Home from Lower Body lift - and a little scared

I had my LBL on Tuesday.   1700 mL of fat was lipoed out of my saddle bags and an additional 21 pounds of skin and fat were removed.  The surgery went very well and my pain is controlled.  I haven’t really been able to get a good look at the results since I woke up with my compression garment and a whole bunch of padding on, but so far so good…

I did have a little complication that I just was not prepared for.  My bladder is completely numb and I have not regained function of it yet.  I woke up from surgery on Tuesday with the foley catheter in, and the nurses removed it the next morning.  Ten hours later I was not able to pee on my own, so they had to put the catheter back in (while I was awake, which sucked).  They sent me home with the catheter still in and made an appointment with a urologist on Monday before my first postop appointment with my plastic surgeon.  The staff told me that this happens sometimes with general anesthesia, and I’m just hoping between that and the on-Q pain pump (which is making a lot down there numb) this is just temporary. 

Did anyone else have this problem?  How long did it take to resolve? 

Yes. I was told is is very common. I came home with a catheter and was told I could remove it myself on day 7. I peed right away. I was actually thankful for the catheter that first week since I did not have to hurry out of bed to use the restroom.

Every time I have ever had a catheter, I have always gotten a UTI afterwards. Now I know if I'm going to have to have one I always ask for antibiotics as well. Sometimes it just takes a while to go because your body is holding on to fluid. Call your doctor with any questions. Feel better soon!

Thanks ladies for your replies!  I saw the urologist yesterday, and turns out not only can this be a result of the anesthesia, but having Benadryl at the same time makes it more likely to happen, and I had multiple doses due to an allergic reaction.  They were talking about scoping my bladder (eeeeek) and leaving the Foley in for weeks, which made some panic set in for sure.  I was finally able to pee on my own a few hours after the catheter was removed yesterday, and I feel sooooo much better now!  I have been on antibiotics the entire time, so hopefully no UTI….