Anyone have a catheter while recovering at home?

Hey Connie,
I had a cath due to bladder repair & sling & was told before surgery that I would have a suprapubic cath. (the foley cath comes out of the urethra). This was to allow the bladder to heal & swelling to go down. The tube came out of a hole made during surgery that's 6" below my bellybutton on the pubic bone (& still in the process of closing up!). The tubing was taped to me & I didn't touch that until it was removed at the dr appt when they took out the cath. I was so preoccupied with the cath & peeing, that was the focus of my healing for the first week. Also, I didn't want to touch the vag area until after seeing the dr, (the cath was in the way even though up a bit on my abdomen - didn't want to disturb anything) & I have stitches there (still) from the sling. I used a perienal bottle (just a plastic squeeze bottle) of warm water when sitting on the toilet that was cleansing & soothing . Keep up with the stool softeners, they sure make things easier! Pre-op I was told to get a supply of GasX, but haven't needed to use it yet. Maybe that would help you.
This site has so much amazing info & support thanks to all the sisters. When I have found myself needing to find answers or support & especially in the middle of the night when I'm not able to sleep, I have gone to the Home page, clicked on "In the Forums - Archives" & scanned those posts for info. You can also click on "Search - Forums" & type in key words. You can find more catheter info in The Bladder Matters & Post-Op forums & archives.
This isn't an easy time, but, as much as possible, I tried (still try) to not stress, enjoy the moments of the day, & focus on the incredible sense of relief I experienced when I first came home from the castle.
Keeping you in my thoughts with hugs,
Kathy

Hey Kathy,

Thank you for the great information. I sounds like you had quite a ordeal to go through and that you were somewhat informed beforehand. I was blindsided when I came out of recovery to discover that they had to preform bladder repair. But, I'm thankful it wasn't worse, because there were no guarantees going into the surgery. Overall, it hasn't been that bad. I say that today because I feel so much better than yesterday and the day before. I'm just hoping that I will be able to have it removed next week. I swear, I never knew how much actually peed until this contraption was hooked to me...LOL especially after drinking so much water. I guess it's much easier that getting up an running to the BR every 30 mintues.
Again, thanks for all the information. This site has been absolutely wonderful and extremely helpful!!
Connie

Hi Connie,
What an unpleasant surprise to wake up to! Even though I knew before surgery, dealing with the cath seemed overwhelming at the beginning. During the first week, I drank over a gallon of water each day & peed lots. I just finished another round of antibiotics for bladder infections (I've been told that they're common for several months after surgery), & need to get back to drinking more water & cranberry juice & eating dried cranberries to continue healing the best I can. Just know that by doing what you are each day, you're making progress!

I came home without one but was readmitted with severe constipation/ bladder infection at two weeks, just for one day. I went home then with a catheter until five days later when I had back all the extra test results and they felt sure I was working proeprly again- I agree it's not nice but I got quite used to it under my track bottoms!