www.incontinentsupport.org

Hi all!
Does anybody out there use a Foley catheter, one that is attached to the bladder neck by an inflated balloon?
Because of severe retention I have to wear one. At least I don't worry about having to pee a lot. I used to be in the BR every hour. It was too much. I was given a Urodynamics test. I had 1000 cc in me after I tried to pee. So they put a Foley in me. At least the one I wear is comfortable and I don't know it's there. It goes in real easy.
I had prostate cancer and had my prostate removed, so that is not in the way!
I was self cathing and doing that every hour. So that didn't work at all.
At least my Foley and equipment is covered by Insurance!!

If you have a look at my posts you will see what's involved. I had a urethral ( Penis inserted ) for over a year that ended with some huge issues last Christmas mainly due to my prostate becoming infected as well as my testicles. If you have had your prostate removed that will not be a problem for you. Infections are the main problem ( UTI s ).
I have now got the catheter suprapubicly inserted which has been ok so far.
I use a leg bag all the time but also a flip Flo valve so I can be in control of when the urine goes into the bag. This gives me enormous urine storage cappacity and maintains the bladder and stops it shrinking.
You need to drink a lot. I have about 12 to 14 drinks per day. The only time my wee is dark in colour is first thing in the morning.
I would recommend you wear the leg bag high up on the leg and if you wear reasonably tight underwear the valve and everything is all held in place. I use a sleeve for the leg bag I did not like the straps much. I have the catheter changed every 10 weeks. Having the catheter changed for me was the danger time for an infection so now take an antibiotic for 3 days before a cath change. Having the cath changed when it was in the penis was no big deal. They deflate the baloon and slowly pull the old 1 out. They then insert a syringe with lube in it into the meatus ( penis opening ) and fill the penis with the lube. A lot of the lube does come out. A new catheter is then slowly inserted which is a bit uncomfortable but is over before you know it. The balloon is then inflated with sterile water. I found 5 ml was the best for me. Hope all this is a help please post me if you need any more info. There are not a lot of cath users on this sight. You may need to wear a diaper from time to time if you experience any by passing.

4wheeldave.

And one more makes three
Catheter user

Hi 4wheeldave

It is too bad more people do not use this board and post there experiences using catheters it would be good to hear from them and maybe new ideas.

I have been using a urethral Foley catheter 24/7 for a little over five years and before that I preformed self cathing at four times a day.

I agree with everything you said Foley catheters are a pain and require a lot of attention to deal with. Following most of your comments I have gone almost five years without having a UTI I feel this is good but no record.
I was told average is one to three UTI's a year for people using catheter full time I have surpassed that.

I change my own catheter and my doctor has me taking Cipro for three days after each catheter change which I do every three weeks. Why so often well I go in the hospital every three weeks for IV infusion which takes four hours to complete and I do this for four days in a row. My catheter changing coincided with that. I have CIDP and autonomic neuropathy and it can get to be kind of a serious situation.
In the hospital I receive Gamune X by infusion.

I also use a leg bag but I wear it low on my calf I find it most comfortable down there.

So far having a SP catheter has only been talk about and as long as I am getting along with a urethral catheter I guess I am OK.

I know we have crossed paths before but the catheter I use is the Duette duel balloon catheter and I also know they are not available in England this catheter to me is more comfortable to use and seams to cause fewer problems.

The Duette catheter is not without problems at the moment I am seeing some blood in the bag not much more like blood clots. I was checked for a UTI everything came back normal. I was told not to worry about it probably it is caused by where the catheter rubs this is normal. This is the first time I have seen blood in the bag in five years.

Off subject I have a brother who lives in England and has for most of his adult life he loves it over there.
Sometime I should go over there and see him as we don’t see each other very often only when he is in the states on business.

