www.incontinentsupport.org

What Works For Me

I am an insulin dependent diabetic with urgency incontinence, when I get the urge to void I have 30 to 60 seconds until I am incontinent. If I am at home I can sometime, not always, make it to my bathroom. So I wear an adult diaper at all times.

I am also retired and on a fixed income so the cost is very important to me. Over the last few years I have experimented with many different brands of adult diapers. Yes, the expensive ones work fine, however I wanted to find a system that did not cost a lot. Here is what I have found.

I buy the Walgreens brand “Certainty” and then add a Depend guard. On the back of the guard using my utility knife, or a single edge razor blade, I make two slits then affix it to the Certainty. These cuts allow the guard to be a flow through booster. With this system I can usually get four to six hours before I have to change. The Certainty cost me $0.60 and the guard cost $0.23 making a total cost of only 83 cents.

I also assemble my diapers ahead of time so I can then put them on just like regular underwear. To keep the diaper from falling down I use my suspenders, clipping the diaper and my pants together. If I know that I will be away from home for seven or eight hours I do wear the more expensive “Dry 24/7” also with a Depend guard. As they cost more I only wear these when I have to.

When I want to be even more frugal I have some washable cloth diapers. I purchased them from AliExpress. - http://www.aliexpress.com/ - I found the best ones, for me, come from “Mandy's store” number 900423. You can search “Adult cloth diaper”. Please note they are describe as leak proof, however I have found that I must also were vinyl pants with them. With a Depend guard I get around four hours before I must change them. So after the initial cost they are only 23 cents, saving even more money.

I tried quit a few “drug store” diapers, until I found one that works for me. Just because a diaper is bought in a “drug store” do not dismiss it until you have tried it. You may find an alternative to the expensive ones.

_________________
RetiredRN

RetiredRN,

Hello and congratulations for having coped so well with your incontinence. Thanks for providing a detailed description of your method as that will help others who read this forum.

I see that you are a fellow suspender user. There are not a lot of us who use them to help support our diapers, but I think they are great.

I think it important to remind all of us here from time to time that thousands of people who never join this forum still will read the postings as the result of a Google search for incontinence and related solutions.

--John

I'm glad to see you've found what works best for you. You mentioned the certainty diaper with a depends guard cost less than a confidry24/7 though. But I'm not really sure about that.

A case of 72 mediums costs $120 (at xp medical). Thats $1.56 per diaper, which lasts more than 8 hours on average. You said the certaintly/booster only lasts 4 hours at $0.83 each (or $1.66 for a comparable 8 hours). That's $0.10 more expensive.

Now I do see you said you add a booster to the confidry diapers too. Depending on the cost (and average time it lasts), this could be either a wash in cost versus the certainty with booster, or likely even costing less.

Please keep in mind though, you really have to look at it as a cost per day. Not per diaper/booster. Personally I find not having to change as often, and knowing I won't leak as often either, is much better- especially when there is no cost difference or if the confidry will cost less overall.

On a side note, have you tried using baby diapers instead of a depends guard? I find not only do they work better, absorb more, and are faster at absorbing, but they are also much more cheaper too (especially when you factor in the numerous coupons you can get for them).

The last time I bought a case of 24/7 they each cost me $1.58. A Certainty cost 60 cents. Add a Depend guard at 23 cents to a Certainty and the cost for two is $1.66. Now I also like to add a Depend guard to my 24/7 making them cost $1.81. This makes the Certainty less expensive for the same time. Also I like the breathable feature of the Certainty. They are much more comfortable than the plastic of the 24/7. Another reason is that I come and go from my home frequently and I do not leave my home unless I have just put on a dry diaper. If I wear a 24/7 all the time, I might have to change it before it has been eight hours.

In my post I said that I can get 4 to 6 hours with a Certainty and guard so this system can give me up to 12 hours for the two. I do not mind changing my diaper after 4 to 6 hours.

As I posted, this is the system that works for me. No two of us are alike, this is what I prefer, as it works for me. One of the reasons I posted was to let others know what I have learned over the last several years. I hope others will read this and then using this information, and the information from other posts, they can make there own informed decision on what will work for them.

_________________
RetiredRN

You're absolutely right. I know for me a certainty kind of diaper won't last me more than 2 or 3 hours max. A confidry will last me a minimum of 8 hours, and often closer to 12 if I push it. Add in a booster and I'll get about 4 hours with the certainty, and over 12 hours with the confidry.

For me at least, there wouldn't be any savings which is what I was trying to say before. Its good you are seeing it though.

One other question/concern I have though. I've found boosters do absolutely nothing for improving a diapers performance. Yes they will extend the amount they hold and time before leaking, but a diaper that is prone to leaking will still be prone to leaking even with a booster in. If anything, I've found that adding a booster will actually make the diaper leak even more, even when the diaper its self isn't anywhere near to it's full capacity. Are you getting this as well?

I find that the Depend guard, acting as a booster works for me. I have not had any problem of my diaper leaking. By using my suspenders to hold the diaper in place I have a secure fit at all times, they can not sag down. This may be why I have success with “drug store” diapers.

Please note, I have tried other brands of “drug store” diapers and none work as well as the Walgreens Certainty. What works for me, may or may not, work for others.

_________________
RetiredRN

I to have used the Walgreen's Male Certainty Guards as a booster or just to stretch the life of whatever diaper I may be using at the time.

I often find the guards on sale for about .15 cents each

My doctor recommend using a guard as a booster also. Work pretty well.

The Walgreens brand Certainty XL Mens Disposable Briefs are great for me. I have urge incontinence and started using them 2 years ago. A very cost affective solution for some leaking and prostate emissions. Every so often I'd be somewhere or doing something and my prostate would decide it was time for me to "Have a good time" so to speak. Once or twice was ok but it was starting to happen about 3 times a week. Regular underwear wasn't any help at all. The briefs, foley's, and a belly bag are all a great combination. Dry in front, clean in back and no more stains on either side.

An alternative to the Depends booster is to line the disposable with a cloth 'stuffer', folded over at the top and also folding both sides into the middle to narrow it down to fit in the diaper works really well, they hold quite a lot, and help wick better then any guard of extra pad I have ever tried fro m the stores. I have some that ate built so the middle is 4 ply, and the sides are 2 ply, so when folded over there are 8 layers in the middle, and not really thick so not uncomfortable at all... if you sew or can get some made up, it is worth looking into! Puffy

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