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Posted 11/3/2006 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
How 'bout some comfort/fashion advice.

When discharged, what did you wear home?

What did you find the most comfortable to wear around the house?

What did you wear to sleep in?

Can you sleep on your stomach with the Foley?

Help me understand the Foley configuration. When you're discharged from the hospital, do you carry your bag or is it taped to your leg for the ride home?

Glad you "vets" are here to share your knowledge and experience.

Regards;

George

Posted 11/3/2006 5:09 PM (GMT 0)
hi George,

these are the same questions many of us have asked.

Jeff wore soft, very baggy shorts, slippers and a big T-shirt. he pretty much wore this the entire time until the catheter was removed. now that it's cooler, we probably would have cut a hole on the side of a pair of flannel PJ bottoms/sweats. the main thing for him was to not have anything tight around his stomach or anything that would push on his penis.

He slept in the nude and no way on his stomach. he first slept on his back and then on his side.

He wore the large bag the entire time (one week) and just carried it. at night we hung it on the handle of a basket that was beside the bed. the tube (Jeff's was bigger than we thought it would be!) comes out of your penis and is connected to another tube and then strapped on the leg. Jeff had velcro straps that worked fine. the tube moved a little in and out which concerned Jeff, but we realized it wasn't a big deal as long as he didn't tug on it. when Jeff took a shower, he disconnected the bag and let it drip in the shower. he enjoyed that bit of freedom.

you'll be fine! kat
Posted 11/3/2006 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hi George,

I went home with both a drain tube/pouch and Foley/leg bag. I wore sweat pants & shirt 2 sizes larger to accomodate all the gear. Bring a pillow to sit on.

At home I wore a super large t-shirt as if it were a night shirt and a light robe only. This made it a lot easier to manuver the Foley/bag. You don't want to be wearing pants with a Foley tube.

When you go home the Foley tube is secured to your leg via vel-cro strips as is a small leg bag. No one will know you have it on. At night there is a Larger capacity bag that you can attach to the bottom of the bed.

You will have to adapt to sleeping on your back, but it should only be for 5 days to a week. I normally sleep on my side, so I found if I slept in an almost sitting position it helped.

Good Luck,

Glen
Posted 11/3/2006 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
Hi George,

Curtis wore home the hospital gown that the nurse let him have and a nice warm fluffy robe that he tied very gently around his middle and slippers.  At home he just wore the robe hanging open all the time cause he didn't want anything touching his penis...what a sight!  LOL  At night he slept in the nude and that helped.

Posted 11/3/2006 5:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi!
Bob came home with track pants (Addidas type) and a leg bag. Has pretty much worn track pants ever since. Nights he used a depends to help keep everything in place (was some leakage with foley). He found the leg bag during the daytime gave him more freedom of dress and movement. He also slept on his back until the foley came out.

;o)
Posted 11/3/2006 7:21 PM (GMT 0)

Hey George:

Great questions.  Here's how I handled it:

Had surgery in August when it was real HOT.  I decided I preferred comfort to vanity.  I figured, who was I going to see who I knew; and, what did it matter if I did?  I had my surgery out of town, so at discharged I went to a hotel for a one night stay.  I left the hospital wearing a pullover shirt, what I call short sweat pants (to the knee) with elastic waist band (critical).  I carried the Foley by the handle for all to see (who cares..I was comfortable).  I walked the hotel hallway that night dressed this way.  Guess what, the next day I went to the airport wearing the same garb!  Got on the plane, sat on my pillow, and when we reached cruising altitude went to the stern galley and stood, holding my Foley, b/c it was more comfortable to stand than sit.  Once I got home, I continued wearing the same type shorts with the elastic waist.  No underwear.  The Foley tube just draped down thru the pants leg.  I took walks and short excursions holding the Foley.  In fact, I never used the leg bag.  Thought it would be too cumbersome and it is much smaller in capacity.  Sleeping on your stomach is difficult.  You can lie on your side. 

Foley was gone 10 days post surgery.  Returned to pre-surgery attire.

Hope you find solace with this post.

Posted 11/3/2006 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
George,

Just got home from Da Vinci so i can give you my experience. I am wearing basketball net type pants that I picked up from Dick's. They are plenty baggy and work well. The Foley leg bag fits on the inside of your calf on the lower part of your leg. This makes it easy to empty it as all you have to do is place your foot on the side of the toliet and open the valve. Just make sure you use a toliet tissue to dry it off so it does not drip on your sock or shoe. There is a clamp mechanism that is mounted to your thigh. This is where the y-shaped part of the Foley is clamped and keeps the tube from pulling on the penis. In my case it was not in the right location when they installed it after the surgery. I have moved it more to the inside and up some. If you wear briefs you will find that it needs to be higher then if you wear boxers.

You cannot sleep on your stomach but you can sleep on the side that faces where you have the bag. Earlier on this forum someone mentioned that using a small plastic garbage can works well for the night bag. Since we stayed in a local motel the first night after discharge that is exactly what we did and it worked out real well. If you need to get up you do not have to unhook the bag from the bed just grab the garbage can and go.

Hope this helps. I only have two days experince and counting!

Tamu
Posted 11/4/2006 8:45 PM (GMT 0)
The complications of this are way more than I could of thought of.

For a young guy like me its nice to know all this so I can prepare myself if I ever eno****er this.

Thanks for all the information and stories guys
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