Foley catheter

Hi Franksnr1 . I've only had  a normal catheter for a few days, so can't imagine what you are going through. I've no suggestions, sorry, but hope they can help you to ease the discomfort. Best wishes.

Hi Franksnr1, nowadays I have to get up at least 3 times in the night. Because for 18 months I had a worn out hip, while I queued for a replacement, the occupational therapy team offered me a commode to minimise movement. Whilst it is not the most attractive piece of bedroom furniture I realised what a joy it was not to walk the length of my house to the bathroom repeatedly overnight. I'm now thinking to replace the NHS tubular metal commode with a stylish wicker one. Personally I found post TURBT catheters really uncomfortable and that was for just a couple of days, so you have my sympathies. Hope you find a comfortable solution. Hx 

Hello Franksnr1,  I have had a Foley catheter since late 2018. The reason I decided to continue with them was that my bladder tended to bleed a lot if left to normal expansion and contraction after two TURBTs. Even with a Foley catheter I still occasionally have that worrying symptom. Although having a Foley catheter is not ideal, I found that I got used to them after a while. Discomfort is rare but there is a slightly increased risk of UTIs. I tend to need antibiotics once or twice a year. Having the catheter removed for replacement every 12 weeks was not too bad but since 2022 mine has tended to block much sooner despite twice weekly 3.23% citric acid flushing which I carry out (prescription), giving a typical catheter life of around 5 weeks before becoming solidly blocked. I still drive, so it's just a matter of driving in to my local hospital A&E/Same Day Emergency Care facility as necessary for a replacement to be fitted. Overall, life with a Foley can be tolerable. I drink about 4 litres of water per day and therefore use a 2000ml night bag day and night rather than the 500ml leg bags which fill too quickly. When leaving the house, I rig the bag at lower thigh height within a trouser leg using a standard night bag hanger on the bag hanging from an elastic strap located at waist height and tubing arranged for comfort, tucked in here and there so that walking and visibility of my set-up is unobtrusive when wearing normal trousers. This gives me a comfortable 1 litre capacity with some margin before the weight and bulk of the bag makes emptying necessary. It works for me but may not suit everyone .   

Yes I have had one but mine was really painfull so now I have a superpubic catheter directly in to my bladder.

Which is better than the other one I had in.

Dolphin500.