Sainsburys do incontinence pants which are lot cheaper than other makes and are just as good, through my own experience its a gradual reduction of loss and pads as time goes on.Tena produce male pads as well and when you get to very little loss they are the best price and product. It takes time but I am pad free now its taken two years plus and an odd accident.
I bought Tena for Men. I got some Level 1 protection and some Level 2 and bought them online but most chemists can get the ones you want if you prefer to buy that way and some supermarkets do them, too, although they usually have a bigger range for women, which won't be any good.
Your partner will have a catheter in for a while, when it comes out he will probably be supplied with one or two pads, and maybe more. It's a good idea to take one or two with him when the catheter comes out just in case the hospital doesn't supply pads.
Depending where you live he might be able to get pads on prescription. Where I live I can't. If he finds he doesn't need to use pads he should still hang on to any he buys as it's possible he could have leaks when he get colds or the flu and coughs and sneezes a lot.
One thing that is said to really help with incontinence, both preventing and stopping, is pelvic floor exercises. Ideally your partner should have been doing them for as long as possible before his surgery and then carry on after the catheter comes out but, even if he's never done them before, starting them once the catheter is out should help.
Hello Thankful123. So sorry to hear of your hubbys cancer. I had my prostate removed 3 weeks ago and am going tomorrow to have the catheter taken out and to get the path lab results and future treatment plan. This is how i dealt with the catheter and hope you can pick up some tips to help you. He will have a bag with a ankle strap and a longer knee strap to keep it in position on the leg and a top strap which goes round the thigh and stops the catheter from pulling on his willy. I found that when i walked this top strap slowly worked its way down and when he feels a bit of pulling you will have to pull it back up. Try to get the velcro tags square on the straps or the teeth may rub and if the straps are too tight the corragations on the tubing may rub. At night he will have to attach the leg bag to the night bag tube and open the leg bag valve for it to drain. You can expect around 1 ltr of urine during the night. In the morning empty the night bag and put the tube under the tap and give it a bit of a wash out. I found it easier to walk around the house in my pants or short pjs. Keep up with the paracetamol and i topped mine up with the odd ibuprofen when it was playing up and i slept with 4 pillows propped up, bag on that side of the bed and in the morning i changed legs so i had a night leg and a day leg. I used morrisons savers towels which are really for ladies 20p for 10 and found them to be good to put in my pants for any bypassing from the catheter. O.k i use 10 a day but i treat myself every hour to a new one. I will need stronger ones from tomorrow and will pass on any info in due course . Hope this helps and keep posting and i will reply. M
I wondered how you are getting on post catheter? My partner is having his removed next Monday and so far we've had no advice on underwear and incontinence products that we should have ready.
He his finding the catheter pretty straight forward with no leakage so I am hoping he can get sorted pretty quickly for the next stage of his recovery. I am expecting the loose boxers he loves will move to the back of the drawer for a while and I'll need to go out and get him some good old snug fitting pants.
Have you any advice or recommendations from your own experience so far?
I hope you are going on ok with the exercises and your recovery is on track.
Hello Jo. Glad to hear that hubby is getting on alright. You will probably already have an appointment to remove the catheter and then info on moving on to pads. I was told the results of my cancer , staging etc at this appointment and future direction. Your hubby and possibly 1 or 2 others will attend and expect to stay for around 3/4 hours, you can all swap stories and compare scars! Your scars will be examined by the nurse. The catheter will be removed and it does not hurt. The nurse will extract the 100ml of water from the catheter balloon from the side spigot and you simply take a deep breath and it slips out. You are then asked to drink water to see how good your bladder is at holding on to fluid. This takes time to happen hence the prolonged stay. I could not hold on to any water and wet the pads provided by the hospital. I went home and was wet by the time i got to the house a 1 hour drive away.You will have to take him and drive him home as he is not really able to drive until he can do an emergency stop. I drove after 1 month. Pads. I initially bought a large supply of the ones i was given by the hospital but found 2 main problems. 1. They were too bulky going underneath and round the back, most uncomfortable. 2. They were not really waterproof and wet through the trouser side. I cut them in half and use these in the garden when i can change frequently. I suggest that you buy a pack of Tena men 3 from a supermarket and see how you get on. These are a better fit and comfy.£4 a box of 8. Use them with close fitting pants. You will need to change often as you will be told to drink 2 litres of fluid a day, no caffeine. If you find these o.k you can save money by buying in bulk on the net from Value Incontinence. I bought 200 for roughly £55 delivered. I use 8 a day at the moment so 200 will not go far. They are not available in our area on the NHS, you have to buy them yourself. At night time i get up 2 times during the night , wear pants with a 3 pad and am not wetting the bed. Let me know if you require any more help and i will be only too happy to reply. Best of luck.Mark
You should be given an Incontinence Nurse contact, who will fix you up with supplies of pads most suitable for your condition, plus details of how to re-order if needed. They can also supply thin cotton type pants to hold them with close fitting legs otherwise if you use too light fitting boxers you can end up with your pad coming out by your shoes in a shopping centre !!. They are also cheap to buy on ebay, just search Incontinence products.
Mark, Thanks very much - thats a really comprehensive reply! I am printing all this out and giving it to him to read - it helps to know whats going to be happening on Monday!
I've had a look on the good old internet and bookmarked a few potential purchases. And I am going to call in at our doctors surgery this afternoon to see if we have an Incontinence nurse that we can talk to - we dont have any nursing or oncology support at the moment - he was referred by Urology for surgery - which he had privately to avoid a 4 month waitlist. So it feels like maybe we slipped down a crack in the system somewhere ...
Jo, Just to add to this there are also Incontinence Physiotherapists who help with exercises and check your Pelvic Floor Muscles work properly. In rural areas the District Nurses are also a good source of knowledge dealing with this subject.
Thank you for your kind words. My treatment is taking place in Bath. In this area under the Wiltshire health authority they do not supply incontinence pads for post prostate surgery. How it works if you are in financial difficulties/unemployed i do not know.Pad information. Look at the teardrop holding capacity and for starters get the strongest and slowly after improvement you can downsize, maybe to a Tena level 1. I have looked at lots of different pads and find Tena to be a really well made product and i feel safe while wearing them. A tip for you is in the early days of travel/going shopping etc you will need to use the disabled facilities so you can dispose of the pads in the bins provided. You might also consider wearing dark trousers which hide any damp patches!! I do my pelvic floor exercises while standing over the loo. Any drops then fall into the bowl . I have been told to do them before and after breakfast, lunch and tea 10 times count to ten and hold, 10 times short holds. If you are doing them right your testicles should rise and a few drops of urine may be expelled. I am dong mine right but slow improvement as yet so do not worry we are all different and things will get better . Keep your pecker up and hope to hear from you soon .Kind regards Mark.
