Re-catheterisation - your catheter stories please!!

[southlondonlockdown]

Hi all,

I had quite a difficult birth 2 weeks ago and am struggling with the physical impact on my body. Would really appreciate some catheter stories because I just don't know enough about all this!

The birth story itself is a pretty common one I think: I was two weeks late and had to be induced, then had an epidural because the contraction pain after the second pessary was intense, was pushing for 8 hours without food/ drink, given syntocinon to increase the number of contractions, the baby and I got an infection, then they realised the cord was wrapped twice around her neck. They prepped me for a c-section but ultimately she was delivered by forceps and an episiotomy. I lost a lot of blood in theatre and had a blood transfusion afterwards and we were kept in hospital for a few days with antibiotics.

Around 24 hours after the birth they removed the catheter they'd put in at the same time as giving me the epidural. About 5 hours after this I realised I hadn't peed and was unable to. The doctors put the catheter back in to give the bladder muscle a rest, and said it would be removed in one week.
I then had a TWOC (trial without catheter) back at the hospital after the week was up, and unfortunately after 6 hours of trying was unable to pee and was re-catheterised for 10 days. I haven't been referred to urology yet (I need to call them as they haven't called me and were supposed to) so I don't have any specific information about what's actually wrong with my bladder - I presume it was bruised during the birth.

I'm at the end of my tether with this stupid catheter. It's one of the ones that attaches to your leg, and I can feel the hard plastic tube in there all the time. If I walk for longer than 20 minutes it really hurts and irritates my stitches. The bag is very crude and falls down my leg constantly, even when it's empty. Sometimes it itches so much I want to rip it out myself!!

I'm also a bit sceptical of being taught to self-catheterise (happening on Friday) and anxious about when I'll ever be able to go back to normal. I really miss peeing!! It's all been a bit of a shock as I'm very fit and healthy and have never so much as broken a bone. I assumed when they took it out after a week that I would pee straight away! No such luck.

If anyone has a story about a catheter I would love to hear it!

This happened to me after the birth of my son. I had to fight to be taken seriously regarding my bladder - I was left by the midwives for hours and in terrible pain with a severely over-extended bladder. Eventually after a fight, I was allowed home with leg bag and then re-admitted to be taught how to self-catheterise.
Hardest part I found was not knowing that this happens to other people and thinking I'd never wee by myself again.
I was re-admitted on a Friday and by the Sunday, my retained urine levels had dropped enough to be allowed home without self-catheterisation.
Be kind to yourself. You will wee again eventually as your bladder unfreezes after the birth. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Also, are you on painkillers? If not, take some to help with pain and discomfort. I was on paracetamol and difene- good for the discomfort and swelling.
If they're bringing you back to hospital, bring a few mirrors with you so you'll be able to see you lady parts. They had no mirrors in the hospital where I was and yet they expected me to be able to find my urethra by magic! Ended up going to the motor factors across the road and buying a selection! A self standing make up mirror would be best but bring a few different types as you won't really know what works best for you until you're practising.

@dumpling123 thanks so much for replying! Really reassuring to hear about someone else having this issue, especially given that it ended up getting sorted in the end. Upsetting that you had to fight so hard though. And absolutely ridiculous that they expected you to find your urethra with no mirror?!! I'll be honest, I had no idea what I was looking for and there is no way I'll ever be able to do it without a mirror.

At my lowest points I definitely feel like I'm never going to pee by myself again. It's been three weeks so far, but only two days of self catheterising. I've been taking paracetamol and ibuprofen, but I might try this difene instead. The pain is pretty bad still! Perhaps that's why I still can't pee, everything is still healing.

I had almost the exact same thing. I never self catheterised though. After a couple of TWOCs I had a super pubic catheter, which meant a small procedure to insert a tube directly into my bladder through the skin, not the urethra. It took 8 weeks to get back to normal, and I wonder if I'd ever get my bladder back but I'm fine now.

@Namechangeforthis88 8 weeks!! Ok, that's good to have in mind as a potential timeline! I imagine it will take me quite a while as I can't feel much at all at the moment.

For the first few weeks I had no urge to see whatsoever. Apparently my bladder was twice the size it should be and they were worried it would burst. I had no sensation that I could do with going to the loo. All completely fine now.