CATHETER

[Crazycat]

 mcrue,

   My first catheter experience was in 1969 when I was 12 for a urethral stricture that was surgically mended. Back then it was a traumatizing experience to be sure as it most likely would for most kids that age.

   It wasn't until 2005 when I had the AN and shunt surgeries (plus another urethral surgery 5 years later) that I came to relive the experience, albeit as an adult. In the ICU (for two days) I was completely intubated, including a feeding tube that made breathing difficult and talking impossible. The feeding tube was so uncomfortable I ended up pulling the thing out on my own in frustration because I couldn't breath. It was like that scene in the movie "The Matrix" when Neo wakes up in the pod and pulls that thing out of his gullet. The nurses freaked out, "You can't do that!" I paid for it by not eating for over over a week, living off the IV. I had to prove to them I could swallow. They had to run a fiber optic tube up my nose that snaked through a sinus passage and down my throat (which also curiously did not hurt).

At one point after the catheter had been removed in my hospital room, I developed a painful UTI that required having the catheter reinserted while being flushed with Cipro. The nurse said "We'll have to put it back in" to which I responded, "No, no, no!" and he came back with "Yes, yes, yes!". This time, I was fully conscious and braced myself. The burning and discomfort from the UTI immediately stopped. To my chagrin, the insertion didn't bother me! The same when it was removed: no problem.

Several years later, after having another urethral surgery, I was catheterized again and had to return home after an overnight wearing a bag for a week. When it came time to remove it, I was told I could pull it out myself. The doctors assistant walked me through it on the phone after reassuring me there was nothing to it. She was right. I had to cut a small extension of the tube to release water and air that inflated a small balloon that held the catheter in place. After that she said, "Now you'll pull it out gently on the count of three.....1, 2, 3......It glided out effortlessly. I was amazed, after having lived in so much fear of the thing for so long. She said, "I told ya!" Of course I was impotent for about a week after (another weird experience), but it all came back.

[mcrue]

For someone predisposed to anxiety who's never "cathed" it's difficult to think about. Not to mention all the internet stories.

[EricS]

I'd like to add my experiences here. During my recent AN surgery, the catheter was removed during my first day post op while still in the ICU. The IV drugs were so strong, I don't remember it happening (nor who was present). I never had to use a bed pan, but was escorted to the toilet to assure I wouldn't fall. My privacy and discomfort was always respected by the understanding nursing staff.

During a past surgery, a catheter was removed while I was fully conscious. As described by another member, it was quick and painless but felt a little odd for a few seconds.

McCrue, I bet your catheter experiences will be as inconsequential as most described here. Best of luck to you.

Eric

[Cheryl R]

Reading the whole catheter posts have been very interesting with being a nurse (now retired) and inserting and removing many catheters.       Also with 4 AN surgeries been on the side of both.         Some men may have more of a bad experience with catheters due to having an enlarged prostrate.    Both in and out.     One dr we had had us use lidocaine gel with male insertions.      I have also seen many patients with dementia pull theirs out without the bulb being deflated.       There also can be some discomfort with having one in if the catheter is not in far enough and the inflated bulb is in in the urethra and causing pain.                        Most catheters do not cause much discomfort for most people with the insertion  or removal.     There can be some other causes for discomfort so there is an occ increase in ain in some.       During the AN surgeries mine was inserted while under for the surgery and removed within a day or so once on the regular floor and showed I could walk with help to the bathroom.   There can be some slight burning for a couple times after removal.           The catheter issue is usually no big deal but to those who have never had can seem scary.    There are various sizes of the catheter and if one knows they have enlarged prostate mention this as a smaller size one can be obtained.                I have seen an internet joke to be good to your nurse as she is the one who chooses the catheter or IV needle size.

[Crazycat]

mcrue,

I understand your anxiousness. It is not a pleasant thing to endure anyway you look at it.

I just thought of a good analogy: Have you ever gone skydiving? I haven't and have no interest in doing so; but, I know that if I had to, I could do it. Look at it that way.

I'd like to add that with an AN at 18mm you may be a candidate for Cyber or Gamma Knife and not need surgery at all, given that you do not "watch and wait" too much longer. That thing has to either be removed or stopped from growing because it will only get worse over time. At this point, you may even be able to save the hearing in your effected ear!

In all the years I've lurked on this forum since my own ordeal, I've yet to see once instance of an AN that stopped growing without medical intervention. My growth was so big and so extricated with other nerves it could only be debulked. My recent scans have shown a reduced mass still in there but that stays the same year after year. With large growths, debulking seems to be another way of killing them but does not guarantee to stop regrowth from occurring down the line. So far I've been very fortunate.

I'm an example of someone who let it go almost as long as possible before incurring disastrous brain stem damage. I had my surgeries in '05 but had started feeling the effects of the AN in '99 with a gradual spiraling that included hearing loss, lightheadedness, then double vision, fatigue, and eventually total equilibrium collapse; but the AN had probably taken root years before I felt any symptoms.