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I've been wearing a Foley catheter for over a year and a half and I've never looked back. The one thing guys don't like is the irritation or pain when they change them.

Tip:

I use a 24fr 30cc Foley. I deflate the balloon all the way but put about 1-2 cc's back in to keep the balloon partially inflated. This is just enough to smooth it out. The rubber balloon gets distorted and rougher from being inflated and doesn't go beck to it's original shape and size. This help's to keep it smoother and able to be removed much easier.

Hope this helps.

Woa year and a half now. That's like a serious marathon, and I'm surprised you haven't become sensitive to them yet. Congrats on the good luck.

I can add one other thing that helps reduce the irritation is to use lidocane ointment instead of lidocane gel.

The gel is heavily water based and very runny. As such it doesn't add a very thick layer of lubricant, and is absorbed by the body quite rapidly in a matter of a minute or two.

The ointment, while still water based, has something in it that makes it much thicker (or is processed differently I'm not sure). This allows for a much thicker layer of lubricant which can take hours for the body to absorb it. As such, it's numbing effect lasts much longer.

I have been using Foley catheters along with diapers to manage my light incontinence but extreme urnary frequency, 20-30x per day for 2 1/2 years. I have them changed weekly by my wife who is an ER nurse. I have had 2 UTI's in that period of time. I have found there isn't much I can't do while catheterized. I work a three day rotation and take it out for the three day rotation then it goes back in for a stretch of days until the next work rotation. I'm still very self conscious about it and don't want to explain it at work. My co workers know almost nothing about my incontinence and urinary problems. I have interstitial cystitis and OAB.

I would not personal risk leaving any saline in my foley balloon as it could be very painful coming out. But mine is a 10ml balloon so a much bigger difference if I left 1-1ml in. I've always used a small catheter and balloon though and never tried anything. Else I get a lot of pain intermittently so have considered bigger or a different
type but I get the impression my nurses only use a few different types so I've just got the one that's bit silicone. I do get quite sore. It's helped by d mannose but not entirely.

Tip:

If you use a smaller balloon catheter then make sure it's nice and smooth when it comes out. If it is, ok. If not, just a tiny amount can be left in just to smooth it out. Try it on one that you just took out and see how much or little you might need.

Tip:

If you wear a belly bag like I do the catheter may not be long enough so as not to pull the penis in an uncomfortable upward direction. Use a piece of extension tubing and cut it down to the number of inches you need so the catheter comes out in a downward direction but the tubing turns back up towards the bag for collection.

Seconded. I also had to do this, but with a leg bag. I have to point up due to being well endowed, which means I too needed a tube extension to get from the catheter tip to the leg bag without getting pulled into an uncomfortable position.

Tip:

To relieve the pinching at the tip of the penis where the catheter comes out, use neosporin instead of lubricant. The natural extension and retraction of the male penis will cause the catheter tube to be pulled in and out throughout the day, and this can cause a lot of discomfort or pain.

Yup. I use lidocaine ointment myself, but any thicker ointment or jelly is pretty much a requirement here. Skip using the lighter or more watery gels too as they get absorbed.too quickly to be effective.

Tip:

If you use a belly bag and wear incontinence briefs like I do it may help to also wear a suspensory to give more support to your testicles. It won't put to much lifting pressure at the back of your scrotal sack and won't cut off the flow of urine.