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Wearing a catheter, part 1

by Tally on July 18, 2008 Bookmark and Share

16 French size urethral catheter next to a penAs mentioned in my last blog entry, I made a trip to the emergency room at the local hospital to have a catheter inserted in my penis. The catheter relieved my acute urinary retention problem.

I did not know what to expect. I was ever rarely sick. Never had a catheter anywhere near my body. This catheter was about as thick as a pencil. It was inserted, with silicone lube, into my meatus, through my penis, through my closed up prostate gland, and into my full bladder. Once in place, the nurse inflated a balloon at the end of the catheter so that it would stay in place.

I had a small plastic bag that attached to the exposed end of the catheter. My urine continually dripped into the bag. I needed to empty the bag every couple hours-the same as if I was urinating normally.

I was surprised. Just wearing the catheter was not bad or painful. At least if I was standing up. But, sitting down made the catheter bend somewhere around my prostate. That was more than irritating, but not quite fall to the floor painful. So, I stopped sitting. Except, I sit at a desk working all day. My solution, although not entirely satisfactory, was to kneel on a pillow instead of sitting in my chair.

After wearing the catheter for a week, the irritation just got to be too much. I made a trip to the hospital emergency room to have it removed. We waited in a tiny, cold room for someone to come in and remove it. Finally, a nurse showed up. She had me undo my pants. Without a "hold on" or any advance warning, she quickly pulled the catheter out of my penis. OMG! I though all my internal organs were going to come out at the same time. The nurse then had me try to urinate. A small trickle came out, so she sent me home.

It was such a relief not to have the catheter in me. I enjoyed being able to once again sit and move around without a sharp pain from the catheter bending inside me. But it was short lived.

On the second night after the catheter was removed, I woke up in the wee hours of the morning. I had to pee, but nothing would come out. I stood in front of the toilet, waiting for something to come out. The pressure was building. I was not in pain, but I knew I had to pee. I would try to force it out by contracting my abdominal muscles. That hurt. 

We made another trip to the hospital emergency room. 6 am in the morning and the ER was packed! What are all these people doing there that time of day? They took my information and told me to have a seat and they would call me. I could not sit. Walking back and forth did not help. I tried to go to the bathroom in the ER, but that did not work. I started sweating from the pain as the pressure built up.

My wife intervened on my behalf. They let us inside the ER. The ER rooms were overflowing. Gurneys were everywhere. Patients were lined up along the halls. They stuck me at the end of one hall and told me to lay on the gurney. No way could I lay down. I stood next to the gurney. My bladder was more than full. I was sweating. I was clenching my fists to focus on something other than the pain in my abdomen. I did this for about 20 minutes. I saw that one of the nurses noticed me. I could see him whispering so another person behind the main desk. Finally, he walked toward me. Thank goodness, relief was on the way! He wheeled me into what looked like a storage room. In a few moments he had the catheter inserted and I had a good flow going. Over 700 ml came out.

Afterwards, a doctor came by to check on me. I asked if there were anything that would help with the irritation and pain from wearing the catheter. He said sure, and gave me a prescription for a urinary tract anesthetic. Why couldn't they do that the first time I got the catheter in! The anesthetic worked wonders. I could sit down and move around without any pain.

Note: The pictured catheter is a size 16 French, which is a medium-large size. A pen is used for size comparison.

Tags:
  • BPH
  • Catheter
  • Prostate
  • Tally's blog
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Comments

#1 Thanks and commiserations

Submitted by Glynis (not verified) on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 9:35pm.

I am female but that does not stop catheter pain. Sometimes I feel as if the top of my head will explode with the pain. I am 65 years old. This is relevant. Apparently ladies after menopause often get body parts that wander to other places in the lower area. In my case the urethra and vagina have always pointed in a non-average way ( it is called retraverted) This happens in about an eighth of the female population. In this case the urethra frequently moves towards the vagina. The vagina has LOTS of nerves and I get pain in both body organs. Sitting is agony.

The catheter has fallen out on average once a week. This is one hell of a painful event. I have nurses who visit, who care, but can not do much medically.

If I go to emergency it is as you described and male doctors treat one as a piece of meat.

You are a naughty person, really you are. You made me laugh out loud so much it really hurt. You should know how laughing affects the catheter
Seriously thanks for giving me some-thing to laugh about. You sound like a great man who can laugh in the face of adversity.

Finally -One thing I feel I must be good my dear late father, a doctor who did so much good in preventative medicine, suffered a lot. Meanwhile my horrid, abusive mother sits drooling and being cared for night and day in no pain at all. I have discovered that good people often suffer. This is probably because we spend our energies looking after others.
I am a useless human being ( I can not cook, sew or anything ) but I was a brilliant, caring, effective teacher. I helped so many abused teenagers who said they adored me and visited for years after school. My mother said the job was an awful job and the kids were scum. No - she spent her years pampering herself to the exclusion of others. I have met so many good people who suffer and I have this feeling that you are too. You obviously chose a loving assertive wife, clever you, nice her.

Again Thanks. I will ask the doctor if the medication is relevant to the female anatomy. My usual salutation

TAKE CARE

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#2 Thanks, and good luck to you

Submitted by Tally on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 10:01pm.

Thanks for the kind words. I think we are all in this together, so we should all go down smiling.  :)

Ouch! I hope the pyridium helps with your pain. It was a big help to me. You may also want to ask about catheters made with a different material or a different size. Too often we assume doctors know it all. But, with so much information that they need to have at their fingertips, I am amazed they remember as much as they do.

I am thankful for every day. May you be well and happy.

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#3 Peyronie's disease

Submitted by Frank McGinness (not verified) on Wed, 08/18/2010 - 11:37am.

Improper catheter insertion can cause Peyronie's disease. This happens more times than one would think. So if a catheter is needed make sure the person has experience and acts like they know what they're doing. If not, assert yourself and ask for someone else. This is not something you want to chance. This momental injury has life long consequences.

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#4 I was always worried my

Submitted by JustJoannie (not verified) on Fri, 04/19/2013 - 10:55am.

I was always worried my grandfather would get a UTI since he used <a href="http://www.180medical.com/showcase-item.aspx?id=418&title=coloplast%20tapered%20tip%20self-cath%20with%20guide%20stripe">self catheterization</a>. It’s really complicated and requires so many check-ups. Luckily, everything turned out fine but it was definitely concerning.

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#5 catheter

Submitted by Steve Lucas (not verified) on Fri, 02/14/2014 - 9:42pm.

I am quadrapalegic and have a catheter in all the time, it should not hurt! be careful when inserting it to use lots of lube! A uroligest told me many nurses use too little so demand extra! Also some people use whats called in out catheters and u just go into bathroom open the package and stick it into your bladder, though urethra, drain and remove. U can get prelubed ones that are easy and sterile. It is not dificult or scary. My advise is talk to a uroligest for the best options 4 you!

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