Although I put this in my recovery update, thought I should mention it here as well. In regard to my crystal deposits or whatever they were...I did drop off a sample of them at the UW Medical Center, but as of yet haven't heard anything back about what I should do to treat this problem, except to irrigate more often...well, I did plenty of irrigating and that didn't seem to really make any difference.
Last week, a visiting nurse got in touch with a ostomy nurse and she suggested I take cranberry extract capsules (500 mg) twice daily and vitamin C, 500 mg. four times a day. She said all who stay on this regiment seldom have an infection. I began taking cranberry and C as she suggested, as of last Thursday, and so far, have not seen any crystals. Of course it has only been four days, but I think this is really helping. I think there is much better flow. Those little rascals were really bad about getting stuck in the eye of the catheter and plugging so badly, the urine couldn't get through and so I wasn't getting the bladder completely empty. This may be one of the reasons I have had problems with leaking. Anyway, thought I would mention this in case anyone else is struggling with this same problem. I will report back on this subject in another week or two... Melodie