www.incontinentsupport.org

I have found that the sizes of diapers are not what I thought they are. I am not a small guy, I have a 40" waist. When I look for diapers I look at the waist size that the description of the diaper indicates. When looking at diapers online like Abena, Molicare, ATN, and Tena Super, they indicate a size of Medium would be appropriate for a 40" waist. I have been wearing Abena X-Plus (Lg) and Dry 24/7 (Lg) for a little while now, but I was looking to find something alittle cheaper. So I bought a package of Tena Super in Medium. They barely fit, I can just about get the tape to attach to the front, and use duct tape to hold in place. The same thing with the Tranquility ATN that I bought.

So, either the size on my jeans is wrong or I am reading the diaper descriptions wrong or something. I'm going to wear the diapers that I bought, as I don't want to throw them away, but they certainly are not as comfortable. When I wear the Lg Abena or Lg Dry 24/7, the tapes overlap the front panel by quite a bit and attach more towards the front of me than on my side. Maybe I am just used to that and the Mediums are the right fit after all, I don't know.

So maybe I should ask, how should they fit? The Lg diapers seem to fit me well and are pretty comfortable, but they do come up pretty high and I usually fold the tops down so they cannot be seen should my shirt come up in the back. I thought I had a pretty good system going. I wear these "Abena Abri-Fix Soft Cotton Fixing Pants" that I got from XPMedical over the top of my diaper. When I fold down the tops of the diaper and put those pants on over them, you cannot see any of the diaper at all. I have found this pretty comfortable and I thought I was pretty clever. When I put on the mediums, while they are pretty tight at the waist, they do not come up high at all, I do not have to fold down the tops at all. Perhaps I am just making this more complicated than it really is, just wear what is comfortable. Anyway, after trying on multiple brands of diapers, I think I like the Abena's and the Dry 24/7's the best and I will stick with those.


As I type this, it is all a bit surreal to me, not having dealt with incontinence for all that long. And now I sound like a diaper connoiseur.


Just a side note: The Tranquility "All Through The Night" diapers can be heard "All Through My House" when I am wearing them, even when wearing the Abena cloth stretch pants over them. Alittle hard to be discreet with these, especially when I had family visiting at the time. I had to take them off and put on the Abena's before leaving my room.

Sorry for babbling.

You might have a 40" waist, but your hips might be several inches larger. Each manufacture recommends the customer uses the measurement that is larger of the hips and waist for proper sizing. Leg diameter is also a factor in the way different manufactures cut the patterns. That is no one brand works for everybody.

_________________
When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.

Being a female with somewhat of the hour glass shape I'm always fighting the medium/large thing. typically I find I can wear a medium attends or tranquility. The bottom tape just makes it. But the top tape has a few inches either side. But for instance if I try to wear a Tena or depends product I have to go to a large. Because I can't get the bottom tapes on the mediums Abena and Molicare is another one I can go either way on. Often I'll get the large size of ones that I can fit into a medium with. I do this for the extra protection. Granted some of these come up past my belly button but hey at night it's better to be over protected then under. I tend to think when in doubt get the large:wink: ....................................Sandy

I have been in the middle of medium/large for some time now. I too was a 40" waist and the mediums always fit me great. Then a few more years and a few more inches and now the mediums barely fit, much like Sandy indicated, although being male, my top tapes barely fit too. So I figured I should get large diapers. I've tried Abena, Molicare and Bambino and all their large diapers are too big (how do I say this delicately) in the thigh. When I was young, I was tall and skinny. I'm still tall, but I haven't thought of me as skinny for some time. The arc for the diaper where the leg goes is too big. I don't get a tight fit around the leg, resulting in leaks. I've tried about everything, but doing leg lifts (to build bigger thighs). My luck, I'd lose weight especially in the thigh. I am trying to fit back into mediums, but in the mean time, Dry 24/7 run large, so I wear the medium Dry 24/7 and they are just right. My problem is, I must have 8 cases of Molicare mediums that I probably will never use. If someone is near by (NorCal), I might be persuaded to sell them real cheap. I sure don't want to mail them. If I get back to mediums, I'll probably go back to Abena. They fit me very nicely, and I liked the absorbency, although I'm getting to like the extra absorbency of Dry 24/7. They are amazing.

I wear size 36 jeans. But - With a diaper - the Medium size ranges (32"-44") are simply too small. I go with the large size (45"58") and they work perfect, and - allow for a bit more absorption. Yes, they do tend to be a bit floppy above the belt line of my jeans, but I simply fold under, and have no issues. It's much better to go a bit larger, for both the comfort, absorption and the fact the the tapes won't be stretched to their limit, thus ripping off while moving about.

_________________
-
Just my 2 cents, which ain't worth a penny in today's economy.....

-

Michael

I have around a 32" to 34" waist (usually 34" after the holidays and 32" during the summer) so I can fit in most medium size disposables. Some I swim in while others tend to run considerably smaller. I find the same size differences with plastic pants depending on the manufacturer. It would be nice if there was an industry standard but I don't ever see that happening. The same holds true with clothing. I've got shirts from various manufacturers that are tagged as size large but they all fit me differently.

32" waist here too, Mediums are all I have ever bought, the last ones I got that are not the normal ones I use were the ATN, they fit me but have a lot of extra along the top front and back I have to trim off, and the Prevail PM which were the same, along with having to trim the legs, both are very squared off and boxie in that area. Thye were both about as good as the normal Tena Supers I use, but a bit more money, Puffy