Flushing of suprapubic catheter

I have had an SP catheter since September 2015. It's changed monthly. The nurse practitioner usually puts saline solution in before removing the old catheter to make the catheter exchange easier. She occasionally flushes the bladder. I have never been told to flush weekly at home. I have never had any burning sensation during a catheter replacement.

Thank you for replying to my request for information regarding flushing of a suprapubic catheter. Your information, based on actual experience, will be very helpful as I try to adapt to the catheter.

Are you using a leg bag? It might be better for your bladder to just cap the catheter and drain when necessary. More like normal bladder function.
I have been doing that since the beginning. Until recently Bard made a short catheter, 8.5 inch female length, which was very convenient. No excess length to deal with.

Yes I am using a leg bag. I am intrigued by your experience at capping the catheter. I had asked my doctor about using a cap and he said it was an option. I plan to discuss it further with him at my next appointment on November 27. One reason for apprehension was I pass on average 3000 ml during an eight hour period at night which could possibly result in urine backup. Thank you again for your helpful comments.

The reason your doctor may be instructing you to flush is due to your issue of debris buildup, which as you noted can lead to sones. So I presume you may have this issue hence irrigation to keep things flowing smoothly. We are each different and require our individual needs for our specific ailment. Having burning while flushing is odd unless you’ve had a buildup of debris that the saline solution pushed through on the way to your bladder? I’m a retired male nurse and have cared for a large variety of make and female catheter patients in my 40 year career. If the burning occurs each time your flush let your doc know. They may change the irrigation solution, increase the number of times in a day you flush or something else. Hope you find an answer and don’t forget your fluid intake.

You could use the leg bag overnight and the cap during the day.

I thought the cap was permanently attached to the short catheter. Thank you, once again, for taking the time to reply and provide me with helpful and correct information. My goal is to ultimately transition to the cap and flush once a month.

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate your professional and experienced information. I am only a month and a half into this life changing process and am learning as I go. The doctor was surprised when I experienced severe burning. He viewed the bladder with a camera and saw nothing abnormal. On November 27 I have the catheter replaced and will have flushing again and hope it does not burn this time. As you said each patient is different. My goal is to adapt to a short catheter with a cap and flush each time the catheter is replaced.

Once you develop a regular process going forward you should hopefully be controlled. If you can determine what material your stones are made of you might be able to avoid offending foods and decrease the frequency and occurrence of issues.

After two months I am gradually adapting to the suprapubic catheter using a leg bag. So far it has worked well. Based on your experience and other information I have read, I am anxious to attempt using a cap on an 8.5 inch catheter and only flush once a month when the catheter is changed. I have ordered two different caps for comparison before I select the one that works for me. I have ordered a Ugo valve and a Lifevv valve. Which valve do you use? Also how do you secure the catheter to your body? Thank you for your assistance.