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How to deal with catheter while recovering after prostate surgery?

Posted by soli @soli, Jul 6 12:08pm

I plan to have prostate surgery relatively soon. Onc big concern I have is how to deal with the cathether for 7 to 10 days. I live alone so I am thinking of hiring a private nurse for one hour in the morning , and one hour late afternoon to help me change from night bag to leg bag in the morning, and from day bag to night bag in the afternoon. An experienced nurse will know how to do it in a sanitary way to avoid infection. An alternative I am thinking is always keeping the night bag, which has pluses, but too bulky to drag 24 hours. Any suggestions?

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mjp0512 | @mjp0512 | Jul 7 11:08am
In reply to @jeffmarc "It’s interesting to hear people talk about this being rubbed raw because of the catheter. I..." + (show)
@jeffmarc

It’s interesting to hear people talk about this being rubbed raw because of the catheter. I was never aware of such a thing, I never had any problems never had any soreness and I had that catheter in for two weeks, Longer than they have it in today.

Your side effects may vary!!!!

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Could very well be I'm just a wuss when it comes to pain. 😮😁

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1 reply
soli | @soli | Jul 7 11:05am
In reply to @jayhall "One bit of Advice dealing with the "leg Bag" and the "night Bag". My "night bag"..." + (show)
@jayhall

One bit of Advice dealing with the "leg Bag" and the "night Bag". My "night bag" came with two chambers one soft plastic and one hard. I had to get up during the night at least once and transfer pee from the soft plastic to the hard plastic. Also the leg Bag has a tip at the end which can lock and has a tip to place over it. Make sure the tip is locked. Once you get the steps in your head it's fairly easy to manage on your own. Since you are hiring someone you might want to get them to help you get in and out of the shower while you have a cath.

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Thank you for the advice. Before I started this discussion thread, I was pretty sure it was not only helpful but also necessary to hire some help at least for the first few days of post-surgery recovery. But based on some of the responses in this thread, I am wondering whehter I am ovrthinking it (and over worrying about handling the cathether .etc. ) and making it harder than it really is.

Still, I am leaning towards hiring some help at least for the first few days to help me get in and out of showers as you suggested , maybe changing bags etc. while experiencing some pain and discomfort.

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psychometric | @psychometric | Jul 7 10:37am

The nurse went over the cleaning procedure required for switching between bags but I was staying in a hotel and didn't want to deal with that or constant emptying so I just kept the night bag for six days and then switched to the leg bag for the glorious removal day. You can request or buy extra leg bags if you don't want to deal with cleaning - the actual bag changeout procedure is incredibly simple.

I don't know if it was a bad angle or what, but no matter how much I cleaned and lubed the tube, it rubbed me the wrong way (literally). I was determined to walk as much as possible so I just dealt with the irritation and intermittent blood. Catheter removal was a breeze and I haven't had any incontinence beyond an occasional dribble - and even that is less than I had before the surgery.

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jayhall | @jayhall | Jul 7 10:28am

One bit of Advice dealing with the "leg Bag" and the "night Bag". My "night bag" came with two chambers one soft plastic and one hard. I had to get up during the night at least once and transfer pee from the soft plastic to the hard plastic. Also the leg Bag has a tip at the end which can lock and has a tip to place over it. Make sure the tip is locked. Once you get the steps in your head it's fairly easy to manage on your own. Since you are hiring someone you might want to get them to help you get in and out of the shower while you have a cath.

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1 reply
jeff Marchi | @jeffmarc | Jul 7 10:05am
In reply to @soli "Thanks for sharing. Given that, I plan to use neoprene or whatever my urologists give me..." + (show)
@soli

Thanks for sharing. Given that, I plan to use neoprene or whatever my urologists give me to minimize the irritation. I also believe it is important to keep the area clean every day to avoid urinary tract infection. So, I will need to work on that as well.

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It’s interesting to hear people talk about this being rubbed raw because of the catheter. I was never aware of such a thing, I never had any problems never had any soreness and I had that catheter in for two weeks, Longer than they have it in today.

Your side effects may vary!!!!

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1 reply
soli | @soli | Jul 7 7:37am
In reply to @jeffmarc "You are overthinking this. The bag is attached to a long tube. You shut it off..." + (show)
@jeffmarc

You are overthinking this. The bag is attached to a long tube. You shut it off and just pour out the urine. It’s simple.. There’s no real risk of infection I don’t know where you got the idea about that happening, A real first. It’s a one way tube.

