Catheters

[Trixieboo87]

Hi I have posted on here previously about my elderly dad . He is currently in rehab but prior to that was in hospital after a stroke he then caught Covid which wiped him out , the dr made the decision to fit a catheter this was 2 months ago he was discharged to rehab with it
Oh when he was in hospital due to my perseverance of having it removed it was removed but my dad went into retention so it was put back on . I asked for a referral to urology as my dad keeps getting uti’s which lead to him being confused .

I spoke with urology yesterday my dad had an appointment next week but the nurse said
1: rehab should have tried him without it
2: He’s not mobile so what’s the point to which I replied infections .

Anyway I was working today so couldn’t visit him in rehab and got a call this evening to say he’d been rushed to hospital with a fever the nurse went on to say they removed the catheter today & hes urinating normally

I’m in shock that there was no mention that it was being trialed off and 2 he’s been rushed to hospital . I have spoken to a&e and they said maybe his fever is due to having the catheter removed it might have irritated his utertha .
Should I question rehab ? It’s great that it’s off but he doesn’t walk any more he’d be using a bottle . I said to the nurse please don’t put the catheter back on if he’s going to the loo
it’s all such a stress

Would you be able to ask about Methenamine or a prophylactic antibiotic for the UTIs if they are frequent?

Thankyou for your reply he’s had the catheter removed which has sparked another uti

Is he peeing normally or peeing frequently... there's a big difference and unless they've measured his bladder volume after voiding they won't be able to tell which it is. If he's not able to empty his bladder completely (which is common in gents of a certain age because of an enlarged prostate) then a catheter may not be a bad idea because it will prevent stagnant urine in his bladder causing UTIs.

My Dad had similar issues and was eventually fitted with a suprapubic catheter (permanent via excision in lower abdomen).
This cut down the amount of infections he got and he found it more manageable.
Worth asking about if he's having trouble urinating as a result of his stroke.

Thankyou all for your replies the catheter was removed nearly a week ago but my dad can no longer control his bladder so is wetting the pad
I don’t know if the control will ever return especially given his age of 85

Been through all of this and similar with my Dad after rehab...you have to find yr own info out as no bugger tells you anything. So this is what we did from advice from nurse, GP, incontinance team.

1st off get the Incontinanece Team to pay a visit to your Dad with you there. Keep badgering them for solutions...it is their job to help and advise.

This is how we overcame the problems:
Trialled without but was retaining.

Not mobile so had to have one.

My Dad had a long term one fitted but had it changed every 9-10 weeks not 12 weeks to help keep infection down.

Every week District nurse came and flushed it out as abit of sedement also collected and cause it to block abit and also infection set in. First they flushed it with saline then decided on a mix of saline and citric acid.

Nurses came when the caters did their call so they could hoist my Dad onto the bed and he was comfortable whilst they dud everything. Always abit of blood in bag after but normal.

GP said antibiotics do nothing as they surpress the infection,then when course finished germs reappear. Best thing to do is take out caphter, have ABs for a week to clear infection then replace.

Keep on at the Incontinance Team and yr District Nurses...insist they visit to really talk this through with you