www.incontinentsupport.org

I was born in the late forties and was in cloth diapers and plastic pants 24/7 until I gained daytime control at eleven years old. I have always worn diapers to bed and it's always been cloth diapers except for the few times in the last few years since I've discovered the internet where someone has posted a message on a forum about such and such disposable and how well they work at night.
I always try them with the same result, I sleep on my side and they all leak like a sieve and there nowhere near as comfortable as cloth and my skin really suffers if I don't take a break from disposables by using cloth at night. A couple of years ago I had a heart attack that just about cleaned my clock and I had to go on permanent disability with social security from it. During my stay in the hospital they informed me that I was type II diabetic and would need insulin. They feel I've been diabetic for several years and that's what has caused the heart disease. I hadn't been near a doctor or hospital for about fifteen years before that so I guess it's possible that there right about my having diabetes for so long and not knowing it.
Right after I was released from the hospital I started having a slow continues leak of urine during the day. I asked my urologist about it and after several tests he said it's overflow incontinence from the diabetes. Things had pretty much remained that way with no control at night and dribbling all day long until a few months ago when I started having successively larger voids during the day in addition to the constant dribbling.
I started using attends adjustable underwear during the day but lately they've come up short due to the increased volume that I'm putting out. I have been searching around for a disposable for use during the day and can't find one that suits me. There either too noisy or hotter that blue blazes or they leak through the leg openings when sitting. I started wearing snap on plastic pants over them. The snap type pants seem to be a little cooler then a pull on but not much and as I've said my skin has never tolerated disposables worth a darn anyway so the heat is really becoming a problem with my skin.
I've got to where I'm leaving the middle snaps undone on the pants to get more airflow and still have the pocket in the crotch to catch the leaks. When taking them off the urine runs down both legs and onto the floor so I don't have an answer for that. Given my druthers I'd wear cloth full time but I know from past experience as a kid there is no way for a male to wear cloth diapers without it being obvious. I've tried caths and there out of the question due to the pain they cause. If anyone has a suggestion for a daytime disposable that is quite, resists leaks and has a cover that will allow for some airflow for cooling please let me know.

I also am from the late 40's and wore cloth diapers and rubber pants until plastic pants became availavle. Oh, my what a pleasant comfort difference that was!

But I wonder why you say you can't wear cloth during the day. Perhaps you are in a job that requires a suit or other current fashion clothing. If you can get away with casual clothing, concealing a cloth should be no problem.

Here is your quote: "Given my druthers I'd wear cloth full time but I know from past experience as a kid there is no way for a male to wear cloth diapers without it being obvious."

I hope others will chime in here, especially Michael up in Canada who's job requires "proper" attire and he's worn cloth diapers by day for years. I've worn cloth diapers by day all my life, but I've been lucky to have blue collar work that lets me wear oversize jeans, overalls and such that really make a cloth diaper disappear.

Joe K

I guess it's just because of the experience I had as a kid having to put up with all the taunting teasing and harassment I got wearing diapers to school and at home, my mom tried every thing she could to conceal the diaper bulge with different pants and things but it was hopeless. She bought me some pant and pads systems from a magazine and they leaked as if I wasn't wearing anything at all. I just don't see how I could ever wear cloth and not have it show due to the bulk and outline showing through. I read the part on this site about how to wear them without them showing but I just can't imagine it working. I'm on permanent disability now so I don't go many places except to the doctor now so it's no longer as much of a problem as it used to be. My skin really hate disposables and the heat they generate and switching to cloth at night is a big help.

Hi Boomer,

Like you, I wore cloth day and night for many years. However, I finally had enough of diaper washing and switched to disposables 10 or 12 years ago.

Two disposable diapers that I highly recommend are the Tena Super and the Abena X-Plus. If you can get them to fit snuggly around the legs, you shouldn't have a problem with either one leaking while you're sitting down or doing anything else during the day. The Tena Super is thin enough to wear inconspicuously under your clothes during the day, and it has a cloth-like covering that "breathes" to some extent, which makes it somewhat cooler to wear than plastic-covered disposables.

The Abena X-Plus is probably the most absorbent disposable made. It's thicker than the Tena Super but holds much more. Abena has also started making an "Air Plus" version of the X-Plus that has a cloth-like cover that I think "breathes" even better than that on the Tena Super and makes the Air Plus X-Plus the most comfortable disposable that I've ever worn in sticky hot weather.

I wear both these diapers without plastic pants and without problems with leaks. In fact, I've been wearing them without plastic pants for so long that I don't think I even own any plastic pants any more.

