Afraid of catheterization

[april ryan]

Hi,

I will have some instillations of cystistat (hyaluronic acid) through a catheter.. I am so afraid!

How can possibly a tube been inserted is such a small cavity! I am quite sensitive in the area, and psycologically only the idea makes me really unconfortable!

How is it? does it hurt?

I will have my hydrodistension on wednesday and then cystistat once a week..

Not looking forward to all that!!!!!

April

[Claredale]

It's a very small cath. I always had the pediatric caths used once I learned that I had the option. They put a lot of lidocaine, which numbs it.

Another possibiliy is calling up the office and asking them if you can take a valium even if is a small dosage, it was enough to relax me. I also learned to drink Cammomile tea before my appts. It calmed me down. The first few I had done, I never even felt them I had the full out DMSO treatments once a week for 6 weeks and I went through 3 rounds of them and my doctor made several comments about my urethra being very small and he couldn't believe I had never had urinary issues bofore. For me, it never hurt during the insertion due to lidocaine, just holding the DMSO cocktail. I quickly learned to take a pain med right after the procedure.

The time afterwards was what wasn't pleasant but it wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be, but I learned to use my heating pad. My hubby even had a AC/DC adaptor to plug it into the car so I had my heating pad already to go for my bladder on the way home.

The only issue I had with the hydro was being sick to my stomach, but my doctor gave me Fenagren supp to help with that. It wasn't pleasant, but I certainly got myself worked up over it and I am grateful that my doctor and nurse did a great job. Are you going to be put to sleep? As long as the nurses took out the cath before I woke up, I was fine.

Gets lots of rest and make sure you eat foods high in protein. That will help your body have the energy to help you deal with it all.

[kadi]

The hydrodistension under anesthesia was not bad for me & I was glad to have the pictures afterwards to know that I did have IC & could begin treatment. Some patients have improvement in their symptoms once the bladder recovers for a week or so. So, the hydrodistension will hopefully give you not just a diagnosis, but maybe improvement in how you feel.

I was also afraid of catheterization (have very bad memories from childhood procedures & bladder infections), but it turned out to be not a problem at all. I also used the pediatric catheters size 8 French (though I eventually found out that a size 12 French was better for me). And the relief I got from the Marcaine,Heparin, Sodium Bicarbonate rescue instillations was so miraculous that I can live with the 5 seconds it takes me to cath myself & put in the medicine.

I do the instills most nights before bedtime & I just consider it a "normal" part of my routine. Shower, instillation, brush teeth, floss, lotion, read something pleasant, void solution, bed, sleep. "Normal"! And I sleep well afterwards, life is good again.

I hope you have similarly good results from your instillations & hydrodistension & that you'll be feeling better soon.

[jen74]

I think it depends, everyone is different. If you have alot of urethral pain, then it may be more painful for you. I use to do the instills at home, and yes, it was a little painful, but worth it since I got some relief from the instill. I found that some times it hurt worse than other times. SOmetimes it was not bad at all. I would say it is worth it to try it and see if you get some relief from the instillations. You will never know if you dont try it.
Jen

[turnaround]

I was so scared when I fiirst started my instills, but the nurse assured me that she would use a small cath and honestly except for a small pinch, it was no problem. Good luck.

[L. Thomas]

You couldn't be more apprehensive than I was with the thought of cathing as the solution to IC for me. I was totally blown away. I didn't think that I could ever selfcath.

They used an 8fr pediatric feeding tube. I learned how to do it very quickly and it has been totally successful for me.

I didn't have any pain and it is not even uncomfortable when I cath myself. It may help if you ask them to tell you before they insert the catheter. If you breath in before the insertion and exhale slowly while the catheter is inserted it will help relax your muscles.

I think you are very wise to educated yourself about the procedure. Just remember the outcome may be the answer for you. It may take some time to feel the effects. Some people need several treatments before they find releif. It seems that there are far more that are helped by instills than are not.

Remeber we are here to support you.
Louann

[leelee88]

That is great that you are going to be getting the cystistat. Please keep us updated on your progress with it..If you do not mind..

Also INSIST that they only use the pedatric caths on you!!! And INSIST that they apply Lidocaine gel first!! But in a nice way of course:) Everything will go smoothly then... Good luck hun, wishing you the best!!

[Claredale]

L. Thomas is always a great source when it comes to learning about cathing! I didn't work for me, but I sure wish I had her wisdom when I was first starting out with getting instills, etc.

T

[smcclafferty]

I'm scared too....that's why I haven't tried the instills yet, but I may need to start them next week.....

[L. Thomas]

If you are going to start doing home instills...take your time...get good instructions from your MD...remember we are here to support you.

Look through the post for suggestions. Remember instills are very effective for many. Instills are not the answer for everyone.

