What to buy in preparation for RARP

Hiya mate another Nick here , hope your well and getting head around it all

where are you having surgery and I’m presuming you don’t live in London by your post above ?

im also having surgery at London Bridge hospital in a few weeks 

leading clinical nurse there sent me a shopping list which included

instillagel to reduce catheter irritation

Bepanthen ointment to prevent soreness if you have leakage

Tena level 3 pads

unperformed soap

ear plugs for when in hospital overnight

prune juice for just before then after surgery to help against constipation

loose pants/ jogging bottoms

If you do live a fair way out of London like me ( 110 miles) the main concern I had was having to go back to have the catheter removed , it was a massive relief when I was told that I don’t need to if I can find somewhere local to me who can remove it which I have 

all the best with it

Cheers

Nick

Best of luck. My husband was also under London Bridge although had his surgery at guys. We stayed in London for 3 weeks (from Manchester) as it was over Christmas & New Year so we didn’t want the Christmas hassle at home. He slept on his side and overall the catheter he didn’t find too bad, ended having to keep his in for 4 weeks aswell and back and forth to London with it in which we hoped to avoid but was fine 👍

Hi Nick, I’m 71 and am just 16 days post-RP. This is my first post on here and hopefully my experience might help you prepare for your op.

I had my (salvage, robotic) surgery at Guys but live near Birmingham and although the journey home on day 2 was daunting I’m fortunate that my wife and daughter came and drove me home without incident. 

This was my fourth - hopefully last - experience of a catheter. Mostly I find them a little uncomfortable, but rarely painful, and the 12 days (in my case) went OK, with no UTI’s. I could sleep on my back or either side and the night bag has enough tube to accommodate any position. The idea of a bedside bucket is a good one although I never had a problem just laying the bag on the floor. I did buy a piece of rigid waterproof sheeting from a builders merchant and cut it to fit by the bed as a precaution but it was never needed. The Prostate CNS’s at Guys have the best advice I’ve seen on managing your catheter, and what to expect right through from surgery to post-op consultation. If you can’t access it online I may be able to share a link.
I have had no pain from my prostate area and the 6 surgery ‘keyholes’ have all healed well, with just minor discomfort for the first day or two. Today just one still aches a little but it’s not bad enough for painkillers. The ‘wind aches’ from the CO2 they pump into you were also much less than I expected and were gone in about 36 hours.
You might find a tightly rolled up towel helpful if you need to cough or sneeze in the early days - just hold it tightly to your abdomen.
On nurse recommendation I took paracetamol 4 times a day for the first 4 or 5 days but I don’t really think I needed them beyond day 2. If not supplied to you I would recommend getting some lactulose and some sennaside tablets. It was 4 days before I opened my bowels and these helped keep things soft so you don’t need to strain! Just be patient and things will happen in their own time!

The day my catheter was removed, day 12, I leaked like a sieve and had no control. Make sure you have big absorbent pads for the first few days. Since then each day has been a little better than the one before and I feel I’m making OK progress, although I still have a way to go until I’m dry. Night time is the best time for dryness and I've slept well, with no bed-wetting. There is Life-after-Catheter too: on Day 14 I went for a 50-minute, 5500 step-stroll and today, day 16, we’ve been out for a Cream Tea!!
The Kegel pelvic floor exercises seem to make a huge difference to continence and if you’re not already doing them it will really help if you start at once and get into the habit. Get the ‘Squeezy’ app for your phone! You can’t do them while you have the catheter.

A few days ago my surgeon called to confirm the pathology report showed all margins were clear, so I’m hoping from here things will continue positively.

I do hope your op goes well and that the above is helpful. If you have any questions at all please just ask.

Edited by member 10 Aug 2025 at 01:23  | Reason: Not specified

Wingers, main thing is a packet of your favourite biscuits for a midnight snack after the surgery. If you put biscuits into the search box above it will bring up loads of posts and lots of links in the posts. 

Thanks Chris 

Hi Wingers,

Apart from what has already been mentioned I'd suggest plenty of paracetamol and Ibuprofen for the pain. The most useful thing I did buy though was a £1 bucket from B&Q for the night bag while the catheter is in, this ended up being a godsend.

Hi Nick

thats great news having family who live nearby should make life easier , I go down 2 days before the op as I go in the hospital the day before for all pre checks etc so am booked in a hotel that is virtually next door , I am then in hospital for 2 nights, we have 2 lads at home and my wife isn’t also that confident on driving in London so a friend is taking me and he will stay in the hotel then bring me back home 

good questions on sleeping positions with catheter in , I was wondering the same as I always sleep on my side 

wishing you all the best also mate 

cheers

Nick

Hi Nick,

Your wife sounds just like me! I think doing and organising everything though makes us feel less helpless in a situation that is mainly out of our control. I fell apart before diagnosis when we thought it had spread everywhere but focussing on getting him better definitely brought me round.

I phoned the hospital ward on Christmas Day as we were staying 15 mins away, they were happy for us to go back but luckily it cleared so didn’t have to. I’m sure everything will be just fine. Everyone is so different so it’s so hard to know how it will go, I think I prepared us for the worst and luckily it was nowhere near that. Robs catheter removal was fine. We went back to London (as it was 4 weeks later) and stayed in a hotel. I was panicking with puppy pads and sheets on the bed etc but he was completely dry through the night. We even went out for dinner and he felt the need to go to the toilet which was good and at most had a few dribbles.

Thank you for your best wishes for Rob too. Yes we would have preferred things to be different, but we’ve been very lucky that he has taken each step in his stride and just got on with it. We’ve had an incredible 4 years since diagnosis with so many good times and adventures. Hopefully we can just keep doing the same. 

Take care and please keep us posted on how you’re getting on.

Best wishes

Elaine