Derek
Around 2003/4, when Derek was 65, he was fitted with a urethral catheter. He had lots of problems with bleeding and blockages. About 9 years later, the catheter was removed after he had laser surgery to his enlarged prostate. He is now catheter free.
About 40 years ago, when Derek was working as a fork lift truck driver, he noticed that he needed to go to the toilet a lot, especially at night, to urinate. He was referred to an urologist and, after various tests, said that he was told that he would have to live with the problem.
Derek carried on working and living with the problem and was eventually referred to hospital again by his GP. This time, he was told that he had an enlarged prostate, which was causing the bladder problems and, because of other health problems, doctors would not be able to operate on him. Derek had had various health problems. In 1969, he’d had heart failure and in 2002 a metal valve had been inserted. He’d had 4 heart bypasses and, in 2005, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. This is is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. As well as other medications, Derek takes warfarin every day, a blood-thinning tablet.
When Derek’s bladder problems got worse, he was told to self catheterise. The first time he self catheterised, he had no problem. The second time, however, he started bleeding and, as on future occasions, had to go into hospital. Shortly afterwards, around 2003/4, when Derek was 65, he was fitted with a urethral catheter. For the first 2 or 3 years, his catheter was changed every 8 or 9 weeks by a district nurse at home. Later, however, he had to get it changed at the hospital because he would always bleed afterwards.
Derek said he often had emergency situations because he was bleeding or because the catheter had blocked, so he was in and out of hospital. Eventually, he was referred to a consultant who told him that he could operate on Derek’s enlarged prostate using laser surgery. This would enable Derek to be catheter free, after having lived with an indwelling catheter for 9 years.
Derek said that, before the operation, he had to stop taking warfarin and his stomach was injected with another medication. He stayed in hospital for a few days after surgery because he’d got an infection. At home, he recovered well and can now go to the toilet normally, without needing to go overnight. Derek said, It was a blessing when I could go to the toilet without a catheter in’ and that he was grateful to the doctors who treated him. He said he now has good and bad days because of his Parkinson’s but not because of his bladder.