Care Following Catheter Removal

Now that your catheter is out…

You may drive if you wish. Avoid “bouncing vehicles”, such as golf carts, lawn mowers, tractors, etc. for the next four weeks. You should not drive if you are still taking prescription pain medication.
Continue to increase your activity, along with periods of rest. Be out of bed for most of the day. Eat a well rounded diet.
Limit weight lifting to 10 lbs., until you are at least 4 weeks post-operative.
It is also time to start doing your urine control muscle exercises., “Exercise for Men with Urinary Leakage”

With your catheter now discontinued:

Your urine may be pink or blood tinged after the catheter has been removed. There may also be small blood clots present. This should clear up over the next few days. Bleeding may recur with bowel movements, coughing, sneezing, or other activities. You will need to notify the office or have a doctor on call paged after hours if you are unable to void or if the bleeding should increase.
We encourage you to do “timed voiding” while you are awake.. This means that you should go to the bathroom and attempt to void about every 2 hours. This will help keep your bladder from overfilling and allow your urinary control to improve.
You should drink 8-10 glasses of water or other liquids each day. If you drink most of this early in the day and decrease your liquid intake after supper and through the evening, you may have less urinary leakage and fewer trips to the bathroom through the night.
Even as your urinary control improves, there may be times you have “stress” incontinence. This can happen with physical exertion, laughing, sneezing, coughing, or even sudden position changes. This condition should improve, especially with the addition of the Kegal exercises.
For some men, avoiding incontinence is as simple as limiting fluids at certain times of the day or planning regular trips to the bathroom. Since you have recently had surgery and a catheter you may benefit from starting exercises to help stop urinary leakage.
We are here to offer support and suggestions for a rapid and full recovery. Please call us with any concerns or questions.

Exercise for Men with Urinary Leakage:

Bladder training also includes Kegal exercises to strengthen or re-train the pelvic muscles, which hold the urine in the bladder. Many clinicians find Kegal exercises to be an important element in therapy for men, especially after surgery or catheter removal.

What are Kegal exercises?

Kegal exercises are also called pelvic floor exercises because they treat and prevent pelvic floor weakness. The pelvic floor is a “hammock” of muscles that hold the pelvic organs in place.
The first step is to find the right muscle. Imagine that you are trying to stop yourself from passing gas. Squeeze the muscles you would use. If you sense a “pulling or tightening” feeling, those are the right muscle for pelvic exercises. It is important not to squeeze other muscles at the same time and do not hold your breath. Be careful not to tighten your stomach, leg, or buttock muscles. Squeezing the wrong muscles can put more pressure on your bladder control muscles. Squeeze just the pelvic floor muscles.

How and when should I exercise?

Pull in and hold the pelvic muscles for a count of 3. Then relax for a count of 3. Work up to 3 sets of 5 repeats. Start doing your exercises the day your catheter is removed. Begin the exercises lying down. This is easiest because the muscles then do not need to work against gravity. When your muscles get stronger you can do your Kegals sitting or standing.
Do not over exercise as this can weaken the muscles and cause an increase in urinary leakage.

If you are a patient at the Prostate Cancer Center of the Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU, we will strive to provide you with the best possible care for prostate cancer through our commitment to learning, teaching, and healing.

New information about prostate cancer will be provided through clinical and basic research.

Education about the prevention, detection, and treatment of prostate cancer is readily available.

Our physicians are here to offer state-of-the-art treatment options for men with prostate cancer.

Do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions about this information.
We can be reached at
217-545-7422 or 217-545-7500
After hours: 217-545-8000

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