The shape of weeks 2–6

Weeks 2 and 3 are about gently adding activity. Weeks 4 to 6 are about returning to a near-normal rhythm.

The body is still healing underneath. The cut surface inside the prostate fossa takes around six weeks to finish covering over.

Follow-up with your team usually happens at six weeks. Bring your IPSS and any notes on symptoms.

Return to work

A desk job can often resume in week two. Video calls and light writing are fine earlier for many men.

Jobs that involve driving, lifting, or long periods on your feet wait until week three or four.

A job that requires heavy manual work usually waits until the six-week review.

Driving

You can drive once an emergency stop will not cause pain or hesitation. For many men that is around seven to ten days.

Plan around traffic in the first weeks. A long jam can leave the bladder full when the prostate fossa is still healing, and urgency can come on suddenly in early recovery.

Empty the bladder before setting off, and start with short trips at off-peak hours before longer drives.

Exercise and lifting

Gentle walking is fine throughout weeks 2–6. Distance and pace can grow each week.

Light cardio — a stationary bike, a treadmill walk, easy swimming once fully continent — can start around week three.

Lifting above about five kilograms waits until week three. Heavy weight training and contact sport wait for the six-week review.

Sexual activity

Erections and desire return at their own pace. Some men notice earlier erections once pain and catheters are gone; others take a few weeks.

Ejaculation changes are common after HoLEP. Retrograde ejaculation — semen going backward — is a common change.

Sexual activity itself can usually resume around two weeks if comfortable. Listen to your body.

Travel

Short local travel is fine in weeks 2–3. Long-haul flights wait until week 4 for many men, to allow for in-flight leg movement and bathroom comfort.

Stay well-hydrated on flights. Wear loose-fitting clothes. Keep a change of underwear and a small pad in hand luggage.

Tell a travel-insurance provider about recent surgery if your policy asks.

Pelvic floor exercises

Pelvic floor exercises help continence and ease urgency. A physiotherapist can teach them or recommend an app.

Three short sessions a day, each with ten gentle squeezes, is a reasonable starting programme. Build gradually.

Early, regular practice may help shorten post-catheter continence issues for some men, though individual response varies.

Symptom diary

Write the IPSS score at the end of weeks 2, 4, and 6. Each number is a data point for your review visit.

Note any patterns — urgency in the evening, a flare after coffee, a leak with coughing. Patterns are easier for a clinician to interpret than isolated events.

A two-week diary before the six-week visit is particularly useful.

When to contact your team

New heavy bleeding, a fever, or inability to pass urine at any point. A sudden leak that will not settle with pelvic floor exercises.

Any change that worries you is worth a call. The team would rather hear about a small concern early than a big problem late.

Many small concerns settle with reassurance and a plan.

Plain bottom line

Weeks 2–6 are a gradual return to normal life. Work, driving, sex, exercise, and travel each have their own timing within this window.

Pace yourself, keep the symptom diary, and use the six-week visit to reset plans if needed.