OK, I reread the posts about intubating times and I'm just trying to figure stuff out. I got my constant drain out on Wednesday (6/20) and have been intubating on my own since then. I have found I can get the cath in in a couple of minutes and since I'm new to it, I feel pretty comfortable with that. HOWEVER getting stuff outta the pouch, well, my shortest amount of time in the bathroom has been 15 minutes and its usually closer to 30 mins. Stuff just doesn't want to come out. I don't get it.
I stand there and many times the cath is full but there seems to be no pressure behind it to force the stuff acutally out. The ET nurse recommended moving the cath in and out a little bit and sometimes that helps, and sometimes coughing helps too but sometimes I just stand there in frustration thinking, how am I gonna get this stuff out??
I feel like I"m drinking A LOT (at least 32 oz just with dinner)
Obviously, irrigating helps, but it can still take quite a bit of time. And I can only really irrigate if I'm standing or kneeling in front on the toilet. If I'm sitting and pointing the cath into the toilet I just get water everywhere.
I know a lot of my problems are just because I'm new and I need to work on my technique, but any suggestions or hints you guys could give me would be greatly appreicated!

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katie

If you want to intubate into the toilet, float some toilet tissue on top of the water and that will stop some of the splashing.

Or, as a lot of folks do, stand in front of the sink and intubate into the sink. It all goes down the place anyway.

Keep drinking a lot of water and of course, you can irrigate when intubating.

Are you drinking grape juice to keep your output thin?
Chris didn't have any problem intubating at all when he started and he kneels also.
Too much lubricant can clog the bullet holes.
I am sure Leslie will come along and help you with some words of wisdom and Jasmine too.

There may be several different opinions on this but I've been reading that drinking more than just sips at meals inhibits digestion. I read this while researching "food combining" (google it). I am trying it and I save my "dilution" drinking for a while after each meal. I figure the water/juice will always catch up. It certainly hasn't made my need to irrigate any worse.

My methood is not the norm, but it works for me. I irrigate every time. This dilutes the stool and allows it to flow more easily. At times I may do this two or three times in order to empty the pouch. One thing that makes it easier is to use a bulb syringe. It only requires one hand to use.
Now comes the unusual part. I have not intubated into a toilet EVER. I do it standing up and use a container. Believe it or not, the best container that I have found is a plastic container that was given away by casinos. These are the cups that were used by slot players when actual coins were dispensed. I must have over 100 of these and they can be reused many times. Most casinos give paper vouchers now, but you may still find an older one. If not, find a product like ice cream that comes in a large plastic container and use that. You should look for at least5 a 32oz size with a wide mouth.
I hope that some of this helps.

Yikes! Apparently, we all have different ways of intubating.

I'm female and I always intubate while sitting. Personally, I can't imagine kneeling on the floor because few bathroom floors are perfectly clean, especially if your family includes any males. And the thought of kneeling in a public restroom seems awful to me because one can wipe down the seat with a lysol cloth but I for one wouldn't want to start cleaning a public bathroom floor! And people in other stalls would wonder what the heck was going on.

I also wouldn't want to stand because of problems aiming and splashing. I do have a two-sink master bathroom so I don't have to share that, but somehow using it for intubation purposes hadn't occurred to me. Of course, I do wash up my catheter in my sink after, but I always swish around some antibacterial liquid soap afterward and haven't yet gotten sick from any germs that I know of.

After 4 years of intubating while sitting, I don't think I could even insert the catheter in any other position. I sit up straight while inserting and have no problem.

I guess the answer is to do whatever is comfortable for you.

Where did anyone say anything about kneeling on the floor?

The original post from Kaydbird said "I can only really irrigate if I'm standing or kneeling in front of the toilet."

If I add all the years between the two Kocks I've had ..I've had a Kpouch for almost 26 years. I've always sat....makes it fairly close to being normal I would think kneeling or standing would get tiring especially when emptying is a challenge.
It takes time finding what works best for you and everyone has their own technique.
Katie, there are times when my hand or cath has slipped and water (clean and dirty) had sprayed on the bathroom floor. It happens, but you will get more adept at this.

heheheh, it is funny to see all the differences.

for the most part i do what Larry does.

I've been using those kidney shaped dishes they have in hospitals. it started b/c right when i left the doc's office the first time i got to take the constant drain out, my mom (who is a nurse, and her nurse instincts i think were getting the best of her) thought it'd be a good idea for the first couple days to keep an eye on the amount of output each time.
so we snagged the dish on the way out the doc's office since it had measurements on it.

and i guess i just got so used to using it, i continued. i was bringing it with me when going out and using it out in public bathrooms, but i got tired of bringing this dish which i had to clean out, etc.

so for the most part (unless it's a really long time away, like my trip to amsterdam) my travel kit is a collapsible cup, a baby booger syringe, and lube packets. the cath i've been using i can fold up and it all fits in a cosmetic bag (that the lovely Les sent me...thanks les!)

