They are correct; Carl hadn’t been completely emptying his bladder for years, allowing some urine to sit in his bladder and attract bacteria. The antibiotic masked the symptoms for a while, until it didn’t. Carl went to the urologist and got a urodynamic study. The result? Carl was diagnosed with an atonic bladder which means he was unable to spontaneously urinate due to insufficient detrusor muscle contraction. “Probably from years of stretching it out by not emptying it properly. You can’t pee until 4 o’clock when you are a teacher!"

The men describe one of the treatments in Carl’s journey toward bladder management was a ‘face-lift of the bladder.’ It involves small implants that prevent enlarged prostate tissue from blocking the opening of the urethra. “Initially it was stupendous!” Carl remembers, “However, my problem was not the prostate or urethra, my bladder muscles are just weak. I am now able to urinate somewhat on my own, but that’s still not enough to keep some of the urine from pooling and attracting bacteria.”

They found a physician colleague of Dave’s who recommended using a catheter to completely empty Carl’s bladder. “At first they had me on a Foley, a leg bag. It worked ok, but it was a bit cumbersome.” Carl continues, “The doctor said, ‘let’s try intermittent catheterisation’, and they gave me a selection of about 10 catheters. I tried them. They weren’t awful, but the Hydrophilic Cure Catheter with coude tip was the best by far.”

“The fact that the tip is smooth, eyelets are fire polished, and the catheter has a hydrophilic coating, was the ticket for Carl!” Dave adds.