One Week
So I'm home now with the catheter. I get myself settled on the second floor of my house where I have my recliner and that's where I'll spend much of the upcoming week. I have 2 types of catheters: A traditional one with a large bag and a much smaller one where the bag can attach to my thigh which is meant to make walking easier. I spend most of my time with the large bag and find ways to make it work even when I'm out of the recliner, but the leg option is still very useful. The key with any catheter is to keep the bag lower than your penis so that gravity works in your favor and urine doesn't flow backwards. We received very good instructions on care and how to change out the bag and how to change switch bags. Thankfully my wife was able to do all of that for me but I could have done it if needed.
While I technically worked that week, to be honest, I was at about 40% of my normal work week. I got on several remote meetings, spoke with colleagues electronically and over the phone as needed. The other key was to stand up and walk regularly. Just like in the hospital, it's not good to lie around all day. I did notice that my feet did swell up a bit but they felt better when I got up and walked so that was extra encouragement to get up and move. I also had the incentive spirometer that I had in the hospital which I continued to use regularly all week. This is avoid further complications like pneumonia.
Some tips that you may not have considered. Underwear is fine with the catheter. But I strongly suggest snug fitting briefs over something like boxer shorts. The reason is that they really help keep your parts from moving around which reduces the irritation from the tube. This made walking around at home much better than walking in the hospital. Additionally, I found that while being careful to dry my groin area, it wasn't always getting fully dry and I developed a diaper rash much like babies get. So I also suggest getting some creams to help with that before you need them. They are not very expensive so if you aren't sure, try a couple different ones and see what you like best. They will also be useful later after the catheter comes out which I will explain later.
I quickly developed a routine for the week. My plan was to sleep in the recliner that week to avoid rolling around and disturbing the catheter tube which can really hurt. I start the day with emptying the overnight catheter bag and switching to the leg bag. I would then go upstairs to our bathroom and shower, shave etc. It was much easier to shower with the leg bag. I can't express how much better I felt after doing this. It's strange enough walking around with the catheter, but getting a shower and shave just helped me feel a little more normal. They key to showering is to not touch the incisions across my belly but rather just let water rinse over them and gently pat them dry. After all that is done, I would switch back to the regular bag and start my day. I made an effort to get up and at least stand if not walk at least every 2 hours during the day. The key to this is to walk slowly. Even stairs were possible if I took them slowly. As I felt more comfortable getting around, I would go downstairs to the kitchen and get something to eat/drink. Of course, my wife was more than willing to do these things and she certainly helped, but I wanted to be active and figure out how to do as much as I could. Once in the kitchen I found that I could hang my bag on the cabinet knobs below me and then have both hands free. I did the same thing at the bathroom sink. If your rooms have lower cabinets, definitely take advantage of this. Before surgery I had made a few bigger meals so that I would be able to simply reheat portions post-surgery which made things easier. But we did order in a couple times as well. There's nothing wrong with spoiling yourself a bit given everything going on. I found that I had no real dietary restrictions and could eat everything that I ate before.
Of course, I worked out a medication schedule since I had the seven different meds many of which had different schedules. It wasn't too difficult. Twice a day I needed to clean around the tube at the entry point. For this they sent home some cleansing wipes and the antibiotic ointment. This was delicate work but not too bad. From a pain point of view, I mostly took 975mg of Tylenol 3 times a day and 50mg Tramadol up to every 6 hours. I was supposed to stop the Tramadol after 3 days but I found I was done with it after 2 days. I kept up the Tylenol all week.
Then usually after dinner, my wife would empty my catheter bag and then I'd try to get as much sleep as I could which, honestly, wasn't that much. I was averaging about 4-5 hours a night. Overall it wasn't too bad, but I was looking forward to Thursday when I had my nurse appointment to (hopefully) get rid of the catheter.
My appointment was early (8 am) which I learned was very intentional. The idea is that once the catheter is out, they want you to urinate at home within 6 hours. If, for some reason, that doesn't happen it gave me time to return to the office before they closed to have it re-inserted. Not something I wanted at all, but I understand the reasoning behind this. The nurse assured me that 99% of the time no return trip is needed, but they would rather do it there than have me to go the emergency room. After my shower that morning, I kept the leg catheter on instead of switching to the bag which made the trip to the urologist office much easier.
I had heard a few rough stories about catheter removals from friends of mine so I wasn't exactly looking forward to the actual procedure. However, mine wasn't bad at all. I was laying back on those doctor office beds and the nurse pumped about 200mL of sterile water into my bladder and she had me tell her when I felt full, which was right about that level. Then she did the actual removal. She asked me to take a deep breath and exhale on the count of three. On three, she pulled out the tube...and that was really all it was. No real pain, it was just done. This was a relief. She then gave me a plastic urinal and told me that she would check on me in a bit but that the goal was for me to void all of the liquid she gave me. This could take some time, and I was free to sit, stand or do whatever I thought would help. She then left. At first nothing really happened. So I eventually stood up holding the container and just waited. My wife was with me and within a minute or two of standing up she told me it was working. Honestly I hadn't really felt it yet but I looked down and there it was. It was pink at first which makes sense as there was certainly some bleeding that in there. Then I was able to feel it and even push it which was encouraging. Maybe 10 minutes later the nurse returned and said I was done. I had voided around 250mL of liquid so I passed the test and could get dressed.
Doing so, I had my first experience with urinary incontinence which I was warned about after the catheter came out. It hadn't been out 20 minutes and I was already leaking. I had the forethought to bring an “adult diaper” with me and put that on instead of my regular underwear which I was able to wear all week.
Once home, I was instructed to drink extra water to help get my urinary tract moving. This is normal for me as I usually drink a lot of water during the day but I do suggest doing this. Thankfully, everything started flowing within a couple hours of being home and there was no return visit required.
And that was my week at home with the catheter. Some doctors may want to keep it in longer (2-3 weeks), but mine was comfortable with one week as long as I everything worked well afterwards. This was my first experience with a catheter and, while I wouldn't say it was great, it was better than I expected. You should be able to get up and do some basic tasks..just do it slowly. I would spend 2-3 seconds per step when going up or down a flight of stairs. If you don't want to do a full walk every time, at least stand up and stretch. I found doing that made my abdominal muscles feel better and it helped a lot with the swelling in my feet.
So this phase is done..but the next one starts immediately with a different set of challenges....
Please note: This blog is based on one man's experience and is for educational and support purposes only. Nothing in this blog should be considered medical advise. Always consult a physician to properly evaluate your particular health issues.