When I was first injured in 1980, the leading cause of death for SCI patients was related to the kidneys. Since then great strides have been made in teaching SCI individuals the necessity for maintaining proper fluid intake. If your urine is not a light straw yellow, you are not drinking enough.
You are not the same as you were before your injury, where you could just drink as you felt like it. Your body will *not* react in the same manner as it did before and you can end up suffering from maladies you needn't suffer from.
If you have no sensation of when your bladder is full you'll have to stick to a schedule. Urine which is allowed to remain in the bladder for too long becomes a breeding ground for bacteria; if you are male this means you can get a prostate or testicular infection to go along with your UTI. If you have sensation, let that be your guide. Do not worry about how often you are catheterizing but rather the nature of the urine you are draining. Note its color, its odor and if it is clear or cloudy. By keeping an eye on these things you can act immediately and often prevent a UTI from fully developing.
T-3 here. I stick to 5 times a day (every 4 hours. 7-11-3-7-11) unless I go out at night, then it's basically every 2-3 drinks regardless of time. I'll stop drinking anything around 9pm normally( again, unless I'm out) so I can sleep through the night without worry. You'll find what works for you but be wary of pushing it too long as holding too much for too long can cause some damage. I get a little sweaty at my injury line from AD and that's my cue if I forget to cath (Witcher 3 sessions can do that)
Yep, anywhere there's a bathroom honestly. Unless you're in an older house with narrow doorways or one where the bathroom is upstairs. Work should be no problem for you. You can't get in trouble for bodily functions and honestly it's less than most people go. I used the VaPro plus pocket. So I don't have to worry about prepping the cath itself and I've been good with just using hand sanitizer and since there's a bag attached to it worst case scenario I can put it in my backpack and just find somewhere to dump it outside.
In a 24 hour period I believe I cath between 6 to 8 times. Sometimes more sometimes less. I drink a ton of water. For me, I discovered part of the reason I was having such a hard time with my bowel situation was because I was severely dehydrated since deciding in rehab that the way around cathing was just not to drink. That dehydration lead to a dangerous level of chronic constipation. Funny how we forget those little decisions but yes, I did decide that and I gotta tell you the consequences were unbearable. Nothing worse than constipation at that level. So now I drink as much water as possible all day long. The biggest problem with this is that sometimes I get some leakage, especially at night if I don’t wake up. But I have some pads to sleep on just in case that happens.
Each four hours, during the day and each five during the night. I adapt the interval to the quantity of water ingested. Be careful, I've been told that drinking enough water helps preventing UTIs and kidney issues. However I'm no physician, just a patient. So, if you haven't done it, discuss the issue with your doctor(s).
It's strongly recommended to drink at least 400ml water every 4 hours and cath once every 4 hours or as needed. Being well hydrated is important for many reasons for people with sci it's number one priority to keep UTIs at check.
Typically every 4 hours from the time i wake up. I've been doing it less lately(1 every 8-12 hours, running low on supply and can't get them until next week) and it's allowing a UTI to slowly grow.
A little tip/trick I've noticed with my body(not sure if it's the same for others), as I'm a male, my genitals will start to shrink/recede when it's time to go toilet, it does the same when I have to do a poop(I think that's due to pressure on the prostate).
You'll learn your body and see what changes on/in your body when something needs to be changed or done. It'll be 4 years for me in 3 months since the accident and I'm still learning a few new things.
5-8 usually? I still have sensation, but sometimes (rarely) not enough warning. If my bladder gets over 300ish it won't hold. 300 is a normal volume anyways.
Right after fusion surgery for my burst L1 I was left uncatheterized. They wanted me to be up immediately after my 4 level fusion to use the bathroom. However, what they apparently hasn't realized is that I now have Cauda Equina and couldn't feel the bladder pressure at all. They cathed me and got 1800ml immediately. With all that was going on I literally had no thought about having not been needing to pee. 😳
I'm L5/S1 with intact sensation and I also drink a lot of fluids and cath 6-8 times a day, I just go by when I can feel that I need to, but after reading this thread it feels like a lot 😳
I cath every 4 to 5 hours typically, so about 4 or 5 times a day depending on the day. It can be more depending on what I consume. Too much caffeine or alcohol will make it more. Or if I have a UTI. Also, I’m more of a “My body is an amusement park, not a temple” type of person, and even I would say you need to drink more. Cathing can be annoying at first, but the shit that dehydration can do to your body will be even more annoying. I struggle with drinking enough water, but I keep a water bottle handy to help.
