I would like some in put from folks who know. Hospice is suggesting that I consider a catheter for my husband. He has to be changed every two hours. I think that is normal but they say it is very hard to keep him dry. This has been suggested to me for the last two times I have had him at respite. What are your thoughts. What are the pros and cons. I am not a clinical person so I am not sure about this.
what i know of a catheter inplace is that it is quite uncomfortable and over time can be a device that can produce uti infections if they arent kept clean and sanitary. changing every 2 hrs seems alot. i can go usually 4hrs or so sometimes longer with DH. does your husband suffer prostate issues that keeps him urinating so frequently? there are meds to help control this if it is. unless he has skin breakdown and this is suggested to keep the dampness away i would opt to change him as needed and avoid the catheter issues unless crucial. we use catheters for urine samples and its not pleasant for DH. and there is always the issues of them pulling on them which DH most definately will do. there may be some new fangled catheter out there thats for long term use but i would be leary of bacteria and infection. if they want him dry at respite they should change him. its what they get paid for. but i would check on why hes going so often. the pros is there isnt alot of urine soaked sheets or bedding usually and they pee in a bag instead to keep things off the skin and dryer. i dont see too many pros unless its urgent and not for long term.
Yes,every two hours, I am use to it so I thought is was normal. He may have an enlarged prostate and that may be what is causing it, I will mention it to the Hospice Doctor, he will be here in a couple more weeks. I thought to myself they probably wanted one so that they would not have to work so hard. He has no skin break down at all but I do have to change him every two hours and have been doing that for 3 years. I very rarely have wet sheets.
I will not opt for the catheter after your post. Thanks divvi, I knew I could count on this board. People are are wonderful
the first question is if there was one, would he reach down to pull it? My bil had an external one that stuck to the skin around the penis (he had to be shaved to get it to stick) and is changed usually daily. The urine will drain into a bag. But, they are easy to pull off and are prone to come off if the skin is not shaved and dry when applied. ON the other hand they are nice cause it avoids the wet diapers. I think they are called a condom or something like that.
I think it is called a Texas Catheter. I would also get him some zinc and lycopene for his prostrate which should help with the urine flow as it help shrink the prostrate.
moorsb is right. It is a Texas Catheter. They are much more comfortable than the internal ones, and if he pulls on it won't do the damage pulling an internal one out would do (they have a balloon on the end that is inflated to keep it from falling out on its own)
Interesting. I cannot get my dh to give a urine sample and the nurse that visited this week said she would request the condom catheter which is not painful compared to the regular catheter. I told her my husband was in tears when they used a catheter the last time he was in the ER. She asked if he had prostate issues and when I said "yes" she said that is why it was painful. (My dh never complains about pain so I knew it hurt). I would weigh the pros and cons of a catheter before saying yes. Good luck.
Thanks so much for all the information. The Texas catheter would be the way to go, I will most likely keep doing as I am now for the time being. Thanks to all who helped with this.
There are pros and cons to this but one of the big pros is protection from sores from being wet. My dad became incontinent and we finally had to resort to this. I think they can be uncomfortable. At first he had a Texas Cath but in the end it was a Foley and for him it was somewhat uncomfortable at times. If you go that route, you have to be careful not to step on that long cable thing. One really good pro is you can tell if there is a urinary problem at times by the look of the fluid..is he getting enough hydration, is there infection, etc.
Changing someone every two hours is hard work if they cannot help you help them.
I guess we are going to try the Texas Catheter. Hospice has been great as we have been trying to find a incontinent product that will keep my husband dry. He really doesn't drink that much, however, he is always wet. Hopefully, we will have good results.
At our Tues. a.m. support group one of our members distributed info sheets about Liberty3.0 external catheter. She's been flying high since finding it. She said for the first time in 3 years the bed & hb are dry in the a.m. and she doesn't have to spend 2 hrs doing laundry and cleaning. Her hb isn't ambulatory. She said the first couple times she used it, it took her 15 min or so to get it hooked up. Now she does it in 3. And, she says, Medicare pays for it.
We're not at this stage yet, but I've filed my notes.
Hospice applied the Texas Catheter today for the first time. I am a bit nervous as to how this will work out. I don't want skin breakdowns, which will be watching very closely.
Kadee, I'm glad that it works for your husband. Mine isn't always wet, and the pads can sometimes be changed without changing the diaper. I just change my husband when he is wet, just like I did my babies....
Yesterday, was the first day with the Texas Catheter. He woke up this morning with a dirty, but dry Depend. And yes, he does pee a lot..400 cc overnight. Hospice Nurse commented he is a young man. However, we will still watching for skin break downs.