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Catheter Journal - 4th Month

Saturday, March 27, Month 5 - I haven't used a catheter in about a month now. I was hoping I wouldn't need to use them again but I've increasingly felt myself automatically clamping when I start to pee. I could usually start again fairly quickly but now have to actually concentrate to let it happen. Additionally, I haven't wet in my sleep since the third day I stopped using the catheters. Almost every morning I wake up before 3am, pee, and go back to sleep. So, the decision is final. I've ordered more catheters and have begun using the few I had left over from before. I also ordered some Anal lube, a numbing, petroleum based lubricant that I'm hoping will alleviate the discomfort I always used to get from changing out my caths.

Saturday, March 27 - I put in the new cath using petroleum and just as I figured it hurt a bit. The discomfort didn't go away all day today and I noticed a little blood in my diaper too.

Monday, March 29 - The discomfort has actually gotten a little worse and I'm still getting just a little blood in my diaper. I've also been peeing past my catheter too even though it's still working. Regardless, I've decided to pull it out in the morning and let myself heal before trying it again.

Wednesday, March 31 - I put in a new catheter and just as I expected it hurt again. I didn't notice any blood in my diaper today but the discomfort still refused to calm down.

Sunday, April 4 - I was still getting the same discomfort without blood so I decided to try pulling out the cath again. After a few hours of relief, and just before bed, I put in a new cath. This time I used the anal lube when inserting it. The lube had a slight burning sensation that quickly went away. In its place was no usual discomfort. I do believe this stuff works better than the water based lube, and even petroleum jelly.

Monday, April 12 - I changed out my cath in the evening. I'm glad to say there weren't any complications or even the usual discomfort.

Monday, April 19 - I haven't had any problems or discomfort all week and have, at times, even forgotten I even had a cath in place. I changed it out this morning with no problems either. The numbing lube seems to be doing the trick and continues to lubricate well for those inevitable arousals and size changes. Further changes on the 26th and 3rd were the same.

Monday, May 3, Month 5 - I've been using the caths for an additional month now. I haven't had any serious complications and it once again is feeling nice to wet without noticing it's happening. I've been sleeping a lot better too since I haven't been waking up to wet my diaper all month.

Sunday, May 9 - I changed out my cath a little early this morning to get some relief. All week I've had my cath drying out and sticking to my head. During my usual size changes this sticking has been more like grabbing and rubbing, which obviously hurts. The water based lubes will dry out in mere minutes so I've been using petroleum jelly to re-lubricate the cath at least 4 times a day. Unfortunately even the jelly dries out and becomes gritty, which only adds to the problem. I'm not dehydrated and still peeing a lot so all I can do right now is just wait it out.

Sunday, May 16 - I keep getting dried out too much and end up with the jelly turning gritty. I have been cleaning my cath as best as I can several times a day but the problem still persists. About mid week I switched back to the numbing lube instead of the petroleum jelly which seems to have helped. By the weekend I wasn't getting dried out as much down there but I'm still re-lubricating a lot with the numbing lube which hasn't been getting gritty - just drying out after a few hours. Another new catheter has helped as well, at least it's hasn't been hurting when I change them out any more.

Sunday, May 23 - I change out my cath again today and everything seems to be back to normal. There wasn't any discomfort even after I changed out my cath. Also, I've notice I'm once again peeing past my cath and I think I figured out why. When ever I suddenly become active (like getting up after sitting down for a while) my kidneys seem to dump a lot of pee into my bladder. Well, my cath can only drain a small amount at any time so when enough builds up I end up peeing past my cath to relieve the pressure. I hadn't been getting the urge to pee very much, I just start doing it. I guess this is a sign my bladder muscle is continuing to weaken which is great news.

Wednesday, May 26 - An interesting thing happened last night. To begin, I often jump into my hot tub before going to bed. When I do use the tub I will use a small syringe to plug up my cath for a minute just so I don't drip on the way to the tub. Since my hot tub uses chlorine I just unplug my cath when I'm in the water and plug it back up again until I can get another diaper on. Well, last night I forgot to unplug my cath and went to sleep, but didn't wake up having to pee real bad. Instead I woke up wet and went about my morning routine. Twice I noticed I peed past my cath, but though very little about it. When I went to take a shower I noticed I was still plugged up so I removed the syringe and peed a small stream. Since I hadn't even notice I needed to pee but was any way, I suppose this means my incontinence is really starting to set in. I intend to keep using the caths for another month or two but this early indication has made me happy since it seems to be working really good.

Sunday, May 30 - Another cath change. The order of caths I had gotten had a couple of mixed up cath sizes in it. One was a 26fr which was so huge I just threw it out. I can't see anyone trying to us one with a ½" diameter to it! The second one I pulled out was an 18fr. It was noticeably bigger than the 16fr's I've been using but I decided to use it any way. The change out didn't cause any more discomfort or pain than usual.

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