A makeshift sarong, big bath towel with the belt from a robe.  I was
home alone, so it didn't matter what I looked like.

jimhoney

I wore the same clothes I went in with.  I made sure I had the baggiest
pants I owned but even that was unnecessary.  The tube for the cath is
long enough to go all the way down your pant leg, out the bottom and
back up to the bag which if I remember correctly could be fastened to
your belt.  I just carried mine in a cloth satchel.  As for the
diabetes, the nurses in the hospital should monitor it the whole time
you're there and when home you won't be so tired you can't do it
yourself.
Good luck.  We all know what you're going through now.  In a few months
it will all be a fading memory.
Dave Perry

I wore pajama bottoms to leave the hospital and for the first week that I
was home.  Had my surgery in June, so I ended up wearing shorts with boxers
and carried a shopping bag at my side with the cath bag in it.

Sandy K.

I wore the same 'loose fitting' dockers' that I wore to the hospital.  An
elastic waist would be even better, since I had to leave the top button
undone.  The catheter was no problem.  My daytime catheter was a smaller bag
that attached to the calf of my leg with velcro straps, so boxer shorts and
loose fitting trousers worked just fine.

.......

I just wore my regular JC Penny briefs, not boxers, and loose fitting shorts
(surgery was in August).  I had the warm up pants, but they were way too
long, so I did not use them that much.  I did not like the leg bag.  It
seemed to stop up too much, so when I walked I just hung the big bag to my
side and no one ever said a word.  After the catheter was gone I had
neighbors who I had never talked to before ask how I was doing.  Appears
that people did notice, but when they found out what I had been going
through they were understanding and not critical.  I never heard about
anyone complaining.  I did, of course, wear the leg bag with long pants when
we went to the mall or to the grocery store.

It is almost two years ago for me now, but I do not remember sleeping "all
the time".  If you do a Google search I think you will find that I was on
this ng all the time.  I walked steps after two days without any problem at
all.  I seem to remember trying to avoid low chairs for awhile.  Getting
down was not problem, but getting up is a different story.  My wife, who is
a nurse, went back to work in order to leave me alone during the day.  I did
not need any help.  As I recall I did not shower unless she was in the house
though, just in case.

Age at RRP was 56.  No problem with surgical pain.  Used over the counter
ibuprofen instead of the stuff they sent me home with.  Don't like those
high power drugs.  Someone here suggested sticking a coat hangar under the
mattress and using that to hang the big bag at night.  What I did was just
keep the plastic pan that they give you to wash with in the hospital and set
the bag in that at night.  That way if I had a leak from the bag it would
not get on the carpet.  When the catheter came out I was totally incontinent
for a few days, so I kept the plastic urinal from the hospital and just
covered myself with that for the trip to the bathroom when I got up at night
and in the morning (my wife's suggestion).  That worked fine for me.

Good luck.  You will get a lot of good suggestions here.  Experience counts.

Thank you.
David S.

Had robotic lrp 5 wks ago.   An old fashioned night shirt worked great.  I
found that I didn't want anything around my waist.

I am a diabetic also, my surgery was 10/12/04. A two day stay in
Hospital and 15 days with cath. In the pre-cert part of the hospital
stay they will recognize the diabetic problem. With what they will feed
you your blood sugar will probably be ok, mine never went above 130
during the stay. I wore xxl boxers and did not let visitors come to my
home during the cath. Just make sure you are elevated in the bed to let
the gravity and bag do its job. The days will fly by with the help of a
phone and good reading material.
This group can give you more information than any doctor.
Stay the course, and remember you have friends.
Bobby

Ron, they're not going to release you from the hospital if you are an
invalid.  You'll be fine.  Remember, I had this surgery done almost 9
years ago, so they have made vast improvements in the technique.

When Joanne picked me up that morning at the hospital, I wore the same
clothes that I went in with.  We stopped on the way home at a farm
stand to get fresh corn.  I was weak, but not an invalid.  They
wouldn't release me until I had a BM.  I was without solid food for
two+ days, then I was able to have broth and jello, and eggs the day I
was released.  

You will be able to care for yourself.  The catheter should be no
problem.  I had a day bag and a night bag.  The night bag was on the
floor next to my bed when I slept.  The day bag was not a problem.  I
went everywhere with it and I doubt anyone knew I was wearing it.
There was no bulge or smell.  A friend who had gone through a RRP the
year before me told me that walking was a good way to quickly recover.
I took his advise and was walking my first week home.

I too am a diebetic, and was able to test myself.  You should be
totally functional (except intercourse is difficult with a catheter).
d;o)

I see no reason to buy special clothes or anything else for that
matter.  You will be fine.  There's a whole bunch of us here rooting
for you, knowing you will be ok.

Dave

"Ron B" <Gimel@webtv.net> wrote >

I took the snap-on pants to the hospital so I wouldn't have to hike all over
the hospital and its grounds in those cheeesy robes. With the pants, a tee
short, and some velcro-fastened sneakers, I was all OVER the place after 3-4
days. People couldn't even tell I was a patient unless I was carrying The
Bag rather than wearing it. I got a big kick out of passing my surgeon in a
hallway, then turning around so he could recognize me. Probably made him
feel pretty good, as they all had initial reservations about doing dual a
dual surgery.

I wore boxers under the snap-off pants, giving me easy access to the
plumbing even outside the ward.

She'll become one, almost . . . and get a whole new outlook on male
genitalia if the need arises. My wife learned a lot about medicine,
procedures, toads and plums, precautioms, etc, especially when teams of
physicians made the rounds each morning and rattled off data and
instructions my drugged mind could never keep straight (the doctors don't
realize how little we retain on narcotics).

What kind of shape are you in now? I was competely self-sufficient before I
went home at about 8 days (my colon surgery adds days to the hospital stay).
Chairs, toilet, bed, cooking meals, picking up small stuff, the stairs,
showering, dressing were no problem; my constraints were due to doctor's
orders, not physical, within reason. e.g., I didn't WANT to do crunches
until the magic six weeks, but felt like playing football at one month.
After sleeping about 10 hours because that's what my body said it needed, I
was fine and active for the next 14. My body cut back to 8 hours after 2-3
weeks (i.e., I woke up refreshed and didn't feel tired until bedtime). YMMV.

Man, was it GREAT to take a shower after 8 days with no bath of any sort in
the hospital. Those teams of doctors must have GAGGED when they lifted that
sheet covering everything from surgical debris to an 8-day accumulation of
ooze. I hope civilian hospitals provide shower facilities.

I.P. at 61

I wore shorts with the big bag and sweat pants with the leg bag.