My spinal mylopathy took out my ability to relax the bladder
sphincter. If I didn't cath often enough the detrusers would spasm
and force the urine past the sphincter until they were satisfied [but
not emptied.] Eventually, the demand to cath was on twenty minute
intervals.
I went to a Foley indwelling cath and found peace.
Pros:
Safety for the kidneys
Fewer chances by far for UTI's
Never get up during the night [BIG plus for a 74 yr old male]
Able to surepticiously empty the bag on a long drive using a length
of rubber tubing out the open car door
Cons:
Need to empty the bag without benefit of a natural reminder
A bag ignored is an awful mess on floor, pants, chair, ....
A friend made a sensing device that beeps when the bag is nearly
full - not yet on the market
A cath change every two weeks
I've done it myself for a decade now - without any UTI's
Takes about twenty minute for a clean, not sterile, procedure
Often with a few detruser spasms to punish me for mistakes
Last evening's change resulted in NO spasms!
Ooops, the buzzer is beeping. Pavlovian response is to go empty the
bag NOW
Alton
