Urinary Problems

Urinary Problems

As we were going through life, Pete was deteriorating and we kept coming up against different problems. Nobody told us what to expect so when these problems arose, we had to deal with them as best we could with any help that was available at that time.

When Pete started to having urinary problems and becoming incontinent, we kept waking up in a wet bed. This really embarrassed him but it wasn’t his fault and we had to deal with it.

We managed to arrange a visit with the incontinence nurse (through our district nurse) who came to see Pete at home. I think they opt for the easiest method first of all so as not to alarm you too much. We found this out years later.

It was decided that Pete would use a sheath (sometimes called a conveen) attached to a drainage bag strapped to his leg. The sheath had adhesive on the inside and it rolled on to the penis in the same way a condom does.

After he had rolled it on, he would put his hand around it and squeeze it gently ensuring it had adhered firmly. Then the leg bag was attached to the other end of the sheath (as shown in the illustration). A Velcro strap was also supplied. This was used to wrap around the top of the conveen to make it extra secure.

Going to the pub

If we went out anywhere Pete would normally drink beer. He couldn’t use any toilet so I had to think of a way to keep all this urine produced, in the bag until we were ready to go, so I used to connect two bags to the sheath. The normal bag and another connected to this one. (Both 750ml). The top one I would open so the urine drained into the bottom bag and when that was full up, the top one would collect the next lot. If he really drank too much when both bags would be full, I had to take him outside and find a drain. I opened the catch of the bottom bag over the drain and emptied the whole lot! This didn’t happen often as, thankfully, he was quite a moderate drinker. This can also be done with any catheter which is fitted as well as conveens.

The next problem we had was the sheath would come off. We went years with this problem. I was always taking him out to the car to put on a new one. What a rigmarole that was! I would always bring a change of clothes with me and I would have to do the whole procedure on the front seat of the car! Very discreetly I might add.

The sheath coming off like this is very unusual we found out years later! We persevered because we didn’t know anything else existed at the time. It turned out that Pete’s penis would retract. This is a condition in which most of the (non-erect) penis is inside the body with only the tip showing. So, because of this problem, the sheath had nothing to adhere to.

If you have the same problem, please don’t go years like we did. There are many other aids on the market. I just wish somebody had told us. It would have saved us years of misery. We were just left to get on with it. It really wasn’t fair.

Pete then went on to have a penile catheter fitted. It was like a new lease of life. We could go out and he could have a drink without worrying about anything.

Sometimes the catheter would block up and prevent the urine draining into the leg bag. Instead, the urine would by-pass the catheter and come out of the penis soaking everything that got in the way.

The district nurse taught me how to give wash-outs and when this happened, I would try a wash-out and if it didn’t go in, the catheter was completely blocked and he would then need to have it changed. At first the district nurse did this, but a kink was discovered in Pete’s bladder so he had to have a camera with a guide wire used by a specialist in the endoscopy suite at the hospital to insert the catheter.

If the wash-out did go in, then that was a good thing and I left fluid from the wash-out in his bladder for five minutes or so with a clamp and afterwards release the clamp and it would come back into the bag and so flow correctly once again.

Sometimes the wash-out would go in nice and easily but instead of coming back into the bag like it is supposed to, it would by-pass and come straight out of the penis.

One absolutely brilliant idea was told to me by another district nurse and I have used this method ever since. If the catheter stops flowing, get your thumb and first finger (as shown in the photo) and gently squeeze the catheter as in a pumping motion.

8 times out of ten, this method got it going again. If after your first pump it hurts your “caree”, this usually means there is no urine in the bladder, so you’ll have to wait a little while and try again. If this really doesn’t work, then try the wash-out or call your district nurse.