Re Bleedin from Self Cathertization

Hi,

I'm having back surgery in a week, I've been put on pain meds (oxycontin 40 mg and oxycodone 10 mg) prior to the surgery. From previous experience, I'm aware that I get urinary retention from the pain meds. I ordered self catheters over the internet to help ward of this problem.

I tried inserting the catheter to relieve my bladder, and got burning pain and quite a bit of blood when I removed it. The catheter would not go in all the way to my bladder. I've tried it three times, all with the same result. Blood pours out of my penis when I remove the catheter. It eventually stops. Is this something that I should be concerned about. I have had a few episodes of blood coming out at the end of my urinary stream, without the catheter, a few months back. However, it only lasted a few days. I mentioned it to my Primary Care Physician, but he did not seem to alarmed.

Thanks for your help, I go into the hospital for disc fusion surgery on Monday 3/24/08.

Mark

[Stephen Liroff, MD]

The fact that you cannot advance the catheter into your bladder and get bleeding to follow sounds as though you are either jamming the catheter into/through the wall of your urethra or into the substance of your prostate. Either way, you should not be self catheterizing unless you can get the catheter into your bladder without trauma.  At this point you are not draining your bladder. Your best bet in the short term is to have an indwelling catheter placed following your surgery. This will allow your bladder to drain without further trauma. If you cannot urinate spontaneously in five days, then you could consider self catheterizing again, but you might do best to obtain coude self catheterizing catheters as they have an angled tip that allows easier entrance through your prostate if you keep the tip facings up.
You would do best to have a urologist involved in your care.
The blood in your urine without having catheterized needs to be evaluated, even though it occurs intermittently.
You would do best to have a urologist involved in your care.
S.A.Liroff. M.D.

This information is provided for general medical educational purposes only. It
does not  necessarily reflect the opinions of Henry Ford  Hospital  or the
Vattikuti Urologic Institute.  Please consult your physician for diagnostic
and treatment options pertaining to your specific medical  condition