Bladder not functioning at all after kidney stone removal

Kidney and urinary tract
1

My husband had a kidney stone removed November 2015. It was extremely large and dense. The surgeon was only able to blast 1/2 of stone, and a second procedure was scheduled. In the interim, his bladder stopped working. We are not sure if it was a pre-existing condition due to his Type 2 Diabetes. He is 6'1 and currently weighing 165. He is not a heavy man, and his Diabetes diagnose was only discovered from a Life Insurance test. He has had it for 15 years. After an stone attack in July, he knew it was time to finally attend to this stone. His urologist had been telling him for a very long time that he had an enlarged prostate and was also retaining urine after he emptied his bladder. As I said, he was told these issues, but life was "too busy" for him to take care of it. 

Subsequently after the attack, he sought a second opinion. This new surgeon (very prestigious surgeon) told me husband his prostate was not enlarged. "Music to his ears!" after years of being told it was, even though he had all the symptoms of enlarged prostate. You tell a man that, there's no looking back. He also did an ultrasound at initial consultation, and he said his bladder was empty. That was it!! Surgery was scheduled. I'm not even sure if they read his records that were sent over from his previous urologist. Seventy-seven days later, my husband has been catheterized. The second 1/2 of stone was removed, the stent removed, and he spent two days in hospital recovering after second surgery and experiencing extreme pain with bladder spasms. He has had the bladder test, and nothing. We have removed catheter weekly, wait, and then the pain is so severe, he needs to be catheterized immediately. Last time his bladder had 1400cc from 9:00am to 1:00pm. I had to rush him down to Dr.'s office. My husband is 57. He's a young guy still, and I am afraid he will never get full function of his bladder. He will begin self-catheterization next week, and we will be looking into another specialist in the city. He has suffered from spasms, UTI's, weight loss, and I feel helpless. Any advice or hopeful words, I would truly appreciate it. 

Thank you.

2

Hello Patricia.  I thank you for taking the time to take charge of your husband problem.  And thinking about his prostate.  It is true I worry about mine all the time.  If something happens to it it does not just effect the man but his partner to..  I had alot of the same problems when I was younger.  I'm 60 now.  When I was 47 I was sent to a urologist.  My PSA was very high.  I was told that I had either cancer or a prostate infection.  After many test I ended up finding I had a prostate infection.  Also they found kidney stones. He told me that there were many but there were 2 the size of jaw brakers.  I had  3 surgerys to get rid of them The first 2 was a breeze but the last one on the left side hurt like h..l.  I was fine for a while in 2014 had 7 kidney infection and also sepsis.  They try to catheter me in the ER and could not get it in the bladder. 3 times  After had blood on my gown. ( This was a horror story )  I had to go see a urologist after a few test I found out I have a stricture for the kidney surgery.  I also had a prostate problem my doctor found out my prostate was stopping the urine flow.  I had a Urolift done last year and all is fine.  No med and no side effect at all.  I also have stage 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.  When the surgery was done did they damage the bladder with the catheter.  I got the stricture from them going in and out of the urethra.  I am going to see if I can find anything about your husbands problem.  Just tell him to try to relax and not think about it.  You 2 just have fun and enjoy life.  Take day by day.  Things will work out...Ken            

3

Hi Patricia,

It sounds as if he will be much better off going to intermittent self-catheterisation (ISC), rather than the weekly insertion and removal of a fixed catheter. It is more manageable, less intrusive in the bladder and much easier on the urethra, being only in place for two or three minutes at a time.

I'm 58 and my bladder has also packed up completely - I can only empty it by self-catheterising four times a day, at regular intervals because not only is there no muscle tone left in there, there is no nerve function either to tell me when to go. Several inspections have declared that my prostate is normal, and after all the tests they can muster - CT scan, MRI scan, ultrasound, uro-dynamics and my favourite ("Can you pee yet?" "No." "Ok well thanks for coming in.&quot nobody knows why this suddenly came on a year ago this week.

I had been having difficulty peeing for about a week, and when blood started to appear in the stream, and later the stream became not just pink but blood-red, I was admitted urgently to my local urology department. There they rammed in a thick Foley catheter, incredibly painful but no doubt necessary, and drained off 2.5 litres of blood and urine. I don't know if the insertion of the Foley damaged my sphincter - nobody will consider the possibility - but I have no doubt it was urgent. The bladder was so stretched and full that it could have burst at any moment and that would have been fatal.

