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I continue to get a UTI once a month. I use a Belly Bag and am curious to hear from others who wear a Belly Bag. My doctor seems to think my bag may be the culprit.
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Belly Bag Superpubic UTI
- By Robin2
- Posted September 4, 2007 at 6:08 pm · 12 replies
- In Health matters
- Shared with the public
12 replies
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- Newest first
- By mtndreams
- Posted May 24, 2009 at 8:56 am
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My son has had a sp cath for the past 8+ years. In the beginning he also had almost constant UTI's. He now gets his cath flushed morning and evening with 30cc of acetic acid X2. He also changes his cath every week and he drinks LOTS of water. (knock on wood) he has not had a UTI in over 5 years. Hope this helps some.
- By scootin63
- Posted May 23, 2009 at 6:00 pm
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Hi Ashley,
I have been getting uti's every month since Jan. when they put in my sp tube. I haven't had any problems about it clogging up on me. I wear a leg bag and on occasion I've had "accidents" where the urine comes out the uretha. I think the tube was kinked though. I like the convenience of having the sp tube but I wish I knew how to prevent these uti's from coming. I was reading other members comments so I'm going to ask my urologist about that methanamine mandalate pill and see what he says about it. I am so desperate. I had sepsis last month and was in the hospital for 10 days so I definatly am willing to try anything!
- By Tallevast
- Posted May 12, 2009 at 11:21 am
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Hey my name is ashley and my fiance is a paraplegic. About a month ago he got a superpubic catheter and it was going great at first but we are starting to have some problems. He is keeping a UTI and the catheter gets clogged every day. How about you? Having any problems?
- By scootin63
- Posted May 10, 2009 at 10:05 pm
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Hi - I am a new member so I hope you get this messeage. I was wondering what AD was. I had UTI's twice a month for over 2 years and now I had a sp tube cath put in in Jan. and have had a UTI once a month since it was put in. I am desperate to find out how I can PREVENT these things from coming since I am allergic to almost all oral antibiotics so I have a mediport put in for IV antibiotics. Thank you in advance.
- By lacey1
- Posted September 10, 2007 at 11:04 am
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I'm taking care of a gentleman who is a quad. He had UTI's frequently. Within a day or two of getting off the antibiotic, it would return.
This went on for the last 3 months until a specialist determined he had bladder stones. It was outpatient surgery ~ no big deal; and he's been fine ever since (it's now been a month).
The stones are like small pieces of coral and bacteria gets into the crevices of the stone where antibiotics can't reach.
Hope this info might be of some use.
Don't give up ~ there's always a solution!
- By CyberQuad
- Posted September 9, 2007 at 8:33 pm
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I was able to see improvement on methenamine almost immediately. I had to change the dosing a few times because I was taking 1gram 4x/day and was getting an upset stomach. I ultimately settled on 1gram 2x/day and have been doing well on it for more than 3 years.
Have you tried using a leg bag instead of a belly bag for some time to see if things improve? I'm thinking that the belly bag may be allowing urine to backflow, and this might be eliminated by a leg bag. No guarantees but it may be worth a try if you haven't already ...
- By Robin2
- Posted September 8, 2007 at 10:48 pm
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Thanks but I drink at least 4-6 16oz waters a day, concentrated cranberry juice and cranberry pills. I don't understand why I get so sick and my GP, urologist or phy. rehab. Dr. don't seem to be concerned or interested in finding out why. It's very frustrating. I live in a small town and these Dr. have no compasion or knowledge of para's. They becopme overwhelmed by the medical issues involved and don't want to deal with it. Any way thanks for the suggestion.
- By Robin2
- Posted September 8, 2007 at 10:41 pm
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My urologist put me on that two months ago along with Phospha Neutral 250. I take the Methenamine twice a day and the Phospha four times a day. How long were you on them before you saw results? Thanks for the info.
- By Robin2
- Posted September 8, 2007 at 10:34 pm
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I do have positive cultures. It starts with a lot of sediment and if I don't start on antibiotics the other symptoms appear soon after. The latest episode also consisted of having pain in the bladder area deep inside. I went so far as to have my GYN check me out for any problems. I use a drainage bag at nite. I clean my bags with 91% alcohol and perineal cleaner mixture. I change them every two weeks. How could the Dr. verify the drainage of the bladder by ultrasound? the bladder does not completely drain on para or quads from my understanding. What is AD? Thanks for the feedback.
- By thucwheeler
- Posted September 8, 2007 at 5:53 pm
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Hello,
I got suprapubic too but I had a bad UTI like about 2-3 months I get them, I drank a lot of waters too.
You lucky get twice a year. I went to my doctor and ask them, He say that's just a normal for who got the supreapubic, he say you should check your urine sample monthly if you feel.
- By CyberQuad
- Posted September 8, 2007 at 3:05 pm
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You may also want to talk with your doctor about taking methenamine mandelate. It increases the acidity level of your urine and makes the bladder a less hospitable environment for the bacteria that cause infection.
I had chronic UTIs with a suprapubic until my doctor recommended giving this a try. Now I get UTIs once or twice a year, whereas I was getting them on an almost monthly basis.
Talk to your doctor and see if he/she agrees that it's worth a try.
- By FuschiaFan
- Posted September 4, 2007 at 7:27 pm
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Do you actually have UTIs (fever, chills, malaise, AD, elevated WBC in your blood, etc.) or just a positive urine culture? The latter is NOT considered a UTI for soemeone with a SCI who uses an indwelling catheter, and should not be treated. Most people with indwelling catheters will have a positive urine culture all the time, and this is not considered a UTI.
Do you switch back and forth from the belly bag to a regular bedside drainage bag when you are sleeping? If so, are you cleaning both bags daily with a 10% bleach solution? Improper cleaning can be a culprit with any drainage bag.
I have not seen problems with the bag not draining well when using a SP catheter, although I have see a few who had problems with external condom catheters. Can your physician document that this is occuring? When you have the belly bag on, has he done an ultrasound of your bladder to show that it is not emptying properly? Do you get AD when wearing the belly bag?
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