dVH/RALH painful foley catheter

Am I the only one who finds foley catheters painful? I've had this catheter in me since my surgery on Halloween and my bladder is sore and feels like it's being pinched, plus I'm scared of the catheter cord getting caught on something. My doctor wanted to try to remove it in a week but I insisted on waiting 2 weeks because once it's out I want it to stay out. The doctor's office said there is still no guarantee. How long does a person need to wait until there is a guarantee? Should I wait 3 weeks instead of 2? I don't want to go through having a catheter inserted when awake. I've only gone through that once and it was extremely painful.

The longer you leave it in, the more chance you'll have problems, either a UTI, or have retention and need another cath or need to self cath until your bladder is retrained. I'm surprised your Dr is leaving it in with no reason other than your request. The sooner you get it out, the better. Hopefully you won't have problems from having it this long. You may need to be tested for UTI, that discomfort you're having could actually be a UTI.

I read stories about several women having it removed 1 week post op only to end up having it put back in because they didn't wait long enough. You're telling me the opposite is true. Now I'm really confused. When my catheter comes out I want it to stay out. How do I make that happen as in 100% chance?

Take it out before you even get out of OR is the best way, and you are past that. For something not a bladder surgery---that might be different----it's leaving it in too long that's the problem, unless there's some specific reason to leave it. When you leave it too long you run the risk of UTI, retention, and needing to retrain the bladder. The last thing you want is to leave it any longer than it's truly needed. These days hospitals even have audits and guidelines about removing foleys ASAP to prevent complications. The longer you leave it, the more likely you'll have problems.

I didn't want to go home with the dumb thing to begin with. The gyn/onc who did my radical surgery insisted because of having to cut some bladder nerve to remove my nodes. Then I read about some women who had radical hysterectomies trying to have their catheters removed a week post op and they ended up having to wait another week because their bladder wasn't ready. But what if you're right? Having a foley catheter inserted when I'm awake feels like I'm being stabbed in the bladder with a pocket knife so there's no way I can self cath. I'm really stressed about this now. Should I just go to a local doctor first thing next week and have them remove it? Is there anything I can do in the meantime to increase my chance of success? Do keagels while wearing a foley do any good?

I don't know about the bladder nerve part, that adds another factor to weigh in. I don't know how that specific part of the surgery affects how long they usually leave in a foley. I know women's bladder experiences vary after that and what I said is true for a "regular" (not radical) hyst. I wouldn't rush to take it out early if a week is standard but I'd get it out the minute the onc feels is safe. There's never a guarantee you won't need another after a week but one thing if you ever need another: request a "urojet", or just lidocaine gel. It numbs it up for the insert, urologists and ERs use it. I think what you have is a balance between what the surgery may have affected, and how foleys affect the bladder. If the GYN onc says a week is what it takes for your particular surgery, he knows what he cut so I'd go with that, but not for any longer than he feels is necessary. Is he concerned about retention, or incontinence? Which is the nerve issue? As I understand it, some women have easier times than others depending on just how the surgeon managed to do things, and I'm not sure that anything you can do will change that. If it's a matter of take it out early and get nerve retention or take it out late and get retention----then go for the early as is prescribed option. I do think knowing about the lidocaine gel/urojet in advance might help ease your mind a bit in case it comes to that. I know it's hard not to worry but I think this seems like a wait and see thing, and if most pts do OK after the week, probably you will, too. I wish there was a way to guarantee. Monday is a week, right? Until then try to keep the tubing strapped to your leg so it doesn't pull and hurt, and follow the infection prevention instructions they sent home, to help prevent UTI. Then Monday you can get it out and see how your bladder does.

I'm pretty sure I have a UTI. The doctor is going to try removing my catheter tomorrow afternoon. The nurse said they immediately fill the bladder as soon as the catheter is removed and then see if the bladder is able to entirely empty itself. The method they use sounds unnecessarily painful and like it will result in an almost guaranteed failure. So what if a patient doesn't squeeze out every last drop. If they're worried about a UTI send the patient home with an antibiotic. Don't confine them to wearing the foley torture device another week. I asked the doctor's office if they would remove the catheter, let me drink something, then wait a couple of hours to make sure I'm able to pee and send me home. They said no. They're determined to do it their way.....with a test that sounds impossible to pass. I'm starting to regret having the surgery at all. Had I known they were going to do this to me, I might have opted for radiotherapy instead. Why can't they understand how painful foley catheters are for some people? I even tried to set up an appointment with a local doctor to remove it, but they refused. I'm going to be a crying hysterical mess if I fail that test tomorrow and I'm going to embarrass myself. Why are medical professionals so heartless?

(((lanaa))) First off, there is never a 100% guarantee that you will not need to have the catheter reinserted and will not have problems leaving it in. Life has no guarantees. However, for *most* women, one week is long enough for the swelling to go down (assuming that was the reason it had to stay in) so that you can physically go on your own. It was for me. There is, of course, a chance you'd be in the minority who need a little longer. So, why not just leave it in much longer? Because your body will 'forget' how to go and you'll have a harder time retraining your bladder. One week is about the optimum time period, where most of the swelling should be gone and retraining your bladder will still be easy.

Don't try to tell your DR when to remove it - listen to the professional who has your best interest at heart.

By the way, it is easy to remove the foley catheter yourself IF the DR says it's OK. The nurses at the hospital showed me how before I went home with mine. Removing it was quick and painless; the only potential trouble was that if I couldn't 'go' on my own within a couple of hours I'd have to drive myself to the ER and have it put back in, but that didn't happen.

Try not to worry too much about it - it's not as big a deal as you're making it for yourself. And the discomfort could be the sign of a UTI or it could just be that the catheter bulb has slipped down out of position a little bit - that can be quite uncomfortable. The only way to know is to get it out of there and get yourself tested for a UTI while you're there just as a precaution.

Good luck!

s,
-Linda

It's their method of removing and testing that I have a problem with. Why does the doctor need to manually fill my bladder with fluid as soon as the catheter is removed? Inserting anything into my bladder is extremely painful and pointless when I can easily and painlessly drink water. Plus the irritation of manually filling my bladder could cause swelling and complicate matters. After the patient finishes urinating, the doctor then inserts a catheter to see if there's any remaining fluid to drain. Unless the patient can't hardly pee at all, I don't see why this is necessary. Occasionally retaining a tiny amount of urine after my simple hysterectomy never caused me any grief. The only thing causing me grief is this catheter. My bladder hurts when I stand, sit, and walk. It's getting in the way of the post surgery walking I'm supposed to be doing. I know it seems like I'm making a big deal out of this, but I'm sure many others would too if catheters were as painful for them as they are for me. Why can't this be done the easiest and least painful way? What right does the doctor's office have to refuse to respect my wishes? I thought patients had rights.

I hope it turns out well and way easier than you are anticipating. It doesn't sound fun but I hope it won't be so bad for you. Let us know how it goes at your appt.