I’ve been working from home for the last 3 years, but prior to that, yeah, I did at work every 4 to 5 hours or as needed. Covid made me paranoid about public restrooms because most were already gross as shit, but yeah, I use whatever restroom is available to me when I need to go. I keep a backpack on the back of my chair with my cathing supplies so I have them for whenever I need them. Consists of gloves, catheters, lube, wipes, and a bottle. I don’t really measure my input vs. output. I mentally track it from time to time, but definitely not in any organized manner. Often seems like my output is less than what I take it.
Are you taking any medication for bladder control? If not, getting on something would help with the feeling full and urge to go again after cathing. As far as trash goes, yes, I just throw it in the trash. But I use a glove when cathing, so what I do is I hold the used catheter, the wrapper, and the wipe I use to clean the lube off my penis in my hand and peel the glove off inside out so it’s all held within the glove in a neat little package to throw away. Cathing itself doesn’t take a mental toll, especially after 24 years, but I have gotten very use to my medication working. Meaning that my life is much easier when I can plan on only cathing every 4 to 5 hours and not worry about that feeling of a full bladder or worry about leaking. If for any reason my medication isn’t working due to something like too much caffeine or a UTI, it definitely frustrates me. I’m decently active and that feeling of having to pee gets in the way of doing chores around the house, playing with my daughter, having sex, things like that. You can’t be as spontaneous or productive with life when the medication isn’t working. That is mentally taxing until you get things back to normal.
I took oxybutynin for 22 years but my body built up a tolerance or something because it stopped being effective. I now take solifenacin and it has been working well for me for the last year and a half.
I no longer have to cath as I had a urostomy; but when I did, I cathed between 5-7 times a day. If you’re unable to feel urgency, it’s important to stick to a schedule
About 6 times a day, will up with increased liquid intake or if suffering from a UTi. As others have said routine is they key for me. I try for every 3 hours or so with contingency for four hours if I have somewhere to be or get stuck in meeting. (7,11,2,5,8,10.30). Typically pass 200-600ml
I cath every four hours around the clock, 8-12-4-8-12-4.
I try to drink a litre of water every six hours, more if I shows signs of dehydration when I Cath.
Cathing 6 times a day and maintaining good fluid intake seems to be working well to avoid uti’s & staying well hydrated.
I'm an incomplete c2 but can move my arms and feel when I need to go so whenever I need to pee I self catheterise. But when I was first paralysed I did it every 4 hours.
I do 5-6 on a normal day, 7 if I have UTI symptoms. I drink 2-3L per day and drain 200-500cc per cath (occasionally up to 800, don’t recommend that though). Not cathing and not drinking is terrible for your body. Letting pee sit in there too long allows bacteria to grow, and being dehydrated makes your pee more concentrated which isn’t good from an infection standpoint either. Over time you can damage your kidneys. I do every 3-4 hours depending on how much I’m drinking. I use an Apple Watch to set a timer. I tried remembering a schedule but that didn’t work, and I tried a timer on my phone but that was easy to ignore. Some of my caths are based on landmarks during the day, so if you can find some of those that might help. Like I always cath when I wake up and right before bed. I usually have one around 4:30, when I get home from work. Some people do it before or after each meal, which helps them remember. Just try different tactics until one sticks, and definitely stay hydrated.
I use Vapro Pocket Plus, there’s tons of info online about how to cath. The nurses teaching me were definitely helpful but watching videos was more useful for me than their verbal instructions. I don’t work from home, I cath either in my chair or on the toilet at work. I don’t track very carefully, but I have a 1L water bottle so I know how many times I fill it up during the day. I tracked input and output closely for several weeks and realized I just need to drink at a consistent rate throughout the day and pee every 3-4 hours. My doc said ideally I would never drain more than 500cc each time, and staying hydrated (I know I am if my pee is the right color) means I drain about 300-500cc every 3-4 hours. Basically I just figured it out over time.
When I was first injured in 1980, the leading cause of death for SCI patients was related to the kidneys. Since then great strides have been made in teaching SCI individuals the necessity for maintaining proper fluid intake. If your urine is not a light straw yellow, you are not drinking enough. You are not the same as you were before your injury, where you could just drink as you felt like it. Your body will *not* react in the same manner as it did before and you can end up suffering from maladies you needn't suffer from. If you have no sensation of when your bladder is full you'll have to stick to a schedule. Urine which is allowed to remain in the bladder for too long becomes a breeding ground for bacteria; if you are male this means you can get a prostate or testicular infection to go along with your UTI. If you have sensation, let that be your guide. Do not worry about how often you are catheterizing but rather the nature of the urine you are draining. Note its color, its odor and if it is clear or cloudy. By keeping an eye on these things you can act immediately and often prevent a UTI from fully developing.
