CATHETER

[mcrue]

After surgery, do they remove the catheter while your sleeping or are you fully awake?

Is it painful?

And how long will you be using a bed pan while in the hospital?

[bethtretrault]

mine was removed while i was awake. it felt weird but no pain. i think it may be more of an issue for men but nothing in the big scheme of things.

[mcrue]

i think it may be more of an issue for men.

Absolutely! I was hoping some of the men could chime in.

[marcdi]

Hi

I'm a guy and, like most guys, I didn't want anyone fiddling down there. Had mine taken out around 2 days after surgery. I was awake. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, and the torture and indignity is over with pretty quickly.

In all honesty, I think the idea of it is worse than it actually coming out. Slight burning feeling... on the discomfort scale, a 4 out of 10.

Re bedpan, never needed that thankfully but I did have to pee in some sort of bottle as I couldn't walk/balance too well for a week after the surgery.

[mcrue]

I had to be put under general anesthesia when I had a Cystoscopy a few years ago. I don't understand how any guy can stay conscious during that!

The thought of a catheter makes me cringe.

[LakeErie]

Catheter removal post surgery is the very least of your worries, takes a few seconds. I recently had a prostate biopsy and that is something far mere concerning in regard to discomfort, both during and when the anesthetic wears off. ( Benign findings on the biopsy BTW) Good luck

[mcrue]

Catheter removal post surgery is the very least of your worries, takes a few seconds. I recently had a prostate biopsy and that is something far mere concerning in regard to discomfort, both during and when the anesthetic wears off. ( Benign findings on the biopsy BTW) Good luck

It's a big worry for a lot of people including myself.

Ed Engelking II on YouTube has a 5-part series on the aftermath of AN surgery. In one of his series, he specifically talks about how horrible it was to have his catheter removed, even though it "only takes a few seconds."

My knees buckled just listening to him describe his experience.

Yes, I understand compared to brain surgery that catheter removal is "less of a worry," but it's still an unpleasant concern for many of us.

Removing the catheter after the surgery BEFORE you wake up would seem to be a much more desirable situation.

Anyways, hopefully it won't have to get to that point with me.

[rupert]

[/quote]

Removing the catheter after the surgery BEFORE you wake up would seem to be a much more desirable situation.
[/quote]

That would kind of defeat the purpose of it in the first place.    There's a very good chance you won't even remember it,  should it happen. 

[LakeErie]

You are unable to urinate normally when sedated so a catheter is used when under anesthesia. The catheter is not removed before waking up because the doctor needs to know you can urinate normally once you are no longer sedated.

The removal of my catheter post surgery was uneventful, I was also still on a post surgical pain meds.

Following my own discharge and after the steroids taper, I had the complication of acute urinary retention ( inability to pass any urine at all) presumably from the vagus nerve, 10th cranial. I was repeatedly catheterized for days at a time, sometimes in a ER or sometimes in a urologist office, until the problem resolved over about three weeks. Unilke the youtube video you mention I never experienced the slightest pain in any part of the process. Comfortable? No, but definitely not painful. Compared to the vertigo and falls I experienced, the vocal cord paralysis, and inability to swallow on the right side of my throat, the urinary retention problem probably seemed minor to me. You did ask for some males to chime in on their experience and I did so thinking it might alleviate some of your concerns since I had no problem with it, and never have during multiple surgeries recently. I  believe your experience will be similar. Good luck.

[ANGuy]

Catheter removal post surgery is the very least of your worries, takes a few seconds. I recently had a prostate biopsy and that is something far mere concerning in regard to discomfort, both during and when the anesthetic wears off. ( Benign findings on the biopsy BTW) Good luck

It's a big worry for a lot of people including myself.

Ed Engelking II on YouTube has a 5-part series on the aftermath of AN surgery. In one of his series, he specifically talks about how horrible it was to have his catheter removed, even though it "only takes a few seconds."

My knees buckled just listening to him describe his experience.

I don't know what Ed Engelking II is, but my father had to self-catheterize for years before he passed away.  I think I'll be like my father (not be all "meow" about it) instead of letting "Ed Engelking II" project his weaknesses on me. 

My best friend died of some form of meningitis years ago. He had pretty much lost his mind before he went, he was babbling and re-living jobs he had been on.  He would always tug on his catheter.  At one point, he really started pulling on it, so I hit the call button and ran down the hall for the nurse.  By the time we got back he had pulled it out!  "That's not possible" the Dr and nurse said, they can't be pulled out without deflating it, but he sure did.  He was one tough son of a gun.!

