Dad is having bladder surgery and will need a catheter for a while; he has Alzheimer's and is very confused with anything new. What is the best way to help him deal with this?
Hi Alice, I'm not going to pretend that this will be easy, though you may be lucky enough for him not to notice. More likely, he'll want to pull out the bothersome catheter. Have you (or has someone nearby) been trained to replace the catheter? He could cause damage and a lot of pain from just yanking it out, as they are generally held in by an air-filled balloon that needs deflating before the catheter is removed. I'd talk with the doctor in depth about how to handle this. You may need to use some sedating medication for the time he's got the catheter, if he repeatedly tries to remove it. Best of luck with this one - keep in touch with the doctor about problems. Carol
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I'm not going to pretend that this will be easy, though you may be lucky enough for him not to notice. More likely, he'll want to pull out the bothersome catheter. Have you (or has someone nearby) been trained to replace the catheter? He could cause damage and a lot of pain from just yanking it out, as they are generally held in by an air-filled balloon that needs deflating before the catheter is removed. I'd talk with the doctor in depth about how to handle this. You may need to use some sedating medication for the time he's got the catheter, if he repeatedly tries to remove it. Best of luck with this one - keep in touch with the doctor about problems.
Carol