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Hi all.

I was wondering if anyone had ever used one of these before. I have a neurgenic bladder and as such cant feel when my bladder is filling. Eventually the pressure is too great and I dump my entire bladder contents in one go.

I was wondering if I was to get the stent it would mean I just drip like a leaky tap. At the moment this sounds like a bit of a blessing because my bladder spasms and when full I become very adjutated, especially whilst driving for long periods as even when my bladder is full the pressure of me sitting means it wont come out easily.

Does anyone have one fitted who can provide feedback. thanks

I do the same thing but it's accompanied by a lot of pain. So far I haven't seen or heard of a stent being used like this. But it sure would help me avoid the pain!!

On edit:
Looks like it might be possible, problem is trying to find a Dr. that would let you try it. Most that I know stick to their oath not to do any harm. Not that a stent would do permanent harm but ....

Charlie,

Do you have a neurological problem that causes the bladder problems? the first thing to do is to make sure you can't do anything that way to help.

A stent is a very short term solution to anything and studies have shown the failure rate and infection rate is very high so this is not the way to go. You need to discuss the matter with a urologist and get his advice. To help this sort of problem, the possible solution is to either paralyze (botox can be used to do this) or cut the outer sphincter actually.

However, you may have something in the bladder problem that is the opposite of what you think. How long does it take before the bladder empties? Is it a reliable time? If so, you can do what I do and make sure I got to the loo and empty the bladder BEFORE it normally would empty. I find that doing this every hour or two can manage all day without the need for protection which is very convenient and saves effort too. An external sheath and bag are quite a good answer if you are not near a toilet as such a system can often take 750ml easily and draining the bag can be done almost anywhere.

At night the above does not apply so I use a nappy or an external condom and 2 litre bag to contain the leaks overnight.

deen_ad, if you are experiencing pain you really need to check the whole thing with a urologist as it is possible you have problems with the sphincters opening together. Sometimes this fails to happen and the bladder s pushing away against a shut external sphincter which does cause pain.

Have you seen a Urologist? Sometimes painful retention and incomplete bladder emptying are prostate issues.

Go get checked.

_________________
When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.

I have been to see the urologist and had a cystoscopy.

I have no bladder sensation at all due to spine injury 3 years ago.

The void happens at random, it all depends on what i had to drink, and how often.

I guess I just dont like the idea of surgery but if I need to I will.

As for prostate exam, I had one a couple of weeks ago, and all was fine. But good call, it is sympotoms of enlarged prostate which is why they checked.

Charlie,
I understand what you are going through because I have a neuroginic bladder that behaves just like yours. I have been told it is because of back nerve damage and isn't something that can be fixed.

I have tried everything the doctors have asked of me and nothing works for me. They have even tried Botox injections into the bladder and they didnt' help. The last thing they want to do is take out my bladder and have it drain out my belly into a bag. Since I am not dealing with cancer, this isn't an option that I will do.

I too have wondered if there was stint made like you have brought up and I haven't found one yet. For the most part they are made to hold open the area being closed off from the prostrate. I too wish my bladder didn't flood, would make things much better for me in the long run.

You are not alone with what you are dealing with and I pray that all here are as much of a support group for you as they have been for me.

CharlieP,

If it is any help I went through a similar situation. The first few years I too would have floods when my bladder got to that certain capacity. I could not feel it nor could I control it. However over time I would flood less and less and dribble more and more. Now I seldom wet more than a few ounces at a time but I release fairly consistantly throughout the day and night. I believe my bladder muscles became weaker as I have no control and got to the point where even small amounts of urine would leak out. That is the problem with muscles you don't use, they get weaker over time. I do on occasion flood my diaper but I believe this is more a mechanical thing where I might be sitting in the same position for a long period of time and not have a free floww from my bladder.

K.T and DDS, thanks for the support there.

My lack of feeling in my bladder is due to nerve damage in my lower spine too.

Whats happening with me DDS is that my bladder sphincter is on lock down fully shut. it only opens when my bladder pressure is so high it overcomes the pressure of my sphincter and lets go. About 600CC to 700CC.

I would love my sphincter to go into entropy thats sort of the exact result I want.

I heard someone mention a surgery to remove the bladder shpincter, I am going to talk to my urologist about this and see what he thinks.

Guys, can I give a you a little background on this topic and some suggestions too. This problem of large gushes is a significant one but not one that cannot be solved.

First of all you need to know if your bladder will empty completely on its own or with a little help. This is the first vital thing as if it is not properly emptying you will inevitably end up with bladder infections. Urologist often check this using an ultra sound scan. This is really most important and needs to be checked. You can feel this yourself, too. When sitting on the loo you can feel the bladder by pressing with your finger just above the pubic bone. A full bladder with be very obvious as a hard shape beneath the surface whilst an empty one cannot be felt above the pubic bone.

So, secondly, there is management of this. I will assume, for the moment that the bladder does empty fully. There are really 2 choices here -

1. Leave the bladder to it and left it empty when it will. This option works only if you have something to catch the flood and probably nappies (diapers) are not going to meet the need. The best solution for big gushes is condom (external catheter) and bag drainage. Bags can be had for daytime use which strap to the leg (or use a stocking style holder) or 2 litre ones for overnight. Check out Coloplast to get samples and try this.It is easy to empty a leg bag when it is full into a toilet or even a drain when no one is looking.

2. Work out some timings - by watching when the bladder empties on its own and then work out a schedule or regular toilet visits to empty it BEFORE it empties on its own. This can mean you can manage without any drainage kit during the day which is what I do most of the time. You just have to watch the timing of drinks and, for most people, this is quite doable. (Note:- on long journeys and visits to places I don't know I revert to 1. above to avoid problems.) Having a bladder that holds a lot is quite an advantage sometimes!

If your bladder is not emptying properly then you will need to do something about it. Urologists usually suggest an intermittent catheter - i.e. one you slip in yourself just to empty the bladder and regular intervals. It might only need doing a couple of time a day, leaving the bladder to work itself the rest of the time or it might need to be done regularly as in 2. above. I found that using this my bladder would leak in between emptyings so didn't work for my.

Finally, the only other possibility for dealing with the residue is an operation called sphincterotomy where the external sphincter is divided to prevent it working which reduces the pressure it exerts and allows better emptying. Sometimes even the bladder neck is cut as well. The result of this sport of surgery is usually a constant drip or little gushes which is much harder to deal with. This is really only for the point where nothing else will work.

Finally, as regards stents, there has been a number of pieces of research done on these and in each case the stents did not work out well at all as they often became infected and needed to be removed. The problem with removal is that they become embedded in the surrounding tissue and the operation is not nice!

I hope that helps a little but I do suggest that the less done the batter provided the bladder does empty. Oh, and do check out condom drainage - it really does work much better that anything else for big flows.

Thanks for the information, it seems spot on with what my urodynamic nurse told me.

My bladder never fully empties, she actually supported self cathing to drain it.


I just would sooner let it do its own thing for now than insert a cath. I guess I am just worried about UTI's