www.incontinentsupport.org

Hi. I’m new here but I guess what I’m talking about isn’t for me. However it’s not something I think I ever fully understood and if I could or even should be labelled as incontinent

To give some background I’m 25 and sense last year I have been fighting crohn’s but I’m also Dyspraxic and because of it I could have Aspergers as well but that was something I’ve never been tested for. Sense around this time last year though I started messing myself in public due to the bowel trouble and from November I have been wearing diapers. Much of that time has been 24/7

Sense 1st having it flare up I have managed to start getting things under control illness wise thanks to medical help and I do have less full on accidents these days, but often if I need to go it will feel very urgent and I have to go as I can hold on very little now.

I do notice as well however that I may have bladder issues as well. Sometimes if nervous or laughing too much I will wet myself and I notice with the diaper, even on max thickness diapers that wetness markers go pretty blue around where I hang so to speak. Even if I shake off and wait a little this always happens and say I’m leaking and normal underwear can get uncomfortable by the evening time. Sometimes at random I’ll have the same heavy urges as I do with my bowels.

Despite this though and wearing diapers for months, I feel insecure about it. Not so much wearing protection and what if people find out but if I’m wearing too much for what’s wrong. I mean could I be fine just needing insert pads or something. At the same time If I can mark a diaper without fully wetting it I don’t know if pads are really going to do their job well. I do feel that diapers have been a big help these last few months as I’ve been able to get on with things in my life much better then for a very long time. For what I am describing am I incontinent or maybe even how incontinent am I. Does it seem likely that I’ll always need some form of protection?

It’s not something I feel ashamed of, but this isn’t the way I expected things would be.

Glen,

First of all I am not bowl incontinent so I may be totally off base here. I've noticed that when wearing a disposable diaper with a wetness indicator (blue line) that it will show "wet" after a couple of hours of wear even if I have not wet it. This is most evident in the warm weather months. My theory is that it is my perspiration "down there" that causes the wetness indicator to turn color. Many times I have noticed that the wetness indicator in the "point of attack" region has turned color but I have not wet that I know of. I do "leak" small to moderate amounts without warning but I can usually tell when I am releasing. I also wear cloth diapers and the outer surface of the diaper in that same region will feel damp within an hour of putting the diaper on while the inside is bone dry. This is mostly due to perspiration. I don't feel hot or sweaty down there for the most part. The diaper wicks the sweat away from my diaper area keeping the inside of the diaper dry.

What has your doc told you? Seeing a doc is always the first step for anyone that is incon regardless of what you "think" the cause may be. Your primary care doc will most likely have a few tests done, and if necessary refer you to a Urologist, and/or any other medical specialist you may need. I would suggest you make an appt and go see your doc about all the issues your having. There not going to get better on their own.

I second what John Stone says. I think you should talk to your doctor. Many times, they can give you a true answer as to what is causing your dilemma. Sometimes they cannot. But you need to at least go find out if something more serious is wrong.

Thanks for the replies. I guess 1st thing that's worth mentioning is that I can feel or tell if I am leaking a little while awake and as for the wetness guide changing colour it always starts to change around where "my little friend" is resting at the time and then gets worse and spreads out from there.

Right now though I feel that when it comes to seeing a doctor about my bladder, it's something I would like to do later on but with more time taken up on crhon's and getting myself back in shape better, I can't help but feel that's more important. The doctor I saw about anal problems though I will be speaking to again next month.

Sense it's been a year sense I started having accidents with my bowels and that them and my bladder have likely leaking for much longer as well, While I don't see it as giving up because they have been such a huge help in my life, would it be realistic to think that I am likely going to wear diapers for a long time to come and maybe (likely?) always going to need them?

Glen,
I don't feel anyone on this board or any board for that matter can answer your questions. You should go see your doctor. What ever is causing your incontinence, may not be any simple thing. It could be serious. Nobody here knows whether you will have these problems for life as nobody here knows what is causing your problems. You yourself don't even know. So there is no way to tell. Go see your doctor. They deal with inocntinence all the time so its not that big of a deal to have the discussion with them. They can probably help you. If they can't, oh well, at least you tried. Bottom line, go see a doc!

For some it takes a long time to get in and discuss this topic, it sure did for me, but I didn't have the #2 problem to deal with, and did a fairly good job of handling things on my own with just the bladder to worry about, but I got some relief to get looked over and make sure it wasn't something serious like a tumor or cancer thankfully, but it never got solved as to what is causing the urgency and life goes on... and I believe you heard it here first... go see a doc! Puffy

Hi Glen sorry to here of your condition My two cents about protection is. It's always better to be over protected then under.................Sandy

Gotta love knuckleheads that post this garbage over & over again

That's what I thought... 6 posts and all the same, WINNER!