that he had a kidney stone. My husband also takes ditropan, he takes it in the morning and at night. My husband was having UTI's about every 6 weeks or so. But anyways, it only took doctors about 8 months before they realized he had a stone, he got it removed, and then he went 6 months without any infections. He doesn't leak anymore either. I'm not saying that your husband has a stone, but you could get that checked out.

Oh and when my husband was leaking at night, he just would sleep on his side and I would take an old towel and fold it a couple times and lay it over him, and kinda push it under him a little, and that way the towel would just absorb everything...so I wouldn't have to change the sheets or anything. Probably not the most ideal way. lol

My husband also takes a small dosage of an antibiotic once a day, which is suppose to help prevent UTI's.

I know how frustrating it can be. I'm sorry.

[qbounce]

I tried Ditropan for awhile . . . didn't work for me. Then I tried Detrol LA . . . nadda! Lastly I went for the old tried and true Oxybutynin-5mg's 3 times a day, and Voilla!!! No more bladder spasms or diapers here.

I had a bladder stone too. Get a CT Scan on your pelvic region first. If he does have something there, they'll either have to try dissolve it or surgically blast it away, depending on where it is and what the stone's made of.

If the Scan comes back negative, try different meds until he get's something that really works. Every bladder spasm drug works differently, so unfortunately trial and error is the only way to find out which one's best for your man.

Although I understand the reason for taking antibiotics continually, I personlally woudn't advise it. You're lowering your bodies ability to fend off its own illnesses naturally. Even the common cold may be compromised in a few years.

[eleanorigby]

I take oxybutynin too and it works like a charm, but isn't it the same as ditropan, just the genreic brand or something?

As to the night situation, have you ever used waterproof pads? When I was first hurt I had accidents at night too and so we bought these waterproof pads and I would just sleep on top of them. If I had an accident in the night, it was an easy job to just wash off with a warm washcloth and pull the pad out from under me. I would usually only have one accident a night, so I could just wash it the next day. If you use that, your hubby can go without depends. I just stopped wearing bottoms to bed at all because you just have to change them if you get wet and it actually makes everything more difficult, especially since it could lead to a rash if the wet clothes/depends stays on too long. Here's a link to a store that sells them: http://bedwettingsto...erProofPads.htm They're a little bigger than the ones I used, but essentially the same. Once I started the oxy and, more than that, figured out how to tell when I had to pee, I stopped having accidents all together. Hooray!

Edited by eleanorigby, 20 August 2008 - 05:22 PM.

[kdenon01]

Yeah my DH uses the Oxybutynin not Ditropan..but I think it is the same thing. Just the generic brand.

[Fairygirl72]

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm going to try the medicine again after this UTI is gone. He has a few other issues that he's dealing with and once everything is taken care of I'm hoping we'll be able to get on a good routine....hard with 3 kids! lol!!!!

[Stickman]

Might wanna give a condom cath a try, just put it on and hook it up to a bedside drainage bag.

[Quad65]

I've been a quad for over 43 years and have used a condom cath system nearly that long. The whole intermittent cathing routine for quads was news to me when I became a member here. I would think it would be healthier to either have an in-dwelling catheter or condom set-up so the urine doesn't sit in the bladder and stagnate for 4-5 hours at a time. Intermittent cathing, for some, sounds like a recipe for frequent UTIs.

I did go through a period where I had numerous UTIs because I couldn't drain my bladder completely and had too high of a residual. Turns out my urinary sphincter was a little too efficient and I had to have a procedure called a sphincterotomy. They go in and nick the sphincter muscle to weaken it a bit so it will open easier to allow fuller voiding of urine. To my knowledge, I haven't had a UTI in the last 15 years or so since the procedure.


Just my $.02

[qbounce]

Actually Quad65,
Quite the opposite is true for indwelling Vs. IC. The cathing is done only by me, and I use the clean IC technique, with a new catheter each time. Also, you have fewer chances of getting kidney and bladder stones by Intermittant cathing. Indwelling caths seem more apt to get UTI's because, generally others are changing it, flushing it, etc. And the constant flushing in itself doesn't always open both holes to allow complete drainage of the bladder.

+So I don't wear a bag around.
+Actually have FEWER occasions for contracting a UTI
+Stand less of a chance to get stones.