Fiercely Independent Pam

Tag: stupid bladder

  • Trials and Tribulations of My Bladder- The Latest Chapter!

    My bladder is quite obnoxious! After my hysterectomy last April, I struggled to urinate. I was told that it was a “Floppy Bladder” and would not be able to fully empty without the assistance of a catheter.

    So, I learned how to self- cath and actually got quite good at it. Fast forward to January when I was hospitalized for numerous things including a very large kidney stone, a UTI, and a picc line infection. When I got home I required the use of a bedpan and slowly relied less on self- cathing. I thought my bladder was finally waking up and I would be cured.

    The fun only lasted a few weeks because I began retaining urine again and having to cath to be able to fully empty my bladder. In the last 24 hours, I am completing a voiding diary where I chart all this liquid I take in, and everything I am able to get out via urinating or self- cathing. I will then send the voiding diary to my doctor and we will meet to talk about it.

    The biggest challenge right now is that I require a riser on my toilet so that I am able to stand up from the toilet. This riser greatly diminishes the room I would have to self- cath and isn’t really possible over the toilet. I tried to get up from the toilet without the riser and it wasn’t possible, yet!

    I am curious about what the next steps are for my obnoxious bladder that gave me false hope. Until I meet with the doctor, I will continue to brainstorm solutions and rise to meet these challenges!

  • Independence at Last, Well, Sort Of.

    I am truly enjoying my independence to be able to stand and even walk some. I am growing more confident and have given up the transfer board completely at this point. I even have been experimenting with the toilet and standing long enough to undress and not lose my balance.

    I need to keep in mind that I still have a lot of work to do. Balance is a major concern, as is standing tolerance. I am still super wobbly when standing and usually have to hold on to something to keep my balance.

    Without completely oversharing, I am also going to begin the transition out of disposable briefs and into reusable “leak proof” underwear. I am trying a brand call “Everdries” and will hopefully meet my needs and be a whole lot more comfortable, than disposable briefs.

    My last major task is being able to get in and out of a car. I want to practice this before I need to use this skill to get to MUSC. I have a couple of weeks so I am thinking there will definitely be enough time and it might even be a “non-issue” if I get strong enough by then. PT has also offered to help me achieve this goal.

    As far as the Zeen goes, I set the goal that I will complete the 1/4 mile loop around my building by Easter. I think I am going to go outside today with the Zeen and see how I do on the sidewalk. I am excited to meet this goal.

    I also want to get back to using the NuStep, even though I am using the Zeen, I think adding the Nustep back in will be a great plan. I have to figure out how I am going to transfer to the NuStep as well as getting up from it because it is kinda low.

    Rehab is still my first priority in all things right now. I still need to grow stronger, gain better balance, and be able to get up from lower seats. I truly appreciate all of your good thoughts and prayers to make this happen for me.

  • Setting a Goal and Striving to Meet It, and More!

    I am headed out this afternoon to the urologist to figure out next steps for my kidney stone. I am hoping the whole process of “blasting” the stone is fairly easy and able to be done soon. After all, the kidney stone is simply getting in the way of my PT and OT goals.

    In other news… I met my goal this morning with PT. I was able to stand while sitting in my armchair at a normal height. That means I didn’t use the lift function at all. It wasn’t the prettiest, but I did it! I also took a few strolls around my apartment with the walker and got a new weight measurement. All in all, I count that as a huge win.

    OT is coming by very soon and I am hoping we can start working on the goal of using the toilet. It would be a huge improvement if I was able to use the toilet instead of the bedpan. Having stood at a normal height, I think I am almost ready for the toilet.

    I am not a big fan of having PT and OT back to back since my body gets tired quickly, but I also don’t want to turn away services so I went with the back to back today. After all, I have goals to meet.

    Tomorrow during PT we are going to try the Zeen. I think the hardest part will be transferring into the Zeen and out of the Zeen. I think I am going to have to do a lot of thinking to come up with a plan to make it work. If I can get into the Zeen, it will go a long way to strengthening my legs. I would love to try to make it into the hallway. This is all lofty goals, but I have to put it out there to try to make it happen.

    The ultimate goal is to be able to use the Zeen and transfer with it when I go to MUSC on March 17th. I have an important eye appointment and need to figure out the Zeen, getting in and out of a car, and transferring from the Zeen to other chairs. It’s a big list of tasks, but I am determined and like to be fierce about deadlines like this.