Jon:
1. Ask doc or nurse to use smaller diameter catheter than whatever they have been using. My BCG nurse says she went to a smaller diameter catheter for all her BCG patients awhile ago because less discomfort. Only downside is that it takes another minute or two for BCG mixture to gravity drain from the vial.
2. For my cystos and BCGs, nurse first does numbing gel on tip of penis, waits 10-15 seconds, then uses some sort of small diameter plastic device to insert more numbing gel a few inches into penis, leaves room for maybe 5 minutes, then comes back and routes the catheter in. Very slight weird feeling but little discomfort. I have BCG tomorrow morning and will ask for name of gel or if that type of numbing procedure has a name and will let you know.
3. What's with this "needle" reference? Given how easy my numbing and cath is, why let anyone near you with a needle unless you have some specific issue or anatomy that makes cath difficult.
Again, ask for smaller diameter cath to start plus numbing gel.
Will let you know what my nurse uses (diameter of catheter and gel). She is the only uro nurse who does BCG in group of 12 uro docs and she does 5-10/day, 4 days per week. Has bee doing this for 2+ years.
David
Male Dx T1G3 5/08 @ Age 59. TURBT 5/08; TURBT+40 mg MMC 6/08; BCG (6) 7/08-8/08; Cysto & TURBT 9/08; BCG Maint(3) 10/08, 3/09; 7/09; 11/09; 5/10; & 1/11. Clean cystos 2/09, 9/09, 3/10, & 10/10.
