Need catheter recommendation

[ChopperChick]

We are here at the hospital and I hate the catheters they have us using on my husband. we have to cath every 4 hours and the kit they give us is a big pain in the ass!!! Please help! I am right here with my credit card ready to get something online.
I am looking for a male interrmittent cath.
Thanks everyone!

[Jadis]

I use Mentor Self-caths and lube with a 50/50 mix of lidocaine and surgilube.

[McDuff]

For normal straight cath, I use Medline(these are ~2" longer than the rest) and Surgilube.

If you are using a "bag-cath"(all in one kit) I use the Bard Touchless caths

If you want to try a good self lubed cath to pee into something, try the Mentor HydroGel self caths.

Be prepared for sticker-shock when first buying caths.

[Aly]

I use th Mentor band also. I am pretty sure this is all I have used outside of the hospital. Are they having him use sterile kits just for while he is in rehab, hositals have more dangerous germs than most any other place.

Maybe this is just me but if anyone that said "we" when I was in the hospital talking about things I was doing would be getting an ear full. We are not cathing every 4 hours and they are not making us use any type of cath, your husband is having to use and do these things. I am all about partnerships but these are not things you are really experiencing. I know you are dealing with the big pucture aspect of sci just not all of them. I hope I am not offending you just my take on the we comment and my .02.

[Liz321]

call and get samples

[ChopperChick]

With regard to the "we" about doing the catheter, I am the one doing it. He has a broken neck and he isn't able to look down well enough to do it on his own. I do understand though, I know he will be independent it's just a find line I am walking right now with anticipating what we and specifically "he" will need. To be perfectly honest, but husband is very depressed and angry right now and doesn't even want to talk about the future. I just thought that while we are here, he can try some new things to make him more comfortable.

Yes, they are making him use the sterile kit. I wonder if their is a more simple sterile kit like one that comes with pre-soaked betadine cotton or??...

[McDuff]

Oh man, they are using ancient ones. Almost all the top line sterile kits come w/ the "niceties" of pre-soaked swabs, etc. You can try Mentor, Bard, Hollister, etc and they will all be better than what you are using.

They are definitely using the low cost version of a sterile kit. Like Liz321 said, call, or get your pt to, for free samples.

[Aly]

I use indivdual sterile caths hooked to a clean extension tube and cath straight into the toliet or a bottle depending on were I am. That seems much easier than using the kits. The nurses and OT's started working on me doing this before I left rehab. I was glad when I got away from the kits.

So glad you were not offended, you seem to be very involved and supportive of him which he will need. I think anger is a natural reaction to the situation. I can easiely say I went through the 5 grieving stages of death when I had my accident along with most people that I know. I have a friend that is about his level (T5) and he is always non stop, wide open. I think most people here would say things get easier with time. I never thought I ould be were I am today 13 years ago.

[darthe]

Well I must say that I find it offensive to hear someone say this is not a "we" issue. Being the spouse caregiver is just as much an experience of yours,Chop, as it is of your husbands's. You are going through the most difficult experience of your life here. Maybe for some people who are injured, no one stood by them so it my have been more of a solitary experience. Learning how to do the cathing was totally a major experience that left me shaken. I am not at all minimising how tough this is on my son. He is c4/5 and is 4 years post. I see and honor that. But I am absolutely and completely effected.

[Aly]

Darthe, I by no means ment she is not effected. That is why I mentioned how involved she is and how important that will and is to her husband. I also said that is just how I think of it. My family was beside me from the time of my accident and still is now. I just thought as a T6 level inury he was cathing himself (forgott about the turtle shell). If my mom were to look at me and say we need to cath when I am the only one shoving things in places they don't belong then I would ask her what part of we is happening. That is were I was coming from. I would hate for my perseption to ruin what Chopperchick is looking for in this thread, which is easier ways to cath and help her husband be able to cath.

[fluchtd]

My son uses the Hollister "Advance Plus Intermittent Catheter Kit" 14Fr/16in REF96144. They are very nice. The collection bag and catheter are one piece and includes gloves, blue pad and presoaked betadine swabs.

As others have mentioned, they are expensive ($5 - $11 per kit). Take advantage of "being in the system" and have the Rehab or Urology Nurse order these for you to try.

Take Care.

[darthe]

Thanks Aly, I see what you are saying. We all have our own unique set of experiences here but it is so great to have this place to help each other.

