Bladder Training

Hi,

There is probably quite a bit of discussion around this topic on these boards, but I'm not sure where...maybe someone can direct me?

I am 8 days post op after a TAH/BSO for leiomyosarcoma-cervix, an aggressive cancer that I learned about only 17 days ago.

The surgery went very well and the doctors believe the cancer was contained and that they got it all.

I have a suprapubic catheter and was instructed by my doctor to begin bladder training after a couple of days of being home. I've been home since Monday and decided to start trying yesterday (Wed).

I plugged the catheter and timed myself to try to urinate every 3 hours. I emptied the catheter each time. Unfortunately, I can't make any urine come out of my urethra! No problem draining my bladder with the catheter, but not even a drop from my urethra.

So my question: is it too early to expect to be able to urinate on my own? What is the process and timeline to bladder training...can anyone give me details of what to expect and when? I'm nervous about this process...as it is, it's been difficult to get my head around even having cancer. 3 weeks ago, I was completely fine, healthy and had no idea anything was wrong!

Thanks in advance for your help, and thanks for being here. What a great resource!

Hi Arvada Pumpkin-
I just had a plain foley catheter and it took about 4 hours after they took it out for me to be able to pee. This was my first expeience with a cath though.
Hugs and support.

Hi Arvada pumpkin,

Are you working with a urologist or just ob/gyn? Did you get any bladder retraining instructions? I am a nurse & have helped patients with this but have had many different protocols & timelines. Bladders can be tricky as far as waking back up following cath use. I would check in with follow-up questions. Our urology nurse actually runs through the procedures with the patients in the office. So that may be an idea.

As a side note I live in Craig Co. (the cold spot on the northwest corner of the state) you all got the snow this time & it hasn't shown up here yet! I grew up in Northglenn.

Glad to hear they got the cancer! Best wishes!!!
Tamie

Thanks for the replies...

I did receive instruction, but I haven't been able to get past step 1: urinate.

I just sit there and wait for something to happen, but after a while, my butt starts to cramp and I have to give up! I've tried running water, the tailbone tickle, putting my hand in warm water...still no urge. I guess it's still too soon?

Thanks for the support!!

AP

Oh yeah...the snow...yeah, we got it!!

Denver is so funny with snow, you'd think it wasn't even a city in Colorado! I think it's just a great excuse to get a few days off work!

I grew up in the mountains...don't even remember getting a snow day!

AP

Hi Tamie,

I'm seeing an OB/Gyn Oncologist. His instructions were to plug the suprapubic catheter and try to urinate every 3 hours. After I stopped urinating, I need to unplug the catheter and measure the output. Once the output is less than 100cc each time I urinate, I can come back to the office and have the catheter removed. They thought it would be the same visit as the staple removal, so I guess the timeline is about 2 weeks? I don't know...nothing's happening yet!!
AP

I just had a Foley catheter and it is still taking time to go "on demand" Sometimes it just comes, others I have to bend over my knees and squeeze. Must look like a real dork but at least it helps.

Hi Aravada,

First of all, sorry to hear about your cancer. A lot of us here know what it is like to be in that rollercoaster. I hope with you that the cancer is contained and everything is fine now.

I have had some problems too with bladder training. I woke up with a suprapubis catheter after surgery, but after two days they had to take that out and replace it with a Foley b/c the suprapubiscath. didn't function. It turned out that when they took the Foley out I couldn't pee at all. Nothing, nothing came out. So I went home (7 days after surgery) with a Foley and had to come back after a week.

When I came back, a week later, it turned out that I could urinate a little but a lot stayed behind in the bladder (it is called retention I believe).
I learned how to self cath myself and was told to urinate and then selfcath myself for three times a day (the frequency has to do with how much retention there is. In my case about 300 - 400 ml). This stayed pretty much the same for a week or three. After that things gradually got better and by the time I was seven weeks post-op I had a retention of 150 - 200 ml.

And then suddenly, one day, my bladder remembered how it used to work and I had a long good old fashioned pee. Since then everything is fine. My doc told me that it often goes like this. The body needs to adjust to the new situation, the swelling after the surgery has to come down before the bladder will function again.

I hope I helped you with this. It doesn't really make a difference if you use the suprapubiscath or selfcath for this process.

Good luck and remember to pamper the princess!

Anna,

Thank you for the reply! That is very helpful. I am now 2 wks post surgery and anxious to get the SP catheter out. I hate it. I bet I would hate self catheterizing worse though!
I guess it's just too soon to expect to be able to pee on my own. I try every three hours and drain the catheter each time. Each time there is between 200 and 300 cc.
The nurse told me that eventually my bladder would "wake up"...it's the weirdest thing to not have that control and to wonder when it will come back.

Thanks again!
AP