It has never regained its size, shape, muscle tone or nerve function, rather like a deflated balloon the mornign after a party. The only theory that might fit is that I have somehow been enlarging my own bladder by putting off peeing if I had something better to do or didn't want to let someone down or be late for something. Your remark about your husband's life being too busy to address his retention rings bells with me. (My own story is that I was a bedwetter as a child, and in ovdcoming that I was determined never to allow my body to let me down like that again - so I exercised a degree of control over bodily functions that resulted ultimately in my present condition. That's my theory anyway.)

Of course I don't know your husband's circumstances, but I hope maybe my experience gives some insight. After a year I am quite accustomed to ISC, and don't mind carrying a few with me if for example I am out at a social event where I will at some point need to go. Peeing regularly is quite easy to plan for and in a way makes life simpler! Inserting something that frequently is bound to carry a risk of UTI, but that can be minimised with a good regime of hand-washing and wiping the penis with antibacterial or antiseptic wipes each time. (I keep a pack in the bathroom and also keep a travel kit made up of wipes, catheters and nappy bags for disposal.)

In short, I am able to live a full life with minimal concessions to my condition. I cycle long distance for leisure and, after initiallly feeling that I couldn't go out as often, my social life is as full as ever. I work from home, so I haven't had to deal with any workplace issues.

I don't know if any of this helps! But I hope so, and do please ask again if you think I can help any more.

Best wishes to you and your husband,

Colin (Edinburgh, Scotland)

4

Thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it. Yes, your info helps, and gives me hope. He is self-catheterize 3-4 times a day, and he's been a trooper. I feel so bad for him, but we move forward, and continue to live our lives. Thanks again for your support.

5

Thank you for your feedback. Your information is also encouraging, and familiar. He has only been self-catheterizing for one week, but I believe this may be a life long thing. We will get through it, but it does sadden me. His spirits seem high which is great! I just keep supporting him, and reassuring him that we can live life this way! Thanks again for your support.

6

Hi Patricia,

Mine certainly looks like a lifelong thing, which I must admit I try not to think about! Mostly it is just routine now, and the worst moments have been the occasional calls into the hospital for tests or review. On those days I am most conscious of my condition and usually end up feeling pretty sorry for myself - I am quite a young 58 and don't like to think of my body starting to go wrong!

But in general I think my wife is more upset about it than I am. She doesn't like the thought of what I have to do, whereas I just get on with it.

It sounds like the two of you will cope admirably with it! But if you or your husband wants to correspond directly with me, I'll be happy to send you my email in a private message here. Or of course we can compare notes here on the forum.

Best wishes to you both,

Colin

7

Thanks for your response. I believe posting on this forum helps others, so sharing here is fine with me. I know these issues are personal, but you helped me, and we can help others. With that, my husband is a young 57 year old, and I'm 48. I never thought this would happen to him, but it's not a death sentence. Inconvient, perhaps, but there was also a time in our lives where my husband had to know where every bathroom in the city was. I also understand your wife's feelings, however, it's really a fine line. You can either feel jipped, or you feel

fortunate that this is the only health issue you are dealing with as a family. I believe my husband had a pre-existing condition he ignored. That makes me angry, but it is what it is, and we can't go back. Bottom-line, we all need to become more responsible for our health. I believe the 40-50 generation just believes we are young, but we are getting old, and for our children's sake, we need to eat better and be honest about out health issues. Thanks again for your support. I believe your wife loves you very much, and is angry that this has happened to you! Just continue to be strong!

8

I completely agree! This forum was the single most important source of comfort and information when my condition first developed, and now that things have settled into a routine I feel I owe  it my own experiences for the benefit of others.

Whenever I get fed up about it, I remind myself that it could be worse. As you say, it's not a death sentence but (as someone else put it to me) a life sentence in an open prison. And, with apologies to those who aren't as fortunate, at least I'm not incontinent.

I'm sorry about your anger! My wife does I think get occasional flashes of anger but mostly she's squeamish about the new process, and sad on my behalf. And I'm sorry about us men - why oh why do we never attend to our health until it's too late?! (I'm not as bad as my father and grandfather, who both neglected leg injuries until it was too late and both lost one as a result.)

Anyway, I hope your husband's ISC is making life easier for him, and you. Best wishes to you both,

Colin