History of my catheter

The decision to have a catheter inserted was made when I fell and broke my wrist about 14 years ago.

I had a urethral catheter fitted initially and at this time discovered the great benefits of having a catheter and the convenience of having control again. I then decided to have the supra pubic fitted as these are cleaner, less likely to cause infections and less invasive.
I had this done at Weston General Hospital, at an outpatient appointment.  I found that it was very comfortable upon fitting; there was no discomfort at all.  The site has to be kept clean at all times.

My memory is that, upon wanting this done, the hospital were quick to do this for me and there was no break from urethral to supra pubic.

The problems that are faced by people with limited bladder control are

• Loss of independence
• Need to be close to toilets
• Wet clothes and skin, as accidents do happen
• The need of a radar key to enter private toilets, which made me feel a bit of a plonk; peoples reactions to me being that I did not look disabled (I could walk) so therefore I should not have a disabled key.
• Inability to go on family outings i.e. cinema and school activities etc. This is much more than just frustrating, invading the whole of my life.  People who don’t understand are not able to see why you are not a part of everything and this can include your children being hurt, because of not joining in with the other families. All shopping trips had to be cut short disrupting normal everyday life.

I had to reduce all fluid intakes for events of any nature lasting more than 30 minutes.
Life became very limited due to being on such a tight schedule at all times which, quite honestly, made me and the family miserable.

Benefits

The benefits now are that I can be a part of all the family activities. I can now take any fluid intake, and am encouraged to do this at all times. I carry a clearly labelled drinks bottle for emergency use if there is no toilet available when we are out.

Before the catheter was inserted I had to visit the hospital for a routine check-up. I had to drink a lot for this so I had a full bladder which I found impossible - I was to hold a half litre of water. They then scanned my bladder to test how much it could contain, which was done at Weston General Urology Dept. They then found that my bladder held only 125ml at any given time. The pelvic floor muscles wouldn't hold any more. The muscles of the bladder were stronger than the pelvic floor muscles. Muscle relaxant medication did not make any difference to this.

Description of insertion

An appointment was made for me at outpatients which I attended with my husband. I was given an injection of local anaesthetic, just below the belly button, whilst lying on my back. A canula was then placed through the abdomen into the bladder. Next, a balloon was inflated with liquid to stop the catheter being rejected. During the procedure there was very little bleeding. Gauze was then placed on the wound. My ordinary clothing was worn and upon leaving we went for dinner at a restaurant. I felt really well, my husband even had to leave me, as guarantee, as he had forgotten his money and had to go get some.

Upon coming home I was able to wash normally at the sink and removed the gauze the next day. I was to twist the catheter three times a day for one week, washing the site normally with water but no soap. I had also been recommended to clean the site with saline solution as often as necessary (perhaps every one to two weeks). District nurses have commented that my site is very clean and first-class! I was also recommended to move the catheter bag so that it did not get set in one position.


The sensible stuff

• Drink lots of water and, especially, cranberry juice (which combats infections).
• Carry a change of clothing (knickers and trousers).

None of the above should be needed but it is a great confidence boost.


Every so often, I have to do a washout if necessary. This consists of a small prescription bottle (uniflo) being fitted to the top of the catheter tube; liquid is pumped into the bladder which expresses it back into the bottle. This is done three times then the bottle is removed and the catheter bag reconnected. The reason for this is it's supposed to clean the bladder and remove any debris (calcium deposits). This is easy to do.

Fourteen years on, I have found this has been invaluable. Now the district nurse comes every three months to change the catheter, which is quick and easy. All equipment is sent by Script-Eazy.

I have found that this completely changed my life; I'm able to come and go. I now join in all family occasions, such as holidays, which includes being thrown into swimming pools!

See also about catheter extension when wearing trousers.