Continent Diversion - Indiana pouch - questions and concerns

Pat when I was in the hospital it was a stick in a pack like a Q-tip with brown stuff on I am assuming that was the iodine to put on stoma before inserting cath. Joe

gamedoll...curious...what is the iodine for? I've never used that in 4 l/2 yrs. Pat

I had surgery last November. I had the Di Vinci surgery and an Indiana Pouch. I am 65 years old. I picked the Indiana pouch because from what I heard from my daughter and my doctor. The one with the pouch is larger and more conspictious and there is more ordor and required more equipment. The only equipment with the Indiana is a catherter, surgiglube and iodine. It is true that you have to have your wquipment with you at all times. Sometimes it will leak, but I found that if you put on a large bandaid and a sanitary pad when gone a long time without draining helps. I didn't pick the neo-bladder becausr I was not comfortable cathing myself in the usual place and wearing a depends at night. The urologist said that men and younger people seem to like the neo-bladder. I like the Indiana because it is small and the picture you saw is much redder than mine. The more I heal the lighter and smaller it gets. I'm confortable with my selection. Hope that helps. God bless.

Hey Melodie...don't feel so bad about aim....I raised 3 sons and none of them could hit the mark!! Pat

Wendy,

I did order those dressings and tried them a week or so ago....I thought maybe they would be made so that they would draw the mucus out and into the dressing itself and that way Rosebud would not be irritated but the mucus still remained on her; maybe I should try them a couple more times....I suspect later on they will be great as the mucus lessens in time....just another lesson in patience for me.

Joe,

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like both of us are still unpredictable and so stay fairly close to home. I have been out to town on my own, several times and even to the big city of Seattle for the day. For me, as long as I keep clean dressings on Rosebud and plan my restroom stops, I do OK. I always select the handicap stall as that gives me more space for hanging my bag of supplies...usually taking a small bottle of saline water with me should I need it to irrigate. I used to cath sitting down but since I have lost 17 lbs. now (and most of it seems to be from the tummy and abdomen and butt area), it seems lots tougher to cath from a sitting position so I am now almost always having to stand. Unfortunately, for me, when we had our new house built last year, we had our counters put in 2 inches higher than normal and so I can't put the container into the sink. I suspect in time I will find a way to manage all this with a bit more grace & dignity. Later, Melodie

Melodie alot of times so I know what I am putting out I stand at the sink and pee in the urinal and so I can see how many cc's I put out out and dump my pee in the toilet and clean up. I keep disinfectant cleaner on top of toilet to clean sink if need be but I'm a good aimer lol. Also Mel I try to cath every 4 hrs cause if I don't I know I will be way over 500 cc's I drink alot but sometimes even cathing at 4 hrs I get 500 or more it's hard to predict. One thing I have to do is irrigate most times I cath because I get alot mucous still. As far as going out I have not been too many places as of yet. But when I do go out I got no choice anymore into the stahl. When I first was learning how to do this on my own I sat down all the time but not anymore as I said unless I'm out. I have not felt like going many places cause I don't know how long I will be able to hang so for now I'm content being home. And the way my schedule is I usually just have to set the alarm once at night to get up and that can be any where from 3:30 to 5:00 am for getting up and right back to sleep. Joe