Louann

[ICNDonna]

The important thing to remember is to relax. The method I use is to concentrate on breathing slowly and evenly and consciously relaxing my body. The more tense you are, the more uncomfortable it will be.

Be sure to let us know how it goes.

Donna

[nottoc4]

I have had 9 in office instillations and the relief they offer is worth having that little pinch as the catheter goes in. I am pain free most of the time now.
Once in a while i get tripped up by a food or seasoning,but I get over it quickly.

[april ryan]

Thanks, that's quite encouraging.

I'll let you know how it goes with the hydrodistension and the cystistat installation..

:0

April

[bluetart]

The first time I was ever cathed I was super nervious and it didn't go that smoothly, not that it actualy hurt, it was uncorfertable but not that bad. When the nurse tried to cath me she couldn't lol. So there I was legs spread nervious as hell lol, my vagina in the air and the nurse can't figure out if the tube was going in my vagina or into my urethra. She actualy asked me, and I was like "I don't know I have never done this before, isn't it obvious to you":bonk:. She was really insulted when I asked her why she can't figure it out and I told her where a normal urethra is located. She told me that with some peoples anatomy its hard to figure it out, I didn't by it. She must have not been looking cause my anatomy was right in her face. Than the doctor came in and his fingers sliped and he dropped the tube. Eventually he cathed me and it felt like a pinch and than it was over. I actualy had intercourse that same day. The numbing jell felt nice, and they used a very small cath. Good luck I am sure you will do fine :smile tee Hopfully your first cath won't go as nutty as mine did.

[jen74]

I agree, it depends on who is doing it. One nurse did my instill and she had to use three catheters because she could not get it in right. At least she was responsible enough not to try and reuse the cath when she took it out since she was having a hard time getting it in. Then I had my hubby do my instills at home with me and he did it fine. I do have pain with the cath though when it goes in. It feels like it scratches the urethre on the way in.
Jen

[ABliske]

I'm a new mom. I didn't have time to read all the replies. In my experience though, being cathed wasn't bad!!!!! I had installs for a while. I did start developing infections though, which were very painful. I also had the problem of not knowing when I had an infection because my bladder was painful anyway. I had a ton of trips to the DR.
So, when I had my baby I had to get a catheter because I had an epidural. I asked the Dr. for preventative antibiotics. I didn't get a UTI, but I got an awful yeast infection. My advice is to make sure you can get antibiotics if you need to (without waiting over a long weekend when the office is closed or something). And if you do take them, take acidopholis too!

[Tinkerbell23]

i am not allergic to latex but i find that the layex caths bother me, cause burning, so my dr tried latex free and it helped a lot...

[nottoc4]

My Doctor always puts the cath in...the nurse just gets it ready and gets the "cocktail " made up. Never a problem with the Dr. putting it in.

[Taramc]

Just wanted you to know that I LOVE my instills, but this is all I went through before I got to the point I'm at now:

-Urologist gave me size 14 caths and a pamphlet that showed the hole in the wrong place. Almost poked a new hole in myself.

-Urologist's nurses in a hurry with a size 14 and leaving my urethra sore for a few days. Had to be on a plane and go to Disneyworld with an angry urethra.

-Self-instills where I irritated my own urethra for several days. It was always hit and miss - never knew when it would get irritated. Had to go camping that way.

-Gave up on instills for six months because they weren't worth it.

In the end, I LEARNED ONLINE what to do and here's what it was:

1. LIDOCAINE GEL AS THE LUBRICANT
2. SIZE 8 PEDIATRIC! I use the intermittent caths and the cath-tip syringe.

And here's my success after fitting 2 emptied ELMIRON PILLS into my instills of Marcaine, Heparin, Sodium Bicarb:

-After 15 of these instills, a horrible sharp pain from the right side of my bladder down my right leg, which made it so I couldn't bend over, COMPLETELY WENT AWAY.

-After 20 of these instills I started tolerating BLUEBERRIES! It was amazing after 18 months of no fruit at all. I've been very diet sensitive.

-After 25 of these instills I started tolerating BLACKBERRIES AND RASPBERRIES! I'm in heaven!

Instills are the way to go, in my opinion. HANG IN THERE!

[L. Thomas]

It is VERY VERY common to develop a yeast infection after taking antibiotics. Also remember IC can mimic a yeast infection.

[jen74]

I always wanted to try and use a smaller catheter when doing the instills, but I was told it may hurt worse. The nurse said the smaller the cath is, the more likely it will get kinked up when putting it in and it will scratch up the urethra more than likely since it is so thin. What do you think? Have any of you had negative issues with using the smaller catheters?
Jen

[nottoc4]

I have no idea what size they use on me,it's red.