www.incontinentsupport.org

Don,

I tried the Northshore Megamax diapers and was disappointed. I still think the Northshore Supreme diapers are the best diaper Northshore sells. I still receive the Abena M4 diapers from the VA so they remain my primary source of protection except for night when I use cloth diapers. Some time ago, I tried to switch diaper brands from the Abena M4 to the Northshore Supreme and hit major roadblocks from the VA. I did everything I could do to make the switch but the VA would not budge. I even contacted Adam (owner of Northshore) to see would he could do on his end to assist in switching to his product. Nothing worked. The problem is all Northshore brand products are proprietary products and not sold to any of the VA suppliers, and at present, Northshore proprietary products do not qualify for VA purchase. So, anytime I want to change up the diaper brand from the Abena M4 to any of the Northshore proprietary products I do so at my expense.

I hope the info I provided helps. Just something you should know before you spend a lot of time evaluation Northshore proprietary products to suit your needs. There's nothing wrong with the Abena M4 diapers, but sometimes I want something different and I think the Supreme diaper is a tad better than the Abena M4. I think fit in the Supreme better compare to the Abena M4, but everyone is different so what works best for me, may not work best for someone else. Just my opinion.

I "assume" you made it through the storm with no major issues.

Good luck in your search.

Johnstone,
Thank you for your comments. I’ll bear that in mind. I’m discussing it with my VA pharmacy and we are trying to jointly work on a solution. And yes we did fine in the storm.

5bugles,
When you wear the megamax with shorts/pants, how high up do the diaper waistbands rise. I read in some articles it is a good 4 inches or so. I had an experience with my abenas where I took my daughter to play with her friends at the neighbors house. I was talking to other adults and while my daughter was playing she pulled my shirt up. The waistband and wings of the diaper were sticking up above my shorts. My neighbors looked right at it but didn’t comment. I just pulled my shirt down and carried on like nothing happened. Never heard a word about it. But I know they saw it. Oh well.

I've had some time to come up with a bunch of solutions to the "peeking" issue.
- Fold everything in so there is no stray fabric or plastic showing. It'll look like you're wearing very clean white boxers
- Wear a diaper cover (kinda goes without say, I guess)
- Start wearing onesies; this comes in especially handy during winter when you don't want a cool breeze, anyway


Besides all this, I have acquired a tactical muffin top, so I don't get a lot of peeking above my hips, but I do use pretty stiff belts for any pants or shorts I wear.

@Don, they do extend a couple inches...maybe a bit more than others. I always wear an untucked shirt, which seems to be enough, though as you know, there is always that chance (particularly with kids/grandkids, windy days, etc). At work, where I often reach above my head, I will roll the waistband under and tuck in the wings. While I much prefer to keep them out, this works well when discretion is important. Another option is to tuck the tips of the wings in at the sides, which keeps the front snug against the body. I guess I figure that no matter what I do, there will ALWAYS be a chance of being found out, so I do what I can when necessary.

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"When you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness. So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."

Doogles,
I own a few onesies but hate wearing them as it’s just too hot. I have trouble regulating my body temperature. I wear as little and light of clothing as possible. I generally wear athletic style shorts that are dry fit and I like to wear tank top T-shirt’s around my house and yard. Anything I can do to keep cool. I will put regular clothes on when going places but as soon as I get home, they come off. I’m ready for autumn to arrive so I don’t have to worry so much. I may be the odd one, but I don’t wear diaper covers or anything like that. I do whatever I can to keep cool. I’ve been in the ER before to get fluids for several hours because I got overheated and dehydrated. It was pretty bad. I’d rather take a chance at someone noticing the diapers than repeat experiences like that. I’m probably an anomaly on this board.

5bugles,
I always untuck my shirt as well unless the occasion calls for otherwise. I’m actually part of a couple Facebook groups relating to my illnesses and a lot of us are incontinent to some degree. But we generally don’t discuss it too much. People will bring it up every now and then but we never have discussions about diapers. So if I want to have conversations about that, I come here where it’s much more prevalent.

5bugles,
I received the megamax yesterday. So far, I am pleased. I ordered a size medium 10pk. They included a sample of size small. The smalls actually do fit but are a bit too trim. I’m looking for something with a bit more coverage. So I tried the mediums. These are better. They do fit well. I added a booster to them as suggested by others to help spread liquid throughout the brief. I used them last night with no leaks even though I’m a very heavy wetter. That always makes me happy. The mediums do come up rather high in the front and back. I don’t mind though. I need the coverage in the back to protect against bowel incontinence and the elastic waistband is a bonus. They do get rather bulky as described when wet and may become noticeable. And they do make noise under my lightweight clothing. I can deal with the noise as long as my clothes stay clean and dry.

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Don,

After reading your review, I may have to give the Megamax another try. I'm always looking for a better mousetrap. Please let me know if you have any success with the VA buying any of the NorthShore products. I think it would be a huge move forward if the VA would offer some of the Northshore products but I never got anywhere with them doing so. Now that I have moved and I am working with a different VA hospital pharmacy I might have better luck,..(maybe).

Thanks for the product review.

Does anyone ever notice how pretty much all diaper manufactures look the same? If you look closely at the Megamax, you will notice that the padding has the same configuration as Secure x-plus and Bambino diapers. Prevail is pretty much the same thing as store brand diapers give or take. Is it like the asprin phenomenon where even though different asprins are different brands and cost different prices, they are really the exact same chemically?

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"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

I would liken it more like taco bell. less than 10 ingredients to make every itme on the menu

the same components are available to all manufacturers but it is how they are arranged determines the final product.
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probably a bad analogy but first that popped into my head.