How to deal with catheter while recovering after prostate surgery?

Statlock for sure, it stayed in place and I could adjust the tube as needed. When I left the hospital I asked to have it switched from right side to the left, for some reason they used a velcro strap and it was moving all over the place . Very painful. I got a statlock on my own and corrected it myself.

Got it. Thank you. Was Statlock difficult to remove form your skin after you were done? How did you remove it?

It's really not that big of a deal to carry or empty it yourself unless you have severe mobility issues. I never used the leg bag until I went back to have the catheter removed. I used a walker the first few days after coming home from surgery in May and I just hung the bag by the hook on one of the crossbars and away I went to the bathroom. There was a simple valve for emptying the bag into the toilet. I was able to go all night by hangin the bag on the lowest nightstand drawer handle if you can call 4 hours all night. I had a StatLock Foley Stabilization Device on my right thigh to hold the tubing in place and that worked very well. I believe they used alcohol to remove it, it came off fairly easily. My first one actually started coming off so I ordered a new from Amazon for like $9. I did have some redness on the tip of my you know what and they prescribed Nystatin cream, cleared it right up. Good luck and keep us informed.

Lots of very helpful information from @im62at2024 .

Thank you so much!

Your urologist should provide both a larger volume/overnight volume bag, and a smaller strap-on-to-leg bag that will let you get out on errands for an hour or two.
Don't stress or over-think the changing of the catheter bags...it is simple. They'll provide you with alcohol prep packs. You merely go to the toilet, open the stop-cock outlet of the large bag and empty it completely into the toilet. Then close the stopcock. Have your smaller catheter bag ready to go with one or two open alcohol prep packs waiting. You simply "crimp" the tubing of the catheter where it connects to the bag, then gently twist/pull/separate the large catheter bag from the connection. You then wipe the plastic connector tip of the smaller bag, and then push/twist/connect it to the catheter tubing you are still crimping. "Done"...'"easy." I always wiped the tip of the larger catheter bag with an alcohol prep pack wipe as well as the inside of the cap before capping that larger bag. I did the same when switching back from the smaller leg-strap bag, to the larger/overnight catheter bag. You should not need a nurse for that. Having the bag is a hassle, but the good news is, you likely will not be going out of your house during the 10 days that you have the catheter in. You will be in "recovery mode" managing the discomfort/pain of the prostatectomy. You won't want to go out, so, you'll just carry the larger bag around with you as you walk around your house the little bit that you are up and moving. Good luck with it.

Thanks for all the good advice. I like walking in the morning and I walk about 7 or 8 thousand steps every day now. Also walking is supposed to be important for recovery (to avoid clotting, constipation etc). I could walk in my home, but it would be much nicer if I can go out and walk. Maybe I will stay home for the first 2 or 3 days, and start venturing out. Based on what you have told me and some of the videos, I have watched, I am 100% sure I can do the swithing of bags. It is not rocket science: one just needs to be careful of not inadvertently introducing bacteria into the system.

soli have you been to a Physical Therapist yet to show you how to do pelvic floor muscles exercises correctly? This was far and away the best thing I could've done a head of time. Walking is great I wouldn't over do it the first few days PO. My surgeon told me I would feel like I had done a 1000 sit-ups PO and when I went back for my first PO followup I told him to make that 10,000 sit-ups. The abdomen soreness and bruising was quite severe for me but walking helped more than pain meds. I was 3 months PO as of yesterday and doing quite well and my incontinence is nearly under control.

You got this Brother!

Physical therapists from the Medical Facility which will do my surgery provide zoom lessons on how to do kaegel exercises and I have been doing the workouts everyday. I will continue to do that until my surgery which is scheduled for early September.

I am very glad you are making great progress in all areas, and which a quick and total recovery.

RE: the overnight bag vs. smaller leg bag, I recommend keeping the larger bag on and placing it in a pail to hide it during the day. The hose is longer and the bag has more capacity to hold your urine as you'll be consuming a lot of water and clear fluids during that week. You'll get used to it.

That bag also had an additional clip that was attached to the hose via a rubber band. You can use it to clip the hose to the bottom of your shorts. This extra clip helped keep the hose from irritating the tip of my penis when I moved. Given my surgery was about a month ago, I had the luxury of wearing summer shorts. Also, I recommend using boxer shorts.

The pail idea also worked well for the several walks I took during the day up/down the street. If you want further privacy, cover the bag in the pail with a towel. Nobody will care.

Emptying both bags is easy.

You'll need to administer an antibiotic ointment to the tip of your penis and down 3-4 inches of the catheter hose also to prevent infection.

The day before my catheter was removed, I put on the leg bag as we had company. Like I said, it didn't hold as much fluid and I was often draining it. I also wore it to the clinic when the catheter was removed.

It will all work out. Get in the best shape you can before your surgery which will really help with your recover. Good luck.

Great practical advise.

Thank you so much.