Very strange here; I just started CIC, 1 time a day for now - on an Alpha Blocker as well. I've noticed my natural voids have a much stronger flow, can drink more with less urinary frequency after an initial CIC.. Rest of the day is darned near almost normal voiding. Anyone experience this, and can anyone offer a logical opinion to why this may be? Thank you!
Forgot to add, without CIC, I tend to have a secondary dribble stream (no strictures). Using CIC once a day, that secondary stream disappears.
Forgot to add, without CIC, I tend to have a secondary dribble stream (no strictures). Using CIC once a day, that secondary stream disappears.
How long have you been on alpha blocker ? Hank
what is cic as i have trouble not emptying my bladder
Consistently, about 6 weeks or so. I’ve had times where I have tried to get off of them.
CIC = Clean Intermittent Catheterization or known on this forum as Self-Catheterization
Usually CIC doesn’t help natural flow that much. People with mild strictures are often ordered to do CIC occasionally, perhaps once every few days to keep it open, but you don’t have strictures. Maybe you happened to push off some debris or small stones that clogged up the urethra. Hank
Alpha blockers tend to help the flow much more. Hank
Hi - yes I have noticed that my natural voids have improved since starting CIC 2 years ago. I CIC 4 times a day and in between my natural voids range from 150cc to 250cc which is much better than before CIC. I think there are 2 main reasons. One is that the catheter physically dilates the urethra and the constriction caused by the prostate on the urethra so it helps to reduce resistance to flow. The second reason is that by using the catheter to empty the bladder it gives the bladder muscle a chance to rest and regain strength so the bladder muscles (detrussor muscles ) can regenerate. Jimjames has a lot on this and how CIC can rehabilitate a flaccid bladder to improve natural voids over time.
Lvscott,
What size catheters are you usingThe catheter might strech the urethra, prostate, and sphincters, so it is easier to urinate afterwards. When you use the catheter you drain down to zero residual, so it will be a long time before you need to go again. There is a discussion on this web site, started by Barnie, about stretching the urethra with large size catheters.
Thomas
Thomas, it wasn’t started by Barnie. The catheter size was 30 fr. Hank
14 FR
Comes back next day without a CIC. If there’s small stones in bladder, Uro missed it via Cystoscopy. With a CIC at least once daily, flow improves by at least double for the rest of the say, urgency and frequency go way down. After 1st of year, I’ll have more testing. Possible it’s a PBNO in where my bladder neck gets stretched out from the CIC, then tightens back up some time later. Man, I hope it’s not ‘that’ because the testing for that isn’t very ‘nice.’
Size 14 helped my flow too, but only for few hours afterwards, not as much as you. But it gave me soreness and irritation, also for few hours, so I use 12 mostly. Hank