I recently went into hospital to have a small lump removed from my back as a day patient. I needed to pee before leaving but couldn’t and they put it down to my MS and everything being a bit sluggish after the general anaesthetic. Anyway went home and still couldn’t go. Went to A&E in the morning in a lot of pain and had a catheter put in. Was producing too much throughout the day and so was then kept in. The urologist then came to see me and told me I have to keep it for 2 weeks for my bladder to recover and then I will have to self catherise after that. When I asked how long for he said for ever probably. I nearly fell off the bed, I am healthy ish, completely mobile and only had a problem occasionally with having to sit on the loo and tell myself to pee! Really upset and can’t believe this is for good, I am 44 with 2 small children and I am a female. Does this sound right to anyone or do you think it could go back to normal? Can you have like a relapse type of thing after a general anaesthetic? Now I ranting on…
Also does all this come free from the NHS or do I have to pay for them the self catherisatiom things?
Hi, no I doubt you will have to pay, as I get my stuff for a suprapubic catheter free.
About 3 years ago, I had a urethral catheter, as I had little control of my baldder. I had lots of problems with it and asked to have it taken out.
The boss nurse advised against removing it and said I would have no control of my bladder afterwards.
She was wrong…I did better than I expected. I did use pads and had some control.
Best thing you can do is just try and see how you go. I am doing well with my spc, better than before with the urethral one.
I dont know about general anaesthetics causing a relapse. Someone else will probably advise on that.
Good luck.
pollx
Sorry to hear what’s happened.
Unfortunately the catheters for self catheterisation are the same price as a normal prescription. If you pay for your prescriptions then you’ll have to convince your GP to prescribe them in large quantities so you can pay less frequently.
Hope you feel better soon.
Sarah x
Hi again.
I`m sorry that you may have to pay for your self catheters. i wrongly assumed they would be free, but Sarah has said not.
Hopefully you will be able to return to normal peeing soon.
polllx
Sarah! I get mine delivered to me when I need them & it is free of charge you should not pay for it. They ring me once a month to see if I need any. But then I have paid lots of NIC & TAX up to 40% was in a very will paid job. So what I get I have already paid for. Good luck Hun. XX
I pee normal 3 times a day! Hope that is normal… Who knows what is normal or not? If I need to go I go! Haha
Hi, I have a SPC now but self catheterised for about 7 years. Unfortunately you have to have a prescription from your doctor and pay unless you are exempt from prescription charges. I do not pay for my prescriptions because I am unable to get out of the house without my husband with me. Hope this helps. Anne x.
Hi
I am youngish and have two small children pregnancy messed with my bladder and I have to self cath to be honest its fine I do it four times a day it takes a couple of minutes not much longer than a normal loo trip.
I hardly think about it now its just part of being me you get the catheters on prescription so it depends on wether you pay for those or not.
Ellie xx
I don’t pay for mine… they get delivered once a month so I don’t have to collect them either. After I got used to what I was doing i found it very easy - as I can’t feel when my bladder is full at all or empty my bladder completely - I have to use them “by the clock” to prevent accidents. I soon learnt which activities filled my bladder more quickly… eating watermelon for example! Apparently a full bladder is 400-600 ml, I retain 300 ml! It makes me very prone to uti’s. ISC has been a very positive step more me.
hi moss
i’ve been self cathing for almost a year.
my bladder nurse told me that i may be able to stop at some point but to be honest i’d rather continue.
i get about 300 mls out in the morning after trying to pee the normal way.
i have a pre-payment certificate £100 (i think) and dont pay for my ever expanding prescription list.
i also have kentera patches for my overactive bladder - i could have had tablets but i confided in the nurse that i’m not good at remembering to take pills.
at one time i was having constant UTIs so i asked for a maintenance dose of trimethoprim and its doing the trick
carole x