Urinary retention after caesarean birth and catheter for two weeks

[BeaconRicks]

Hi,I had a baby via a c section delivery. I had my catheter taken out and I was able to wee within 6 hours. Looking back I don’t think I did enough but didn’t realise at the time.

i was sent home. Day 10 PP I went to A&E with an unrelated issue but they checked my bladder and saw that I was retaining around 400-500ml of urine. A catheter was put in that night and drained and was taken out I was sent home.

I was so worried about retention that I went to the loo every 2 hours. I could wee, I just didn’t have an urge. After the A&E visit I got a bit of an urge when standing.

on day 14 I went back to maternity unit for a bladder scan because I was so scared I was still retaining, they checked and I had around 400ml again.

I’ve now got a catheter with a leg back for 2 weeks and I’ve been asked to come back for a trial in two weeks. If I don’t pass that I’ll need to self catheterise.

does anyone have any similar stories? I am so down and terrified. This has been horrendous during what should be a really happy time

First of all, congratulations for your new baby!

I’m not in a very similar situation as it doesn’t relate to childbirth but I am familiar with urine retention and self catheterisation.
I had Botox injections in my bladder to help with urge incontinence and one of the side effects can be retention.
I was having to self-catheterise a few times a day and it was awful to begin with. The embarrassment of a nurse having to show you how to do it wasn’t a great experience!

I started off having to take all my bottom half clothes off and squat in the shower over a mirror which made it awkward when I had to go into the office, but there is a shower there at least. I quite often had to have a few goes at getting the catheter inserted properly and I didn’t realise at first that you have to pop an internal pouch in the catheter packet to release a lubricant, so it made things sore and I did get a UTI.

But, I am now able to do it by hovering over a mirror balanced on the toilet seat and the whole process only takes a minute or so.

I was really angry about it to begin because it was so undignified, a bit sore to do, gave me a UTI, the retention was uncomfortable at times and it was just the hassle of it all, but I eventually accepted it and as the retention is wearing off I only do it maybe once a day to check the volume.
You get all the supplies - catheters, wipes and disposal bags free of charge on prescription and the company I use sent a nice washbag to keep it all in too. I just phone them up when I need more and they sort out the prescription with my GP.

I do hope your bladder sorts itself so you can concentrate on your new baby, out but if it doesn’t, then self catheterisation doesn’t have to be a huge thing to be frightened of.
💐

After a 2 hour labour my bladder had trauma. I had to self catheterise for a year. Wasn't bad and never got a uti or anything...
Congratulations on your baby.

Thanks for the quick response! Good to hear it became manageable.

Did it feel sore when you began doing it initially?

could you still self catheterise when you had a uti?

im worried it’ll be so painful and sore that I can’t do it

Thanks, sorry to hear your story.

did it take a while getting used to? Did you manage it easily when out and about / on holiday?

I think it was sore mainly because I didn’t realise about the lubrication, but they do say it can be a bit irritated at first but it’s not like you have to steel yourself to do it. I’d get a stinging sensation when my bladder was empty but the insertion and removal didn’t hurt.

Yes, I still catheterised with a UTI.

When I was retaining volumes of around 200-300ml I would SC before going out and manage whilst out and about. It just means your bladder reaches the full feeling more quickly than normal. I haven’t been on holiday but I think I’d manage now as I can do it over a toilet.
I’ve been doing it since June this year btw.

Please ask for a catheter valve instead of a drainage bag OP in preparation for the trial without catheter. A valve mimics normal bladder function (you open it to drain urine then close it to allow the bladder fill) and it is more comfortable and discreet than a drainage bag.