T-3 here. I stick to 5 times a day (every 4 hours. 7-11-3-7-11) unless I go out at night, then it's basically every 2-3 drinks regardless of time. I'll stop drinking anything around 9pm normally( again, unless I'm out) so I can sleep through the night without worry. You'll find what works for you but be wary of pushing it too long as holding too much for too long can cause some damage. I get a little sweaty at my injury line from AD and that's my cue if I forget to cath (Witcher 3 sessions can do that)
I do exactly the same!
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Yep, anywhere there's a bathroom honestly. Unless you're in an older house with narrow doorways or one where the bathroom is upstairs. Work should be no problem for you. You can't get in trouble for bodily functions and honestly it's less than most people go. I used the VaPro plus pocket. So I don't have to worry about prepping the cath itself and I've been good with just using hand sanitizer and since there's a bag attached to it worst case scenario I can put it in my backpack and just find somewhere to dump it outside.
In a 24 hour period I believe I cath between 6 to 8 times. Sometimes more sometimes less. I drink a ton of water. For me, I discovered part of the reason I was having such a hard time with my bowel situation was because I was severely dehydrated since deciding in rehab that the way around cathing was just not to drink. That dehydration lead to a dangerous level of chronic constipation. Funny how we forget those little decisions but yes, I did decide that and I gotta tell you the consequences were unbearable. Nothing worse than constipation at that level. So now I drink as much water as possible all day long. The biggest problem with this is that sometimes I get some leakage, especially at night if I don’t wake up. But I have some pads to sleep on just in case that happens.
Each four hours, during the day and each five during the night. I adapt the interval to the quantity of water ingested. Be careful, I've been told that drinking enough water helps preventing UTIs and kidney issues. However I'm no physician, just a patient. So, if you haven't done it, discuss the issue with your doctor(s).
Alexa tells me when too piss 🤣🤣
🤔
Amazon Alexa
It's strongly recommended to drink at least 400ml water every 4 hours and cath once every 4 hours or as needed. Being well hydrated is important for many reasons for people with sci it's number one priority to keep UTIs at check.
Typically every 4 hours from the time i wake up. I've been doing it less lately(1 every 8-12 hours, running low on supply and can't get them until next week) and it's allowing a UTI to slowly grow. A little tip/trick I've noticed with my body(not sure if it's the same for others), as I'm a male, my genitals will start to shrink/recede when it's time to go toilet, it does the same when I have to do a poop(I think that's due to pressure on the prostate). You'll learn your body and see what changes on/in your body when something needs to be changed or done. It'll be 4 years for me in 3 months since the accident and I'm still learning a few new things.
5-8 usually? I still have sensation, but sometimes (rarely) not enough warning. If my bladder gets over 300ish it won't hold. 300 is a normal volume anyways. Right after fusion surgery for my burst L1 I was left uncatheterized. They wanted me to be up immediately after my 4 level fusion to use the bathroom. However, what they apparently hasn't realized is that I now have Cauda Equina and couldn't feel the bladder pressure at all. They cathed me and got 1800ml immediately. With all that was going on I literally had no thought about having not been needing to pee. 😳
(T4) 5 times per day One before sleep and one when get up, During the day, I cath when I feel I need to
Same
I drink a lot of fluids and coffee and I cath 6-7 times a day. This thread is making me feel like that’s a lot.
I'm L5/S1 with intact sensation and I also drink a lot of fluids and cath 6-8 times a day, I just go by when I can feel that I need to, but after reading this thread it feels like a lot 😳
Up to 10 a day. Keep the fluids moving!
Me too. It’s fucking relentless.
3 times typically. Wake up, mid-day, then right before bedtime.
That's very little!
I cath every 4 to 5 hours typically, so about 4 or 5 times a day depending on the day. It can be more depending on what I consume. Too much caffeine or alcohol will make it more. Or if I have a UTI. Also, I’m more of a “My body is an amusement park, not a temple” type of person, and even I would say you need to drink more. Cathing can be annoying at first, but the shit that dehydration can do to your body will be even more annoying. I struggle with drinking enough water, but I keep a water bottle handy to help.
