www.incontinentsupport.org

My name is Gene, and for the past 5 years Iv been working at a local nursinghome here in the Tacoma/Seattle area. After having bladder surgery in 2004, to have a tumor removered had left me without any bladder control at all, the thought of having to return to work seemed impossible. I had been trying to get by wearing the store brands of adult breifs but they cannot hold out long enough for some one managing incontinence at school, or work! Changing wet garments every 2 or 3 hours isnt acceptable in a work, or school setting. My aunt had sugested that I ask someone who works with the disabled as they are frequently incontinent too. After calling around to a few nursinghomes, and speaking to a "incontinence nurse" she recommended a couple of adult diaper companies that sell maximum absorbency products. When I had contacted the suppliers, and told them of my needs they sent a 18 pack of Dry 24/7 diapers, and a pack of booster insert pads to add to the diapers for extended wear. These diapers were not thin, in fact I was worried about how bulky they were since the bag of 18 diapers weighed over twice as much as depends. and with the insert boosters they are bulky!! After wearing the diapers around the house, and to bed at night I must tell you that they are the best Iv ever worn. No more leakage problems at night, or when Im away from home. In fact, I was able to go to CNA training at a local school, and now am employed as a CNA. When my employer (Sandy) had asked what I was wearing for protection I highly recommended the brand of adult diapers to her, and the nursinghome supply dept. When your incontinent, and your going to have to waer a diaper. Going to work, or school isnt impossible, its difficult at times but this is overcome by using the right diapers for your needs!

Hey Gene, welcome to the forum... it took a while to send out that first post, didn't it! I must say I lurked around quite a while before I actually got the nerve up to send out a message... glad you did! Everyone is definetely different as far as what they require for protection, it takes a while to sort through all that is out there, and see what works for you best. I wish it was as easy as the first product you tried did what you needed, but that is seldom the case, as the store brands are the bottom end of absorbancy. Must be interesting working in a home where many of those around you are in the same leaky boat as you are, just took a different route to get there. Glad you had the tumor sucessfully removed, as the incon issue can be dealt with as long as you wear the right garment, as you have found out. Puffy

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Puffy
BC, Canada
Fighting the "Bladder Battle" since 1995

Hello Welcome to the board
As you no doubt found out Depends are rather lacking. And many store brands will advertise "Maximum Protection" when in reality they suck So now you have found out what a good diaper is But now you need to learn how to dress for it. Wearing a fairly snug pair of underwear over your diaper will do two things. One help hold the diaper in place. Two help cut down the bulk and the noise If depending on the diaper noise is still an issue try wearing water proof pants also known as "plastic pants" over the diaper as well as the underwear. Next Always wear pants that are "loose fit" or "Relax fit" and most of the time one size bigger than what you need. Of course this goes without saying you'll more then likely need to wear a belt. Also if possible don't tuck in your shirt let it hang out (longer the better) Another Great thing for hiding Diaper bulk is Overalls. Granted in your work as a CNA that won't happen. But outside of work you could wear them. When I use to wear cloth diapers I would swear by overalls. My husband always calls it the "Farmer Jed" Look

On another note Don't be afraid to try other brands of the High end diapers. Dry 24/7 is a very good diaper but also there is Molicare Super and Super Plus. Abena X plus has been a staple for me for many many years. Bambino is a more recent one to come on the seen. One of my favorites is using an Attends "waist band" style brief with a full length booster. Usually Tranquility Full contoured boosters. Without a booster they aren't much. But I like the six tapes and they fit me very well. ...............................Sandy

as time goes by you will probley try all types of products weather disposable to cloth the whole big thing is getting over the idea that you are or have to wear a diaper its realy no big deal
if you cant see you wear glasses
if yoou are a female take advice from sandy over the years shes tryed the all an live a good life
ask her about gift wrapping
if your husband give you a problem they make them in his size too
june allson an woppie gold burg said get back in to life
the advantage is at sporting avents you dont have to wait in long lines too go
reminds me of a nascar the womans line very long the woman were dancing us guys were drinking beer teaseing them saying attends depends well god got the last laff on that one
payback is a bitch

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well ibs thats enought

Gene,
Hello. I swear by Abena Extra and Xplus. I have complete bladder and bowel incontinence. I usually wear an Abena Extra by day unless I can't change over the period of several hours. The Extra for me will hold around 4-5 good wettings. It is a well made, highly absorbent diaper. I have worn it at work on many occasions. I worked produce at a grocery store and could not change until my lunch break often times 5 hours into my shift. So the diaper had to last. If I had to go longer, I would wear an Xplus. This diaper I have worn for 8 hours before and not leaked. You can wet in this thing repeatedly. Its not as thick as a Dry 24/7. But it will last a long time. I am applying for a job working at a hospital and would be wearing scrubs if I was awarded the position. For this, I would wear my Xplus, plastic pants over it, and a bodysuit to keep everything compressed under my uniform. I have full faith in the products I wear.

