I have BPH and have avoided urologist recommendations to do a TURP. I have been intermittently self cathing on an as needed basis for almost 2 years. Prior to this I was urinating 24 times a day, with little actual volume per urination and retaining over a liter in my bladder. Are there negative long term effects to self cathing? Can one choose this option forever?
Hello I had turp surgery in Oct 2017 took 4 months for full recovery and to this day I am at 100% and I do recommend turp when having prostate urinating problems
Self cathing will help your bladder but will not stop your prostate from growing
<<Are there negative long term effects to self cathing? Can one choose this option forever?>>
CIC can be "cumbersome" (as I remember one poster stating) but many people in wheelchairs have to do it for life. Most of us who are accustomed to it; and that took a short time for me; use the hydrophilic one-time-use catheters. They are relatively inexpensive, especially if you have insurance such as medicare that covers it, and easy to use.
Do you have to push to urinate 24 times a day? I would think that having to do that so frequently would put a strain on your kidneys as well as you bladder. For me, if I can urinate even 30 ml with a natural void (NV) i am probably retaining @350 to 400. I was in complete retention less than a year ago. I had to go to get an ultrasound of my bladder when I was discovering my problem (my GP didn't have a clue) and it showed my bladder was stretched almost up to my navel.
It feels SO GOOD to releive myself of that burden by CIC. PSA numbers went down after CIC. I was experiencing overflow incontinence especially at night and that went away with doing CIC 3-5 times a day. I can sleep @ 6-7 hours before getting uncomfortable; sometimes longer. I never have slept 9 hours a night.
I decided to forgo TURP as well and have been self cathing for the last four years. Unless something better than the current surgical offerings comes along I plan on self cathing indefinitely. For longer term reference, self cathing is the go-to method of voiding for the SCI (spinal chord injury) community. Some there have been self cathing practically their entire lives. So, yes, it's a "forever" option, and in my opinion an excellent one. As to complications, some report UTI's although may report less than before. Attention to disinfection and technique can keep UTIs to a minimum in most cases. I've never had them, but false passage and/or stricture is another complication but easily remedied. We have a couple of long threads on CIC that might be of interest to you.
Jim
Derek,
Self cathing doesn't require the prostate to shrink or even stop growing. As long as the catheter reaches the bladder it will empty completely both protecting bladder and kidneys. There is also the possiblity for bladder rehab. If this occurs, then the rehabbed bladder can sometimes overcome an enlarged and even growing prostate producing good natural voids. This was the case with me. Four years ago I had to self cath 6x/day. Today, it's down to a couple of times a week.
Jim
I also had a very good outcome with TURP (January 2017). My recovery took about a month. I’m happy with the results. It eliminated the urgency, greatly reduced the frequency, and the flow is strong and easy.
Hi, Stephen,
Based on my own experience I fully endorse what the others are saying about Clean Intermittent Catheterization (C.I.C.). I'm coming up to the two year mark and what had been an increasing number of UTIs due to urine retention has fallen back to more than a year since my last UTI episode. Just follow some simple, basic rules and you should be all set. Clean your glans carefully with a suitable antiseptic before each session; if you do use lubricant make sure it does not irritate your urethra; and make sure that your catheter is a comfortable diameter. And you can count on a whole bunch of Forum Contributors who can recount their own experiences.
Good luck, and keep us posted on how you get on!
Warm regards, alan86734.
Keith, I don't see how PSA can decline as a result of CIC. Hank
I concur with everything that's been said here. Self Cathing can be done indefinitely and yes, you can do it for as long as you're able. If you were retaining that much and going twice an hour, you probably have issues other than BPH (probably your bladder function). If that's the case, TURP wouldn't have helped all that much.
There are other less invasive procedures with much shorter recovery times than TURP, which is kind of outdated at this point for that reason. You might want to have a complete workup done (scope to measure your prostate and urodynamics to measure bladder function) to see how much of your problem is BPH and how much is something else. Many have rehabbed their bladders over time with cic - stick with it as long as you want/need to. It beats straining, beats retention, beats a foley cath and for many, beats any of the procedures.
All the procedures work for most people but the ones that don't come to forums like this as well as a coterie of ones who are afraid it will not work for them.
I've been self cathing for about a year and a half. It took a little time for me to get used to doing it and getting my mind around the idea of possibly having to CIC for the rest of my life.
Sometimes I still get a little bummed that it looks like I am going to be self cathing forever...but I'm the type of guy that wants to have as little contact with the medical profession as possible and I want to keep any treatment as simple as possible. I'm also a bit of a control freak and doing CIC which I know I can make work on my own rather than taking a chance on some procedure that may or may not work and that I have no control over is, for me, the best option.
CIC works for me and a lot of others here, but it's not for everybody, but for me at least the longer I do it the more comfortable I am with the idea doing it forever...
I think the reason the PSA declines is because you no longer are in chronic retention. All of my uro's agree that urinary retention will elevate the PSA..
Hi Steve, specifically what is blocking your urine flow eg is it an enlarged median lobe? have you had an mp mri to pinpoint your specific issues, I avoided turp and after much research regarding the best option for a median lobe blockage I chose FLA which is the least invasive and easy, kind regards Brian.
Hi Stephen, I had a TURP which grew back within 2 years and was self cathing until I could not get it in and had to have Foleys especially when Prostatitis was bad. Now having Prostate removed as have small Cancer as well, and I refused another TURP. After removal it won't grow back then so no more Biopsies and nothing to block urine flow . There is no easy route to clear all problems with the bladder.
David
I had turp surgery in 2015 and also had a lesion on prostate but the results of the tissue was positive as there was no cancer present. No retro and had the cather in 3 days and all was okay after that. I am 77 now and in good health. Full recovery takes 6 weeks.
Hi Keith,
I can't go that long at night without getting uncomfortable. Can you tell me:
- how much caffeine do you have
- what's your approximate daily liquid intake?
Thanks a lot!
Hi Jimjames,
I'm in a similar situation w/ CIC'ing and watching potential surgical offerings (although I'm not voiding naturally at all. Please let this forum know (and I'll do the same) if you ever decide to go w/ one of them. I'm keeping track of FLA reports but, like you, am waiting for clinical evidence w/ regard to BPH.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Stephen,I had the same problem ,urinating a lot. I started CIC 16 Months ago, because like you they wanted to do Turp. I don't know how old you are or if you have complete urine retention.like i do.I must say I'm glad i started CIC.and 88 years old i think i made a good choice. I must say you need a lot of patience with CIC .take you time ,do it slowly.How old are you, and can you have a natural void?
frank.
I have BHP and began using an intermittent catheter about six months ago. I found that using a 30fr or larger diameter catheter once or twice a week seems to “stretch” me making it much easier to void my bladder on its own. I usually keep it in for four hours or so at a time. This has not only worked for me but has very nearly worked too well.
For the first 24 hours or so after I do it, if I feel the need to urinate I sometimes have to make a mad dash for the bathroom or risk having an “accident”.
Sometimes I can go a week or more without doing this although if it goes more than two weeks I can begin having trouble passing urine again especially at night.
I realize this kind of a solution is not for everybody but so far it seems to be working for me. I have searched long and hard on the Internet to find information on this but so far I have turned up nothing. Most “doctor’s advice” strongly recommends to NEVER use a large diameter catheter if can possibly be avoided. But my experience has been the opposite of that. I guess I’ll just keep doing it until I have a problem. Beats the heck out of surgery!