urinary tract infections after being cathried long time in hospital

i already suffered from incontinence after i had a total hysterectomy for an ovarian tumor when my daughter was four. i felt lucky to be alive though.then i just had very lengthy thyroid surgery--many hours--as surgeons attempted to removed a tumor that was ultimately inoperable on the left side as it was too close to the aorta and other vital structures. again tho i was grateful to survive the surgery as i was a high risk surgical patient. i was in icu for quite sometime on a breathing tube and had to be catherized for quite some time. this left me with chronic urininary tract infections. i take over the counter meds or antibiotics if it is really bad, which is a lot. . now my doctor is sending me to a urologist tomorow. i am scared of surgery and problems in that area of my body. did anybody else ever encounter this problem. i am also sick of constanting having to go to the bathroom--despite detrol and antibiotics. thanks --i know this is a delicate subject and i feel it interferes in a way with the intimacy of my marriage not to mention traveling with out access to a bathroom..