I strongly recommend that you bring to the hospital a box of "adult
diapers", e.g. Depends incontinence underpants. Before you will be
released, they will want to make sure you can void. You may be tempted
as I was to heavily hydrate yourself in the hospital. Watch out!!
The bladder sphincter is not very competent as a result of the surgical
trauma.  I was unable to prevent a humiliating accident on the taxi
trip to the train station and on the 45 minute trip back home.
The problem is compounded by deformation of the urethral aperture
caused by the foley catheter .. you can no longer pee straight!! You
end up spraying in all directions like a sprinkler head.
My sole complaint about my otherwise excellent outcome at the hand of
the country's best PVP surgeon is that I wasn't warned about this
humble problem!

A measured plastic jug to pee in to record your volumes for the first few
weeks and to see what debris and clots if any that you pass. I am at week 11
and had very few clots and only one little bit that could be described as a
scab.
Derek.

I agree with the posters who have responded.   Based on my PVP
experience Feb 23, 2005, please talk with your medical providers about a
recommendation for getting the GI system back going in a timely manner.
 After my major anesthesia, the lower GI gas pains for 3-4 days  were
far worse than the pain from the PVP.  Some will recommend Milk of
Magnesia and others Colace.  I wish I had known about that problem and
had taken action early after the procedure.

You'll need a  few good movies, a television remote, and a few good books.
Hopefully, your hospital will send you home with a catheter in place to
ensure you can handle the transportation back.   Without it, you will have
very little, control, as one poster identified.   My hospital sent me home
with a "leg bag" (catheter runs into a bag fastened to the upper leg) approx
2 hrs after my surgery,  once I was peeing adequately through the catheter.
I kept my catheter in for almost 2 days then took it out myself.    I had no
problems at all.   Granted the first few times  I took a wiz, it hurt and
was like a lawn sprinkler.   After that, normalacy set in very quickly.
Sitting was a bit of a challenge for about a week.   Plan to get up and do
lots of gentle walking, taking frequent long rests between. No heavy lifting
for at least a month, even if you feel great.  If you leave the catheter in
to help the internal healing process, buy some antiseptic anesthetic topical
pain reliever (ointment) that you can apply to the tip of the "little guy"
where the tube exits.   That will tend to be very tender for a few days
afterwards.

All the best to you for your PVP.   It was a snap.