What kind of incontinence product after RARP ?

Posted by surftohealth88 @surftohealth88, Jul 7, 2025

I know that incontinence has different levels but in general - with what kind of product one should start ?
There is an "underwear" type of products and than there are pads / guards. Do I buy both of them for my husband ?
Also, in your experience, how many a day one needs for a full incontinence (I have to expect the worst and be surprised with the better outcome, that is how my brain works *sigh and beside, I do not think that my guardian angel is "all there" since 1992 XP ) ?
And thirdly - is the sizing on those boxes correct or one should go a size up for a comfort ?

Thank you all in advance < 3

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

Profile picture for surftohealth88 @surftohealth88

Well well, ha ha ha, rubbing it in, aren't we XP lol - I guess you have a spare room for us ahahaha, tempting us to move and all ; ) lol. Joking to the side - I am so happy to hear that you are having such great and affordable care - good for you !!! : ))) I was always dreaming of living in Australia or NZ but stars were not cooperating. Maybe in my next life ;).

Tried "Totaldry" right now - size L is "sold out" even for sampling and pad/shield type that I need gone too. Also, I can not have 2 samples of the same kind, so I would end up with only one sample of one thing. I mean, it is just ridiculous to buy huge packets of anything and than trow it away - what a waste of money and totally environmentally irresponsible ! I would be happy to pay for full sample variety package - like 2 of each in line, size L. One would think that something like that is a marketing no brainier for those companies ???? I do not know ... just ridiculous.

I ordered today some products on Amazon, if they do not work, they will be donated, what else is person to do.

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https://www.northshorecare.com/getsamples
https://www.dmponline.com/sample-pack-2 - 5 products for 10 bucks
https://www.cwimedical.com/caregivers/samples/for-incontinence
Our trial sample packs (2 items per pack) ship free. Order Limit: 1 sample pack per item, 9 total sample packs per customer.

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I have found that Good Will can definitely use packs of incontinence products that do not work or are no longer needed so do assisted living places. I have been happy with Tena but am paying full price

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Thank you all for finding the time to write and helping me with the preparations < 3.

I really appreciate that you went into details since those seemingly small and trivial facts are actually the ones that help me get the gist 😉 . When things are out of control having at least small control over logistics means a lot.

Sending hugs to all and wishing you nice and relaxing day < 3 ! : ))

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Definitely all good comments. I did the kegel exercises over and over again before mine and was very fortunate to have good luck post-operation.

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I'm 4 weeks out of RARP. I've been doing research many weeks before my surgery. So much to learn! Now done with surgery my focus has been on incontinence. This support group has been invaluable! Having never been incontinence before I had a lot to learn. I found this website which is a great primer, for all levels of knowledge.
This link is specifically for prostate cancer. https://nafc.org/managing-urinary-incontinence-after-prostate-surgery/

This link is for all other incontinence situations. https://nafc.org

Hope everyone finds this helpful, there is so much to learn about our medical situation. This is a good resource for this stage of our journey! Good luck and positive thoughts to all of us!
https://nafc.org/managing-urinary-incontinence-after-prostate-surgery/

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If you are like most post-RP men who have just had your catheter removed, you will need, or prefer, the full jockey style Depends "diaper." You will need to get your physician to write an order for Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (PFPT). Your insurance company will likely approve just two sessions, but your PFPT therapist will just write a justification for what will total 8 sessions. The exercises will help a lot, and they go well beyond standard Kegel exercises. The sooner you can train your one remaining urinary sphincter the better (the surgery takes the primary, strongest sphincter as a consequence of removing the prostate).
After 2-3 months "give or take" you'll likely transition to incontinence "pads". The trick to those, is that if you wear boxer shorts now, you'll need to buy several pairs of jockey style undershorts so you can insert and affix the "pad" to the fabric of the jockey shorts. The pad will not work in long, loose-fitting boxers. After a few months of wearing pads and regaining/retraining strength and control of your sphincter, you'll eventually start wearing thin "Shields" for leaks. It took me about 9 months going through that progression from diapers, to pads, to Shields. I started wearing the Shields about month 7 or so. The nice thing is you can slip a packaged pad or 2-3 Shields in your pants pocket completely "stealth" in case you need one while out in the world. There is no bump or lump in my pants pockets. I am now at 14 months post-RP, and I am still not completely, 100% continent. It is very frustrating. I have been at ~98% or 99% for 6-8 months, but I just can't avoid those little accidents, like when sitting down getting into my car, or squatting to do something in the garden or in the house. I have actually heard that many men, even without prostate issues, "leak" in their senior years after 55 years old...it is just a consequence of getting old ..just like a lot of women leak, of course they start much younger. I fortunately never had that leak issue before surgery (I had my RP surgery at age 70 years, 2 months).

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