Me and My Catheter

When I chose high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation as the procedure to treat my prostate cancer, I knew that I would have a urinary catheter for one week. I found a few online videos about switching from the large bag to the smaller strap-on leg bag, how to clean the bags, and how to sleep with a catheter.

However, dealing with it was more difficult than expected, and I should have done more research and asked more questions.

What helped me deal with a catheter

After switching back and forth from the large bag to the leg bag a few times, I found sitting on an elongated toilet seat during the switch worked well. I would have the bag I was switching to at my side. I would disconnect the coupling, allowing the catheter tube to dangle over the toilet bowl, making sure it did not touch anything. Thus this allowed any urine to go into the toilet.

I’d place the cap on the existing bag’s coupling half and set that bag aside. I cleaned the catheter coupling half and the new bag’s coupling half with separate alcohol wipes, and then connected them. Next, I would clean the catheter tube with one alcohol wipe and the end of my penis with another. The bag that was removed would be rinsed with a vinegar-water solution and hung up to dry.

Trying to get the catheter removed

My urologist’s office is 300 miles away, so I made arrangements with my PCP’s nurse to have the catheter removed after one week as directed. By this time my penis was starting to hurt from the catheter rubbing against the urethra wall. The removal order stated “First Removal Attempt,” which I thought odd. After removal, I was to drink water and wait at the doctor’s office until I could pass some urine. I passed a little urine in a weak stream for a few seconds.

Once I got home, I continued to drink water and tried to urinate. After a few more, short weak-stream discharges over six hours, I couldn’t pass a drop. I was hurting a lot from the pressure in my bladder, so I went to the ER.

Experiencing pain

Before inserting a new catheter, an ultrasound was done to verify that my bladder was full. It was, and once the new catheter was in place, 0.8 Liters of urine came out. What a relief! My urologist prescribed a course of Tamsulosin to be taken for one week, and then they would try removing the second catheter. The “First Attempt” made sense now.

During this second week, the catheter was irritating my urethra to the point where blood was coming out between the catheter and the urethra. I was in so much pain I could hardly move for the last few days before removal.

At the end of the second week, I went back to my PCP’s office to have the second catheter removed. This time I could pass urine more easily, however it was still a weak stream. I was glad to be able to urinate, but it burned terribly. My urologist’s nurse told me to get some OTC urinary pain relief meds. Wow, did that stuff ever work! I had almost no pain urinating after the first dose. As the first week without a catheter moved forward I was able to urinate a little more freely, but nowhere close to pre-procedure. Daily, I continued to pass stringy blood clots.

A panic moment

Due to poor planning on my part, I was scheduled to officiate a wedding 800 miles away, twelve days after the second catheter was removed. I was still drinking a lot of water to help flush my urinary tract, and I could only moderately hold my urine, which meant we stopped at every roadside rest along the way. After about 350 miles down the road, I started having trouble urinating. With each stop, I was passing less urine even though I knew I needed to pass more.

I began to panic, thinking I was going to have to have another catheter. With each successive stop, I urinated only a few drops, and was I starting to hurt a lot. The next major city was still 100 miles away, and I looked online for an ER hospital. We traveled another 50 miles or so and I had to stop again to try urinating. As I sat on the toilet and prayed that I would be able to urinate and avoid another catheter, I passed a large blood clot and several small ones. The crisis was averted and I got to do the wedding.