Foley vs. Supra-pubic catheter

Hi,

Since Foley's are uncomfortable, I'm wondering if a Suprapubic catheter is a better idea. My urogyn says I could have a Foley for 1-2 weeks, which sounds like no fun at all. After every childbirth, the Foley was the FIRST thing I wanted out. Any advice is appreciated!

I just took my Foley out yesterday after having it in for one week. I complained about it a lot while it was in, but it wasn't that bad. I did have trouble finding a comfortable sitting position while it was in. I felt like no matter what I wore, it could be seen through my clothes, but that would be the case with either kind. I expected some burning and irriatation for a few days after taking it out, but I have had none. My doctor told me to drink cranberry juice, so I drank tons of it and have been taking cranberry capsules to ward off infection and it seems to have worked.

I wasn't given the option of the suprapubic, but personally, I would have taken the Foley rather than having the holes cut for the other kind.
Good luck whichever you get.

I had a Foley for a week at home after my hysterectomy. It really was no problem at all, and was not painful. If it's painful, it's not in correctly.

Good luck with your surgery!

s,
-Linda

I had a supra-pubic catheter with my last surgery. It was in for at least a week. I much preferred it to a foley.

Definitely suprapubic, I cannot tolerate a foley as it always causes bladder spasms, pain and infection regardless of whether it is in for an hour or a week.

I had a foley for 6 weeks and supra for 1 week after my last surgery and for me the foley was better because my supra got infected and it was very painful.

I had a supra pubic and I liked it better than the foley!!! I still had some spasms but it was better. The only problem was with a blood clot lodged n the tube but U can flush it and it helped. I would not come home with a cath until tey show you how to flush it!!!!! I hurt really bad when it got clogged.

So how does the dr. remove the suprapubic catheter? Do they just pull it out or is it a "procedure"?

they took mine out at the hospital only because I had to have a dye test done first to make sure I had healed. They just unflated the ballon(kinda like the foley) and pulled it out. I was not bad at all!!! They could have done it in the dr office. I had a little hole that had to be doctored for a week or so. I was so scared of ity hurting and it was over in no time.

I had both after my VVF repair. The foley was in for 4 days, and I have had the supra in for 10 days now. I HATE the foley cath. I had had 6 surgeries for various reasons and that was the one thing I said I wanted out ASAP when I woke up.

I didn't like the idea of the supra~It seemed really gross. I do know that it has been uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as the foley would have been. They told me they will just inflate the balloon in his office after the test to check for leaks. I was concerned about having this tube just sticking out, and about the healing after, but I know that this was the right way to go for me.

good luck