Foley Catheter Discomfort: How do you walk comfortably?

Hey there, I know the feeling. I'm in for this for many months, so I was told. I'm 59, active with BPH. I dread the thought of having the feminists change this three-month Foley for another one.

I don't use a leg bag. I use a plug, it is a carrot-shaped plug which fits into the fluted urine port. In the beginning, this worked out well. However, at times it would pop out due to external temperature (after a hot shower), internal pressure of the bladder and eventually normal wear of removing it to use a night bag during sleep.
This would happen in public places, the metro station, walking somewhere, and it's very "audible," a real head-turner! The worst part was cleaning it before reinsertion after the plug hit the floor, ground, wherever. This required carrying alcohol prep pads with me. I found a micro-clip around the house. I put the female end on the balloon port and the male end on the end of the plug so if it popped out, it wouldn't touch the ground and I wouldn't lose it. However, this is a moot point. I ordered a UGO brand Flip-Flo to use the same way as the plug. It fits snug and somehow handles the forces I previously mentioned, so far.
I have found that parking my Mr. Sad, in an upward position in either briefs or boxer briefs with the "Y" part of the port at or above the pants line is the only option that has worked the best for me. Yes, it does protrude a little, I can sort of lean it off to one side, just as long as the "Y" part is at the pant line. See picture. I wear a shirt over it. I can even tuck a shirt in, and I can check the seal discretely, just to be sure. I can even run with this, wear gym shorts, climb. This way isn't perfect, but it's better than the "dangle," which I felt more comfortable with in the beginning until I became a human fountain. There are times when the tube drags on the urethra, not as much as when I had it going down my leg. I use a STERILE lube I apply at the tip of Mr. Sad and a little on the tube and I'm good to go. I still carry two alcohol prep packets with me in my pocket.

I hope this helps until you fix whatever needs fixed.

Thanks...great suggestions..I"ll give the up position a try.

I have found that hobbling around like a 90 year old helps reduce the pain. Just shuffle around. Move the bag leg as little as possible. Stiffen the bag leg so that it hardly moves. Do very short steps.

Same here.....just miserable. Painful....I do the same thing with Foley leg....keep straight and try not to move it.

3m makes a 1" silicone blue tape. I take about 4" and tape to leg. Leave plenty of slack. The statlock works but after a couple of days skin reacts poorly. Switch legs daily for the bag. Are you using an overnight bag? Bladder spasms can occur all the time. Check with doc for meds. Heating pad kinda helps when spasms are bad. Suprapubic catheters have their own problems. Self catheter is easy to do. Lots of lube and finding the right reclining position. No pain and only last until empty.

Also the type of leg bag makes a difference. Bard makes all the supplies you need and the Mayo store carries it all. Much better than other brands.

I posted something a while back about positioning. See photo.
Since then I bought the UGO brand Flip-Flo Valve. The brand is important as others slip out of the port. A real game-changer. Here are some options:

Position upward or off to the side using your pants waistband to hold it in position.

Wear "sporty" pants as much as possible, the darker the color the better-just in case . . .
loose black all cotton gum pants with the tie string or elastic waistband are the best with a casual shirt to wear over the port or tuck the shirt in. Loose pants don't move the tubing as much as tighter-fitting kinds if you need to use a leg bag. I do not wear underwear with this option- ever notice when you're not wearing anything that it doesn't bother you as much?
Same principle.

Buy those adhesive clips that stick to your leg to hold the tubing in place if you need a leg bag and underwear, boxer briefs have been reported to work for this setup.

However, there really is no way to avoid all discomfort. I've had my bad days, particularly during a UTI.

All in all, I myself have skipped over all that with a few nice pair of loose-fitting black all cotton gym pants without underwear if I'm using a leg bag. If I don't use the leg bag I use the waistband to hold the port end with a Flip-Flo Valve in place, so I can work out in the gym, go jogging. I cover it with any shirt and no one sees it and I don't have any discomfort because the tubing is not moving, causing any friction in the urethra.

Hope this helps get you started to finding a good solution that's best for you.
PS- the picture in my previous post shows the "tap" closing the port with a clip I used to prevent dropping or losing it in public, it only shows the positioning.

Some good tips here...just thought of something that helps me...maybe you. I clean the tubing with a medicated wipe...especially around where the tube inserts at the penis. There seems to be some residue that "crusts" on the tubing particularly around the insert area. Try and get this very clean and smooth as you can. From time to time I get these rush of urine that the tubing cannot hold so get some over flow around the penis insert/area. Then, I am using an over the counter LIDOCAINE 4% gel, that I smooth over the tubing. Reclean the area 1 sometimes 2 times a day. Not a end all cure all...but helps a bit. I just can't get used to having this FOLEY, so doing every possible thing I can to ease the discomfort. Hope this helps a wee bit.

I will not excuse that WEE little pun, hahahahah!!!! Thank you. They rammed my urethra with an 18f, so I don't bypass around the tubing. I'm just wondering if the fact that my prostate is enlarged to the extent that it's keeping a urine bypass from happening. That if my prostate were of normal size if I would bypass around the tubing? I do have frequent nocturnal erections that swallow up the tubing, sometimes painful when the edge of the "Y" port begins to enter the urethra- and I ain't braggin.' Pre-semen crusties thankfully do not often accumulate. I use a chlorhexadine digluconate antibacterial mist spray that I spritz once on the tubing to maintain some disinfection during my sleep. Bloody hassle explaining this in Spanish to a urologist, but he understood and wrote me an rx for Clorxil Spray. Anything else I wash off in the shower. The discomfort is dryness between the head and tubing. I've tried sterile lubricants, but they dry out and seem to collect lint and other things so I haven't had much luck with those. I did buy EMLA cream, containing benzocaine and lidocaine that numbed the area, but no luck with the same result. This doesn't happen frequently and it goes away with a minor adjustment. The only thing I can say is that this would all change for me if I was bypassing urine around the catheter. They wanted me to take tamsulosin with the catheter, which I'm supposing may cause a bypass begging for UTI. They thought I made a point about needing a drug to help me wee through something that had been put there to help me wee in the first place, without the dizziness and heart palpitations. Still, thank you for your useful information and zeal! Having someone to talk to here helps us all to feel a wee better! HUGS

I had my cath in for 5 weeks and I did a couple of things that really helped. Lubricate the tip of the penis and a portion of the tube that may go in and out as you move, etc. I used a combo of personal lubricant and antibiotic ointment. I used surgical tape to cover the locking portion of the leg mount and when I used the leg bag, some bandage tape also to keep it from flailing or in the case of popping out of the leg mount. After three weeks, it was just permanently uncomfortable when sitting, but not overly so. Best wishes.