Just wanted to jump in on a few thoughts here and come out of lurking for some time....

But reading the above thoughts helped me remember some of the coping ideas I've heard and tried over the years (since the early 90's anyhow when my incon issues started as the result of a ladder fall incident)...

Wearing loose clothing does make sense. So does longer shirts, T-shirts, jackets. Relaxed fit and 'cargo' pants are a good option to be aware of.

A while back when I was riding my Harley on longer trips, I ended up buying a pair of overalls made for snowmobiling in very cold climates. I did ride my bike
in summer into the Western Rockies a number of times and it did get cold, even in the middle of summer days. I never did the smowmobile thing, but those insulated,
leather overalls were just the thing for warmth and protection on a bike. Not to mention that I got them for a steal of a price, too.

Speaking of protection, it was still before the time when the good disposables were on the market, so I was into a cloth phase for a time (as Sandy mentioned). And
for a bike ride lasting all day, I did need the heavy protection that only cloth + heavy inserts and rubber or vinyl pants could give me at the time. Way before Abena,
Molicare, Dry 24/7, Bambino, etc., were on the market. There were Attends and Depends and a few 'hospital' brands, but totally inadequate for heavy bladder incon issues, compared to what is available in year 2012.

Anyhow... The overalls worked great for BOTH cold and wind protection, all the while HIDING my heavy cloth incontinence protection at the same time. Such a deal!

I' aware that kind of protection would be total overkill in warmer weather...and would lead to diaper rash in no time. But we bikers have another worry, and that is
getting "road rash" if we put the bike down and slide on the pavement. Well, I've come close, but it's never come to that, even if I did wear my leathers primarily for THAT
kind of rash protection! Just thought I'd toss that in there for grins...

I know a few times at an incontinence support group I attended I also met other peope who wore overalls as a good 'cover' when they needed heavier protection.

One was a woman who had mobility issues and had a lot of difficulty using public toilets when out or airline toilets when travelling. She wore leg braces and used arm crutches and found that some even rather stylish overalls came in handy...farmer or tomboy 'chic' as she called it. But there was no way to tell she had all the protection
she needed for confidence, even if toilets were not available for extended periods of time.

Thus, we find ways to cope and we always continue to innovate. This is where we share our findings.

Just my 2 cents.


John.

Been wearing overalls since my problem started several years ago. Wished I could find them in different colors though. They work perfect for me

Hi Don0417,
Yes, overalls are great for those of us who have to wear diapers and wish to keep our special underwear from showing! I've never, in decades of wearing cloth diapers (more difficult to conceal than any disposable diaper) been discovered; diapers just don't show thru the overalls.

Have you considered women's overalls? And no, I am not into cross dressing! But women's overalls provide more room in the hips which really helps conceal diaper bulk. You can get away with men's overalls if you only wear disposables but the cut of the women's gives you more room for bulkier diapers like cloth pre-folds.

You mentioned colors! Men's are generally only seen in a tan color, like Carhartt, and denim, both dark and "washed" colors. But if you try women's overalls you should be able to find black and brown, possibly some in corduroy....options not found in the men's version. And women's overalls often have "fancy / feminine" touches on pockets and pocket flaps but I've always been able to find "non fancy" overalls that appear no different from men's.

I never gave that a thought! At the very least it's worth looking into! Thanks!

I've been in diapers since I was 25, now 65. I worked most of the time in diapers, even swinging a sledge hammer. But I've got to admit that the disposables we have now are soooo much better than the reusable incontinence pants they used to have!.
I use the Wellness, Abena M-4 or the 24/7 briefs now although during the day I wear a pullup with a liner, high top plastic pants with a boxer brief over all as I can sometimes make it to a toilet in time. At night? No way.
During the day I wear the pull up and pad unless I know we're going someplace and a toilet isn't "right there, NOW", then I'll wear a full diaper with a pair of high top plastic pants and boxer briefs over that.
I like the polyurethane pants because they last so long although I have others too
I also buy my outside pants from Duluth Trading as they have a gusset in the crotch and a loose fit. Fit over the diapers much better than regular jeans. I tried womans jeans too and they did fit better but it was harder to find non-feminine ones.
If I know I'm going to have diarrhea (and I can usually tell by the rumbling) I wear a high top plastic pant and a bloomer plastic pant over that at night.
Guess I'll add, I do have a pair of womans "shortalls" for summer wear, just got them last year and really haven't worn them much.


Deen