www.incontinentsupport.org

[RubyBear]

Hi. I've recently had an operation on my bladder and it didn't seem to work very well. I'm now having to do bladder washes and I was just wondering if any one else has had to do this?
Thank you for taking the time to read this and to reply.
RubyBear
[/b]

[Paul Martin]

RubyBear,
Thanks for your first post and welcome to the forum! I am not sure what a bladder wash is. Can you explain what the surgical procedure was? Is a bladder wash just drinking a lot of water to flush out your system? .........Paul Martin

[RubyBear]

Thank you Paul for the welcome .The proceudre was a bladder enlargment where they used a segmeant of bowel to enlarge the bladder, and because of that there's mucuse membrane coming from the bowel segment and i have to cathertise myself once at night to get rid of the urine and see if it helps.
In a couple of weeks, if this hasn't worked, I have to go back and they'll show me how to do but I think it's basically cathertising yourself and washing yourself out with water.
I'm not entirely sure and I was hoping to find out if anyone else has had to do this.
Thank you again,
RubyBear

[wheels5894]

I has this operation done quite a few years ago. I had a supra-pubic catheter (SPC) in place before the operation and continues to have this afterwards too. This is a permanent catheter inserted through the abdominal wall and changed every 6 / 12 18 weeks depending on how things go.

I had some problem with mucus by found that increasing the amount I drink meant that I was able to manage the catheter longer before changing than many people who had not had it done. I suspect you are having to use a catheter at night to make sure the mucus and all the urine has be drained out as leaving any amount can cause infections to set in. getting the single use catheters in can be awkward as the sphincters resist it but I found, when I did this that it mean more frequent leaks so didn't help any.

I had my catheter out last years after it leaked around the hole and out of the penis and have been managing fine without it - though I have no sensation 'down there' due to MS and have to void on time and notr sensation!.

You should be fine learning to get the catheters in and doing the washout but it does take practice.

[Brwmeistr9]

I've been doing this for almost 20 years after having my cancerous bladder replaced by bowel segments. It's not a big deal for me. I use a hand-held shower head and the smallest shower setting, simply held against the funnel end of the catheter. Works for me!

Brew

[Paul Martin]

Hey Brew,

Where have you been? Thanks for keeping in touch. It's been a long time since we have heard from you! ...............Paul Martin

[schoppy]

Hi Brew
Glad to see you are still around.

For those doing bladder flushes, please be real careful.
The bladder is like a balloon and you do not want it to POP!
Also, you do not want to have any bacteria go up the catheter and cause an infection.

Ive also been doing bladder flushes for years but I use a 70cc irrigation syringe to do it with. It fits on the end of the cath real nice and I can control the amount of pressure going in.