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    Q 4 experienced self-cathers

    owlnona... your post in another thread prompted me a=to ask.

    You said "Now I self-cath as needed."

    My Q, is how do you KNOW you need to cath?

    I was started on self-cath last week. I was told to cath 3 times a day, after voiding. (no months or years experience here).

    My PVRs run about 120-280, hit 305 last week, which prompted the training at the urologist. Last night I woke up before 5am, felt like I need to void, but could not get a stream. So I self cathed, but only got about 120ml.

    Here is a kicker. Other times I self cathed, just to make the 3x/day as instructed, no urgency or anything, yet had a PVR of about 280 ml? WEIRD!

    I seem to sleep better/longer if I cath just before going to bed. Other than that, I am clueless about when I should or need to vs when I don't, other than if I get a fair stream or hardly a dribble. One thing I have noticed I leak less since I started self cathing.

    Thanks all

    Gomer Sir Falls-a-lot

    #2
    It's just a requirement that you ensure that you're fully voided three times a day.

    This should make you feel more comfortable. So, do once before you retire at night and once in the morning. And the last one somewhere in the middle of the day.

    It's worthwhile, cathing after you've tried to void naturally as this helps ensure that your urethra is clear - it can cut down on UTIs.

    Comment


      #3
      I find I don 't like self castherization but I know I must. I was getting to the point where I felt like I would explode. MY STOMACH AND CHEST WERE VERY tight. I was told to go to the emergency room and then they kept me there for several days. I was told that I have to self cath but I still find that my chest and stomach get very tight and I put on 6 or 7 pounds. After a few days I am usually lucky and drain like crazy for a few hours and then start over. Is this something that is common to MS. I was told it is a result of MS.

      Lois

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        #4
        @1936siol..

        I am told its common in MS. My BPH & stricture surgery is now scheduled for mid Oct. I asked if that would eliminate the need to self-cath. Both the urologist and my fam doc think I will still have to self cath but it will be easier?

        Gomer Sir Falls-a-lot

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          #5
          i have a permenent Sp these days but thought would just point out, that sometimes feeling the need to void is not necessarily related to the volum in your bladder (at least when it comes to nerve related bladder issues anway) but sometimes that sense or urgency to pee can actually be bladder spasms- that may explain why sometimes you are only getting relatively small amounts when you pass a catheter while getting less of a feeeling and then drain a larger amount.

          these days i have no control over baldder at all, hence the permenent cath but i still get feelings of the need to pass urine urgently!!! once in a very blue moon it may be that my tube is kinked but more often that not it is just spasms an i must say that for me i have noted that as a coffee lover, if i have very much caffiene at all, that is when i will get feelings of desperately needing to pee. Caffiene is a known bladder irritant so it may be worthwhile looking at those kinds of things too.

          bladder spasms are not uncommon for us with MS and if it is an issue then medications can help a lot

          Comment


            #6
            Gomer,

            I'm female, so can't answer your question about BPH & stricture surgery. But, MS can cause both urgency and retention.

            I usually have urgency, but still got several UTI's last year. I ended up getting sepsis twice from them. Once it then turned into a heart infection and another time I became delirious. I was very sick both times.

            Even though I had to go often, turns I was still retaining. I finally went to a urologist (all the tests confirmed I have a neurogenic bladder), and now I self-cath. You don't mention if you've had the urodynamics test done to confirm a neurogenic bladder. Sounds like the docs assume you do.

            I self-cath more often than you do just to get control over any accidents. I keep a pretty strict schedule of every 3 hours. I cath if I don't have to go and cath for PRV if I do.(No more accidents and no UTI's in 5 months!) My bladder is now pretty much shot after having enough issues with retention in the past.

            It took me a good month before I finally learned how to do it. Then again, being a girl it's harder to see what you're doing . But, I'm told it can be more painful for a guy. I hope you were given a lidocain gel.

            It was plenty frustrating, but now I am glad I kept trying. It's finally easy for me. If young kids and paralyzed folks can do it, I figured I had no excuse not to learn how.

            1936siol,

            I hope you stay determined to learn how to self-cath. If it is painful, ask the urologist for some lidocain gel. It DOES get easier with practice and then is no big deal.

            Please believe me when I say you DON'T want to retain urine!!! Besides the possibility of infections, your kidneys could become damaged and then you'd need dialysis.

            You should also realize retaining too much urine stretches your bladder and then it becomes weaker. (Think of an overstretched balloon). This has contributed greatly to my inability to hold much urine anymore.

            Best wishes to you both,
            Kimba

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

            Comment


              #7
              Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread. I have been waiting to get into an urologist for 7 months. My appointment is coming up next week finally. In the meantime I have selfcathed not good at it but getting better I hope. I have a weird problem of not being able to void about once a month so then self cath comes in. Hoping for a miraculous cure but probably not. Your posts helped. Thanks

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