I have doing CIC for 12 months, around 6 times a day. Now it has increased to around 8 times a day.Has anyone had this happen.?It seems like i get the urge every 3 hours.I asked my URO he says i don't know why?
frank,
Hi Frank,
A 24 hour void log is a good start where you write down the time and volume of every natural and catheterized void. Even better if you can compare it to an older void log when you were cathing 6x/day. Your uro should have suggested this but they are generally either uninterested or too lazy for low tech solutions. The other thing is fluid intake. Has it changed much?
Jim
Hey Frank what going on. Listen to Jim Do the log and watch what your drinking. It may also be what your eating. You have to watch your sodium intake. Maybe your taking in to much now. You were doing so good I hate to hear this. Be careful Ken
Hi Frank, IF you had a stretched out bladder and IF you have not changed your drinking habits (Two important IFs), then this could be good news, that your bladder is now smaller and therefore needs to expel in shorter intervals. This is where those void logs come in.
Hi Frank
I've been doing CIC since 2012 I had more frequently urgent need to empty my bladder and was trialled on botox injections but it didn't work needing me to require the use of catheters to help empty my bladder.. Since 2012 the hospital have tried all types of medications but none have worked. In 2016 I was informed that my prostrate gland had grown and need removing which I am looking into now hence joining this forum.
My frequency to empty my bladder fluctates some days I can manage 1-2 hrs with out going some times in can go 3-4 times in 1hr ???
This does iimpact on quality of life so much so now that I wear disposal pants every day use anything from 6 -12 catheters and have to plan my journeys all of this leads to anxious levels.
On a good note I have recently switched to using a flexi catheter which is a lot better to control spread of infection to the catheter( it has a outer cover that prevents touching the catheter.
Sorry to be long winded with my response but it has been a frustrating journey for me so far and I am sure there are lots of others who have to relive them selves more than usual and docs that can offer no reason.
I also went from 2 CIC's daily to about 5 or 6 without much of an explanation.
I've found that the urge/frequency is adversely affected by alcohol, caffeine, salt and total liquid intake (I try to keep mine at around 50 ounces daily).
Best of luck!
Hi Arlington,
A good void and intake log is helpful in finding the cause of CIC frequency changes. It can help differentiate bladder capacity issues from OAB to simply more urine output by the kidneys.
Jim
Agreed. Been doing it daily for 3 1/2 years!
Prostatitis and uti's will do that. If I drink citrus drinks or lots of caffeine I'll need to cath more often. You can also train your bladder where you urinate more or less often. Certainly a URO should be able to help you figure out what's going on...if anything. Another thought here, any change in your meds? Good luck.
So per the logs, when you went from 2 CIC's a day to 5-6, was it because of urgency at lower bladder volumes? Lower NV volumes? Or was it because of higher 24 hour volumes?
Jim
I've done all the void logs many times, I have reduced my intake of fluids, only drink caffeine free drinks and have gone to the extreme and tried on several occasions to not drink just to see if it makes a difference and from all this I still can't gauge how frequently I will need the loo and the doctors can offer no explanation . How do you explain needing the loo 3-4 times in 1 hr and on each occasion I used CIC basically emptying my bladder?
Micky: How do you explain needing the loo 3-4 times in 1 hr and on each occasion I used CIC basically emptying my bladder?
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There can be several explanations. If you post or PM me a 24 hour void log, including both catherized and natural voids, I'd be happy to share my thoughts with you. Also do you know if you have any bladder abnormalities like a diverticulum? If you have one, it should have been noted on one of your bladder/kidney ultrasounds.
Jim
Jim Thanks for your offer but I have had my void logs assessed by different medical consultants and do not have any signs of deterioration of my bladder. The consultant believes prostate surgery will improve the symptoms I have
Except you said the experts offered no explanation, only a solution, ie prostate surgery, which unfortunately isn't atypical. I wold want an explanation/diagnosis first! Your workup, including the logs should offer an explanation. Have they ruled out overactive bladder syndrome? Because if that's what you have then prostate surgery may not be the answer.
Jim
Micky Here is something to think about. You say the consultant believes the prostate surgery will improve the symptoms. But they don't know for sure. It a gamble. You can have the surgery and still end up with the same problem. and more Doctors can tell you what they think will help but they never know until the surgery but by then it's to late and also if doctors can not find out what the problem is they assume it the prostate. Be sure before you do anything Ken
Hi Jim I have been on a journey now with Urology consultants for nearly 3 years trying to diagnose my problems. Over that time I have been requested to try different medications each time being told to try this and come back in 6 months. During this timevOveractive bladder had been ruled out . I had a 48 hr session in a medical centre tracking my water intake , flows and outputs along with number of times urinating to see if there was any psychological problems. During this period there were a number of unexplained but again it led to the final conclusion that only surgery would resolve this. I know you guys are trying to help but I feel in a dark place at the moment and feel my quality of life has suffered that much that selecting the appropriate surgery is my only option.
Micky we are all on here to help you with your problem. That does not mean we don't want the best for you. Now you need to look into a procedure not a surgery. There is Urolift, FLA, PAE and Rezum which are the less evasive. All procedure and surgery do the same make a tunnel and relieve the pressure of the bladder. Please look into theses before you look into any of the others. My urologist likes these procedure. He does not do to many TURPS because he fell that is the last resort surgery. There are to many to pick from that don't require you to have your prostate cut out. Most of the time all that does is cause more problems and I don't think you want to deal with more problems Take care and Good luck Ken
Thankyou for being so understanding and the help and advice I will certainly be looking at one on the options you have listed
That might explain a bit of it; however, I think the bulk of it (and I should have mentioned this) was due to the fact that after a year and a half of catheterizing (w/ a 1:1 ratio of natural voiding to catheter voiding) my natural voiding rapidly dropped to zero.
Would your natural void still be zero if you went back to only 2 caths a day? If so, maybe you should cath less as long as your total volumes are under 400ml. If not, then it sounds like something else is going on such as your obstruction getting worse. I don't see how self cathing by itself, everything else being equal, would effect the volume of natural voids except positively.
Jim