The Abena X-Plus is so absorbent and has such efficient leak guards that it shouldn't leak at night. I don't sleep in any position consistantly, but I'm sure that I sometimes wet while sleeping on my side without any problem when wearing an X-Plus. The Tena Super lacks leak guards, and I have had occasional side leaks when wearing one of those. Those occasional leaks were what first caused me to try the X-Plus. At first, I thought that the X-Plus was too thick to wear during the day (although it's certainly thinner than a comparable cloth diaper would be). However, they hold so much more than the Tena Super that I use fewer of them, which makes the X-Plus less expensive to use during the day than the Tena Super. So I'm now in an X-Plus 24/7. This month is the 50th anniversary of the medical mishap that produced my incontinence. After 50 years, I've gotten more self-confident about wearing diapers and much less concerend about whether someone might notice that I'm diapered.

For what it's worth, my experience has been that I'm much less likely to get a rash when wearing a Tena Super or an X-Plus than I used to be when wearing cloth. That hasn't always been the case for me with other disposables, but it's true of these two brands. However, different people's skin has different "chemistry." So your experience with rashes might very well be different than mine.

Hello Boomer,
You're getting some solid advice on this site, and the update from correspondents on the Tena and Abena disposables is really helpful.
You mentioned that you have a low tolerance for disposables, so that cloth might be a possible alternative if it didn't appear detectable in lighter summer clothing. I have worn cloth year-round since becoming 24/7 incon in 1991. Cloth does not seem to generate as much heat as does a disposable, even with plastic pants.
For concealment, I haven't found that a problem, either. It is often possible to wear shirts over the pants, so that if there is any buldge, it is pretty well covered.

Second, if the weather is not too hot, you can wear a knit cotton vest over a shirt. It looks quite smart without adding much to warmth.

Instead of an undershirt, I wear a "onezie" that helps keep the diaper in place, even after several hours of wetting.

As a professional, I usually wear a (poly-) cotton (travel-style) jacket to meetings and at the workplace. Again, I have not found such jackets too warm. (I've worn these doing fieldwork in Southesast Asia and HK with no discomfort), and the pockets are great for stuffing just about anything.
Most of my (poly-) cotton pants have pleats and are one or two sizes larger than my waistline to accommodate the diaper.

I don't find that wearing cloth diapers in summer means detectable buldges.

So while the heat of summer can be uncomfortable, you have a range of choices for diapering without adding to heat discomfort.

Best luck!

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Michael

I've seen Prevail Breezers at CWI Medical. It has these Enhanced Breathable Zones. I prefer disposables to reusable.

Good Luck

I would use cloth diapers at night and disposables by day. Now, I just use cloth all the time. It's more economical, it has better capacity, it's more comfortable and it leaks 95% less often than disposables.

These things called spanx or another brand they have at target really work for keeping in place or keeping down bulk. It's women's clothing, but it works plus adds an extra layer in case of a leak. You say prevail works? They seem discreet but I wanted to check with someone who's used them in case of leaks. Stay away from depend refastables, I wrote a warning.

I'm not sure why, but over the last 3-4 months my body is producing more urine at night. My intake has not changed, and the increase in output is only happening at night. My output during the day has not changed and remains the same. Other than an increase in output at night, I have no other symptoms.

I did a little checking on the Internet and "maybe" the increase in output has something to do with my prostate. My next scheduled appt. with the urologist is in July, so unless my situation becomes worse, I will wait until then to find out why my output has increased at night.

I've been wearing diaposables 24/7, but I have used cloth at night before and disposables during the day. The Molicare Super Plus and plastic pants I've been using at night were leaking pretty bad so a few nights ago, I went back to using cloth at night. One thing about a good quality cloth diaper is the absorbancy......no leaks now, just the hassle of washing diapers.

I don't have as much bulk using the cloth diapers as I thought I would so I've started wearing them some in the day too just to see how things work out. If I'm going to wash diapers, I might as well wash more than just a few night diapers. The only reason why I think their is less bulk now wearing the cloth diapers is because of the different style of plastic pants I'm now using. The plastic pants I'm using now have a "trim fit" compared to what I've used in the past which were baggy and added bulk.

If you are producing more urine at night it might be because of a lack of Anti-Diuretic Horomone (ADH). Your body should produce ADH while you are sleeping, which limits urine production. If you are short on ADH you will produce lots of urine at night... actually it is a common cause of bedwetting in children/teens.

The prostate road is definately worth checking out... just trying to offer another suggestion.

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~~PuddleGuy