night time urination - how to do it ?

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JustMe

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Joined
Dec 29, 2006
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PALS
Country
US
State
Pennsylvania
City
Harrisburg

Greetings:

I am looking for info on devices to allow one to urinate during the night.
I had been getting up from bed to go to the toilet, but several serious falls made me stop that.

For the last few months I have used a urinal ( non-spill device from URSEC in Frace ) but need to go from sleeping position to sitting on the edge of the bed, to use it. The last few nights that process has become almost impossible, since I can no longer get to a sitting position without help.

During the day my wife is available to help, but at 3AM or 5AM or 7AM she is asleep, and I am alone. She does HAVE to sleep sometimes, to maintain her health, and she is the only assistance I have - no famioy or etc,

I understand there are devices one can wear to help this -- does anyone have any experience they wouold be willing to share here to suggest what does or doesn't work?

If you don't want to reply on the forum I will give you my email addy.

RJG - - JustMe

 
Quadbliss aka Mike talked about a condom catheter for daytime use. I'm not sure if it would work at night but he usually is around most days so might be able to help.
AL.
 
gotta go

As I see it, you have three options. First, try the condom catheter, second, wear Depends, or third, wake up your wife. My MIL takes care of my FIL who has Parkinson's. They use the urinal 24/7. He is confined to a wheelchair.
Personally, I'm looking on the bright side, At least you are a man. What am I going to do when I get to that stage? Most recently, my fourteen year old daughter has been helping me take a shower. Mostly because I'm too tired.
You are very considerate not to want to wake up your wife. Can she take a nap during the day? I don't think you will like the CC Because the hot urine sits between your legs getting cold till your wife wakes up. Depends? I don't know. Try one, maybe it will pull enough moisture away so you can ignore it.
Good Luck!
Let us know how life works out.
Angie
 
Justme,
I know of an ALS patient that has had a suprapubic catheter procedure done. Now I don't know all the details of how its done but its a surgical procedure of some sort. You may want to read up on that and see what's involved. Good luck to you and may God bless you and your family.
 
I put a condom catheter on my father every single day for about 2 years. It made life sooooooooooooo much easier. There are so many different kinds and styles. We found the non-latex to be the best. Although he was never allergic to latex before, that is a very sensitive "area" and the latex ones caused a terrible reaction. I found the shorter sheath was better for him, and intermediate size which happens to be between small and medium. He was not circumcised (hope that's not too much information), so that took a little trial and error. I was always very careful not to spill drops of urine when changing it, so there was not an odor--unlike the few times he was in the hospital and the nurses and aids were not at all careful about that. I bought a lot of extra collection bags so I could use a new one every week--that also helped with odor.

I would be happy to answer any questions. I feel like I have a lot of experience with this matter, because I was the caretaker for my father. I highly recommend these catheters.

Mary Helen
 
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 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
 
Condom Cath

Hi again:

I hope your art is still going well - I love your wokr, though it is OF COURSE sometime disturbing.

Thanks for the thumbs-up on the Con-Cath -- I have pretty much run out of other options, and it is good to hear from two different people that it is a good workable solution.

Please, any info or suggestions you an offer will be appreciated. If you would rather do this off the forum let me know and I will private-message you my home email addy.

Thanks in advance.

RJG
 
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 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
Would you share how to get a good seal?

Thank you. I think this might be the answer for us. Where does one get these?

Rufus
 
I, like AAA, ask what can we women do when the time comes. Could a woman or a caregiver of a woman shed some light on how you coped? Many thanks.
 
Hi Ilgal:

I care for a woman with ALS - for a long time we were able to use a female "urinary diversion device" - called "Freshette". It is a cup-like thing with a long tube that lets you divert urine into a bag, a commode - whatever. It is much better than a female urinal that you can see in catalogues - but it is still a little clumsy. With practice you can get it so there are no leaks. It was especially good for us when we went out - not transfers to a toilet. It was invented by an ALS nurse from San Francisco. Google it.

Eventually my PALS just decided on diapers. She is a nurse and has all of her faculties. She just decided it was easier on her - no more worries about being wet.

When the time comes get the cloth-like ones - either Tranquility or Prevail are good ones. You can buy in bulk and get good discounts over the internet. Avoid the plastic-backed ones - you sweat, and it is not good for the skin.

There is no doubt about it - it is easier to solve this problem if you are male. One thing, though - when we used a Freshette device, she dressed in a long skirt - no underwear - and it was easier than trying to pull pants off and on someone who cannot bear weight.

Look up Diane Huberty in Google - She is a clinical specialist nurse in Neurology who happens to have had ALS for 22 years. Her website will come up on a google search - she has lots of tips on toileting that are VERY useful. Her other tips and information are also priceless.

Beth
 
I have been wearing a condom catheter 24/7 for several years, and very
rarely experience a leak. The type of catheter, and applying it
properly are crucial. I need to graphically describe some things, so if
you are disturbed by frank discussions of anatomy, you should stop
reading.

I use Hollister Extended Use Catheters. These caths have an inner flap that prevents urine from coming into contact with the adhesive (when applied correctly). There are a couple things that are important in reducing leaks. First, the
penis must be perfectly clean and dry before application. This requires
a few minutes of air drying after the area is cleaned and towel dried.
It also means the person installing the cath can't have any residues
from cream or lotions on their hands. Second, when installing, the head
of the penis must be pushed firmly against the inner flap with the
urethra fully visible through the hole. This prevents urine from
dissolving the adhesive.

For more info about the convenience of a condom catheter, see the
article on my website
<http://quadbliss.com/travel.htm#Condom_Catheters

I hope this helps.

Mike
 
Beth, that was a good suggestion about the "no underwear". For the last several months of my dad's life, he wore no pants at all. He spent his life in his recliner, and had a curved board over his lap with all kinds of stuff on it (phone, remote control, etc). Noone visiting would ever know that he was naked from the waist down, because he had so much stuff on his lap, and often a blanket covering his legs. I was the only one to get him up, and I used to have a terrible time getting his diaper pants off. This made life so much easier. If he went out (and he only went to the doctor) he just didn't drink much before the trip, and then I would dress him in the disposable underpants and his own regular pants (and I needed help to do that). He wore his external catheter 24/7 but not when he went out. We always were careful about how much he drank when he went out.
 
Thank you all for sharing this information. It is so nice to have someone to ask these questions. I certainly don't think a neurologist would have any idea of all the good tips that we can get from the PALS and CALS who are "in the trenches." Bless all of you!
 
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