Foley catheter out - irritated bladder?

After LHS with A&P repairs (may 12)-- had a foley catheter in for 6 days and got it taken out today. I can pee - but i feel spasms and twitches in my bladder and I feel like I need to go constantly.

I read in the articles that some spasming is to be expected - but how long does this twitchyness and weird "i gotta pee" feeling last? is there anything to do for relief? i know cranberry juice helps when you have a UTI. Is there anything that soothes an irritated bladder?

Thanks.

Hi Sweetpea123
I'm sorry you're bladder is acting up. I'm just wondering if you have talked to your dr and have completely ruled out the possibility of a UTI? Sometimes a catheter can bring them on and if you happen to not be emptying fully it they can come on pretty quickly.

Everyone is different in how long spasms can occur. I had to self cath for a while, had a UTI from not fully emptying and at one point my dr gave me some meds to help that urgent feeling. It was keeping me up at night. If you haven't talked to your dr about it, I hope you'll give him/her a call just to make sure this isn't a UTI. You could also ask if you could get something to help make you more comfortable until your bladder calms down.
Let us know how you do.
Rita

Hi there, I know that feeling only too well.

Are you sure that you don't have a slight UTI? It may be worth checking with your doctor. I had catheter for 2 weeks and was given antibiotics as a precaution - as my doctor said - the last thing you need after all this is a urinary infection.

Best wishes

Hi - I had a TVH (kept ovaries) on April 22. Iam almost 4 wks post op and still have bladder twitches and I can always feel the "urge" to go. It doesn't hurt when I do go, but the feeling is annoying. I went to the doc today and he tested me for a UTI but all was good. I told him I'm up at night 3 & 4 times to go. I don't have incontenence. He gave me a trial of Enablex to calm my bladder down. I sure hope this feeling goes away! Hang in there, you are very early in your recovery. I will tell you I didn't anticipate the amount of time it takes to recover, so try not to get frustrated. I'll have one good day and be on top of the world and the next day I feel awful....it's weird,and I'm not even doing that much. Give yourself time to heal. Good luck.

I agree with the posts about being checked for a UTI. Right after my foley cath came out I had to self cath for a while because I wasn't able to get completely empty. Did your doctor test your bladder when the foley came out to make sure you are emptying completely? My doctor ended up putting me on a 3 day course of Cipro and that took care of the feelings of having to go constantly. He also prescribed a few days of Peridium but I only used it for a day and a half. I know how frustrating and discouraging these bladder issues are. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this on top of all the regular things we deal with when we're healing. Know that you are not alone! Let us know how you are doing.

Thanks for all the support and information. It really helps to hear that others have experienced similar things -- you are all such a huge help.

I have been on Cipro since the surgery -- got a 7 day course, so my Dr didn't think it could be a UTI -- but didn't check either. I seem to be emptying OK, so I'll keep an eye on things and expect slow improvement.

Today, frankly, i can't tell if my bladder is spasming because i have gas pains that are dominating every other pain! What a drag! I have increased my fiber a lot to offset constipation (and it has worked) - but I overdid it. It's always something.

I had my surgery on 4/16 and have had a relatively quick recovery--I've been back to work full time for a couple of weeks now and have generally been feeling pretty good.

Then, last Wednesday evening I noticed my urine looked like it was tinged with blood. I watched it on Thursday and noticed more blood and even some on the tissue after wiping. I wasn't experiencing the typical UTI symptoms but I went to my PCP on Friday and gave them a urine sample and had my blood drawn to check renal function.

Over the weekend my symptoms progressed to the typical UTI symptoms--that pinching feeling and feeling like I need to go all the time.

Yesterday morning I got a call that my culture came back normal and they didn't think I have a UTI--they actually were refusing to prescribe antibiotics (abx). I explained to the nurse that, although I am not a doctor, I have studied human anatomy and physiology extensively and had UTIs in the past and I'm 99% sure that what this is. The nurse agreed with me and offered to send another note to the doc.

So I called my GYN office and talked to one of the doctors there about what was going on and she told me that, based on what I was saying, she also thinks I have a UTI and offered to call in a script of abx for me.

OK, so here's my actual question: is it possible that my bladder, after five weeks of being fine, could be getting grumpy again?