External Catheters - Wondering about Pros & Cons

[Arby]

It's possible that I may be able to get external catheters through my Doctors'. I don't think they would be suitable to every situation, such as running or long walks (depending on how much the leg bag holds), so I would still need to use Diapers at times.
It seems though it could be great to have when I am at home, perhaps more convenient and save me money as well.

Does anyone have experience with external Catheters? I've noticed they're generally not a preference, and am wondering if there a particular reason for that which I haven't already noted.

Thanks all!

 

[Slomo]

Unfortunately I do have experience with external condom catheters. They are pretty good- at first. They are comfortable to wear, but only until you get a few normal size changes. Not even an erection, just enough to try and stretch the latex and/or your own skin. And yeah, get an erection and the latex stretching with the glue trying to keep everything tight can get prerty bad. Made worse when the glue starts pulling and coming loose.

After a few times of size changes, the glue holding it on will become weak. Add in any sudden peeing urges, and there will be enough pressure to make the catheter pop loose or even fully detach. And when that happens it's not just a small urine leak escaping, it's everything you're producing AND everything in the collection bag too.

You will have to deal with a catastrophic leak. Not just a puddle either, a small pond. And Murphy's law usually dictates it will happen in a public place at the worst possible time.

Even with any complicatikns or failures, there's also the catheter tubing and collection bag. And just like with indwelling foley catheters,  the tubing sometimes kinks and backs things up, or sometimes can even snag on something when showering or dressing. And those collection bags never stay in place very well. With them migrating or sagging with the heavier they get. I found an elastic leg bag sack holder works way better than the usual elastic belts, but only to a point.

You're certainly welcome to give condom catheters a try, but honestly I'd recommend you skip them entirely. Diapers are much easier to keep hidden, are less noticable, and have far fewer catastrophic leaks.

[Arby]

8 hours ago, Slomo said:

Unfortunately I do have experience with external condom catheters. They are pretty good- at first. They are comfortable to wear, but only until you get a few normal size changes. Not even an erection, just enough to try and stretch the latex and/or your own skin. And yeah, get an erection and the latex stretching with the glue trying to keep everything tight can get prerty bad. Made worse when the glue starts pulling and coming loose.

After a few times of size changes, the glue holding it on will become weak. Add in any sudden peeing urges, and there will be enough pressure to make the catheter pop loose or even fully detach. And when that happens it's not just a small urine leak escaping, it's everything you're producing AND everything in the collection bag too.

You will have to deal with a catastrophic leak. Not just a puddle either, a small pond. And Murphy's law usually dictates it will happen in a public place at the worst possible time.

Even with any complications or failures, there's also the catheter tubing and collection bag. And just like with indwelling foley catheters,  the tubing sometimes kinks and backs things up, or sometimes can even snag on something when showering or dressing. And those collection bags never stay in place very well. With them migrating or sagging with the heavier they get. I found an elastic leg bag sack holder works way better than the usual elastic belts, but only to a point.

You're certainly welcome to give condom catheters a try, but honestly I'd recommend you skip them entirely. Diapers are much easier to keep hidden, are less noticable, and have far fewer catastrophic leaks.

Thank you for the info on this. My only hope is maybe they've improved or some brands are better than others. Same to what you get with diapers I suppose.
What you've described is something I thought about, but thought it would be fine if sized right.

I would probably wear some sort of padding with them to build up trust, I certainly wouldn't try them out the first few times with normal underwear.

If they're free, I'll give them a go, maybe.

[Slomo]

Yes, some glues are going to be better than others. But the problem is if they make the glue strong enough to hold during an erection and also hold against pressurized pee, then it will also be too strong to remove easily enough.

It helps greatly if you shave off any hairs on your shaft beforehand, but even that only goes so far. They shouldn't fail too often, but they will fail and once is too much when it's catastrophic. It's just one of those live and learn things with external catheters. Because once you've lived through them failing that badly, you'll learn.