Yes, she uses a syringe. In case anyone is interested, here is a bit more detailed information about superpubic catheters.
I have a French catheter which is inserted into my bladder through a hole in my abdomen. On some occasions the catheter will get blocked up with sediment, which they tell me is made up of dead cells. Either my nurse or my wife (who has been trained by my nurse) will disconnect the urine bag and carefully insert about 20 cc of sterile water, or a mixture of sterile water with a bit of vinegar using a syringe (it doesn't look like a needle... it looks like a cross between a needle and a turkey baster). You need to be very careful. My catheter is changed about every three weeks, and the urine bags are changed every week and a half or so. One time, apparently the catheter was inserted incorrectly, resulting in a condition called "autonomic dysreflexia". My blood pressure went through the roof. I had a terrible splitting headache, and was rushed to the hospital. When they finally talked to my spinal cord doctor, he had the hospital emergency room removed the catheter and the problem went away immediately. On another occasion, another nurse overinflated the bladder inside my bladder (this holds the catheter inside you) and popped the darn thing. Fortunately, we now have a nurse who knows exactly what she is doing. She is careful to closely monitor my blood pressure before, during, and after the procedure to replace the catheter. Superpubic catheters can become pinched or blocked, which can result in headaches and general feelings of malaise. I certainly recommend the procedure. But you need to have doctors and nurses who know what they are doing. You need to be very careful to make sure the catheter is not pinched or blocked. You need to be sure that your aides do not hold the urinary bag way up in the air so that urine flows back into your body. Good luck, Dave Krehbiel From: Lissette Whitehead [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 7:11 PM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: RE: [QUAD-L] cathing / uti / bladder spasms Question Dave, how do you flush the bladder? Is it through the catheter with a syringe? Lissette Whitehead www.lissettesgoaltowalk.synthasite.com www.lwgripgloves.com _____ From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: FW: [QUAD-L] cathing / uti / bladder spasms Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2010 18:57:04 -0500 I have had a superpubic catheter for nearly 3 years. It is much easier to monitor urine output. Overall I think it's a much better solution. However, this will not eliminate urinary tract infections. I have constant infection... which the doctors and nurses describe as "colonization". I try not to take any more antibiotics. If I seem to get symptoms from bacteria, such as a bad smell or sediment in the urinary bag, a nurse will come and flush my bladder with sterile water mixed with a little bit of vinegar. Good luck, Dave Krehbiel From: Nichole Rohling [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 6:29 PM To: quad-l...@eskimo. Com Subject: [QUAD-L] cathing / uti / bladder spasms i have a friend whose son has been a c5 quad since april. they are doing intermittent cathing (new sterile cath each time) and he has had multiple uti's. many times when they cath they only get 100 cc or ml but when they pull cath out a lot of urine comes out afterwards. taking detrol for bladder spasms. uro doesn't want to do a superpubic and his mom feels that might be a fix for constant uti problem. he wears a condom cath when he goes out. thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated nicki c5
