bladder neck pain from cath

[dminton]

Please tell me I'm not the only one, I just need to hear it! I'm in the middle of a 3-week, 3 times a week schedule of instilling heparin/marcaine/lidocaine. The instillation solution isn't bad at all; the problem is what the cath does to me, NO MATTER what I do. I use tons of lube, a tiny cath, use the position that works best for me, go slow, deep breathe, and I still have pain when it gets to the top of the urethra just going into the bladder, coming back out again, and then the next several times I urinate it's like razor blades. It shouldn't hurt that much. I'm doing everything my doctor's office told me to do. I'm a nurse too! WHY does it hurt so much? The nurse said that if there were an ulcer right there, it would hurt badly every time, and there was one or two times that weren't as bad, but it's just hard to want to keep going. When I did the instill today, I was in no pain to speak of, then when I peed afterwards, it hurt so much and still does. The pain even radiated into my vulva. Any feedback? Oh, and when are they going to get that lidocaine gel back on the market? My doc's office said it is backordered from the company!!!! So I'm using KY jelly. Can this get better with time? I've done it 6 times now. Thanks for reading this and let me know if you can help! I'm about ready to quit.

[kadi]

I have discomfort when the cath goes into the neck of the bladder also.

For me, I found that a non-latex catheter (clear, not red rubber) causes less pain. The tip is less flexible, so it doesn't "bounce back" from going in, the nonlatex seems to cause less friction too. Oddly, changing from an 8 french to a 12 french helped also (larger diameter, so less "movement" in the urethra, liquid goes faster through so catheter is in less time.)

Wondering if pyridium might help you also? Ice pack after instill? Just brainstorming here.

Hope you find something helpful...

[dminton]

Dear Kadi,

Thanks so much for your ideas! Yes, pyridium helps but I don't want to take it at the same time as it might interfere with the action of the heparin, or the lido/marcaine for that matter. I would take it later, after a few hrs.

I am also going to try lying down flat; I have uterine prolapse and I know that I probably have some bladder prolapse as well, so maybe that's part of the problem, an angle issue for lack of a better phrase. I use LoFric caths which are clearish, and they are supposed to self-lubricate with water contact, but I thought that since it still hurt that way, I'd try the KY as my uro's nurse suggested. It doesn't make it any better.

Has anyone else had a hard time getting lidocaine gel? This is ridiculous! I know it would help somewhat.

Any other feedback?

[pottywoman]

Can you get the lidocain from a pharmacy? That is where I get mine. I know I would never do the cath without it. It hurt way to much without it. I do think laying back would help. The more laid back I am at Uro's when he does it the easier I think it is with the cath. Only problem is when I was doing the heparin/lido at home (stopped doing it) I couldn't reach there while laying down. I thought how inconvient having that "spot" all the way down there and no 8 foot arms. :biglaugh:

[rosesitty]

dminton - I know exactly how you feel. I'm also on a 3x per week for 3-4 week instill cycle. In fact, my urethra is so painful, I'm cutting back to two times per week and adding another week at the end, just to give it a rest. I always feel worse that afternoon and the day afterward. At least I THINK it's the urethra. All that stuff is SO close together, it's hard to know what's actually hurting. I give you a lot of credit, I couldn't do it myself. I'm going in to the uros office, in fact, one of the room's now has my name on it! LOL
Stephanie