PART XVI: Post-surgery Foley catheter, prostatectomy side effects

Recovery from cancer surgery is going well. The sutures are beginning to heal.

The catheter is getting easier to manage, switching from the night bag to the day time bag that straps on his leg. It is mentally and physically tiring for a healthy caregiver. Even an experienced hospice volunteer, like myself. Catheters are not part of our mandate!

Side effects of a catheter: urinary urgency. It feels as if you have to urinate, despite having a catheter in place. The first night there was 1.5L in the bag! It's important that urine flows freely.

The surgeon prescribed Tolterodine. [Effects of tolterodine, trospium chloride, and oxybutynin]

PubMed info; Antimuscainic agent

Some of the commonly used drugs are oxybutinin, tolterodine, trospium and propiverine. They all have side effects, the most common being a dry mouth, as well as constipation. 

Constipation is a side effect of the hydromorphine, too. This is a pain killer, as he has 8 belly

Foley catheter, daytime (left) and nighttime (right) bags.
Bottle to flush the bags: 33% vinegar/water.

incisions that need to heal.
I brought in bran muffins, fruit, and went to the druggist for a stool softener. It has all helped.

A Foley Catheter Care Guide for the Home Care Patient

Foley catheter care is vital to preventing complications such as infection.

It's tricky finding good websites for information, without ads! Here is one.

Uploaded on 7 Dec 2011

Kimberlee Reed, RN Clinical Coordinator explains proper care and maintenance for your Foley Catheter.

Of course, remember that with a prostatectomy, it is normal to have some blood and blood clots in the Foley bag. Remember to wash your hands, wash the body with soap and water, use antibiotic ointment. With a prostatectomy, you must read the literature during the 7 - 10 days you have a catheter. I've put a fresh supply of rags and cloths in the bathroom. I keep forgetting if I have closed the port at the end of each bag, or not!
The ports are a site of possible infection. You need antiseptic wipes, to wipe each port at the time you switch them. This is a juggling act. Trust me! The video uses a manikin, which isn't the same as a moving spouse!

I have a spray bottle of antibacterial soap, as well, and clean up around the area, the floor, and the toilet each time. A bucket in the bath tub collects the dirty cloths.