Re: [QUAD-L] pee through your belly button or close

[David K. Kelmer]

Hi Dana,

 

I've been thinking of dropping from two times to once a day on my Ditropan.  What time of your day do you take it?  How much do you use? 

 

With Love,

CtrlAltDel aka Dave
C4/5 Complete - 28 Years Post
Texas, USA

Dana Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Wow $1000 per month?? gees. I reuse 30 for at least 6 months, but this
last bunch has been about a year I think. A box is about $60. I don't mind
paying that especially since I do not have any Service dog expenses right
now. Need to pay for something to go towards my rent so it does not go
higher! I still use ditropan for bladder spasms but only one a day.
take care,

Dana and ?
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Liz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Dana Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "quad"
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 4:25 PM
Subject: [QUAD-L] pee through your belly button or close


>6 inches! I do not pee until the 10 inch mark! I highly recommend the
> catheters that, in a bag. With practice you'll be able to independently
> catheterize on your own and just toss ! the bag into the garbage.
>
> I get my catheters through mail order. Again you can ask for samples that
> are free. I use A-med in Huntington Beach California. There's also a big
> company in Georgia. The catheters are quite expensive. Mine are covered
> by
> Medicare. At the cost of $1000 a month.
>
> If you have Medicaid I believe that they are covered as well. Probably
> easily. You'll need to have the doctors prescription.
>
> I must say that this is the best thing that I have ever done. I was
> suffering from autonomic dysreflexia to the point of almost having a
> stroke.
>
> I still take bladder medications to stop spasms, as they also stop the
> sweating caused by the spasms.
>
> Everyone is different. Practice, practice, practice.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dana Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: "quad"
> Se! nt: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 4:51 PM
> Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Help....
>
>
>> Grin! Need to get rid of those 6 inchers! They are useless. The curved
>> tip is a coude' tip. Get rid of the red ones too--unless you want to
>> keep
>> them 'in case', which I did a lot of! he! he!
>> Not sure what you mean by going 'uphill' unless you mean 'up' into the
>> catheter. That is particularly true if you are laying flat on your back
> and
>> need to cathed, it does take a few seconds longer to get it up and
> out--make
>> sure the end of the cath is "below" the stoma! Some nurses don't get
>> that
>> 'gravity' thing! Plus when taking the cath out-keep the cather "down".
>> Otherwise what is in the catheter will drain back into the bladder.
>>
>> I cannot cath myself when laying flat, or laying on either side. To do
>> it
>>! ; in bed I must raise my knees and the head. Raising the knees first will
>> keep you from sliding down in the bed quite so much. When laying back
> down,
>> lower the head first, then knees. You will still slide, but not near as
>> much. Gads, the looks and why's I get from nurses when I ask them to do
>> that! They would just as soon pull me up in bed several times a day.
> Thats
>> not the point, "I" get uncomfortable squished down in the crease where
>> the
>> head comes up. I like my head touching the headboard whether I am on
> total
>> flat bedrest or not! Well, more venting. gotta go! Glad to be of help!
>>
>> Dana and ?
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "~LittleQuad~" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> To: "Dana Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "quad"
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005! 10:51 AM
>> Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Help....
>>
>>
>> > girl right now i have so many catheters its crazy! i have all the ones
>> > from b4 surgery, 6 inches long, and the ones doc office sent to let me
>> > decide what kind i like...they are all 14 french tho..
>> > i have 2 kinds long clear ones, one has a curved tip, i think its best
> so
>> > far...other long clear one has straight tip..the red ones are nice and
>> > soft but too pliable...
>> > will it take a while for it to get used to going kinda uphill? it
>> > takes
>> > some coaxing to get the last bit up out of the cath....yuk, can you
>> > believe we are talking about this?? lol
>> > anyway thanks so much, you've been my saving grace......have great
>> > day!
>> > amye
>> >
>> > Dana Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
