Supplies for post surgery

I need to put together a list of things I need, and thanks to HW I pretty much know what needs to be on the list.
One thing I'm confused about is depends. I went on Amazon and saw the ones that are like actual diapers, with the sticky tabs on the sides. And I a
So saw the ones that look more like underwear, and are actually referred to as "absorbent underwear" also made by depends.

Do both of these items do the same thing? Which one works best? For some reason, mentally, I would prefer to buy the ones called underwear. Will it do the same job?

Also, it was mentioned to me that it would be a good idea to buy a commode, as it was very hard to get up from the toilet. Have others found this important, and necessary?

Any ideas about what to have to make showering with the catheter easier? I've read, plastic hook that sticks on the shower wall, any other ideas or things I should think about. What do you do , hang the catheter with the bag, on the hook?

I rented a recliner for a week, being delivered the day before surgery. I know I need a bucket to put the catheter bag in while sleeping.
Neosporin, Tylenol, DECAF Kerrigan coffee cups.
Colace - is that the same thing as Konsyl? Psylium Fibre?

What else, that I might be missing? (And why does it bother me to even write this post, especially the part about depends (Rhetorical question))

Thanks rob, I'll look for the thread, I should have done so before posting. Your comment about depends is confusing me, I know nothing about this. Are the guards like pads? Do they complement the brief underwear by going inside them?

What is the pull-up depends, is that the underwear?

Go to the depends website. They will send you free samples of each item they have. You may not need anything more than a guard or shield.

Depends (underwear kind) will be all you need when you get the cath out...I used a laundry basket with a pillow in it to store the bag while I slept in bed worked like a champ.

For showering I would put on the leg bag and shower worked better than juggling the big bag, just ask the, for two sets of leg straps so one can dry out.

I had my cath for 30 days ....could be one of the reasons I am still inconetnent now !

Get a new set of comf slippers, baggy sweats or PJ pants and a robe

I used an extra pillow to keep my feet elevated in the chair and bed

If you need anything else just ask we are here

Button down basketball pants would be best. Wish I had read about them sooner so I could have ordered them as our local stores didn't have them. Bob wore shorts most of the time and when he had to go out for cath removal we took the advice in the thread I had posted (forget which one it was) and cut a small slit in the side of some old sweat pants he had. (Remember we live a long way from the doctor so he had to travel w/ the bigger bag so we also just cut a slit in a $1 tote and put the bag in there so you couldn't see the urine). Hopefully, you will be like Bob and have very little leaking but remember if you get the underwear kind of depends and you're out and you have to change them you will have to remove your shoes, pants, etc. to change and put on a fresh pair, where the one w/ the side tabs you will not. Right now Bob is fine w/ just the guard (he's only leaking about a tablespoon a day) but he actually prefers the underwear he says they bother him less than the guards. Also for your list, KY lubricant (or any brand lubricant) to put on the cath tube so it slides better. I also used alcohol pre moistened pads to clean off the cath tube after bm so everything would stay "sterile". If you are afraid to use the alcohol pads you could also use diaper wipes for this. We kept puppy pads on the floor by the bed (didn't use a bucket or anything) and would just lay the cath bag on the puppy pad in case it sprung a leak that is also where we put the bag when he sat in the recliner. We also used the puppy pads on the chair just in case he leaked around cath (he didn't), we use puppy pads for everything around here (we don't even own a dog lol), so I suggest getting some.

thanks all, I'm bookmarking this thread.

I leaked like the end of the world even with the cath, around the outside of the tube. Because of the tube, it worked better for the cath days to use the "adjustable" Depends (they can be put on around the tube without having to figure a way to get the big bag through the leg). Cath came out, I moved to the non-adjustable pant Depends, with a Walgreens guard inside. Changed the guard often (blew out 8+ per day). The pant was the backup for the many times I didn't catch the pad until too late.

After a few months I go to where I could use the Walgreens guard in normal jockey shorts, and a few months after that down to the Depends Guard.

Walgreens guard is the heaviest, most absorbent, will look like a garbage bag in your pants if you let it "fill".
Depends guard is next most absorbent.
Tena guards are light duty.
Depends Shields are for really light drippers.

The Walgreens pants/diapers are really unwieldy, and fit badly. I actually took the remainder of the package back and got a refund, cath bag in hand. Was quite the scene.

Thanks 142, Mel

Good to know about the cane, maybe I should have it in the car for getting in and out for the ride home. I have one from when I had knee surgery.

Have to say ,12 days to go time , and each day it gets closer, I am more and more in disbelief that this is actually going to happen. I know a number of people in my life who went through it and had very little problem with incontinence, one even was almost totally continent as soon as the cath came out. But reading here, it seems more people than not have issues that linger. This is making ,e more nervous.

My top three recommendations;
1. Someone to help - first two days were tough. My wife did everything!
2. Recliner - pretty much lived in it 20 hours a day for the first two days. Slept in it until my catheter came out.
3. The Bucket - it bacame my purse. Carried the cath bag and my other essentials in it

Also, there were something's I was unprepared for. The biggest was the gas pain (with DaVinci your are filled with gas) that migrated to my shoulders and upper chest. If you get it there is not much you can do besides walk it off. Only lasts a couple of days.

I hear you on being nervous. I must have changed my mind 1,000 times in the last two weeks. When they rolled me into the OR I almost left!

Best wishes and good luck as you move forward.

I was doped before surgery, as I expect most are. I vaguely remember the trip down the hall, no memory at all of the surgical theater or the robot. And yes, I considered walking out, but it wasn't serious.

I was kept in the hospital for 4 days, had lots of issues standing up and walking.

And yes, many walk away dry with no issues, and they tend to not come back here when that is the case (unless they are really motivated to help others). That should explain why you are left with a lot of guys who have / had issues here on the board. There is nothing statistically representative about our active membership here that applies to the PCa population in general. Not even gender (thanks, ladies, for representing your internet-adverse family members).

Gedman, how long did the soreness last, to the point where you couldn't put on your shoes?
I walk around the house barefoot most of the time, when I'm not going out, the only time I'll have that issue the first week is when I put on my sneakers to walk on the treadmill and when I go back to doc to get the cath out.

@142, yes, I always thought about the statistical anamoly, with members here as it relates to needing follow up treatment, recurrences etc. I'm sure in that regard, this membership is not representative of the general population of PC patients. Never thought about it relating to incontinence issues, I suppose it makes sense.

Pratoman - I don't recall exactly when I was able to bend over to put on my own shoes again. I think that once the catheter was removed (1 week) I was able to bend over to put on my shoes. It was still uncomfortable to bend for another week or two after that.

-Gedman

Here is the thread of "Really useful tips" that was mentioned earlier.
www.healingwell.com/community/?f=35&m=1717641

I found it a couple of days before my surgery and it helped me greatly.

My wife and I also set up a website using CaringBridge.org. It is free and helps you stay in touch with family and friends before and after the surgery. It helped save my wife a lot of time while I was in the operating room keeping everyone informed of my progress. She didn't have to call a lot of friends and family to update them by telling each one the same story she told the one before. We took pictures while I was in the surgical prep area before surgery and in the hospital room after surgery and posted them.

I also bought a "temporary hook" from 3M that I could hook my catheter on while I showered. When the cath was removed, I removed the hook from the tile in the shower.

Good luck!

Bill from Florida