Super Pubic Catheter

[rybread]

Originally Posted by royals80

I have had my SP tube for about 2 years now.. as far as a maintenance of the bladder meaning (leakage, flow, changing of the SP tube) that has gone smoothly but I get constant UTI's (every other day no exaggeration) for the first year I got them every week but then for about the past year I have had UTI's occurring the next day after I stop whatever antibiotic I am on at the time.. so if you do not have any problems with UTI's there is a great source for you as far as maintenance and sexual purposes

Are you symptomatic when you get these UTIs (fever, chills, or whatever else)? I used to treat UTIs constantly with antibiotics without having any major symptoms. It turns out that I am colonized with whatever bacteria is in my environment and I'll never truly pass a standard UTI test. I do irrigate my bladder every night with vinegar and distilled water to keep it from blocking up. After taking all of those antibiotics, I now have a lot of sediment that builds up in my bladder.

[royals80]

Yes I am always symptomatic. I get ridiculous spasms, fever/chills, body feels ache, dry mouth, extremely foul odor, and so on. I have an appointment with my urologist on the 11th so hopefully I can take the suprapubic out and go back to ICs. Before getting the indwelling and then suprapubic my bladder would not get nearly as many infections. It's just crazy already.

[Fla999]

Due to a trip to the emergency room last Friday and the insertion of an Indwellian catheter, due to inability to urinate (scary), I am researching various options just in case my Urologist (whom I see this Friday AM) says that I will need to have some sort of artificial bladder drain. I do not think that I would want to deal with having this type of catheter I have in now for a very long time. No sex. No way. Plus very uncomfortable and not very mobile.

For this reason I am studying up on the Suprapubic catheter. My understanding is that there are two basic types. One type consistantly drains into a leg bag and then the leg bag is emptied when full. The other type has no leg bag but does have a flow control valve with a shutoff. From what I researched it seems that the control valve is the best option as it allows the bladder to collect urine normally until it is time to release the contents via the valve anywhere there is a restroom.

Would appreciate some advice on this from people in the know.

[skinner6775]

i had a ton of problems w/ my sp! in fact i had to have it removed......and yes it does affect sex in the sense that your partner is rubbing all over it causing discomfort and in some cases bleeding. think about it......your really not paying too much attention to it while iengaging in ntercourse, which can lead to your sp getting yank around. atleast this was my experience!!

i had a uti from the moment i had the sp........now its out and no infection! my dr. said that he felt that sp's are lethal......(its just a matter of time). just another opinion

[Wise Young]

Let me summarize some of the advantages and disadvantages of an indwelling suprapubic catheter.

Advantage

• Minimally invasive. The catheter is placed in an outpatient procedure. It is inserted through the abdomenal wall just above the pubis, using just local anesthesia. By the way, local anesthesia should be used even in a person with spinal cord injury, in order to avoid autonomic dysreflexia.
• Easily reversible. Over several days, a tunnel develops between the skin and the bladder and the tunnel become lined with skin cells. This allows the catheter to be removed and replaced. If it is removed and simply covered, the hole should heal within two weeks.
• Less infections. A properly cared for suprapubic catheter should result in less (not more) infection than a foley catheter that is placed transurethrally, particularly in women.
• Does not affect the sphincter. It does not affect the bladder sphincter. A foley often makes the bladder sphincter incompetent and there will be some leakage after it has been placed for a long time and then removed.

Disadvantages

• Urinary tract infections where there is a problem with urinary tract infections at the time of suprapubic cathether placement. The catheter itself becomes a place for bacteria to hide and just suppresses the urinary tract infections until the antibiotic is stopped. This appears to be what skinner6775 is describing, that the catheter was placed when he had an infection and he never got rid of the infection. So, whenever, he stops antibiotics, the infection simply recurs.
• Can be pulled out. The catheter should be carefully handled and placed. During vigorous sex, for example, it should be taped.
• Reflux. If the urine bag and catheter is placed in the wrong position, contaminated urine may flow back into the bladder, contributing to urinary tract infections.

Perhaps other can add pros and cons.

Wise.

[dgbharathi]

Advantage:
One can travel to distant places for long duration.

Disadvantage:
The person becomes lazzy as less care is taken on bladder management.

[uctjuctj]

Six weeks after having radioactive seed implants preceded by 30 beam radiation treatments for prostate cancer, I am unable to urinate and I am wearing a foley catheter. Some doctors have told me that once I heal I will be able to ditch the catheter but my urologist is pushing for me to get the suprapubic catheter at once.

It seems a little premature to me, although I am getting tired of the Foley and have already had a case of it getting blocked with debris from the implants and am on Cipro because I also developed an UTI with the classic symptoms of fever, chills etc.

Does anyone have any thoughts regarding this? Remember, it's only been six weeks since the implants and wearing the foley.

I am male, almost 60 yrs old with no other history of illness.

Thanks in advance.

[lonphillips]

Does anyone know how long one would have to wait before resuming sex? I tried last night and the catheter got plugged up. Is this unusual at all? BTW, I'm a week out from the surgery.

[SCI-Nurse]

You should be waiting 3-4 weeks for genital sexual activity after SP surgery. Do you ejaculate?

(KLD)

[lonphillips]

I try to ejaculate but I only have about 5% bladder function. Problem?