Self-catheterization and diapers
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It’s hard to say. For myself they would recommend intermittent cathing. I do not know the medical reasoning they are suggesting for your daughter. Mine is as a result of MS. Honestly I haven’t quite had the confidence to self Cath and thus I just wear diapers. I do use medication for the bladder spasms and have been diagnosed with Oab and retention issues. Just the side effect of the medicines are dry mouth which I compensate by drinking constantly. And guess what I have to pee very often. Thus I have just accepted to wearing diapers to avoid accidents. I am my own worse enemy in that if I drank less I wouldn’t need to go as often. So either I am dense in the head or have truly accepted what it is and this is the way I prefer it. At least for the time being. 
Basically if I drank less fluids perhaps self cathing would eliminate the need for wearing diapers. However if I am not self cathing I do not need to worry about urinary tract infections. And what I hear about them I am very happy with my decisions. Lol.
It all would depend on who we are talking about. I wear protection 24/7. However unlike most people on these boards I can get away with depends real fit during the daytime if I have no mtgs externally as I have a bathroom very close to my office. However if I have mtgs external I wear Abriform M4 briefs and Gary pants overtop so I do not have to be concerned.
I guess it comes down to personal preference.
Hopefully my response provides some advice you can use.
Basically if I drank less fluids perhaps self cathing would eliminate the need for wearing diapers. However if I am not self cathing I do not need to worry about urinary tract infections. And what I hear about them I am very happy with my decisions. Lol.
It all would depend on who we are talking about. I wear protection 24/7. However unlike most people on these boards I can get away with depends real fit during the daytime if I have no mtgs externally as I have a bathroom very close to my office. However if I have mtgs external I wear Abriform M4 briefs and Gary pants overtop so I do not have to be concerned.
I guess it comes down to personal preference.
Hopefully my response provides some advice you can use.
I tried self cathing but ended up with a UTI everytime i tried so i just wear diapers 24/7. I have a paralyzed neurogenic bladder from an accident.
ill add that a lot of people self cath successfully but for some reason i cant. im also prone to infection in general so that may be why.
ill add that a lot of people self cath successfully but for some reason i cant. im also prone to infection in general so that may be why.
I self catheterize before sleeping and when i go out with others. That way i don't wake up that often at night. And when i'm among other people i have less painful urges. I feel very ashamed when that happens, because i can't hide the intense pain. Still i have to use diapers but it would be great not to need them anymore. Although i have no problem self catheterizing but even when i would do it 8 times a day i would not take the risk going out without any protection. At best i could do with less high capacity diapers.
I have this issue for years and still i'm struggling accepting my body as it is. Can't hardly imagine how hard it must be for you and your daughter. I wish you all the best.
I have this issue for years and still i'm struggling accepting my body as it is. Can't hardly imagine how hard it must be for you and your daughter. I wish you all the best.
Risas - Make sure you understand why they are looking at self-cath, if it is for retention, it is important to do it. Less retention, less risk of other issues. If the bladder is low pressure, so there is retention but then leaking or the issue if for just leaking, I am not a fan of self cath or meds. Doctors are usually opposed to diapers and just leaking and will push you towards self cath as a way to manage incontinence. this works for some but did not for me. I still leaked doing self cath too. Similar with meds, they push them and often cause more harm then good (some even cause retention!). I recently helped a friend dealing with this same issue. She had tons of infections/UTI's doing self catch for incontinence and taking all kinds of meds that made her feel terrible(neurogenic bladder)When I convinced her to try diapers and just leak she was much better off, and now she is full time in diapers and does not self cath she has not had a UTi in a year. i spent years cathing and on meds, had bladder neck and sphincter removed which resulted in continuous leaking, a month in I had never felt better and could not believe I had spent 15 years fighting off being incontinent and in a diaper. (side note, I had to have this surgery b/c 15 years of cathing, botox and other treatments caused bad scarring) Understand the benefits and try different things, ask lots of questions as to "why" with the Dr's. I dont know how old your daughter is but I would focus on the best most comfortable/healthiest way to manage her issues and address the embarrassment/emotions after you find the right approach. I see too many people doing all kinds of awful meds and cathing because of emotions and not for health. (this was me) Maybe share this board with her? So many people here have chosen diapers/protection over "treatments", I think that says something. She is not alone, not in the least! And all of us feel what she has. good luck
One more things to add...and this forum can help, pick the right protection, had someone helped me with this years ago, it would have saved me 15 years of problems. The idea of wearing a full diaper is probably terrifying to a kiddo but when they work, they are awesome and can bring a lot of confidence to any situation. If you know you will not leak or smell, that is where you mentally need to get to with them. ;-)
One more things to add...and this forum can help, pick the right protection, had someone helped me with this years ago, it would have saved me 15 years of problems. The idea of wearing a full diaper is probably terrifying to a kiddo but when they work, they are awesome and can bring a lot of confidence to any situation. If you know you will not leak or smell, that is where you mentally need to get to with them. ;-)
@totalinco Thank you for your thoughtful post. Unfortunately, she does have retention and keeps getting infections, not only UTIs but also kidney infections. Doctors have been trying to avoid self-cathing, but we need to control the retention and infections. We're still not sure we're going to go in that direction, but it's looking more and more like we'll need to do self-cathing. We're seeing a new doctor this week, so we'll see what he has to say.
Is she taking any meds? I took meds for bladder spasm and leaking, that caused retention so I had to cath. Then I did botox which caused more retention and on and on and on. It takes awhile to get things sorted, focus on the retention and if there is leaking, make that secondary. That is what I did and leaking is nothing compared to infections. This is one place I think the Doctors get wrong. What happens if she is not taking anything or doing anything? Is she still in retention with doing nothing? I feel for her, kidney infection are NOT fun, none of this is for that matter. Take care
@totalinco I'm still getting over Botox. It seems to help at night, but the rest of the time I leak randomly and need to self cath to prevent retention. I have had so many infections that I am currently taking low dose trimethoprim all the time. I really can't decide if the benefits of Botox outweigh the problems. Cheers Phil
@risas Just to clarify something, when one has urinary retention they MUST straight cath or have a Foley period. The incontinence is usually overflow, or urge incontinence, because she is retaining. UTI's are happening because she is retaining and the bladder never empties. I do feel you know this, but some comments have been made, that you can stop cathing, and just wear incontinence protection. Regarding medications, my urologist told me I must take something, (I take Oxybutynin) for the spasms, sure they do not take all of them away, but it is better.
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