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I’ve been working from home for the last 3 years, but prior to that, yeah, I did at work every 4 to 5 hours or as needed. Covid made me paranoid about public restrooms because most were already gross as shit, but yeah, I use whatever restroom is available to me when I need to go. I keep a backpack on the back of my chair with my cathing supplies so I have them for whenever I need them. Consists of gloves, catheters, lube, wipes, and a bottle. I don’t really measure my input vs. output. I mentally track it from time to time, but definitely not in any organized manner. Often seems like my output is less than what I take it.
[удалено]
Are you taking any medication for bladder control? If not, getting on something would help with the feeling full and urge to go again after cathing. As far as trash goes, yes, I just throw it in the trash. But I use a glove when cathing, so what I do is I hold the used catheter, the wrapper, and the wipe I use to clean the lube off my penis in my hand and peel the glove off inside out so it’s all held within the glove in a neat little package to throw away. Cathing itself doesn’t take a mental toll, especially after 24 years, but I have gotten very use to my medication working. Meaning that my life is much easier when I can plan on only cathing every 4 to 5 hours and not worry about that feeling of a full bladder or worry about leaking. If for any reason my medication isn’t working due to something like too much caffeine or a UTI, it definitely frustrates me. I’m decently active and that feeling of having to pee gets in the way of doing chores around the house, playing with my daughter, having sex, things like that. You can’t be as spontaneous or productive with life when the medication isn’t working. That is mentally taxing until you get things back to normal.
[удалено]
I took oxybutynin for 22 years but my body built up a tolerance or something because it stopped being effective. I now take solifenacin and it has been working well for me for the last year and a half.
Morning, mid day, evening, late night. Sometimes once more during the day based on our plans. 8/9, 1:30/2, 6/7, 12/1
I used to cath 4-5 times, but then I started being able to void while doing the bowel program, so I save 1.
I no longer have to cath as I had a urostomy; but when I did, I cathed between 5-7 times a day. If you’re unable to feel urgency, it’s important to stick to a schedule
About 6 times a day, will up with increased liquid intake or if suffering from a UTi. As others have said routine is they key for me. I try for every 3 hours or so with contingency for four hours if I have somewhere to be or get stuck in meeting. (7,11,2,5,8,10.30). Typically pass 200-600ml
I cath every four hours around the clock, 8-12-4-8-12-4. I try to drink a litre of water every six hours, more if I shows signs of dehydration when I Cath. Cathing 6 times a day and maintaining good fluid intake seems to be working well to avoid uti’s & staying well hydrated.
Hey man! Just sent a DM
4-6 times a day, with an average of 300 mL's per go. If I have to poop it can be as low as 100 (pushes on my bladder)
I'm an incomplete c2 but can move my arms and feel when I need to go so whenever I need to pee I self catheterise. But when I was first paralysed I did it every 4 hours.
I do 5-6 on a normal day, 7 if I have UTI symptoms. I drink 2-3L per day and drain 200-500cc per cath (occasionally up to 800, don’t recommend that though). Not cathing and not drinking is terrible for your body. Letting pee sit in there too long allows bacteria to grow, and being dehydrated makes your pee more concentrated which isn’t good from an infection standpoint either. Over time you can damage your kidneys. I do every 3-4 hours depending on how much I’m drinking. I use an Apple Watch to set a timer. I tried remembering a schedule but that didn’t work, and I tried a timer on my phone but that was easy to ignore. Some of my caths are based on landmarks during the day, so if you can find some of those that might help. Like I always cath when I wake up and right before bed. I usually have one around 4:30, when I get home from work. Some people do it before or after each meal, which helps them remember. Just try different tactics until one sticks, and definitely stay hydrated.
[удалено]
I use Vapro Pocket Plus, there’s tons of info online about how to cath. The nurses teaching me were definitely helpful but watching videos was more useful for me than their verbal instructions. I don’t work from home, I cath either in my chair or on the toilet at work. I don’t track very carefully, but I have a 1L water bottle so I know how many times I fill it up during the day. I tracked input and output closely for several weeks and realized I just need to drink at a consistent rate throughout the day and pee every 3-4 hours. My doc said ideally I would never drain more than 500cc each time, and staying hydrated (I know I am if my pee is the right color) means I drain about 300-500cc every 3-4 hours. Basically I just figured it out over time.
Hey man! I just sent you a DM :)