Day 1 Post Op - Trouble Urinating

[airman97 0]

Has anyone else experienced trouble urinating on day one post op? I found out I was catheterized when I went under and the catheter was removed before I was taken to recovery. Believe it or not, the hospital did not require me to pass liquids before being discharged. I can strain for 4 to 5 minutes and get a little bit out, but other than that it feels like my bladder is completely asleep still!! :thumbup:

[irishgal 0]

Sorry to hear you're having trouble urinating. My hospital did require band patients be able to urinate prior to leaving the hospital. The first time did take quite a long time to relax and kind of remind my bladder to empty. One trick my mom used was to turn on the facet. The sound of the running Water helped relax my muscles.

It is always a good idea to call your doctor's office to discuss your situation and have them address your questions.

[dsmit13 0]

It is important that you are able to urinate on your own soon. A couple of things to check--Are you sipping enoough fouids to keep from being dehydrated. If you are getting dehydrated, your urine will decrease and be dark yellow. Does your bladder feel full or are you having any discomfort in your lower abdomen? If so and you are still not able to urinate, you need to call your surgeon, especially with the holiday coming up. Check your temp to be sure you are not running a fever. This could just be an after effect of the anesthesia or possibly a bladder infection from the catherization. Be sure you are drinking enough fluids and check with your MD if things don't get better by morning. Good luck!

Edited December 24, 2008 by dsmit13

[laurenica23 1]

I would definitely make sure you're getting enough fluids and call your surgeon tomorrow!

I'm surprised you didn't have to urinate before leaving. Though, my doctor had me stay overnight in the hospital. My catheter was removed a couple hours after surgery and they monitored me until I left each time I went to the bathroom. I didn't have any problems with it, but you should definitely get that fixed! Especially before the holiday.

[HeatherO 7]

Are you getting in adequate fluids . . . that can make a big difference, especially since you are only 1 day out.

[Cleo's Mom 257]

Yes, I had the same problem. When they took the catheter out the day after surgery I could not urinate on my own. I had a lot of pressure so they had to straight cath me a couple of times to empty the bladder and needless to say that caused me to stay an extra day in the hospital. They would not let me leave until the next day when I could urinate on my own. They would check my bladder with this instrument that told them if it was full. And when I was able to urinate and the bladder was empty - I was good to go. They said letting me go home without being able to urinate would just cause me a trip to the ER. You should not have been discharged until you could urinate on your own. Definitely call your surgeon. This is very serious.

[Annie0341 0]

I had the same problem, but I was so sleepy that first day that it was due to not taking in enough along with being NPO the night prior. It passed quickly!

[airman97 0]

I called my surgon and he said it was due to a lack of fluids and that he had used a lot of local anesthetic around the port which has left my bladder "asleep". Things are slowly getting better. Thanks for the advise all!

Merry Christmas and congrats to all the Dec 08' bandsters! :thumbup:

[sandielaw 0]

Yeah...my bladder was fast asleep after surgery. They had to put in a catheter three times in less than 6 hours. I could pee, but not much. That was not a fun situation. But it did get better after a few days.

[Musicmir 0]

The same thing happened to me after surgery. I had my cath taken out the morning after surgery (I stayed overnight - 2 actually because my blood pressure was too low - stoopid anesthesia!). It felt like I had the worst urinary tract infection of my life! I was literally crying when I had to go to the bathroom, and hardly anything came out. I sipped on some cranberry juice, but fortunatley it totally passed in like 2 days. Totally not fun, but at least it's over with!

[airman97 0]

Wanted to post an update for any of you that may be experiencing the same issue. I ended up having to go to the emergency room Christmas night. I called my surgeon and he said that some people have issues with their kidneys getting backed up and their bladder shutting down after surgery. I ended up having to be catheterized for the next seven days and put on additional medication for infection and bladder spazisms.

For anyone else who experiences these symptoms, PLEASE go to the hospital immediately in order to avoid having severe complications with your kidneys. I was lucky and caught mine in time.

[Connie1968 0]

I went through the exact same thing in the hospital. I was in alot of pain and my stomach and left side hurt so bad, I tried to urinate and my legs would start to tremble and left side would have a muscle spasm and I could barely go. I had my daughter turn the faucet on and she was not watching and trying to help me and we flooded the room. Nurse was pissed:rolleyes2: but it got better after a couple of days....

[klutzyazhel 0]

I didn't pee for 15 hours after surgery..I was in SO much discomfort, my doctor told me to get in the shower and the Water should help, very little came out..I'd go sit on potty every 20 minutes and finally it just came..I did NOT want to go get cathed! During surgery they did NOT palce a catheter..And I was NOT required to pee before I left..My doctor said this is a problem with males usually and that anytime surgery is done around the belly button area, it can become an issue..Now my problem is, I still can't tell when I have to pee except by the fact that my back aches a bit..Weird huh! I usually have this problem with surgeries...But this time it's not the same..My surgery was the 19th of dec...