johnstone wrote:
I am certain no one will argue the importance of marinating health skin for anyone that is incon. When I first become incon I was only bladder incon at the time and must have changed 20 times a day. Every time I got a little wet I would go change. This was more than I could handle changing all the time plus not wanting to go any place for fear I would need to change. I was overwhelmed from my incon and I know it. At the same time I was struggling with depression, and acceptance of my new handicap. I did some groups sessions for a while and that helped with my depression and little by little I came to accept being incon and not being a slave to the needs of my incon. I tried different products for absorbency and quickly found a product that had no bulk and was suitable for my absorbency needs. I became very confident in the product I was using and started changing less frequently and found I had not skin rashes. I learned over time that when I shower in the morning and apply skin care cream I can go hours before changing in the "right" product. I also learned that wearing a diaper cover over the disposable would guard against any small leaks that might occur thus build my confidence that I could now go most the day before changing without having any leaks, or causing skin irritation. I also found the more active I was going places and doing things the better I felt about myself. I felt like I had gained control of managing my incon, and the incon was no longer managing me. Having conquered these issues was very important in what came next when I gradually started being bowel incon as well. Do to the nature of my back injury, I was only bladder incon in the beginning, but over time, little by little I had also become bowel incont. I think I would have been why overwhelmed if I had been bladder, and bowel incon from the start. Just being bladder incon was more than enough to prepare me for bowel incontinence. As I reflect back upon those times now, I can best describe it like having one foot in the water, and putting the other foot in latter not like I jumped in with both feet at the same time. I take meds to control odor so even when I am out in public and have a BM filling the diaper while standing next to someone (I'm mobile) there is no odor. I found taking 2 showers per day, (one in the morning, and one before bed) and using a special skin cream/barrier works best for me. During the day I usually change once, or twice, making the total changes in a day just 3, or 4 on "most" days.
There will always be some extra chores involved for anyone that is incon by either yourself, or a caregiver. Everyone is different, I have found what works best for me, and finding the right combination of product, frequency of changes, and acceptance is cornerstone to proper management of being incon,....at least in my opinion.
Hope this helps.
Hi johnstone
Many thanks for you posting your advice is so welcome. At the time of writing this post I was like you every wetting I would change and this was quite draining and as you say I was overwhelmed by the whole process. I moved to diaper protection that was more absorbent and have reduced changes to abut 4 a day now and feel less drained. That being said I will give the cover (I assume that you mean waterproof pants/briefs) another go to aid my confidence when out so I can learn to properly trust that I will not have the fear of any leaks.
Many thanks again for you assistance/help and for taking the time and effort to impart your wisdom/experiences to a newbie.
Greenbank