Clearing the catheter: Any tricks & tips to share?

Posted by peterj116 @peterj116, Oct 3 6:46pm

Did anyone pick up any tricks for clearing the catheter when it seems stuck? Urine's not moving between the balloon port & the bag.
It's just sitting there.

I've tried drinking more & walking around.
Is there a magic spot on the tube to squeeze, maybe?

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Doc can get you a prescription for a large syringe and some sterile water that you flush the catheter with. Works most of the time. Sometimes it took me several tries to flush if the blood clots were bug ones. Painful but usually have good luck. Takes. A few tries to get used to flushing. Goid luck.

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Hi Peter, hopefully you have gotten that issue cleared by now? I waited too long and ended up having rather unpleasant bladder spasms and on advice from phone call to my doc went to ER at midnight on a Saturday night, where it took Uro doc better part of an hour to get the flow restored.

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I was told to always keep the bag lower than my bladder to ensure best urine flow -- you probably do that already. My instructions were also to call my doctor if urine flow stopped. Hopefully you've called your doctor.

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You can get 10 60cc irrigation stringers from Amazon
Pick up a box of saline packets at local pharmacy
CLEAN water
I pour the packet in and micro wave for 30 seconds or so
This should clear the blockage
If not then time to check in with urology

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Thanks guys. It took a trip back to the hospital to clear it.
They tried flushing, then pulled the tube out several inches (according to my wife - I couldn't look) flushed it & pushed it back. Did this about 5 times. Hurt like hell.
Hopefully I'll be ok for now, until this thing comes out on Thursday, when I flood the floor of the hospital on removal.
Any tips for removal? Is it better to stand, so I can pee into a bottle, or how does it work?
Don't want to lie there & create a fountain of urine all over myself.
Taking lots of Depends pants & pads - plus a bottle for the car.
Pelvic floor excercises were a complete fail, so I'm expecting the worst.

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Sorry you went through that flushing ordeal, I feel your pain as I went through exact same thing about 10 days ago. Got me to removal day without any further problems, hopefully you too.

Removal day was the most dreaded, that turned out to be the least problematic day so far. Nurse had me lay on table, then introduced saline into the cath port slowly until "it feels like you have to pull off the interstate and hit the restroom now". At that point she pulls out the catheter (not a big deal at all)... Then you stand and give back the fluid she just put into your bladder. If all goes well, you're good to go! Like you, I went loaded with pads and bottle, expecting the worse, but amazingly have been continent since the cath came out... wishing you the same outcome.

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Thankyou. This is what I love about this place - talking with guys who have been there, done that.
I've read a lot about how the actual removal was a big nothing. But having the tube pulled out & shoved back in multiple times has made me a bit anxious.

Good to know that I do have a few seconds after removal, to stand up & pee into a bottle or whatever.
Then it's back again in the afternoon to have a bladder scan.
Nothing else after that other than a visit to the physio & a visit with the surgeon to talk about the pathology report.

Then it's just a wait to collect my prostate. That'll be fun.
Can I post a photo of it here, since it getting it back seems to a be a foreign concept around here?
When I get back to work, I'm gonna hang it outside my office, to scare people away.

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On surgery gurney and defenseless a research worker shoved a signature page at me and apparently I donated mine to research. Never thot of it as a desk ornament

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@billfarm

On surgery gurney and defenseless a research worker shoved a signature page at me and apparently I donated mine to research. Never thot of it as a desk ornament

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Oh, didn't know that was an option. I would have done that, if it was offered. Don't think they're allowed to down here.

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