Lyle

Add my name to that short list......I'm a foley user too......it has given me a lot of freedoms, though it does have a whole bunch of limitations. I still wear diapers as I always get mucous/discharge from the foley. Also, I always feel like the catheter bounces around causing pain at the tip of my penis. With the diaper, it holds everything together and I don't have to worry about discharge. My wife is an ER nurse and does the catheter changes at home. Insurance covers the catheters but not the diapers. I've been a foley user since June 2014. I've had 1 UTI in that time. I think my secret is that I don't have the foley in 100% of the time. I work a couple of 24 hour shifts during the week and take it out for 3-4 days a week. I have it in for 3-5 days a week whenever I have a stretch of days out of work. That gives me time to sleep while I'm not at work. I have a physical job that wouldn't lend itself easily to having a foley in while I'm here. I suffer whenever I'm without this thing. As much as I don't like not having sex with my wife or any of the other pitfalls of the foley, I love being able to sleep through the night, or ride in the car for more than 45 minutes, and I like the decreased anxiety from not being in the bathroom every 15-20 minutes.........if I can be of assistance to any new catheter users, please hit me up.

I have been urinary incontinent for most of my life. I have been using a IC Control, silicone Foley on and off for about ten years now. I always would wear on trips long outings , to work and during holidays and diapers in between. I would leave it in for up to two weeks and would never had a problem. I am a retired nurse so I insert and remove my own catheter. I have only two minor UTI's all the time I have been using them but was concern in getting one on long term use. This summer we vacationed in Alaska and used a Foley for the entire trip and changed it after three weeks. I have been using them ever sense, changing it every three weeks and I had not had any problems. They are very comfortable and I use a "Belly Bag" most of the time. I do use a leg bag when I wear jeans. I have tried many treatments, medicine's, and operations for my incontinence and nothing worked so I am very happy with my Foley so far. The main thing is good hygiene in caring for your catheter to prevent a UTI. Talk to your doctor or go on line for the care of a Foley. Good Luck !

I also used to be an unfortunately big folley catheter user. Not a nurse, but it's easy to do it myself and still keep clean about it all. I never once had a UTI from them, though I think I did come close once. Unfortunately I used folleys for about 7 months straight once, which made me develop a sever sensitivity to having anything in my urethra now. Not fun, even if it was my go-to answer back in day.

I recently spent two weeks in the hospital with approx. one week of my stay being prolonged because of a UTI that I developed after a Foley was inserted into my bladder. As a matter of follow-up, I spend 5 - 7 days in the hospital each year so the VA can do what they call my annual SCI exam. During my recent hospital stay, I developed a UTI within hours of my arrival at the hospital. In the beginning, the nursing staff thought a Foley would be easier to manage compared to diapers, plus they wanted to get an exact amount of urine out flow so I agreed to the use of the Foley. Within hours of the Foley being inserted into the bladder I developed a UTI. I felt fine, but my temp started rising and I soon thereafter had the "chills". It didn't take long before they had me hooked up to 4 IV's, and this went on for 4 days before the IV's were removed. Because I was in a hospital, they really wanted to know the exact type of bacterial infection I had so they did several blood tests, etc. to determine the bacteria type. In the beginning, the nursing staff was persistent that I had the UTI when I came to the hospital but just didn't know it. When the test results were completed the bacteria identified causing the UTI was e-coli. It appears, the nurse that inserted the Foley didn't do a good job of cleaning all the micro origins before inserting the Foley causing the e-coli micro origin to be directly inserted into the bladder thus causing the UTI.

I have never liked the use of a Foley, and during this hospital stay I learned the hospital could check my blood for any possible kidney infection so the only real value for the Foley was to measure my urine outflow which was really not necessary because if I had any kidney issues those problems would be found in my blood so at the end of the day, I could have avoided the Foley all together which is exactly what I plan to do the next time I have my annual hospital stay. No more Foley's for me.

Johnstone, yeah you probably got the UTI from when they inserted the catheter. It's well established people are much more likely to develop infections INSIDE a hospital than anywhere else.

This is both because your body is used to the bacteria in your home, and because there are a LOT of foreign bacteria, and a lot more of that bacteria, in hospitals which your body isn't used to. Nurses and Doctors don't want to admit it though since they want you to be more likely to go to the hospital than not.