You will find it is not difficult to walk around the second day after surgery and change the bag. It might be a little painful, but you can do it. I never used a night bag. The regular bag was always enough. I guess it Depends on how much you drink at night.

I ran a computer consulting company. Four days after surgery I went to three offices, sat down at Computers and worked on something.. I had to go in the bathroom once and empty the bag I had attached to my ankle. No one ever knew I had surgery or a catheter with a bag. The following days I went to many more offices,

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Your very fast recovery to almost normality is very impressive! I am hoping mine will go just as well and as fast.

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soli | @soli | Jul 6 4:22pm

Thanks for sharing. Given that, I plan to use neoprene or whatever my urologists give me to minimize the irritation. I also believe it is important to keep the area clean every day to avoid urinary tract infection. So, I will need to work on that as well.

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mjp0512 | @mjp0512 | Jul 6 3:35pm

Didn't have surgery but had a blockage due to enlarged prostate that caused renal failure back in March. (that's where this PCa journey started) Anyway, after a few hospital days, I was sent home with a foley. Emptying and/or changing bags is no big deal at all. The system is designed for that. What's not designed for that is the tip of your penis. The tube will rub you raw if you don't keep it clean and lubed. I used Ready Cleanse cloths, that the hospital used, for cleaning followed by Bactine Max ointment (bacitracin, polymyxin B, & lidocaine.) I came to greatly appreciate the lidocaine. Best wishes.

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soli | @soli | Jul 6 1:53pm
In reply to @retireditguy "I was 70 last year when I had NS RARP. I'm not a medical professional nor..." + (show)
@retireditguy

I was 70 last year when I had NS RARP. I'm not a medical professional nor an expert in this stuff, so take the following as just my layman opinion based on my personal experience. That said, changing the bag, emptying it, etc wasn't really a big deal and other than the first time right after surgery when my wife helped me, I pretty much did all that stuff myself. While my wife insisted I use disposable gloves and antiseptic wipes to prevent infection, changing the bag couldn't have been much easier. But I should mention I had a very easy recovery with minimal pain and was walking around the day after surgery. Some guys certainly do have a tougher recovery. You didn't mention your age or overall fitness/health, but if you're in good shape before surgery hopefully you'll have a good recovery and will be able to easily take care of the catheter and bag by yourself within a day or so. That said, it is good to have a "plan B" in case your recovery doesn't go well and you need more help. You'll know pretty quickly how much help you'll need. Also, you asked about the bag (which really was easy to take care of as long as you can get up and walk around easily), but with the restrictions on not lifting (for me it was not more than 10 lbs for 6 weeks) makes many daily household chores (grocery shopping, taking out the trash, cooking, cleaning, etc) problematic and may well require some help (again especially if you have a tough or long recovery). You really want to follow your doctors instructions and not stress those stitches during recovery. As a practical matter, here's 3 tips: 1) the biggest "mess" I made the 7 days I had a catheter was one night I turned over in bed while asleep and the catheter tubing pulled apart and spilled some urine. Fortunately I had a disposable absorbent bed mat down so cleanup was as simple as just throwing it in the trash and putting another one down. But without that pad, I would have had wet sheets and a wet mattress. 2) I used the elastic leg straps for the catheter tubing. But during the day it'd slowly slide down my leg and end up putting tension on the catheter tubing. Keep an eye on it. 3) my care team recommended lubing the catheter tubing right at the tip of the penis with antibiotic ointment to prevent irritation. I used what they recommended and it did help. Best wishes.

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Extremely helpful tips. Thank you.

I am 72 but in good condition. I walk at least 7,000 steps every day, have a home gym where I do various exercises, and I started Yoga about 4 months ago. My surgery is not yet scheduled, but I have already started Kaegel exercise even before my uroligist suggested it.

I am pro-active, but also tend to overthink matters,

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soli | @soli | Jul 6 1:48pm
In reply to @topf "I had my catheter in for two weeks. No major problems. Very easy to empty and..." + (show)
@topf

I had my catheter in for two weeks. No major problems. Very easy to empty and to change between bags.

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Thanks.
It is reassuring.

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