Tag: urology

Posted in Archive, November 2022

Return to the Hospital

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Well I’m back. In the hospital that is. After a short escape and my catheter spectacularly failing I was instructed back to return to the hospital. I was ushered back to the ward and greeted by baymates from the previous day. The nursing staff quickly whipped out the original catheter and placed a larger one in.

Whilst the original one was by no means pleasant, I’d got through the insertion with barely a grimace having been used to catheterising myself daily anyway. This second one was something else. It took several painful attempts to insert, immediately I found myself experiencing a burning sensation that left me in tears and trying not to move so as not to aggravate the sensation. The staff reassured me it should pass.

This morning, after no sleep thanks to pain, the consultant ordered medicine to ease the bladder spasms, assured me it would help and then I’d be discharged. It took 12 hours for the medicine to come to the ward, I’ve only just been given it. I have spent the day begging for relief. The bladder spasms I could deal with, the bypass round the catheter I could deal with, the burning sensation in the urethera? That I couldn’t cope with. The searing relentless sensation frankly overwhelming. After a day being inconsolable the nurses removed it. The relief was immediate. I’ve no idea why it happened when the first one was ok. They are now monitoring to make sure I don’t go back into retention and can cope with intermittent catheterising in the meantime.

The indwelling catheter was meant to be a solution until they could do the op to fit the suprapubic catheter. Hopefully I’ll be able to manage without it until then.

Diagram of Suprapubic catheter
Posted in Archive, July, July 2022

Urology Pick Me Up

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Yesterday I attended my first appointment with my urology consultant. I had no idea what to expect. Urology issues are common in my family but I’ve never pushed to have my issues investigated. I had a scan once in 2012 and was told oh it’s just an overactive bladder just try to go to the loo less and you’ll be fine. I was training to be a midwife, I was queen of going to the loo less.

I hadn’t realised just how nervous I was. I’ve been coping with on/off incontinence issues for a longtime now, it can take me twenty minutes to void my bladder and it’s never fully empty. Throw in my prolapse on top and things are just not great in the pelvic region. When he asked me to explain what was wrong the words just tumbled out at top speed, I was vaguely aware of my hands nervously shaking. He stopped me a few times, got me to take a breath, reassured me there was no rush he had time to listen to me and that I could explain in as much detail as I could.

He was eccentric in his mannerisms, but put me completely at ease. After my neuro left this was the pick me up I needed. Before I left his clinic I had appointments in my hand to come back for further testing, instructions for at home testing and a date to review the results. The NHS at its finest.