(ANGuy, cleaned up a couple of your acronyms.... thanks for understanding.  Any questions, please PM me. Thanks. Phyl)

[mcrue]

OMG!

"Thanks" for sharing. Really, you shouldn't have ANGuy...

Also, I don't think a man is any "weaker" if he cringes at the thought of being catheterized. It's not a Macho Man contest, and nobody should be ashamed about wanting to avoid pain and/or discomfort in THAT area! I will be the first in line to PROUDLY avoid being catheterized at any cost. It don't view it like getting a tattoo or being manly or joining the police force or army...

And yes, I think everyone should thank Ed Engelking II on YouTube for sharing his 5-part series regarding his AN experience. It takes a lot of guts, and it is very informative. Much like an Acoustic Neuroma, everyone's experience with a catheter will be different.

Now every time I see that commercial with the guy in the cowboy hat selling "self" catheters I'm going to think of you ANGuy.

Cringe cringe cringe.

Anyways, I think I have enough stories now. Many thanks.

[ANGuy]

I never equated strength with masculinity.  I respect strength.  I get strength, or at least try, from the strength of others.

You can call being overly-concerned with the almost certainty of getting a catheter "strong" if you want.  Me, I'll choose to emulate all the women on this planet who bear children, most of them without anesthesia, which I'm pretty sure is a little more uncomfortable than being catheterized.

[alabamajane]

AMEN ANGuy,,,
Was going to post exact same thoughts but not being a big, strong male,,,, thought I'd keep it to myself.

But ,, yes,, our human population would be MUCH smaller if males bore  the children of the world. As for "pain down there" ,, After two kids, I can attest to pain.

Good luck with your catheter if need be.
Jane

[mcrue]

I never equated strength with masculinity.  I respect strength.  I get strength, or at least try, from the strength of others.

You can call being overly-concerned with the almost certainty of getting a catheter "strong" if you want.  Me, I'll choose to emulate all the women on this planet who bear children, most of them without anesthesia, which I'm pretty sure is a little more uncomfortable than being catheterized.

Are you serious? You basically emasculated Ed Engelking II (a male) as being "weak" (lacking strength) for complaining (or "meowing" as you put it) about his experience having his catheter removed. Not to mention everything else you wrote that was deleted by the moderators. Come on man.

One is not "weaker", or less strong, because they want to avoid going through the discomfort of being catheterized. If you took some time to watch Ed Engelking's 5-part Acoustic Neuroma video-series you likely may empathize with the poor guy. His experience is not uncommon for what I've found on Google.

And to suggest that men shouldn't be concerned about discomfort because woman have more discomfort while delivering children is ludacris. So what if women have more pain while giving birth? It's not a contest. That's like saying a doctor shouldn't treat cancer unless he has had cancer himself.

A woman who chooses to have anesthesia while giving birth isn't any "weaker" than a woman who refuses anesthesia. Neither one is to be emulated.

As for those sexist comments about the human population being smaller if men bore children, I won't justify them as I don't see how it contributes to the topic in any way.

This is a support group to help others. I was seeking examples of men who had been catheterized during their Acoustic Neuroma treatment, and their experiences. I wasn't looking for Howard Stern "shock-jock" stories of people who lost their minds yanking their catheter out of their urethra. How is that helpful? That's just a horrible visual for people looking for support which adds absolutely nothing to the discussion.

LakeErie, I'm sorry you experienced so many side effects in regards to your AN treatment.  It is heartbreaking. I can certainly see how in your case having a catheter would be the least of your worries. I wish you better progress in your journey.

[ppearl214]

Well, all.... you certainly have our attentions.  This is a serious topic that is now going off-track. I would like to remind everyone that we need to keep the topic on track.  We will respect thoughts and opinions and yet, putting another user down will not be tolerated.  As noted, this is a support forum where we can respectfully agree to disagree.

I'm just not seeing the "respect" anymore on this thread, thus...... if we see discussions continuing off-topic and not in a respectful discussion, this thread will be locked. It's a shame too as this topic is important for all (men and women) that must be catheterized for a surgical procedure. Been there, done that... and as a female, not comfortable either.

Please keep on track.... you all can continue the discussion offline in PM's (forum emails).

You may PM (email) me here on the site should you feel the need.

Thanks.
Phyl