living with indwelling catheter

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Hello,
I am writing on behalf of my father who has had a stroke and is now living with an indwelling catheter due to a combination of factors (an enlarged prostate and incontinence from a shunt procedure and stroke recovery). He would like to hear from others who must live like this, and hear how they cope with this condition. How do they make the situation more tolerable, any advice, thoughts, suggestions on reframing the situation more positively,

thank you,

D

 

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I have a couple of tips. Get a flip flow valve and put it on the end of the catheter so you can tuck the penis in close fitting underwear, this way, dad can open the tap when he gets sensation that he needs to empty his bladder regularly and there is no tugging down with half full day bags. At night, make sure the catheter is connected to a night bag and the bag is underneath the bed so a good flow goes into the bag. I use a 3 litre night bag and connect to my night stand which I put under my mattress, this way there is enough tubing to turn over in bed without getting stuck in pipework.

All of this takes time to get used to so tell him to be patient and let everything settle down.

Last tip is to buy some good quality mattress protectors.

 

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Thank you so much for this supportive comment. I will relay it to my father who I know will deeply appreciate the advice. Knowing someone else is going through the same thing will help immeasurably. Thank you

 

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I have a suprapubic catheter. It was written up on this site 2 months ago.

 

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Thank you, I will check out your description, I really appreciate it