Please give me stories of people who had trouble getting off cath and are doing well

Hi Everyone. I had a LAVH one week ago today, along with a bladder sling. I also had my ovaries removed, and my cervix. I had to leave the hospital with a catheter because I could not urinate, had the cath removed Saturday, but reinstalled at the same time because I still couldn't clear my bladder. My GYN removed the catheter yesterday afternoon and my urination was slow but there. Over the evening my bladder just started backing up again, I called the GYN and he sent me to Urgent Care to have the cath reinserted, he will teach me to self cath on Thursday. He is a very well known doctor, highly regarded in his field, also very kind, even gave me his home cell phone number so I could call him directly. He assures me this is just post surgery swelling, that my surgey went well and the sling was loose, and I know in my head this is true because the nurses remarked on how swollen my urethra was when they reinserted the cath, and my feet are very swollen, but I am still very anxious. I would love to hear stories of women who had similar experiences and are doing well now. Thanks so much for any help you can give.

Hi Anne53!

So sorry to hear of your bladder troubles. It's the last thing anyone wants to deal with on top of recovering from a major surgery! I too had to wear one home. I had a TVH, bladder sling and kept my overies back in March. I wore the cath home on a Friday and had it removed on Monday. It still took a while for it to "wake up" but it did happen slowly.

Instead of sitting on the toilet, it helped me to stand/lean over it (like when using a public restroom) while leaning forward a bit. For some reason it seemed to help with the flow. However, I do warn, I had mine out on a Monday and started running fever Tuesday evening. Got a bladder infection! Gyno office called in Cipro and some kind of pills that colors your urine but REALLY relieves the pain.

For me I started to wonder if I would ever feel "normal" again. But no worries, I did and you will too. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Barbhill, thanks so much for answering. For some reason my body is retaining a lot of water, and that's not helping things. I am going to try to be patient, glad to hear that it will pass.

That all sounds logical. I didn't have to come home with a cath, but it did take me 3 separate times of bathroom attempts to pee. And even WITH the catheter in, it wasn't working....I would be uncomfortable like I was dying to pee and the nurse would have to come in and hold the tube just the right way to make it drain, I guess it was kinked off somewhere, who knows....but that was weird to have a cath IN and not be able to go. That happened twice with it in, and then afterwards, as I described. Good luck, I bet you'll be better soon!

Sorry to hear about your bladder problems, but there is hope.

I had my surgery on a Monday, on the Thursday they took the cath out but had to put it back in as soon as I tried to pee, my abdomen went into severe spasms and I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. We tried again on the Friday with the same result so I went home with the cath in. The following Wednesday I went for a follow up appointment and had the cath removed. The doctor wanted me to drink a tonne and stick around til I urinated. I can tell you I was scared sitting down on that toilet that the same thing would happen. But much to my surprise I was able to with no pain. I was so happy I actually cried.

Good luck, you'll be peeing in no time

Thanks you guys for answering, I have to say I've had this thing in now for 8 days now, and not only is the old ball and chain a hassle to lug around, my back is killing me because I can't sit straight up for long. It comes out tomorrow, and I have to learn to self cath, gross, but I believe it will be better than having the foley in.