Catheter forever?

I can't promise your experience will be the same as mine, but here's what happened for me. In October 2023, I was hospitalized for a condition that 'sounds' like your situation. They put a Foley catheter in, did CT scan of my bladder and kidneys, determined bladder was very full and kidneys inflamed, about double in size. I was in the hospital for 4 days. They kept the Foley in until January, so about 3 months. I had an MRI taken in December, they determined my kidneys were no longer inflamed, but from blood tests there appeared to be kidney damage. I met with a urologist in January, he tried to determine a course of action and a cause for the issue. Best theory is enlarged prostate and also a back injury (minor to moderate), very common issues relating to bladder urine retention. He first suggested the TURP procedure, but then believed that would not be helpful. He setup a test to see how well my bladder was functioning and the ability to void it. That did not provide a good outlook. He determined I would need to self-cath. Personally, I didn't think I'd be able to do that, but the training and products have made the process easier than I thought possible. He said for most people the bladder never recovers 100%, very rare. He thought I'd be able to regain 30-40% bladder function, that isn't good enough to avoid additional strain on the kidneys, thus the need to self-cath. I self-cath about every 6 hours, with some normal voiding at times, depending on fluid intake. I hope this provides a glimmer of hope. Again, not saying your situation will be exactly the same.

I may be showing my age, I am a nurse and in experience we used to do bladder training by clamping the catheter for x amount of time then releasing and emptying the bladder then reclamp etc. Then allowing a trail on the patient urinating on their own. Is this still a practice? Just a thought for bladder training.

Thank you .. sounds like that would be preferable to just giving it a little go without Catheter and then giving it up. A Catheter forever is very life changing, both for patient and for the caregiver. He is 90 and know he cannot care for that on his own. I do lots of things to keep us clean fed and living reasonably well. However, I know from a previous experience that draining, changing and cleaning Catheter everyday and evening is not my thing. Add to that driving to appointments for other maladies is too much.

Have you received instructions from the Nurse at the physician's office on how to care for a foley catheter. If not she has done you a great injustice as well as the doctor. I would suggest that perhaps you request through his office for visits from Home Health for support, education and training.

We have been through this before .. first time they were pretty lax .. no instructions .. I had to read about it on internet!
Thanks for mentioning though.