Catheter tips

Wheel

i recently was asked by someone regarding my catheter experience and thought it might be helpful to share some more specifics with everyone looking forward to it.

I had my catheter in for 11 days because of a holiday weekend at the end before my appointment to get it out. I went for Cystogram the same morning I had my catheter out. The cystogram in effect is to check your seal of the surgery in reattaching your urethra to your bladder to make sure their is no leak with urine coming from bladder into urethra. Not likely regardless but especially with the surgical procedure my Doctor used not cutting the Puboprostatic ligament which keeps your urethra same length by it not needing to be pulled back up and is easier to reattach and why also you don’t lose penis length. It does not need to get pulled back up or cinched up to get reattached since the ligament was not cut. The cystogram was fairly quick, your catheter stays in place, they have you drink I think something white or something with contrast then the xray radiologist and Doctor watch real time to see basically your surgery reattachment has no leakage. There is no pain to it. Then I went upstairs back to the Doctors office to get the catheter out. I needed to wait around 30 minutes for the Cystogram results to get ready and conveyed to Dr’s office. I was scared thinking the removal of the catheter would be painful and remember worrying right up to getting onto the table and laying down and then suddenly the nurse says okay, and I asked was it out and she said yes, I never felt anything. Not knowing what my continence level would be and again concerned I was well prepared when I went to get the catheter out. I had brought loose regular jockey briefs( I had always worn loose boxer briefs) to put on that I could place a mens pad inside like women do for their periods. I also brought a mens pull up diaper that I could use. I asked the nurse what I should use right now after the catheter came out going home and she said the diaper was probably the easiest and it was, I just stepped into it. Now not knowing what was going to be happening I switched to the loose jockey briefs and placed a mens pad inside. Then it was no longer loose. The larger jockey size was because once you put the pad inside , it became crunched against your jewels and a regular fitting brief would have crushed me. At night I did put on the diaper. Now all these precautions ended after two days when I definitely knew I was not leaking and I felt safe just returning to my regular boxer briefs. 

Now while your catheter is in, just get a regular plastic size mop bucket that you can place your catheter in at night when you go to bed. It sits on the floor next to you in the bed. The catheter is sitting in the bucket on the carpet below your level in bed so it drains. I actually would just carry the bucket around the house with me going up and down the stairs and sit it down by me on the sofa. I actually never used the smaller catheter bag you could switch out to on your thigh. I always used the big bag even when I left the house. I would wear surfer like longer shorts or bermuda type shorts that dropped to your knee. I then had a plastic shopping bag like a trader joes, or something similar that I could place the catheter in that I carried. It just basically while outside anywhere it looked like I was carrying a shopping bag. When I went walking up and down the street it again looked like I was just carrying a bag. The catheter tube would just come out barely under my shorts by the knee and loop right down into the shopping bag. It was barely noticeable. Also take that shopping bag with you when you get the catheter out.

Marlon

i too had a catheter for 12 days. I was in a lot of pain from the incisions and had a hard time getting around. I used an old walker to help get around the house. I hung the catheter bag on the frame, as well as a tote bag for my phone, a book, TV remote, and meds, etc.