Pain after Catheter removal

Andy i did have an excruciating abdominal pain on day two and day four after RARP with the catheter still in. That second episode resulted in paramedics, morphine and an ambulance ride to hospital. They didn't find anything and i was discharged as one of the 30percent of people who get abdominal pain without any apparent reason. It turned out to be constipation. 

I was told leakage of urine through the joint in the urethra would make you quite ill.

Thanks Chris

Hi Andy,

Sorry to hear this and really hope all will be ok on the next attempt.

My husband had his catheter in for 2 weeks because of bladder neck reconstruction before going back to have it taken out. When he got there they did a cystogram (think that’s right) and noticed a small leak. After speaking to the surgeon they decided not to remove and it stayed in for another 2 weeks to be sure. 

Just thinking it could possibly be something like this and it’s just needed a little more time to heal. Find it really strange that they didn’t make you empty your bladder there before letting you go home though.

Best of luck for tomorrow 

Sorry to read this Andy. Where I had a prostatectomy a leak test is carried out before catheter removal to ensure the reconnection has healed. I think this is better than taking it out and finding a leak afterwards. Hope all is fine in 2 weeks. 

Andy, i was still passing blood a six weeks after surgery, so passing blood around three weeks after surgery could be described as not unusual. I have a permanent catheter and often get red wine colour urine if I have over done it. I was told Rosé colour "should" be okay Red wine colour needs investigation. Blood in urine often looks worse than it is. Keep in touch with your medical team, they know you better than we do.

Thanks Chris

Andy, a fairly rare side effect of salvage RT. It is a Suprapubic catheter so it is in the abdominal wall below the navel, had more than my fair share of urethral catheters.😀

Thanks Chris

Hi Andy, You have my sympathies putting up with the catheter for another fortnight. I am also getting a discharge of blood from the end of my penis (probably with a bit of urine as well). In my case this looks like old blood from the operation (now day 10). I'm not sure whether it is something to be concerned about or not. Chris

Andy cant give you any answers on the pain.

I had a urethral catheter on around 12 separate occasions. I had the urine and small amount of blood bypassing out of the end of the penis on every occasion, I also had the leaking when passing a motion.  Those catheters were after dilatations not major surgery. As always if in doubt get back to your team.

You have been bashed about and had organs disturbed,the wounds on the outside may be minor but the the surgery is major.

Thanks Chris

Andy, have they said what the repair operation would involve. Providing your set up it right a catheter for another month " should be " doable without too much of a problem. You would probably still have to have the catheter after a repair op.

Thanks Chris

Philip, did you get any swelling in the penis.

Thanks Chris

Philip , thanks, I did have excruciating abdominal pain before the catheter removal, that resulted in an ambulance ride, it turned out to be constipation related.

During a minor procedure they managed to puncture my urethra, that resulted in a fairly severe pain that lasted 10-15 minutes but the penis swelled up considerably,  unfortunately too painful to use,😀.

Hope you get sorted.

Thanks Chris

Joe , all sorts of reasons for the pain, bladder Spasms are frequently associated with catheters but you can get spasms without a catheter. Kidney or bladder stones for me were painful when urinating but soon passed, actually passing the stone was painful. My abdominal pain was more likely constipation.  A water infection is another possibility, my clip issues started with smelly urine. Sorry I can offer any other advice.

Thanks Chris 

Re inserting the catheter ended the pain immediately. But I did end up calling an ambulance and being admitted. 6 days later all is fine. But will never forget the pain. 

That sounds very familiar. In my case another week was all I needed and althought I was a bit scared at my second TWOC it was absolutelly fine. Never looked back. The urology nurses said that sometimes people just need a bit more time. Nobody seemed to know exactly what it was, but they were all sure it would go away and it did. Another week with a catheter was a small price to pay for not going through that pain again.

From what I've seen it is unusual. I think I've only seen about 6 people mention it on here in 2.5 years.

Yes, my surgeon said  I was only the second person in 8 years to experience this. On the plus side, no incontinence since the second catheter removal which is also unusual. No idea if there is any connection. 

Alex, I experienced more or less exactly what you described.

I had a robotic prostatectomy on 21 June and went back to hospital on 3 July for my TWOC. Catheter removal was reasonably painless and I sat in the waiting area with a bottle of water waiting to wee. First time, I produced a reasonable volume in the receptacle but then felt agonising pain internally for about 10 minutes - not such much in the penis/testicles, more in my abdomen/guts I suppose. I took the urine sample to the urology nurses and told them about the pain and they said I should keep drinking water and persevere. Twice more I went to the loo but each time, unlike the first occasion, produced only a dribble of urine. Each time I suffered crippling pain internally for 10 minutes - just horrendous. After the third episode I told the nurses I couldn’t take any more. I was scanned twice and each time they told me I had c.270ml of urine in my bladder, which obviously wasn’t coming out. They also took blood tests and decided to insert another catheter for 2 weeks. 

The blood tests proved ok especially for the kidneys, though my haemoglobin was low (probably due to blood loss during/after surgery) so I’m taking iron tablets and eating more iron-rich food to get that back up. My key worker urology nurse rang a few days later to say the pain might have been caused by a urethral stricture, but they really don’t know. I’m due back on Monday 17th for catheter removal and a second TWOC. I really hope that like you I don’t get a recurrence of the pain, it was indescribably bad. Fingers crossed!

I hope your second TWOC went well and that all is now fine.