They should be able to give you a few catheters to keep on hand, but if not, ask the urologist for a script for a dozen or so just in case. I keep a few around even now, and I haven't needed them for years.
I'm concerned that the gentamicin is gonna be a failed path, although the gentamicin changed the nature of the recent struvite the same way it did when I first started it. The grains are smaller and they don't seem to "stick" to each other, so they eventually transit through the catheter rather than plug it up. When I first got the struvite none of it passed out of the catheter. Now it seems that all of it does...eventually. I can feel a few grains in there, but they more and don't dam...so far. Perhaps I can limp along with the SPC carrying me 3 weeks out of the month, with the 4th week being self-cath augmented. Or maybe I can go to 3 Week cath swap cycles. (I'm actually on Week 5 with this cath, when they've been changed every 4 weeks. The practice cut back appointments for a week as they changed their computer systems.) I kinda wonder if the hard water episode exacerbated things, but I'm 99% sure this is struvite & not regular sediment. It's a hell of a coincidence. I'm saving some crystals to be tested.
I saw my urologist on Monday because my kidney still aches off & on from the April 1 laser lithotripsy. He got me in for a CT scan and it's clean. My GP did blood work a month ago and my creatine level is fine (0.7) as is my eGFR (93). The recent hard water sediment may have aggravated my still-healing kidney. It seemed to ache more before sediment passed. I saw him today to discuss the CT scan, and he said that if the gentamicin starts to lose its effectiveness, we could do something with the strength & frequency. I also decided to get another urodynamic. My prior urologist said there was nothing that could be done to my prostate to help things, while this guy thought he could "shave it down a bit." I don't want to get my back to the wall with a failed SPC and my pain threshold at 200ml while passing 4,000ml/day and try to cobble a solution together. Things are still working OK so I'll get this test and have options laid out before a crisis hits. dammit
@John Brunner you and I have similar issues but different causes. My retention began to rise and I opted for a TURP, which helped that issue a good bit but did not resolve it entirely. The problem is still one of muscle, but a slightly bigger drain helps a little.
When UVA did my urodynamic, the guy said "95% muscle/5% prostate." When my 1st urologist at the current practice removed a bladder stone, he said he looked at my prostate and did not see anything that might help. The current urologist removed a bladder stone and thought that shaving things down might help. I'll have to remind him that when my bladder died and I could not urinate at all, I also had no urgency. So unless this period of being cathed has helped the muscles, I see no reason to have a prostate procedure. And I certainly would not trust things to not crash & burn again if I'm on the road and hold it too long. The only reason I'm doing the urodynamic again is it's the only way to get quantified data. And if the guy really wants to do a prostate procedure, I'm gonna do it while the SPC is still there.
Have my cat scan tomorrow to search for Kidney stones, plus I got a call today from my Doctor saying my blood test results for PSA was high (7.56), So they Scheduled an appointment with a urologist for me for Aug 23. I know a high PSA might mean Cancer, What I don't know is the kind of testing they will do. I am considering cancelling. Nothing Was said About fasting for tomorrow's Cat Scan it is without Contrast so I assume nothing is required.
They wanted me to get a cat scan, but I couldn't figure out which one to send. Neither of them wanted to go.
They won't do anything intrusive if you've not prepped, other than the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate. I had a prostate biopsy done, and had to take laxatives to clean myself out for it. You really need to go. If it is cancer and the cancer is not aggressive, "Watchful Waiting" is generally done where they monitor it without intervening. Otherwise, you'll want to start treatment soonest.
I forgot to add...you don't need to prep for a kidney/bladder Cat scan. I saw my doctor on Monday morning and was getting a kidney/bladder scan he ordered after the exam an hour later. There is no contrast for those.
@Tony Page they might just be doing the "digital exam" as @John Brunner. If they were going to extensive stuff, they should tell you in advance and prep. They may be doing a Free PSA if they didn't get one on the first blood draw. I assume they are still being used when the PSA is above 5 but less than 10. It is a useless test outside those parameters, but useful to rule out (or in) cancer if prostatitis has been eliminated as a cause. Usually prostatitis shows up with a urine culture but not always. If you are uneasy, call the office and ask what they have you scheduled for.
Thanks for the info. The family Medical practice that we use With in the last two years Have added a urology department, so I set up the appointment with them. I may change my appointment to a different office. I've had two urology doctors in the past, both are Not around anymore. The first one I had back in the 70s Diagnosed me with having chronic prostatitis. I've been. Battling an enlarge prostate every since. I mostly tried controlling it with over the counter herbs.
Prostate enlargement seems to be something that we must deal with as we age. Most of the time it is benign and causes some frequency and difficulty urinating. I don't know if the "powers" have determined a cause. It may be simply the decrease in testosterone that comes as we get older. It could also be something dietary but people in the old days got it too, but they often didn't live as long as we have.
Have any of you heard of using natural remedies to dissolve kidney stones? Was it successful? Some of the remedies they recommend online are. Apple cider vinegar, Olive oil and lemon juice, Chanca Piedra, Watermelon juice. I was thinking of trying some of these.
I took vinegar for a couple of years for my acid reflux and still had to have lithotripsy to get rid of my stones. Perhaps neutral remedies work for some, but it may depend on each individual's biochemistry. Uric acid stones seem to be the easiest to dissolve...but I thought most kidney stones were calcium oxalate, and less frequently calcium carbonate. I just had a urinalysis and my citrate is low (and my oxalate more than doubled.) That means it's easier for stones to form. But the things that increase your citrate also increase your urine Ph (make it more base), making your bladder a more beneficial environment for bacteria, which can cause bladder stones. Urine Ph also affects stone formation in other ways. I don't think the natural remedies can harm you, but until you have a stone analyzed (Vegas odds are on calcium oxalate), you don't know what you're trying to dissolve.