External Catheter at Night

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MJOTR

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Joined
Sep 24, 2007
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1
Reason
CALS
Diagnosis
Occupational Therapist
Country
US
State
OH
City
Akron
Hello, folks. I am an Occupational Therapist serving a gentleman with PLS. He is having difficulty using a urinal at night, and I am wondering about the effectiveness of using an external catheter to help him (and his wife) sleep at night instead of getting up 1-2x to try to sit/stand to use a urinal.

Will it just make a mess, or is there hope this could work?

Your experiences are valuable to me!

God bless each of you.
MJ
 
Hi there. Welcome. Mike or Quadbliss would be the best one to answer this one. He is usually on in the daytime.
AL.
 
My father has been wearing an external catheter for over a year. It is a life saver! It may take a few times to make sure you get it on right. We've had a very few accidents in that time, usually when someone other than me puts it on. I have perfected the "technique" in our situation. I am the one who puts it on 99percent of the time. He is uncircumcised, so it was a little strange at first. If you have questions, you can ask me. I would recommend non-latex catheters. Even though my dad is not really allergic to latex gloves, etc, having a latex catheter on for that long caused a really bad reaction. It was terrible. You might as well just skip the latex and get non latex. I put a new one on every single morning. They are only made to last for a day. I would highly recommend this. The person who puts it on and takes it off eventually perfects the way not to dribble urine when removing it, etc. My dad does not use the leg bag. We use a bedside bag, and hook it into a plastic lined wastebasket. I empty the bag every morning, too. I change the bag every week, because it gets ugly looking after a while, and can smell if used longer than that.
 
Hi there-
It took me forever to get my husband to try the external catheters but now it is a life saver. I change it every 12 hours to avoid a blowout. We have had several of them and it has taken us trying several different brands till we found one that was adhesive enough to stay on since he wears it 24/7.
 
Hi MJ,

All I can do is back up what other folks are saying. I have been wearing an external cath 24/7 for about 7 years now, and it literally changed my life. Not only do I not have to bother my wife Jen any more during the night. I can leave the house without worrying about public restrooms, etc. If you guys decide to persue this, let me know and I will share our experiences with getting a good seal. This can be tricky at first. :-D

Mike
 
Just to add my two cents... When my husband started having trouble holding his urinal the external cath was a lifesaver. He wore it 24/7 and very rarely had any problems.

Chris
 
Is this the same thing as the condom cath. and only for men?
 
Hey Mike. Do you know of a website that has information on the condom catheters? As they say , a picture is worth a thousand words. Or maybe you could paint a picture and sell it to the manufacturer. Anyway I looked in a couple of online medical catalogues and there wasn't much info there.
Thanks. AL.
 
Hi Al,

This is the one I use.

crystalkk,

Yes, unfortunately this only works for men.

Mike
 
external catheter at night

I know the external catheter you described is for men only....but is there anything other than a regular catheter that a woman can use. This is such a problem for my sister and her loving husband. He is really getting so tired and she hates to wake him up. I just spent last week with them,and was exhausted when I returned.

I live 500 miles away and spend one week a month with them. I love the time my sister and I have together, but each time I visit ,it is so clear how she loses more strength and agility . She was diagnosed with ALS two years ago, but showed severe speech difficulty a year prior to that. She is not afraid, and very serene. An Incredibly strong person with a deep spiritual trust. She is beginning to choke fairly easily. I am so scared for her at times.

Thanks for the forum. I just feel sad tonight.

Loving sister
 
Oh You Men Always Have It Made Lol
 
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Hello Oldmoor- You asked the question I wanted to ask. I saw on one of the handicapped equipment sites something called a "female catherator" but it didn't look very leak-proof to me. I can't recall where I saw it but if you do a google search I am sure one or two will come up. If I find anythink I'll post a link. Cindy
 
Thanks Mike. That just may be the thing to get me out more.
AL.
 
I know the external catheter you described is for men only....but is there anything other than a regular catheter that a woman can use. This is such a problem for my sister and her loving husband. He is really getting so tired and she hates to wake him up. I just spent last week with them,and was exhausted when I returned.

I live 500 miles away and spend one week a month with them. I love the time my sister and I have together, but each time I visit ,it is so clear how she loses more strength and agility . She was diagnosed with ALS two years ago, but showed severe speech difficulty a year prior to that. She is not afraid, and very serene. An Incredibly strong person with a deep spiritual trust. She is beginning to choke fairly easily. I am so scared for her at times.

Thanks for the forum. I just feel sad tonight.

Loving sister


Your sister and my father seem to have a similar progression. It is painfully sad sometimes, I'm having a sad day myself :cry:
 
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