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Getting ready for a long road trip

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Posted 7/12/2015 4:11 PM (GMT 0)
Next Friday, my wife and I are leaving for our annual trip to the Maine woods. Friday we will drive from southeastern Illinois to the Cleveland area (450 miles, 9 hrs) and spend the night with my mother. Saturday we will drive on from Cleveland to Albany, NY (550 miles, 10 hrs). Then Sunday will be across Southern Vermont and New Hampshire into Maine, about 200 miles and 4 hours. I don't usually wear shields anymore, but I bought a boxful for insurance. I'm worried that we'll get tied up in a construction zone at a standstill for an extended period. I'm thinking about getting a liter sized wide mouth plastic bottle to pee in if needed.

I'll be careful about water and caffeine intake while on the road. I just hope the trip doesn't turn into having to stop every hour on the hour to pee. That would get old, fast.
Posted 7/12/2015 4:30 PM (GMT 0)
Yikes! That's a lotta driving! And during construction season! Do you have a GPS system that could tell you how to avoid some of the bigger bits of the construction. We drive to LA for my husbands appts and our biggest fear is him needing to go NOW! in an LA traffic jam. Our car's nav system warns us about traffic delays, accidents etc and gives us options to avoid as well as the time difference. If you don't have a navigation system in your car, you could download the app Waze to your smart phone. It works pretty well too. It uses local driver input so it can be very up to date.
Posted 7/12/2015 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
I second the suggestion to use Waze. It is terrific.
Just be careful to manage your liquid intake on the drive. Get as much of your water intake in, when you pull into a hotel for the night. Drink decaf in the morning, if you can handle it.
Posted 7/12/2015 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
I've already let the construction warnings on google map define the general routing across NY state. Lots less construction scheduled on the Thruway compared to the Southern Tier. Generally, I try to avoid the thruway because it has more traffic and it's a toll road, besides. However, this time that's the plan.

It'll be good.
Posted 7/12/2015 10:32 PM (GMT 0)
Halbert:

Have a wonderful trip. Don't mix up the water bottle and pee bottle.

Mel
Posted 7/12/2015 10:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi halbert,
Take care & enjoy your trip.....
Posted 7/13/2015 2:14 AM (GMT 0)
Halbert, have a great time. You will do fine.
Posted 7/13/2015 3:24 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Halbert

A male sheath might be worth investigating, it would be a lot more discreet. I had a bad experience on a local train five months out from surgery, I managed to hold on but it was painfull and making sure that I went before leaving didn't help. Pack a cushion too, as sitting for so long may aggravate areas that are still healing.

Enjoy your trip.

Steve
Posted 7/13/2015 12:35 PM (GMT 0)
Best of luck. I did a 4,500 mile trip - spread out over 3 weeks two months after surgery. I just stopped about every 2.5 hours and did watch the liquid intake. I was one of the lucky ones who never had any dripping or leaking problems - unless I pick up something that weighs over 30 pounds. Enjoy the trip, take your time and have fun.
Posted 7/13/2015 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
Last month for our vacation I drove across The Netherlands, across Northern Germany, across Czech Republic to Vienna and then back across Austia, across Southern Germany and home. (Three days driving each way)
Only way I can do trips like that is to drink at the times I would normally drink, have drinks in the car, and stop about once and hour. (on the autobahn/motorway in Germany there are plenty of places to stop)
And I have a wide neck bottle in the car. And I wear a pad all the time.
We had no problems with delays due to construction work, but one big delay on the motorway due to a smash, I was able to take an exit after about 30 minutes and park at the side of the road to pee.
Otherwise when driving in the Netherlands when I have been stuck due to a delay I just pee at the side of the highway. (you usually see plenty of other guys peeing like that too if the delay lasts a long time)

Thing is that all my life long before I had PCa I had to pee quite frequently, so it's no big deal for me really to have to drive like this, (they used to say that I had "small tank"!)

Main thing - I hope you enjoy the trip.

Alf
Posted 7/13/2015 10:32 PM (GMT 0)
Halbert,
You will do fine.
Planning is wise but don't overthink it.
Enjoy the time!
Posted 7/13/2015 10:53 PM (GMT 0)
Halbert, I hope you have a great trip.

In my case travel was worse prior to surgery. I had to pee every 100 miles and had to rush to get to the men's room because of urinary urgency. My greatest fear was that the door to the men's room would be locked and that I wouldn't be able to hold it. In my case, prostate cancer surgery made a bad situation much better.

So, I hope it goes well for you. By the way, I grew up in southwestern Illinois (30 miles east of St. Louis). Now, though, we live 40 miles north of Chicago. All told, I like rural southwestern Illinois much better, but we're stuck here.
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