My father has stage 4 PC. He was diagnosed in december and still has a catheter in- he had his 5th chemo session last week. His urologist has tried to remove the catheter twice since his diag but my father was not able to go to the bathroom without it in. It caused him a lot of pain from all the retained urine and he had to get it back in. He has had a uti and feels discouraged about the whole thing... any advice about what we can do?
There was a mention of "debulking" his prostate at some pt in the beginning but not since....he goes to city of hope in pasadena
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ellie2211
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My husband is actually scheduled for a a TURP procedure on Thursday. They laser a channel through the prostate for urine to pass. You father would need to be healthy enough for surgery. Also, there is risk of infection and complications like incontinence. Different doctors have different approaches, as trestmrnt can reduce prostate size.
Sorry ellie2211 . I’m sorry that Dad is in the heat of urology problems . We went thru it also . Good news is he can come off of it if treatments work well . It’s so demoralizing . I had foley and K tubes including 3 bags of pee hanging off of me foe a year and a half . No sugar coating . It was misery . The problem was constant UnT I ‘s with strong anti biopics the entire time . Self catch is an option . Not fun , grueling but many people live that way.. Le5 vit6 of hope save his kidneys and cut him well . Many prayers md much faith is needed to get trough this fire that he is in today . Pull him along with your love and compassion . . 😢🙏
This a form of hell right here on Earth . Don’t let him give up or give in . He must endure.. many prayers to you . Be healthy and get him happy as you can . Loving daughters are a gift from heaven . You’ve got him covered with love🙏
I have tons of sympathy for your dad. To say urinary retention is painful is an understatement. It happened to me after bladder surgery and then my first catheter clogged a few days later! Happily my retention resolved on its own about a week later, and to this day I'm thankful every time I can go on my own.
One option if he must continue with a catheter is to ask for a valve instead of a bag. My uro did this after the first cath clogged. The urine collects in the bladder as normal and when the urge strikes just go to the toilet and open the valve. No big bulky bag to worry about, which makes sleeping much easier.
Sometimes after catheter removal a short course of Flomax or similar will help. Alternative is self catheterization if he is will and able to learn how to do it. Safer than chronic use of catheter in terms of UTIs.
I had a Foley catheter in for 160 days. The docs were about to start chemo (docetaxal) and I dug my heels in and insisted on a TURP before starting chemo as I didn't think it would be a good plan to go under anesthesia while on chemo unless it was really necessary. Everything worked out OK and after a couple of weeks recovery, I was (and still am a year and a half later) urinating fine.
There are too damn many alternatives to going around with a bag of pee on your leg (I was in the hospital in Scottsdale Monday getting my PSMA eval for a clinical trial when I saw a guy in shorts with a catheter bag on his leg - don't do that!) to not get an alternative. Talk to urologists aand if they advise against something, find out why. Your Dad doesn't need this.
I'm sure this is not the doctor's first rodeo. Tell him to grab the bull by its horns and fix you Dad NOW! Guys here know what to do more than the doctors do. FULL COURT PRESS THE DOCTOR TO HELP YOUR DAD NOW IF NOT SOONER. I get so angry when I hear about doctors that are not treating their patients properly. GIVE HIM/HER HELL.
Hey Ellie2211. My dad self caths and swears by it. He says it is much better than the indwelling catheter in terms of comfortability. He absolutely hated his catheter when he had it.
At this point yes. At one point he had a catheter bag in both kidneys and penis. Now he has JJ stents in kidneys to allow them to drain which eliminates the need for external bags. He was peeing on his own after the stents were placed and then gradually stopped. Sadly the cancer in his prostate has begun to grow again causing him to no longer urinate on his own. He opted this time to self catheter instead of getting another catheter. If you have questions feel free to ask away. Urinary tract issues are so unpleasant and it’s hard to see your parent in such discomfort!
A TURP operation might be in order. That surgery (re)opens up a path for the urine to flow. Typically, an inflamed / enlarged prostate can block the urine flow.
You need a Urologist to perform the procedure. I do recall being given ADT for awhile to reduce the size of the prostate before surgery.
In my case, I had a catheter for 4 months before I was finally freed from my bags etc ....
Hopefully, he is in a condition where he could be a candidate for a TURP.
As an aside, I might mention ONE thing that might help while he is in his current state.
A CORK or plug can be used to make his life a bit easier, instead of a daytime bag.
I discovered this 'tool' towards the end of my catheterization by a clinical nurse who told me that such a device existed !.
But I should issue a warning - you should use some tape as a backup device to keep the cork from popping out.
I made the mistake of springing a leak in Walmart (of all places) and learned my lesson quickly.
Keep an extra cork and roll of tape handy - you might need it when least expected - LOL ....
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Patients located in France?? In urgent need of advice!!!
Blood in Urine with Catheter usage
