This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I have been cathing for about a week now. Before, I could pee on my own, just not empty all the way. Now, I cant pee at all. Its strictly cathing. I feel like I always have to go???? Is there any tricks of the trade I dont know about yet? I just want to be able to atleast fall asleep at night. I will feel like I have to go bad, and when I cath, very lttle comes out.

Bubba,
I'm a nurse. by your description I'd be worried that you got a bladder infection, it is very very common for people who self cath to get bladder infections.

Ordinarily the bladder is sterile. True! But when you introduce a catheter you drag germs up to the bladder with the cath where they can flourish.

Common signs of bladder infection are feeling like you have to go, then not being able to; or feeling like you have to go bad, then almost nothing coming out. You described those classic signs.

You might also check , do you have a fever at all? Feel sick overall at all? Does your urine smell "off" at all? Does it look cloudy like a little drop of milk was in it if you put it in a clear glass jar? If so get thee to the doc!

I get UTI (urinary tract infections) often because I retain. I do not cath regularly---YET. For me, the only way I can tell I have a UTI is the smell because my sensation is altered, then I have a jar I keep to get a look at it and if it seems cloudy, then I can do a dip stick.

A dip stick is a testing strip similar to what a diabetic uses to test blood, but this is designed to test urine for germs. You dip it in and look for the color to change, the bottle has a legend on it that tells what the color you get means. The cheapest is to get your doc to order some from medical supply and let you pay them for the bottle to keep at home. It'll cost quite a bit but worth it every time you can test yourself on Friday night and know ifyou need to go to the clinic in saturday or not......

Hope that helps
marie

two days ago I did notice that "off" smell, and the urine was cloudy. Both seemed to have cleared up though.
I had been cathing and not using the Detrol until yesterday. Before bedtime last night, I took a Detrol as per my neuro. When I woke up this morning, I have been miserable ever since.

Dude,

I have to preface this post with this: I hate Detrol, Ditropan and all the anticholonergics because of the dizzy, make you constipated, cottonmouth thing. That being said, I think if your bladder, in isolation, was your only problem, then I think they would be wonderful. However, in interaction with the problems that come with MS, I think it flat screws us up. So you know that I have a bad feeling about those products, but I'm sure not everyone feels that way about them. When I cath at night, I always look for the cloudiness by capturing it and then putting it in an old clear beer mug I have. The reason I think it's important to do everyday, is that if you catch it cloudy and take action quickly, you can clear it up in very short order. However, if you let it set in, it can get dug in. I had my first one about a month after I started and I noticed it right away, got to the doctor that day and was RX'd Cipro, and had clear pee by the next day.

The clean procedure is very important. Not only do you have to sterilize your hands, you really need to sterilize your junk by your urethra just as well as you do your hands. I even reuse my caths for about 3 weeks. Arti thinks I'm nuts for doing that, but that's what my brochure said I could do. I Completely wash them out with antibacterial soap and let them air dry. Then I take them right before use and completely rub them down with Isopropyl. Knock on wood, I haven't had one since and I've been doing it for months since that first one. Also drink at least 8 oz. of Cranberry EVERY day. It won't help if you've already got an infection, but apparently it's good PM.

I really can't help with the other stuff, but if I woke feeling like shit the day after taking a Detrol, I'd blame it on the Detrol, but Marie is right, if you have an infection, you need to knock that down before anything else.

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http://myhopefuljourneyintoactualmsreco ... ogspot.com

ok i have suffered many a uti in the past not from cathing but if it gets a hold you will probably need abx.
important: if you do get to that point get yourself some nice high potency probiotics to help your gut recover from having all the friendly microorganisms killed off along with the infection.
in addition to cranberry you can also drink bearberry(uva ursi) tea - i imagine there are capsules of that herb you could get too.
HTH
JL