www.incontinentsupport.org

Saw my urologist about pain in my bladder after urinating/having an incon epsisode.. and they did a bladder ultrasound.. and it was high enough were they said you probably need to start cathing.. so i said..ok lets get it over with.. so they showed me how to cath..and gave me a weeks worth of catheters.. and it wasnt nearly as bad as i thought it was. Any insight on how to transport catheters discreetly is appreciated.


Peace out!

Rob

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"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

It all depends on what catheters one uses. I use the Coloplast Speedcath Compact Male which, as you can see, are shortish green tubes that could be anything and which fit neatly in pockets or in bags. Once used, they can be thrown away as they look completely anonymous and certainly don't look like catheters.

Try Coloplast in the USA for a sample.

Thanks so much for the tip wheels! Are these covered by insurance? I have Tricare and Medicaid.

_________________
"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

Sorry, no idea. I am in Scotland where we have 'socialised medicine' and get provided with the right stuff.

I have tricare prime for retirees, yes they do cover intermittent catheters. They come in a big box, and are double sealed. Just take a few with you. You can gently fold or roll them up (so they don't kink), and put them in most any bag.

If you're worried about just tossing them out (and possibly disgusting someone out) you can take the used ones, along with the packaging, and roll some paper towels or toilet paper over it before tossing it in the trash.

Be careful of getting too reliant on cathing all of the time though. Do it too often, for too long (years or decades) and you can develop a severe sensitivity to having anything in your urethra. If your problems ever get to where they are severe enough you need to cath at least 4-6 times every single day, then you'll need to start seeking a different treatment.

It should be a good means for you right now though, so don't let that scare you. Just try and stay clean with them and avoid any UTI's.

Brian,

Not to put too fine a point on it, but your'e not a urologist. How do you happen to know that i need to be careful of cathing all the time or that if i cath 4 to 6 times a day i need a different treatment? Between this comment and the comment about wearing a foley with no bag, i think you give advice to people that is quite dubious indeed. I don't mean to sound like a meanie, it just seems that telling people that the doctors are WRONG is not hte best way to go. FYI my urologist now has me cathing 4 times a day in the hopes it stops me from wetting. We shall see.

Ok, off my soapbox now.

Peace out!

Rob

_________________
"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

Not dubious in the least. Based on actual and factual experience that I have learned what I've said from first hand experience from decades of needing to catheterize- combined with what I've been able to research online.

Don't just take my word for it though, look it up yourself and you will see that prolonged use of catheters absolutely can lead to additional complications. And yes, many doctors and urologists are outright WRONG if/when they say that self catheterizing (folley especially), or with using an open system with folley catheterizing, will automatically and absolutely lead to an infection for anyone who attempts it. I alone am living proof this is complete bs. I can't blame them though, like many before you, they are just repeating what they have been told without any actual first hand knowledge of it (and yes, most urologist have never had to catheterize or use diapers themselves so their first hand knowledge absolutely will be less than yours or mine).

Soapbox dismantled.

yeah, well, what do you propose as an alternative? Should i just let the urine fill up in my bladder until it damages my kidneys? What would you do if you were in my situation?

Respectfully,

Rob

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"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

Well for the time being, maybe even years/decades, it seems you'd be just fine continuing to use the intermittent catheters.

I know of no human body that can hold up to catheterizing 4+ times a day- forever- though. Like I said, eventually you are going to have to find another solution that works for you. Unfortunately only you and your urologist will be able to determine what that is though.

And I more than understand your predicament. Remember, I've had two blocked shut sphincters, combined with painful urges every hour or so. I've dealt with problems of my bladder filling up for decades, and with my kidneys and bowels failing because of it... And while I wouldn't recommend this for most anyone (or specifically you either), I eventually chose to have the sphincterotomies done.

Ultimately it just came down to my body shutting down thanks to my straining to overcome the retention (since I can't use catheters much anymore), or just fully accepting diapers. As long as catheters are still working for you then keep using them. Just realize they aren't always going to work.

There are people born with conditions like spina bifida that require them to have intermittent self (initially by a parent) catheterisation from birth. Just because it carries risks of additional complications and those risks increase with time, does not mean those risks are guaranteed to happen or that someone should avoid becoming dependent on something that is actually seriously important for their health and wellbeing with the only other options being more invasive.

I hope you get some relief now you're catheterising Rob, and are more not less comfortable. I may return to the suprapubic thread some time soon. It's early morning here (7am) and I've not slept so I should get on to that!