>> > If you can tell when you need to pee, thats great! I can too, so I just
>> > cath when needed--depends on how much water I guzzle at one time.
>> > Timing
>> > it
>> > may or may not help now. What ever works for 'you' is the answer!
>> >
>> > I do have a stoma, the nurses etc. will call it an Indiana nipple. I
> asked
>> > one time why a 'nipple' and they could not really answer that. Mine is
>> > about 2-3 inches to the right of my belly button. My scar runs from
>> > my --well--groin area, up and around my belly button and stops about 4
>> > inches above my belly button. I hardly know its there (only because it
> has
>> > been there so long) but it comes in handy when someone is dressing
>> > me--they
>> > line the middle seam of the slacks/jeans up with the scar! ! My SP was on
>> > the
>> > other side very low down sort of where my leg and belly meet. I have no
>> > idea if there is a scar.
>> >
>> > As for scars, get used to them! Over the years they will come. My back
> and
>> > right back thigh looks like a road map. But that is because of flap
>> > surgeries. I used to be very picky about how my hands, elbows and
>> > places
>> > that people see every day, looked. I would see guys with very nobby
> elbows
>> > that were calloused over and the middle knuckle much taller and
> calloused
>> > than the rest of their hand. I have been lucky and have aides that put
>> > lotion on every day. My fingers have stayed straight, but my right hand
>> > fingers are curling 'up' a bit. Not so that it looks wierd or even
>> > close
>> > to
>> >! ; it, but it is harder for me to 'make' them curl.
>> >
>> > Your not vain, its normal for people, especially women, to want their
> skin
>> > to look nice! Once the SP is out, the place it was will close quickly.
>> > Once the incision is healed to minimize the look of it, keep it
>> > lotioned
>> > or
>> > moist with something. I have been seeing a advertizement about a cream
>> > that
>> > is supposed to keep scaring to a minimum.
>> >
>> > I get my catheters from my pharmacy now. I pay for them, but they last
>> > a
>> > long time. I buy a box of 30 and they deliver them with my meds. They
> are:
>> > Brand: Mentor
>> > description: Self-cath coude' olive tip with
>> > guide stripe (useless! the stripe)
>> > size: 16 french
>> > reference number: 816
! >> >
>> > They are clear/white color with an orange end. The first ones I used
> were
>> > closer in color to the red caths, but were a bit browner, shorter and a
>> > bit
>> > stiffer than the red ones. Go to the pharmasist and see what kinds they
>> > have or can get. The clearer colored ones are better as you can tell if
>> > the
>> > end is harboring gook or growing things! :) Can also watch the mucous
> come
>> > out! In the beging it is usual for so much mucous be produced that it
> will
>> > clog the SP or even the cath. Run water thru the cath and try again if
>> > this
>> > happens. If your SP clogs, irrigate. Do this on top of your daily
>> > irrigations. Sometimes nurses may not want to irrigate an extra
> time--get
>> > the doc to write irrigate daily "and" prn!! Be sure to tell them t! he
>> > way
>> > 'you' want it done! Usually what they are vtaught is different, such as
>> > 'not pulling out' they will let it drain out. That does not get the
> mucous
>> > out. Once they have done it a couple of times and see the amount of
> mucous
>> > come out, they will give in. If you get a hard head,. call the agency
> and
>> > ask for a different nurse! They will provide the irrigation kits too!
> Tip:
>> > whatever they do not use--KEEP! It will come in handy sometime! I have
>> > a
>> > bottom drawer of a dresser I use just for such things. Urine sample
>> > bottles, iodine swabs, tweezers, lubricant packs, pads of any shape or
>> > form,
>> > tape--can 'never' have enough tape. Extra drainage bed bags, legs
> bags-for
>> > a while-60 cc syringes, just anything!
>> >
>> > This is getting long. Ask if you have any questions!
>> > take care,
>> >
>> > Dana and ?
>> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "~LittleQuad~"
>> >
>> > To: "Dana Miller" ; "Quad-list post"
>> >
>> > Sent: Monday, January 10, 2005 9:03 AM
>> > Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Help....
>> >
>> >
>> >> wow i did it for the 1st tie at home! i have been dreading this
>> >> enormously! it just looks so awful, as i hate any scratch! thanks so
> much
>> >> for the note, i must had read it 10Xs! i will try and be on a strict 3
>> >> hour regiment, unless needed before...as i can still tell when i need
> to
>> >> go...the nurse at hospital said i'd most likely lose it, thank
>> >> goodnes! s
> i
