www.incontinentsupport.org

hi guys, ive had urinary incontinence, for ages, they cant find anything wrong with me after tests,but was wondering if i were to get foleied, which the doc mentioned,if i were to take it out after a week how incontinent would i be? would i be worse off? how incontinent after 4 weeks? then 2 months? then 1 yr. as i may go down this route , diapers are ok but need to try something else to see how i get on!!!

From what I have heard most health care and
urologist look at foley catheters used
long term as something to be avoided and
limited use is best for the patent.

Of course every patent and situation out there
found can be different.

Smart thing, to talk to your doctor and ask
him for his thoughts on the subject.
It's not something to do if it hurts you in
the long run.

I agree with Rope on this one, it varies greatly between Urologist. This is something that needs to be looked at between you and your doctor on the long term affect on your health.

They are right and your experience will vary. As a broad generalization though; with the folley in you will be completely urinary incontinent. You will drain freely and slowly, but constantly. You can let it drain into a bag or even just your diaper IF you are not prone to getting UTI's. I'm not and have done this for years without a single problem so don't let anyone who jumps to the conclusion its dangerous fool you. I know from personal experience those fears are exaggerated.

From what I've heard and experienced, after the catheter is removed you will likely still be very close if not completely incontinent for a day or two (or possibly returning to normal right away). This will continue to wear off as you begin to use your sphincter muscle more and more.

Usually between 1 and 7 days you will be right back to your typical normal with nor discernible long term effects. However, repeated long term use of the folley will likely extend the amount of time this will take though. I've heard from some people who would use folleys for a month or more (with changing them out every week), and they would almost literally have to re-potty train for another month to regain full bladder control.

Sadly, this was not my case though. I had used folleys for seven straight months in a row once (per a previous urologists recommendations). When I stopped, my sphincter immediately went right back to always automatically clamping down on me. Plus, I had developed a severe sensitivity and pain to having a catheter in place. This had reduced a bit so now when I do need one again it is only very uncomfortable, but at least not painful.

Like I said though, everyone seems to react to them differently. What you can do, and it's effects need to be monitored by your urologist.

I had a Foley in for three weeks following my sphincterotomy in 1999. At first I bled profusely; no mere diaper would have handled it. At home I had three visiting nurses' appointments, and, after the nurses removed it, my leakage was, and continues to be, continual. My incontinence is neurogenic; basically, the nerves that should operate my bladder are pinched and irritated due to fractured vertebrae and collapsed discs, so they do not operate as well as they should. I hope this answers your question.

Good point. Having a folley in after a sphincterotomy is a completely different situation, especially right after the surgery.

Each time I left the hospital I was pretty much over hydrated and peed so much I doubt my confidry24/7 would have lasted 30 minutes. Of course, the pee was mixed with the expected bleeding from the surgery which makes it look like its all blood and no pee.

After those surgeries I had used the urine bags till the catheter came out. I also remained diapered for that time for the leakage and blood that came out around the catheter.

In this situation with so much bleeding and all the extra peeing I would also recommend using the bag too. On the other hand, if you're of a normal health with little risk of normally picking up an infection then there is little cause for concern.

I've had urge incontinence for about five years. Three and a half years ago I had a heart attack and it got a bit worse. I started using Foley catheters full time about 6 months later and take a day off every weekend to keep my body functioning properly. Properly for me is using the bathroom every hour to two hours during the day. I stay hydrated all the time to keep the ol' body working. One of the main reasons I started using them was to get a good nights sleep as opposed to getting up to use the bathroom 3-5 times per night.

Here's the shocker,... I've never gone to a urologist or talked with my primary care about it. Frankly I don't want the usual scare tactics and all the unnecessary lectures about what this entails. There's a lot you can learn on your own and you can make the decision for yourself. I did and never regretted it for a minute.

Doing this without a urologist's expertise is either courageous of foolhardy; I do not know which. I wish you continued success.

In a way Patrick made my point. I researched doing this for months before I started, and learned enough not to need a urologist to solve my problem. My primary Care doesn't know about the catheters but knows about the urge incontinence. He's great but wanted to throw another medication at it. Something like that is the problem. Pushing pills doesn't always have to be the first line of treatment.

I have been catheterised for over four years now so consider myself an expert on the subject. First of all to let a catheter drain into a diaper is ridiculous. Why would anyone want to. You either use a flip flow valve or let it drain into a leg bag. I use a combination of the two. I have a valve and a leg bag so am in control when my bladder empties. This means my bladder will be maintained and not shrink to the size of a golf ball. Secondly anybody who is catheterised for more than three days has a UTI. The balloon in the bladder gives bacteria a surface to grow on. However this does not mean you will automatically get poorly. You only get poorly if you become symptomatic and will need antibiotic. Foley catheters are dangerous I now only have one testicle having to have one removed a few months ago because of an infection. It's certainly not to be considered litely. The only way I stay well is to have an antibiotic for three days before each catheter change and to drink drink and drink. 12 to 14 drinks per day is a norm for me. 4wheeldave.