Chopperchick, about your husbands depression and anger... again my experience is different not being the spouse but here is what I have found to be true for us. I don't try to be a theripist. I don't push Chris to express his feelings to me. In the rehab they were pushing for depresion meds but his feeling was that it was totally natural to be depressed and angry about his broken neck and life. I am fortunate that he never felt a need to take it out on me. I am very quiet with him, I always give a smile and I say yes with an open heart to all requests. I handle my emotional negitives elsewhere, like here. FWIW

[Cripply]

I use th Mentor band also. I am pretty sure this is all I have used outside of the hospital. Are they having him use sterile kits just for while he is in rehab, hositals have more dangerous germs than most any other place.

Maybe this is just me but if anyone that said "we" when I was in the hospital talking about things I was doing would be getting an ear full. We are not cathing every 4 hours and they are not making us use any type of cath, your husband is having to use and do these things. I am all about partnerships but these are not things you are really experiencing. I know you are dealing with the big pucture aspect of sci just not all of them. I hope I am not offending you just my take on the we comment and my .02.

on the contrary, I find it very loving and sharing

[Jadis]

CC, be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster that will last about 2-4 yrs as the injury settles and he wraps his brain around this.

[chick]

Most manufacturers will provide a few as samples to try for free. What your insurance covers may limit you to specific brands. If you pay out-of-pocket, then no limit besides your budget.

Most brands are packages in kits, prepped for you, as others have described above. You may be considering, in part, what is most convenient for both of you - re: time, convenience/ease, etc. , but once your husband begins to cath on his own, he may require/prefer a brand and/or catheter type different from what you decide is best now. Once you both leave for home, this may contribute to what he uses to cath as well as how he needs to cath - depending on lifestyle, time, outside demands such a job, etc.
Keep experimenting. What is used now may well not be what is best later. Patience and encouragement can be great supports. Encouragement and imposition can be a difficult line, especially when there can be times when it seems everyone is telling us what is best for us and telling us what we "should" be doing. Encouragement can be with the best of intentions, but sometimes, that can be difficult to hear when we are overwhelmed with so much and so many people, especially right after an injury.

It's apparent from your questions and your investment here , you are extremely supportive and doing what you can to help him through this difficult time.

[paramoto]

With regard to the "we" about doing the catheter, I am the one doing it. He has a broken neck and he isn't able to look down well enough to do it on his own. I do understand though, I know he will be independent it's just a find line I am walking right now with anticipating what we and specifically "he" will need. To be perfectly honest, but husband is very depressed and angry right now and doesn't even want to talk about the future. I just thought that while we are here, he can try some new things to make him more comfortable.

Yes, they are making him use the sterile kit. I wonder if their is a more simple sterile kit like one that comes with pre-soaked betadine cotton or??...

Chopper chick, I had three broken ribs, a shattered left wrist that had to be operated and in a cast for what seemed to be years and a burst T6-7-8 vertebrae. I could not cath or do much else. They gave me a private rehab room at JMH and my wife slept with me and cathed me. She was right there with me every step of the way and I will always thank her for that. Yes, she was not suffering the physical pain, but psychologically she suffered plenty. I dont mind at all the "we" term, to me, recovery was a team effort. Without my family there I don´t know what the outcome would have been.

You are to be commended and are an example to all wives. Keep up your efforts. SCI is not a science, is an art. There is no formula that works for everyone, its trial and error until something half works, no two injuries are alike so what works for one does not necessarily works for everyone. We does not bother me at all. What is absolutely true though is that in time he should learn to be independent and the sooner the better. He will feel better and so will you.

Regarding caths, I tried to stick to the sterile packages until I was out of the hospital, they are a pain but are also more effective in fighting infections. I now use the mentor 450´s and the dover kendall rob-nel caths with regular lube. I still use the sterile packages in the car or in public bathrooms.

[SCI-Nurse]

Thanks everyone for their input. I think we all know the hardships SCI people would feel without the support of family and caring helpers in their life.

AAD

[jessie.gray]

I've used Rusch Flo-Cath hydrophillic intermittent catheters and Rochester Anitbacterial-Hydro closed system intermittent catheters. Both come in a long male length and don't require KY jelly to be put on them. I especially like the Rochester catheters becuase they are a closed system one and I have got fewer UTI's since switching to those.

A-Med and Uromed will give you samples of different catheters to try out if you request them.

Jessie