Foley Catheter?

[catlover2]

Can anyone recommend a Foley Catheter? I love the LoFric catheters but Astra Tech does not make a Foley. I will be doing some traveling by plane and car soon; the longest trip will be about eight hours long. I have tried cathing in the car before; I made a mess and was unable to completely drain my bladder. I seem to have bad luck when traveling by car, when I have to pee I either get stuck in a traffic jam or am miles away from the next exit. Also, should I get the same size Foley as the intermittent catheters? I currently use a 12fr catheter when I do my rescue instills.

[SandyRN]

I dont remember the ones we used in the hospital, but I do remember they seem HUGE to me now. I would call the place you get your caths for your instills and ask for the same size...less pain, less friction, less irritation that way. The balloon in it will hold it in place, so you should be fine with the smaller size. Just be SUPER sterile when you put it in because it's going to be left in there and you don't need a UTI.

Sandy

[Kara29]

It's best to discuss this with your Doctor. It's not a good idea to put a foley in without talking to your Doctor first. It would be best if he placed it in for you. Speaking from first hand experience. If you don't know what you are doing you can cause some serious damage to yourself. I am sure your doctor will discuss this with you if you explain why you want one in the first place. The day before you go away or the day of your plane flight, he should be able to put one in for you. If not ask him/her why they won't do it. Sometimes they have a very good reason. The balloon has to be inflated just so or it can burst inside of your urethra and or bladder and cause scar tissue or worse yet a foley stuck inside of the urethra that has to be surgically removed. I am not trying to scare you but IMHO it would be best to consult your Doctor on this. If he wants you to insert it yourself he will teach you how to do it proper AND will prescibe what brand to you via a prescription. Foley catheters tend to be put in with a bit larger size than a 12 French to allow for adequate drainage.

Kara

[SandyRN]

I was assuming she'd put in a foley before, but Kara is right, if you haven't been taught you need to know how because if you inflate the balloon in the wrong place you can cause permanent damage to your urethra.

[Sarojini]

Just another comment -- if you have a lot of urethral pain, a Foley can be irritating, as it does move around in there a bit when you shift positions, walk, etc. It can also be a bit uncomfortable to sit normally; I've inserted a Foley before (with doc's permission) when I had to give a long presentation at a conference, and also once on a long car trip, and I found that I had to really change the way I sat to avoid irritation. I had to sit with my legs stretched out and apart, back on my tailbone, so my weight wouldn't pull on the catheter and cause bladder pain -- if that happens to you it might not be possible to sit like that on the plane. Standing while doing the presentation was just fine though.

If you do do this, ask your doc for some prophylactic antibiotics too so that you can head off an infection. He can also prescribe a type of Foley that is made of a material that repels bacteria -- bacteria just love climbing the catheter and getting into the bladder!

[Kara29]

Jen,

You got me thinking about sitting and foleys. I've had foleys for 8 months at at time so I know about the sitting issue and how tough it can feel.

While you have the Foley Catheter in you may want to look for a donut cushion. It's cushion with a hole in the middle of it. Or better yet....the ICN has a sitting cushion that may work while having the foley in. The space that has been cut out of the cushion you could use to position your self onto. It will realease some of the pressure off of the foley. So will a donut cushion. You can find the ICN's cushion here:

http://icnshop.com/cgi-bin/ustorekeeper.pl?command=goto&file=DailyComfort-ChairCushions.html

Also I have a website that I go to for taking care of an indwelling foley catheter that may help you when you have to have one:
http://www.healthtouch.com/bin/EContent_HT/cnoteShowLfts.asp?fname=02527&title=HOW+TO+CARE+FOR+YOUR+FOLEY+CATHETER+&cid=HTHLTH

Best Wishes,

Kara:smile tee

[catlover2]

Thanks for your responses. I do not know how to insert a Foley. My doc will teach me, but she does not have Foley's in stock at her office. My doc couldn't recommend what Foley catheter to order so I thought I would ask other IC'ers what brand they use.

[Kara29]

My Urologist used Bard Foley Catheters as well as Mentor. They need to order the Foley Catheter, the Insterstion Tray, A leg Bag for daytime, A bed Bag for nightime use. The link below is great for learning how to take care of your Foley once it is in.

Good Luck to you!

Kara