Discharge Instructions: Bladder Training with a Suprapubic Catheter
You are going home with a tube that drains urine from your bladder. This is a suprapubic catheter. Your doctor put the catheter right into your bladder through a tiny cut (incision) in your belly. You'll need to train your bladder to work as it did before. It takes time after illness or injury for you to feel the urge to urinate. And your bladder may not empty completely. So, you'll need to check the amount of urine in your bladder.
By clamping and unclamping the catheter, you'll learn to urinate the way you did before you had the catheter. The amount of urine that you pass through the urethra will increase. And the amount of urine draining from your catheter will decrease. When you reach less than 50 ml to 75 ml from your catheter for a few days, your doctor may want to remove it.
Home care
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Use the bathroom at least every 3 hours.
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Try to pass your urine normally into a container. The container should be a measuring container. Then you can figure out how much urine you passed. Don't be discouraged if this takes some time for you to learn.
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Measure the amount of urine in the container.
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Unclamp your catheter.
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Drain the urine from your catheter.
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Measure the amount of urine.
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Clamp your catheter.
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Write down the amount of urine that you passed normally. And write down the amount from your catheter.
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Add the two amounts together and record the total. Also record the date and time.
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Try to increase the amount of urine you pass normally. Try to decrease the amount left in your catheter.
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Tell your doctor when you are draining less than 50 ml to 75 ml from your catheter.
Follow-up care
Make a follow-up appointment as directed by your doctor.
When to contact your doctor
Contact your doctor right away if you have:
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Urine that is cloudy, bloody, or smells bad.
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A fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or as directed by your doctor.
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Shaking chills.
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Rash, itching, redness, swelling, or drainage at the catheter site.
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A full feeling in your bladder or bladder pain.
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A catheter that is clogged or feels clogged.
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No urine drainage.
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Urine leaking around catheter.
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A catheter or stitches that fall out.
Online Medical Reviewer:
Rajadurai Samnishanth Researcher
Online Medical Reviewer:
Raymond Turley Jr PA-C
Date Last Reviewed:
4/1/2025
© 2000-2025 The StayWell Company, LLC. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional's instructions.