How to deal with catheter while recovering after prostate surgery?

Thanks Soli ! I will look them up ASAP :).
Just now I found this one, the first one I found that uses a real person (not a dummy) demonstrating bags and draining.
I will try to find the rest that you suggested - thanks :)))

Thank you @surftohealth88 . I will check it out.

I would say that you shouldn't need a nurse. You'll be laid up recovery for a minimum of 5 days, more like the full ten days that the catheter is in you. You'll walk around your house, etc., but you won't be going to work or driving (based on my experience). I had the single incision DaVinci robotic assisted method RP, and I felt assaulted and pummeled below my navel. I had no "ability" (forget "desire") to move around too much.
I found the smaller leg-strapped bag unnecessary and annoying. If you are forced to go out in public, perhaps an early return to work, then yes, you'll need that bag. It was annoying because I had to remember to check it/empty it every one to two hours (they fill fast). And...you feel the weight of it increasing as it fills hanging off your leg.
I was fortunate in that I am retired, so I just laid and walked around my house with the larger bag. The larger bag should have a plastic "hanger" hook device. I hung it off the side of my bed at night on my bed frame. I am not an active sleeper, so I never felt a tug or had issues. The inflated balloon inside your bladder will prevent the catheter from falling out or being pulled out. In terms of emptying the catheter, or changing back and forth between the smaller one, you just need to have an organized bathroom counter top: I'd have two alcohol prep packs already open and laying on top of the pouch they came in. I'd have the catheter to be swapped for, out and ready. I would stand over the toilet and open the stop-cock with the one I had connected, let it drain to empty, and then shut the stock-cock. Then I'd walk to my bathroom counter, pull the tip connector out to remove the now-empty catheter, and then use the readied alcohol prep pack pad to swab and connect the other one. Once I decided to use only the larger catheter bag, I still cleaned the tip once daily. And...
One extra bit of advice: When the nurse assistant pulled and removed my catheter after 11 days (a momentary big ouch), she wanted to leave the VERY STICKY ~3" x 4" adhesive pad that secured the catheter tubing from my penis to my thigh. She said that they "find that the patient does a better job removing it at their pace than they can." I learned why when I went home. The adhesive on that pad is like epoxy or Gorilla glue. I gently, slowly started to peel that adhesive pad off my inner left thigh. It was a struggle. It was very painful, and it took a lot of skin with it. I now have a permanent, very visible red scar about 1" x 1/2" in one area where it just would not peel off. I had to more assertively pull, and it took a lot of skin with it. Good luck.

Thank you @rlpostrp for sharing. There is lot to digest and think about! It is very clear that there are pros and cons of only using the large bag only vs swithcing between the "night" and "day bag". The idea of having an organized bathroom countertop of cleaning supplies is a great idea. I was actually myself thinking about that in the last couple of days. I was debating whether to clear the counter or get a small table next to it which might be a slightly lower height and hence better to work with. As for the 3X4 sticky, I had one put on my for a TURP procedure in 2012 and the nurse used what she said was a medical grade adhesive removers that contain oils that dissolve the adhesive. In may case the adhesive was on only for a couple of days, I am not sure if it would have worked as well for your case.

I would like to thank @surftohealth88 for sharing the video. It is the best one I have seen on the practical steps of cathether care by a patient doing it himself.

Quick question for @jeffmarc:

When you are sleeping at night, is the day bag attached to your leg or loose and hanging on something next to your bedjeffmarc

When you are sleeping at night, is the day bag attached to your leg or loose and hanging on something next to your bed?

You are very welcome Soli < 3 , and yes, as you said in your previous post there is so much to digest regarding PC in general and also all the details about a surgery.

I am sure that once all of this is over we will have a good laugh about our "million questions" and super diligent preparations but you know, better safe than sorry ; ).

I know from personal experience that after surgery it is very tough to reach a surgeon and ask questions. Once he/she deems you "not in mortal danger", you for all practical purposes are not even a blimp on their radar. One is lucky is NP answers a question the same day and not the next one after you fumble through Google and find the answer yourself lol.

Thanks so much for detailed post and all advice 🙂 !

I put the bag in a box next to the bed on the floor, put something next to it to make sure it stands up Empty it when I wake up. I don’t sleep more than about six hours so it doesn’t fill up. I also make sure I don’t drink much after 6 o’clock in the evening,

Hey again,
Thanks for the reply. I just wanted to add that my organized bathroom countertop was nothing formal. It was just like when you prepare to cook a meal: you get your ingredients out and organize the kitchen counter with them. It was always quick: my alcohol prep packs were in a box on the counter or at times in a drawer. I just pulled two out, tore them open and pulled them out laying them on top of the package they had been in. After emptying my catheter bag in the toilet, I'd walk to the bathroom counter, use one alcohol prep pack to clean the disconnected end of that catheter bag, and the other prep pack to clean the opening of the smaller leg-strapped bag, or just the opening of the penile catheter orifice waiting attachment of the new bag, Simple...no big deal. I just did it that way to minimize the time that the catheter attachment tip was exposed to the air.