but at home, i have a little bench storage unit thingie in my bathroom (from ikea, nifty little thing) that i sit on, and put the dish on the bench on my right side (closer to the stoma, generally the side the cath would lean more towards) and just let the cath rest on the edge of the dish.
viola, super easy, not tiring, etc. (which is why i'd much prefer to intubate at home...i'll even suffer waiting longer just to get home to do it rather than trying to stop while out. i try to avoid that though)

i would never never never never NEVER in a million years be able to kneel in front of a toilet. even long ago, when bouts of crazy binge drinking would leave me to want to "pray to the porcelain god" i would rather just lean over and not be as close.

sssooooo an addendum to my intubating process, i usually sit and let it all into the dish but it seems that more and more i find myself doing that first, and then after the majority of the stuff seems to be out (or if its on the thick side and not coming out very easily) i'll get up and point the cath in the toilet and i end up using breathing and stomach muscles to get other stuff out.
or...even more common for me to do, is to pinch the cath near the top, and then pinch it with my other hand lower down and it sorta sucks stuff out without having to use any effort.

i do not think i could sit on the toilet and point the cath in there, for me, the splash...ugh, i'd think it'd get on you. and that would just make me cringe.
i'll stand over the toilet and aim the cath in there, b/c my cath is pretty long, much longer than the marlens that cleveland clinic gave me to go home with, i don't have to worry bout much splashing up.
(and the toilet paper linign trick works only sorta, seems i have to continuously put more and more in to keep it from splashing.

Call me a stand-up kind of guy or an occasional kneeler. It's the sink for me - it's got running water, a drain connected to the same pipes as the toilet and ledges on either side to unroll my "kit" (60cc syringe, tube of lube, tweezers and the catheter all rolled up in a wash cloth). My pouch contents at times can be so thick I need to go through 3 liters of water to loosen things up. I also have found that using the syring to pump a little air into the pouch helps blow out the remaining water. Warning this'll cause water+ to shoot a good distance if you forget to aim. The fun part is watching my stomach go flat as my pouch "collapses" from the air escaping.

I tried early on to do it sitting down with horrific results, primarily because my tube goes so far in that there is little left out to guide the flow away from me and then of course there is the splashing and how to remove it without getting the stuff all over you hands and your clothes...I looked like Mike Rowe from "Dirty Jobs" :-)

When I am away from home I will, depending on the arrangement of the public bathroom, place a bunch of paper towels on the floor provided it hasn't been pee'd all over and kneel facing the toilet. I carry a shoulder pack with my catheter and syringe in a cut off plastic Poland Spring water bottle which I fill with water before I go into the stall. The smallish bottle worth of water dosn't go to far with me but then I am usually just emptying to buy a little time.

i also get a kick outta my deflating stomach

(oh, and out of curiosity...do any of you and your pouches NOT protude just a bit? not the stoma, but just the skin/stomach area around, its a noticeable bulge. like i have a baseball or something stuffed under my skin.)
i know it's the pouch under there. but will it never just go down flat? i guess it's for vanities sake, but i sorta liked my nice flat tummy.
and no, even though in my avatar pic it seems my stomach is flat, it isn't

Thanks everyone for your advice and experiences! I'm beginning to see that this is a very individual thing too I prefer to intubate standing up into a little container I procured from the hospital. I find it easier than when I'm sitting down but who knows why that is. But I don't know what I'll do when I go back to work. Perhaps lock myself in the handicap stall and still do it standing up. The toilets are higher...
Its certainly easier for my to irrigate, this way I don't get water all over myself.
I have to irrigate a LOT though, rarely can I empty without irrigating, and that doesn't sound normal. How much grape juice do you guys drink in a day? Do you drink it with every meal?
I have the bulb syringe and I really need to get more but how big is the mouth on your water bottle? because I don't think I could get more than the very tip into most.
Another question I have is how many catheters do you guys have on hand at one time? I need to order some but I'm not sure how many I should get, 2, 3, more?

I'm ready to get over the learning curve already!

My fiance and I worked it out and we figure I drink about 70-90 ounces of gatorade a day. I can't do the grape juice and I really dont like drinking water unless I have to. As for catheters for your first order I would get quite a few so you dont have to worry about taking one with you. I have one in each car, two in my office, one in my briefcase, one in my golf bag, and one at my parents. In addition I try to have more then one available wherever I am. Sometimes one works better then another (goes in more quickly and so on). I do envy you all who are able to sit and empty.

wow, you have your own office? johnny, i'm jealous

first order i ordered like 12 cath's. (i had a large visa gift card, and figured i'd order my supplies with it while i had the money, considering i had no insurance)

AANNNND go figure i find that throughout chemo the only cath that would work for me was the one they gave me at the hospital (the one they hook you to the constant drainage on) and in order to get through chemo i ONLY use that one, now, months later, i'm still only using that one, and all the 12 cath's i ordered are sitting unused in a bin under my bathroom bench.
although it's nice to know i have extra's.
when i went to europe i stashed em everywhere. one in my purse, two in my luggage, one in my carry-on. just in case y'know?
i only ended up using one. but better safe than sorry.
i have a 'kit' in my car. and then a 'kit' at home, and then one i take with me every where in my purse. but i usually just use the same cath

(i thought i might add to this post that b/c i intubate into a dish, often times i don't even need to do it in the bathroom.
i've done it sitting out in the living room in front of the tv, sitting on a balcony in amsterdam, in my car (car ride home was WAAAAYYY longer than it should have been).