dVH/RALH: Going home with catheter questions

I'll be going home from hospital with catheter. What kinds of clothes do I need to have. Can I wear loose fitting jammies or am I going to need night gowns? I'll be staying with my daughter and she has small children so I don't want to walk around in a hospital gown, but they are used to seeing me in jammies.

I don't know the answer to your question. But having had a catheter in when I woke up from surgery and having it in for 18 hours, I would think you would want a night gown. But very loose fitting jammies might also work.

Maybe someone who has gone home with one will see this post and respond.

I had my cath for 3 weeks. I found life to be easier with night gowns. If you are going out with a leg bag, yoga apnts or sweats worked really well. But comfy nightgowns, just made life easier. I had a few light weight ones, but had it been colder I would've sent hubby after the fleece ones. Also if you have a stool or something to set your cath bag on for showering. You just want the bag to hang below your bladder and out the showerd oor if you can. I couldn't so had to dry my bag with the rest of me. Showering was kind of a pain, but I took one everyday just to lift my own spirits.

{{{HUGS SISTER}}} It was worth it all.

I had my catheter for one week. I had two bags - a large one that I only had to empty every 6-8 hours and a smaller one that strapped to my calf that I had to empty about every 2 hours. I wore the big one most of the time and stayed in a night shirt and robe. I wore sweat pants when I had the small one on.

Pat

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Ferrdie I'll be going home from hospital with catheter. What kinds of clothes do I need to have. Can I wear loose fitting jammies or am I going to need night gowns? I'll be staying with my daughter and she has small children so I don't want to walk around in a hospital gown, but they are used to seeing me in jammies.

Ferrdie -I am a pro about that freaking catheter. I had it in for 3 long weeks from Nov 5 through Nov 27. If you have any personal questions...feel free to private message me and I will gladly answer what I can for you. It is all about comfort and you will find what works for you because it is a major adjustment. I was so happy when they gave me the leg bag but I found that I actually really didn’t like it. I preferred the bedside type bag that they used at the hospital. I got real creative at clipping that sucker wherever I could. The bag has to stay lower than your bladder so at night when I got into the bed, I clipped it to the handle of the dresser that was next to my bed. When I sat on the couch, I clipped it to my toddler's plastic porch chair. I wore sweatpants home from the hospital but I was so uncomfortable that I sent my husband to Kmart and he bought me some long t-shirt nightgowns. This is strange but we are real on this site so I will say that I found it more comfy to not wear underwear because it tugged at the tube that came from me and attached to my inner thigh. The catheter really tested my patience…I am a plus-sized woman and my thighs rubbed together when I walked so it continuously felt that that tube was being tugged at. I hope some of this helped and if you have any question...just ask!

Thanks ladies for your responses. I kind of figured the night gowns would be better so I need to get some. I have lots of jammies, but don't have any night gowns. Need to get some slippers to wear instead of shoes I won't need to tie them. I have a nice fluffy, soft white robe that these grandkids gave me a couple of years ago for Christmas. It's very warm and cozy and just right for cuddling with little ones while we watch Christmas movies.

I also went home with a foley cath for 2 weeks, I went home with loose fitting jogging suit. I know what Ferrdie means about testing your patience, it was a challenge for those two weeks. I had the tvh and afterwards you have slight bleading and with the cath, I would get the staining on my underwear. I put a thick folded sheet on the bed and found it better to sleep without underwear and it is better to have the area dry to prevent infections. During the night I wore the big bag and hooked it to my bed frame, during the day I wore the leg bag and it was more comfortable to get around with, but does have to be emptied more often.