It you take a stool softener twice a day, that should help a lot with
the constipation.   If you don't, it can get pretty bad, in some cases
requiring medical attention.

In the past several people with the same problem have suggested the use
of a variety of lubricants.   If someone doesn't respond telling you
what he used, just do a google groups search of this newsgroup, and you
ought to find several recommendations.

The ointment you use for the place where the catheter enters is fine.  It is
a nuisance, and the best you can do is apply the ointment liberally.
Make sure you have some slack in the plastic tube since the tugging can also
cause irritation.
Before too long, this will truly be a memory.  Now it may be a nightmare, or
a bad dream!
I remember when my cath was removed.  I was truly free again!
Like Martin Luther King says" free at last"
I had to put that in since it his his memorial day this Monday.
Your friend, John Loomis

hi rus - after wearing that damn catheter for 22 days the first time and
then i had to wear one twice more after the surgeries because of the
complications of the scarring, i became quite an expert in the catheter.
i posted what my experiences were, but nobody seemed to pay a lot of
attention to them.  my guess is - since the catheter is out, the need to
know is gone.

there are two kinds of catheters,  one is a silicon type and the other
is a latex model.  the first one i had is a silicon model and even
though i found that most uncomfortable, the latex was much worse.  so
when it came time to had the third operation, i requested the silicon
model and got it. and it did make a difference.

the discharge from the weeping gets crusty and irritates the end, as you
already know.  but on the silicon model, it peels off fairly easily and
i kept that model soaked in vaseline so it would slide around without
much friction.

but the discharge from the weeping on the latex model dried and stuck to
the latex and was just like sandpaper.  oh, what a feeling!!!!!   no,
wait, i think there's  commercial in that saying........ anyway back to
the latex model.  has it ever dawned on anyone that if you have a latex
model, that it's possible that you are having a latex reaction.  just
something to consider.

also, i was one of the few that, when they pulled the catheter out, hurt
like a bastard.  that was pulled out by the nurse.  the next two, i did
at home and i didn't hurt myself and had no problems or pain.  so, if
you feel that it is going to hurt, pull it out yourself at the office.  

and yeah, i did a countdown on that catheter to the
nanosecond..........each time.

you shouldn't have to be on percoset at this stage of the game.  i went
off of them the fourth day at home and just took aspirin.   i didn't
have that much pain to need percoset.  so if you are having to take
percoset 10 days later, it might be something to look at, because
percoset is a very strong drug.  

now, when i had that latex model, it did take some of my percosets
because of the pain.  

it should say "silicon" somewhere on the catheter and have a smooth feel
to it.  the latex model is rougher texture.

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional

from my Foley experience these may be what was described to me as "bladder
spasms" .... I think it means you are trying to expel the catheter .... and
why wouldn't you ..... it comes and goes and is extreme burning that would
make me just jump up and down to try and stop. I had a med for bladder
spasms but it really didn't do much.

Sorry to say it only stops when the catheter comes out

I was hoping I could walk more than I have been able to. It seems any kind
of activity results in the kind of irritation you mention (+ a little
bleeding). It's enough to make me stop moving around, but not as bad as you
describe.

Somebody mentioned a latex allergy, but I would think the whole urethra
would be inflamed.

My wife discovered a CVS version of Neopsporin that had an extra pain relief
ingredient that might be worth trying (I haven't tried it).

I get up sometimes to put more ointment on. That lasts long enough to get me
back to sleep.