>> >> haven't!!
>> >> so you have a stoma also? where is yours? mine is like 2 inches to
> right
>> >> of belly button, and the SP is 2 inches below...temporarily! i don't
>> >> think
>> >> i'll have mine a year...i go back in 2 weeks and he mentioned removing
>> >> it...hope so, it hurts my feelings to see how it rubs my skin and
>> >> stretches it, my eyes water every time i see it...i must be a vain
>> >> person....haha
>> >> thanks a lot dana!!
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Dana Miller wrote:
>> >> It will be fine! It will produce a lot of mucous at first because part
> of
>> >> your intestine was used and that produced mucous! It "will" bleed, the
>> >> edge
>> >> of the hole is tender right now. I kept a SP in for nearly a "year"
>> >> before
>> >> 'trusting' that weird thing in my belly. Make sure you irrigate it!!
>> >> At
>> >> least daily. Do not be gentle about it! Put 60cc's of sterile water
>> >> inn
>> >> the syringe and shove it in! Then pull 30cc's out! When you pull out,
> do
>> >> not pull if you get resistance--the end of the catheter may be against
>> >> the
>> >> wall of your new bladder. Irrigate again. I irrigated at least twice
>> >> or
>> >> until it pulled back clear. It is amazing how much mucous can build up
> in
>> >> 24 hours.
>> >>
>> >> Between cathing, cover it with 2 x2's or a 4x4. It will keep the
>> >> irritation
>> >> of clothes down. When you do cath, make sure you get far enough
>> >> in--the
>> >> first few weeks of cathing, if my doc did it, I would be flabbergasted
> as
>> >> far in she would put it. The type of cath I use, only about 5-6 inches
>> >> sticks out in order to get it all the way in. I really should measure
>> >> that.
>> >> I will let you know what kind of cath I use as those red rubber
> hospital
>> >> kind might as well be a piece of spaghetti! Plus they drain slowly.
>> >>
>> >> Do you still have a SP in? Using that at night gives the hole a chance
> to
>> >> rest and the sides to heal a bit. If the cath will not go in easy, if
>> >> there
>> >> is resistance, take a deep breath and let it out--relax! And keep your
>> >> water drinking up! It will help expand the new bladder--altho if you
> are
>> >> cathing only every ! 4 hours, I would cut back on the water, or just sip
> it
>> >> now and then. If you drink a whole glass it will hit in about an hour
> and
>> >> you will need to cath every 20-30 minutes, if that much, as your
> bladder
>> >> will not be able to hold that much liquid at a time. If your are
> leaking,
>> >> up the caths to 3 hrs.
>> >>
>> >> It will take quite a while to get used to it and to the new feelings
> you
>> >> will get. They re-arranged your insides! They will be sore. A picture
>> >> will help. Sometimes, no matter what you do, the durn thing will 'not'
> go
>> >> in. Relax for a bit and have someone else try. The angle of the cath
> will
>> >> help. When it goes in the hole have it pointed down a bit towards the
> new
>> >> bladder.
>> >>
>&! gt; >> The main thing is to be patient! It "will" work--stay on ditropan or
>> >> whatever you use for bladder relaxation. What kind of cath are you
> using?
>> >> The red rubbers are the softest, but because of that it does not have
>> >> enough
>> >> stiffness to get thru the tight times, but will eventually if you
>> >> lubricate.
>> >> I forgot about lubricating--its been so long since I have used it, I
>> >> forget
>> >> about it.
>> >>
>> >> Basically its one of those things that the more you 'fight', the worse
> it
>> >> is. Then suddenly it will go in, and you have no idea what you did! I
>> >> will
>> >> be signing off for the day, but be optimistic, it will work and see ya
>> >> tomorrow! take care,
>> >>
>> >> Dan! a and ?
>> >> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >> ----- Original Message -----
>> >> From: "~LittleQuad~"
>> >>
>> >> To: "Quad-list post"
>> >> Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2005 5:52 PM
>> >> Subject: [QUAD-L] Help....
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>> Hey gang! I've had my surgery and my doctor says it was a success.
>> >>> I'm
>> >>> not
>> >>> so convinced! The hole gets clogged up and fluid build-up. It's very
>> >>> sore
>> >>> and bleeds when messed with. I can hardly stand to look at it, much
> less
>> >>> cath thru it! My mom tried and she couldn't figure it out. So I'm
> going
>> >>> to
>> >>> try it in a little while. Doc says do it every 4 hours. Ugh, help! Is
> it
>> >>&g! t; supposed to do that??? I'm going to get a pic taken of it and send,
>> >>> hopefully this week.
>> >>> Thanks guys!!
>> >>> Amye
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>
>