Sunday, June 06, 2010

Shit Happens.











Ludicrous Art.

Seems the bad weather has come here too, was briefly bright but cloudier this morning, then the clouds got even thicker, until they turned into one massive dense grey lid over the city.

At first this made it very muggy until the wind got right up, all the orange bunting put up for the World Cup was blowing around like crazy.

And then it started to rain, the temperature is half what it was yesterday, today it is around 15 degrees, yesterday it was 30 degrees.

One good thing is that today my hands were functioning better; yesterday I could hardly manoeuvre the wheelchair as my fingers would not straighten out.

Getting into the front room was a hell of alot of work for me, made me feel quite demoralised for awhile, until I figured out it was the hot weather.

Today I got woken by my arms clamping tightly together, drifted back to sleep again only to be woken up by a huge leg spasm.

When Richie started to do my leg exercises he discovered the catheter had leaked, first he thought it had come out but that seemed not to be the case.

Seems to have been a blockage in the tube which may have caused the leakage, wonder if that triggered the spasm and or did the catheter popping out slightly cause the spasm.

I know that this means that I need to see our doctor and get her to organise a polyclinic operation for me to have a supra-pubic catheter put in.

This was something that I wanted to have done right away but my doctor advised me first to wait and later came back and said yes do it.

By that time I had heard a few more details about the supra pubic catheter that I did not like and that worried me

Such as the twice monthly changes being unpleasant, that the supra-pubic caused a lot of blood clots more than the ordinary catheter did.
.
Heard too that people had a lot more UTI’s, urinary infections with the supra-pubic catheter, this really put me off.

Now it really does seem that the time has come to make the switch, as the ordinary catheter is no longer reliable.

The occasional accident is no problem but now it does happen more often, which gives Richie more work and he already has more than enough to do.

Apart from the extra work it also adds to the stress for us both, not pleasant lying here wondering if the catheter is working alright.

This morning was not our favourite way to wake up, had looked forward to a relaxed start to Sunday.

Richie is very good and always helps me to stay calm and relaxed, his attitude is shit happens and we deal with it and there is no need for me to apologise.

It is not in my control, it just happens, does me good that my darling is relaxed about it and once it is sorted we can get on with life.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Herrad, hopefully you are fine. Once I tried to move a whole cupboard on me own, which resulted in it falling down, smashing two chairs, a hole into the wall, luckily nothing serious. Had to admit my wrong-doing and call for help.
Can only imagine of the whole work you are both doing, and admit that many times it does leave me a bit wordless, mostly due to the much respect. Wishing you all a nice start into the new week.

Tracey's Life said...

Hi Herrad, my friend Sharon had the Suprapubic put in because the regular foley catheter was causing too many UTI's.

Depending on how your bladder functions, you may find that you have more stones/sand like material with the supra-pubic and you will need to follow up regular with a urologist to make certain that there is nothing like that going on with you. That material if it remains in your bladder can cause spasms.

Good luck to you on making your choice.

Rhapsody Phoenix said...

Blessings Herrad:
It's been a while, no real excuse except laziness. I hope you are having more good days than bad and your husband is in great health.

What an expressive collection of art wooo!

I love the rain although it can be a bit daunting when it comes in torrents.

Take care of you and by all means do stay blessed with unwavering spirit.

smooches

soulful sepulcher said...

Hi Herrad,

Well a super duper cath might just be a stress-reliever to prevent worrying if it came out, etc. But I can understand the trepidation, with the unwanted side effects, that could be a possibility, but hopefully they won't be a problem for you.

Back to rain today here!


HUGS brave woman

Paula said...

It's been raining here too. Hope the sun shines for you tomorrow and you have a brighter day!

Tag! You're it!
http://keeponsmyelin.blogspot.com/2010/06/tag-im-it.html

Webster said...

Hi Herrad,
Remember that the SP Catheter will not prevent ALL the problems you have been having. I still have the occasional surprise in the AM, waking up to a wet bed. I believe this is due to bladder spasms. I have taken to sleeping on a baby crib liner so the sheets don't get wet when this happens. Much easier to launder, and don't have to change the bed.

Also, I have my catheter changed every 5 weeks. It twinges a little, but doesn't hurt bad. Help when I blow out when they are removing the old one.

I have been the "guinea pig" for training every new nurse in my doctor's office over the past two years. I guess I am just a nice patient.[a patient patient- LOL]

When I had my first one put in, he put it in too high, and it didn't heal well, and they couldn't change the cath. Don't worry, there was no pain involved. Also, it was supposed to be an outpatient procedure, but apparently the procedure stirred up a pocket of infection and I had to stay in hospital on IV antibiotics for two days. I couldn't move when I spiked the fever, but was fine once the drugs kicked in.

The second time went like a charm, and I went home that afternoon.

So, on that note, your weather sounds like our weather, and I have been out on the patio one day for three hours so far this year.

I suppose I should have sent this in an E-mail, but too late!

Keep smiling!

mortonlake said...

i am sorrry herrad.hope it all comes out ok. no pun intended there lol. by the way,on martins new blog the copy and paste in the title refers to his URL he gives.its not a link.copy and paste the url into your browser. took me flipping ages to work that one out lol tc love mort xxxx

Judy said...

Even when shit happens you somehow still tilt toward the sun. You are an amazing person, with an amazing attitude. I'm sorry for your woes. I am glad for you that you have the stalwart and loving Richie. My you be blessed with joy.
Judy

Anonymous said...

Hi Herrad:

I have taken care of quite a few patients with catheters in my last 30+ years in health care and the best thing you can do for the care of it is to flush it once a week with acetic acid (vinegar and water). It keeps it from getting blocked.

Re: supra pubic catheter - generally they need to be changed once every 4 to 6 weeks. But if it is taken care of with acetic acid flushes, you can go as long as 6 to 8 weeks before replacement.

Acetic acid flushes are the best care you can give for catheters (regular and supra pubic). Ask the nurse who comes to see you to look into it for you.

As for leaking, yep, shit happens. Sometimes the balloon just loses fluid and needs to be re-inflated once a week (extract water with syringe and re-inflate with appropriate among per Foley size directions - 5ml, 10 ml, etc.)

Glad the weather has let up on you. Enjoy while it lasts. We have finally gotten out of the 90 degree heat and back into high 70's. What a pleasure!

Herrad said...

Hi Robert,
Asking for help is good for everyone.
Hope you had a good start of the week.

Hi Tracey's Life,
Thanks for your comment, wonder if your friend has many problems with the supra-pubic catheter?

Hi Rhapsody,
As always lovely to see your comment, glad you like the art
.
Hi Stephany,
Have to find out abit more about the supra-pubic first.
Plenty of rain here too.

Hi KOS!
Much rain here too, torrential rain.
Will check out your blog soon as I have posted this.

Hi Webster,
Thanks for info on the sp catheter, surprised to hear you can still wake up in urine.
Does the sp pop out and need to be put back in?
What about UTI's do you get many I wonder.
Need to know more about the operation, hope you do not see or hear it and it is quite quick.
Lots of rain here now.

Hi Mort,
Thanks for coming by good to see your comment.
Still can not find Martin's blog will keep trying.

Hi Anne
Thanks for your advice, we flush twice a week with saline pouches we get from the doctor, will ask about vinegar.
Richie looks after the catheter learned from the doctor.
Hoping it gets abit warmer than now also less rain would be favourite.

Thanks everyone for coming by good to see all your comments.
Love,
Herrad