Hi, could you please give me some advice.
My dad has been recovering from severe covid, long time ventilated etc.
He’s still quite confused and not fully physiologically aware.
They removed his catheter yesterday, but he’s been retaining his urine, so they’re putting another catheter back in.
I’m so worried after nearly 4 months with a catheter and now another one, when or how will he be able to know how to urinate independently?
I had a catheter for over 2 months. Before it was removed I said no as I wasn’t aware when I was weeing. Over three days I started to become more aware and was able to control it to a certain extent. When they removed it I was aware but had difficulty managing the urgency. This took awhile. Even now 13 months later I can still leave it a bit late.
What you don’t want to do is wet yourself either in or out of bed.
Perhaps he needs reassurance that there will be a bottle there waiting for him to use it. Also he is probably quite weak and wee in a bottle is heavy.
It sounds as if he may suffering from delirium (hallucinations) which doesn’t help.
By the way I am now 73
My husband had a catheter for about 5 months during his stay in hospital mainly due to his lack of mobility and weakness.
He was fully conscious and aware when it was finally removed but for a while he did find himself getting caught out by the urgency to wee. He said this only lasted for about a week or so and seems to be fine 4 months later.
My husband just told me that he found doing pelvic floor exercises helped after the catheter was removed. Might be something to remember once your dad is more aware and has the catheter removed.
Had catheter for 3 months - bloody glad to get rid of it - I think it was changed every 6 wks to protect me from infection - not pleasant.
Definitely needed to pee when I needed to pee - very little hanging about allowed. My muscles got stronger fairly quickly
Thank you all for your responses, this forum is so good and comforting.
The nurse has just said they haven’t put another catheter in and he’s weeing into a pad, hopefully when he’s stronger and more aware he’ll be able to use the bottle and one day please god, be able to take himself to the toilet! 🙏
It’s worth remembering that an induced coma results in drastic muscle loss everywhere – limbs and insides – legs, hands, heart, bladder etc – but the muscle loss is not a sentence to incontinence. I was only three weeks in a coma with a catheter, and then on a very short fuse for months. A year on, and I’m back to a reasonable normal for a 73-year-old. A difficult time for me was back home and for months needing to pee five times through the night. A bottle is handy, especially if your dad needs to avoid waking other folk up during the night!
New here and worried about my Mom
First time experience of Loved one in ICU
Dad off of ventilator 
how to help my husband through ICU delirium
