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    Catheter questions

    My doctor today suggested to use a. Catheter as a temp solution to go on a trip. He understands my challenges being in a wheelchair and leaving home to travel to Europe to visit my husbands family.

    I would like to go but am very concerned as I am very prone to infections - got an infection while at rehab a couple of years ago when they tried to attemp to train me to self cash,one quick attempt that was difficult ( they said due to my anatomy) and I got an infection then.

    I have no use of my legs and some trouble with weakness in hands. The doctor said he would have a nurse come to my house to insert and I could remove in 2-3 weeks when I got home.

    This is not something I want to do but figured I should understand more first.

    How would I transfer ? Sleep ? Empty ?
    What type would this be ? Not foley I don't think ?

    Thanks for any help.

    #2
    Hi bluegiraffe,

    Sounds like an indwelling foley catheter. There's a leg bag that you'd use during the day. It's a smaller bag that straps around your leg and is fairly discreet under clothes. It is emptied easily by just "unlatching" a plastic lever thing (if memory serves me correctly) and it can be drained into a container or cup. Overnight, you'd use the larger bag.

    I had to resort to this last year because of constant uti's because I wasn't completely emptying my bladder. I did end up in ER, though, but was because the one used was latex and I'm allergic to latex. (Not the time for my urology office to miss that detail in my chart!)

    Anyways, it took a few days to kind of get used to the thing. I wouldn't say it was the most comfortable, but wasn't the most awful thing ever, either. It might be more uncomfortable for you when making transfers if you use a sliding board.

    There's always a chance for infections, but it's not as likely if you are only using it for a few weeks. I'd pay attention to burning or getting a temp. while you have it. I know this isn't ideal, but since you are visiting family, I hope you'd be able to see one of their drs. if you suspect a uti.

    I hope this solution will work for you so you can go to Europe. The possibility of a similar trip exists for me in a year or two and I think the only way I could go would be to do the same thing.

    Best wishes!
    Kimba

    “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ― Max Planck

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      #3
      Hi Kimba22,

      Thanks for your response - very helpful !

      I did have a foley when I was in the hospital a couple of years ago. When one of the doctors found out day 2 she said to have it removed due to a high risk of infection, so they took it out.

      While I had it it was nice not to have to worry; but I didn't like the feeling when I moved. I move in very ackward ways since I am not standing/walking at all. And yes I do use a transfer board. I always felt like I would pull in out or something.

      I guess you can get a non-latex ? Good to know just in case.

      Again, thanks and I hope you go to Europe for your future plans as well.

      Comment


        #4
        you can get silicone and silicone coated catheters, that solves the latex issues, as for transfering with the cather in place, i have a permanent catheter and these days its a supra pubic catheter that goes in through the abdomen but initially i had th more standard catheter and i am completely wheelchair dependant and either use a slide board of a stand and pivot transfer( i am an amputee as well) but this is getting harder. if you pay attention to how the tube passes through the leg of your panties and you also secure the tubing on you leg- you can either use adhesive catheter securing tapes or you can get a strap that goes around your thigh and has a small velcro strap to pin the tube in postion. i have never had an issue with dragging the tubing when using a slide board- just make sure the tube comes up over the fron of your thigh not behind. if your wear panties that have close fitting leg elastic you have oto make sure that you do not get the tube kinked off when you transfer or when you get dressed but i now look for styles with the higher cut legs and i find they still help to secure the tube but are less inclined to kink the tubing off.

        the night bags just connect onto the opening of the leg bags, and if you are going on a long flight etc, some people opt for using the night bag sized bags instead of the usual day bags as these hold up to 2 litresof urine instead of about 500mls in a day bag, easier to manage on a long flight and you can use clothing and lap rugs to keep things discrete

        as for UTI, infection is always a possibility but just because you have had negative experiences before does not mean you will be guaranteed to have a UTI, long term catherter urine is almost guaranteed to test positive for bacteia but not necesarilly a symptomatic infection. if you do get a symptomatic infection ou would need to grt some antibiotics and also the cather would either need to be removed or replaced with a new one- if the old one is left in the uti will bounce back as soon as the antibiotics are finished

        i actually think the foley is a good option for a trip, access to modern disabled toilets can be questionable in historic area's and older buildings in europe, its a lot easier to find somehwere to empty a leg bag han to find a disabled access restroom sometimes. If you really can't deal with the idea of the catheter, there are urinals, the one i am think of is a silicone collapsible bag with a firm neck around the top, you can get a female attachment so its easier to peee into for we females, then there is a spill proof lid, i think it was called the travel john, if you do not have the catheter i would definitely consider having a suitable urinal for an emergency back up just in case you have trouble geting access to suiable bathrooms

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          #5
          Thanks for the great information and suggestions Kebsa - appreciate it.

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