Does anyone know about urine retention?

[belledechocolatefluffybunny]

Since my mother broke her femur in October she has been retaining urine and has had more then a few UTI's, she's been catheterised on and off since October. She has been in hospital for the past few weeks with UTI's and we are wondering what can be done to help her. I'm not sure if it's a medical problem or whether it's a post traumatic stress problem due to the accident. Has anyone any experience of this? Her consultant hasn't done any tests, she should have had a CT on Monday but it hasn't happened yet.

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Hiya

My dad has had lots of prostate poblems. Many of these were CAUSED by the catheters he has had to have. They have been put in badly, the wrong sort used, unhygienic, etc. Do you have a TWOC clinic (sorry don't know what it stands for but it is for ppl with catheters and so on) or similar that your mum could go to. It is usually upatient but if she is still in hosp then the ward could refer her.

My dad nearly died of an undiagnosed UTI caused by wrong kind of catheter inserted badly which caused his blood pressure to drop through the floorboards.

The best people he dealt with were the community nurses who came to his house once he was discharged, one said that all she did was catheters, she was sensitive to his embarrassment and the pain of the thing too, which is more than can be said for the ward nurses who were all v unpleasant.

Hope your mum is OK.

Thankyou. I've been to see her today, the nurse didn't know what the doctors were planning for my mum so I grabbed a doctor outside myself. He said they would investigate why she was retaining water, he's going to liaise with my sister as I don't live near them. She doesn't have a prostate so this rules that problem out . It's always the same though, the catheter comes out, she gets a UTI and ends up back in hospital. She has problems with her blood pressure, I looked at her chart and it does go very low, they blame the medication though. They have done nothing to find out why this is happening, she saw a consultant last year who told her to come back in 6 months time, he did nothing.

Thankyou for replying.

Oh ,Belle - I so feel for you and your mother .
Communications in hospitals can be so poor .
Was the consultant that told her to come back in 6 months treating the retention of urine problem ,or reviewing the progress of the femur ?
IME they only treat the bit that they are responsible for - admitted with broken femur ,focus is on that .
Other conditions that they've noticed while in hospital seem to get recorded and referred for out patient investigation but with little feedback to patient and relatives .
I wish I knew the answer to this situation ,can only suggest that you ,or sister are relentless in persuing with hospital staff .
Explain to the staff/charge nurse that you really need to talk to doctor who is overseeing her case ( could they suggest a time when you could phone ,if not immediately available ? ).
Write down what has been happening and what you want sorted/clarified to help you in the conversation .
Maybe contact her GP who should have feedback from hospital and talk through with him/her .
And for what it's worth - could it be a problem with her kidneys ?

She has multiple problems, she has had renal problems for a few years, it was the urologist who told her to come back in 6 months. Her fractured femur is being sorted via someone else, she's on the list for a hip replacement because the pins/plate have damaged her femoral head.

Her accident was quite traumatic, she was discharged from this hospital when she was still unwell (another UTI), she fell at home and was found by my sister, she'd spent all night on the floor, soiled and unable to move. She was really, really distressed. The water retention has been since then. The catheter comes out, she can't go to the toilet and gets another infection.

I did speak to one of her doctors last week when I visited her, he didn't know much either.

I'm only going on my experience of working in nursing homes and having been very ill in a renal unit, but I am thinking about the muscles around the bladder and if they're working properly. The valve that stops the urine from leaking out and if it's working, or, if the kidneys are filtering as well as they should be regarding her renal problems.

I hope your mum recovers quickly, as it can't be easy for her, having to go through all this.

Oh ,belle .Doesn't sound like the professionals are being much help at all .
Do speak to her GP for an overview of what's going on and advice about who and what you should be asking at the hospital .
Some GP practice's offer telephone consultations - like an appointment but on the phone - so perhaps you could ask her GP for one ?
Perhaps someone else has advice ?