Any tips on surgery recovery?

I had mine in for 9 days. The procedure at Addenbrookes where they get you to drink and wander around for a couple of hours and then after 2 successful wees, they scan your bladder and only let you go home if it shows you successfully emptied it in that time, worked great for me. I had an Abena Formula 2 (super absorbent) pad in place and sitting quietly in the car for an hour (doing some gentle pelvic floor exercises) was fine. No accidents. Pad was a bit wet when we got home and had a noticeable leak as I stood up out of the car, but all good.

 Olly60 have you got a contact number or MyChart contact you can ask? I seem to remember they told me basic details of what to expect at my surgery pre-assessment too (all the appointments are a bit of a blur). I’m sure if your hospital procedure is self removal, they will give you a mass of leaflets and information and instructions nearer the day  After my surgery, they even did detailed demonstrations on how to self administer the injections!

I took my own catheter out at home.  A nurse from the hospital was on the phone to me and talked me through the process as I did it but the hospital (UCLH) also sent me a video to watch beforehand.  I found the procedure very straightforward and not at all painful (though a little bit weird).  The knack seemed to be to give the tube a little twist first and then pull it out slowly. I was a bit surprised at how long the catheter was. Had the big advantage that I could sit comfortably at home and use my own toilet when needed.  The nurse called me back after an hour just to check that my urine was flowing as it should. Overall much less hassle than having to travel into hospital and hang around there waiting to wee.

Thanks for the insight. I'm having my surgery at the Royal Surrey and they've already sent through a ton of reading material, starts to make your head spin!

Thanks DAR55, I'm going to remember the 'little twist'. Thanks for the tip (forgive the pun)

HI Olly60,

I had my Radical Prostatectomy a year ago last week. Click on my profile picture to read my diary. 

First thing is don't stress, easy for me to say, but on the day, the worst bit was walking into the hospital, I just wanted to turn around and run. The anaesthetic was brilliant, like a light switch being turned off and instantly turn on again, and its all over. 

Take ear plugs and an eye mask so you cant get some sleep in the ward.  

If you need a cough whilst recovering, hug a pillow into your stomach, it supports things and helps prevents aggravating your wounds. 

Dont worry about the catheter or drains being removed, it feels weird but doesn't hurt.

Main thing is, give yourself time. And keep up with the squeezes, use the NHS app. 

All the best 

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