Has this ever happened to anyone here who has an illeal conduit with outside bag? My 81-year-old father (RC in April with resulting leak, ileus and massive infection and stent placed in left kidney which is still there 8 months later) woke up yesterday, drank coffee, took meds with water, drank cranberry juice -- the usual. However, when he checked his pouch about 2 hours later, there was no urine there.
It must have frightened him (it did me when Mom told me about it) as he called his urologist's office and told the woman who answered the phone what was happening. She evidently told the uro because she called Dad back later and said for him to go to the ER.
In the meantime, Mom, who changes Dad's appliance twice a week, decides to take a look at his stoma to be sure the stent is not plugged with mucus. She doesn't see anything, but the stent seems to have moved somewhat so she moves it gently back to where it usually sits. Dad then went about his business and, lo and behold, urine started flowing. As a matter of fact, he had much more output overnight after the stoppage than usual.
Should Dad go in and have this checked? Any ideas on what could have stopped the urine flow? And, I don't know if it's a coincidence, but the day the urine stopped, Dad started feeling as if he were coming down with a cold. He has had a few UTIs and says this feels more like a cold than UTI.
This is only the latest in a string of problems my Dad has had post RC. Right before this problem, he has been bleeding since July (not from the stoma). His uro finally (after 6 months of bleeding) ordered a retrograde urethrogram which was negative. Bleeding continued. Last week he scoped Dad again (continually having to stop and clear the blood) and said he saw a polyp this time (that apparently wasn't there 2 weeks before when he had the urethrogram) so, instead of removing the polyp and biopsying it, he wants to take out the urethra! Seems a bit extreme to me. The uro originally left the urethra because Dad had been under anasthesia for a really long time due to adhesions (over 8 hours) and the margins were clear on the urethra.
Dad's uro is unresponsive to Dad's calls and can't or won't figure out this bleeding problem. Either way is unacceptable. The only way Dad can communicate with this doctor is to make an appointment and go in. When Dad calls him on his lack of responsiveness, the doctor profusely apologizes, like he does EVERY time. I am going to BEG my Dad to see a new urologist. I'm no doctor, but I don't think these things that are happening to Dad are normal. Dad is reluctant to start all over with a new uro, but I think staying where he is could be disastrous.
