www.incontinentsupport.org

I introduced myself in another thread, but for those who didn't see it, I am a woman who is here because of increasing partial bladder incontinence as a secondary effect of IBS-- though ironically, bowel incontinence is a much rarer issue.

I understand from reading this site that briefs have better capacity than pull ons. But in my case, I'm not completely incontinent, do use the toilet when I can make it and don't have the dexterity to be dealing with tapes, snaps, pins, velcro, etc constantly while in extreme, unpredictable urgency. Needing more than an ordinary menstrual pad for small leaks on a regular basis is a relatively recent thing and I'm still figuring out what will work for me in terms of protection, finances, time, etc.

I do not wet in my sleep, but as soon as I wake, I am often in extreme urgency. I do keep a European made unisex urinal device next to me, and it works okay if I have time to stand and position it correctly, but that's not always the case and none of these unisex things that I know of really works well for a female who is sitting or reclined, no matter what they advertise. Unfortunately, we women cannot wear external bags either.

As far as pull ons go, I first tried the inexpensive store brand of a major US drugstore chain-- with good reviews from other customers. It was ok at times I needed it during the day (I don't always need this level of protection) but consistently left me flooding everything first thing in the morning, and for an adult female, my bladder is relatively small. As soon as my supply ran out, I tried Depends. Somewhat better, but basically the same problem.

I found this site, read people extolling Abena and XP Medical, that it's owned by an person who uses the products and and went to that site, but discovered how expensive Abena is and would rather use something less expensive and more readily available in more places if it works. I read on XP Medical's site that Attends Pull Ons are quite good, but is that because they sell them?

I did not order from XP Medical but from my usual source-- a case of Attends, which was unfortunately all they would sell me, and a couple of packages of Abena for later if the Attends don't work out. I began using the Attends a few days ago. These past few days I have not had problems getting up in time, but I am having more problems during the day. My measurements put me at the lower end of the range for the size I'm using, but for some reason it feels as if I'm not covered and it has leaked a bit for what, to me, is a relatively small amount of urine. I still have most of a case that I just bought and am wondering if it's going to be worse than the last two when the time comes that I flood.

Any reassurance or advice appreciated. Sorry for the length. Thanks.

Zenute,
I too have tried the Attends pull-ups. I found them adequate for 1 wetting episode. I was given them to try when I was in the hospital. Attends are what the hospital carried and I don't remember them leaking. But I had to change after every time I wet. I have bowel incontinence too so I can no longer use any such product. I wear Abena Extra's and Xplus You have to remember that with a product like Abena, they generally don't leak and you can wet in them repeatedly. So you save money in the long run. Sure you could use the attends, but you'll probably have to change after every time you wet. I don't want to have to do that as its expensive. It will cost you more in the end. I think the Abena's would end up saving you both money and embarassment from leaks.

P.S. Your post wasn't too long, it was interesting and you described your situation well. Welcome to the forum.

the so called "pull ups" worked for me but it sounds like I have more problems. I'm also A 64 year old male.
Very few of the normal pull ups have much absorbancy, Depends and Attends are on the low side on most everything.
I wear Dry 24/7, or Abena AbriForm X-Plus. I have the sudden urge when waking up, by the time I'm awake enough get up it's too late. I very seldom wet in my sleep, although that does happen too. I also have a small bladder (about 6oz is all). Dr's was surprised at that.
Once I'm wet I continue to wear the diaper till it's pretty well used up, it's much cheaper that way, but an Attends or Depends is just not enough for the flood even though it's only 6 oz, they just don't absorb fast enough.
Try the Abena, they are much better, or you could try adding a doubler to what you have. I do that at times like when we're traveling in our MH or by plane and I know I can't get to the restroom in time.

My wife has urgency issues, and her job in the medical field isn't one where she can drop everything and run when she needs to go. She has been using the Tranquility Brand "overnight" pull-ups for a few years now. They are easy for her to manage and can handle a full void with capacity to spare if necessary.

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~~PuddleGuy