www.incontinentsupport.org

Do any of you wear diapers just in case? It has been a year since my prostatectomy and diverticulotomy, and my incontinence is still inconsistent/unpredictable. I've been told that I have a very large bladder which is a reason I don't feel my bladder filling. I'm afraid to venture too far without wearing a diaper. Sometimes it's overkill, and other times I'm glad I was wearing one. I have tried to wear conventional briefs while at home with little success. I doubt if I will ever leave home without wearing a diaper of some kind. Maybe I should try, and see what would happen. I'm just a bit nervous about doing so. In fact, at this point I doubt I will ever leave home without wearing a diaper. I might be rambling a little here. Sorry.

This has been crossing my mind some recently in certain situations. I only wear them at night on a consistent basis because that’s when I have full blown incontinence a few nights per week. But my frequency and urgency during the day is such that if I have to go to a meeting or go to a place where I know I will not have access to a toilet longer than 60 minutes, I get worried about what will happen. The only times I’ve had leaks during the day are while out exercising away from public toilets - no where to stop to pee. But these are few and far between.
I have had to duck out of more meetings than I want to admit because of an urgent attack needing to pee.

I don’t know what the line is for wearing diapers precentativley...at what likelihood of an accident does it call for them? At night, I wet maybe 50% if the time yet I wear a diaper every night. So there’s that. But it’s private and at home. What’s the threshold for being in public and out and about?

I hear people wear diapers to the New Years celebration in New York by the way for this reason ahah

Now I feel like I’m rambling.

there is never anything wrong with wearing for just in case it is the smart thing to do

That sort of applies to me. At night I have very variable/infrequent wetting without waking and it was just impossible to try to figure out when I would have a problem. When I finally decided to wear protection every night I instantly started sleeping better than ever, what a relief! However during the day I have significant leakage issues, especially after "normal" urination. I also have some frequency and urgency but it is much less consistant than the leakage issues. I might be able to get by with large pads and fixing pants but I've found it easier and more reassuring to just use a tape-up diaper and not worry about having enough protection on any given day.

Padded, It's amazing how similar your situation is to mine. Same night time issues...not knowing if I will be dry in the morning or not. I have decided to wear a cloth diaper at night. If it's dry in the morning, I can still use it...saves a few bucks. Also, function as you do during the day. I prefer tape on diapers as well...don't have to completely unrobe if I need to change. It is what it is, I guess.

Hey dp66, we do seem to have very similar situations. At night I put a folded six-layer cotton pad inside a quality pull-up with a PUL pant over top. With this combo if I wake up having to pee at night I can easily pull everything down and use the toilet normally. If I don't wake up, which is what usually happens, the pad and pull-up easily contains everything. Using this combination I've had absolutely no nighttime leaks.

Yeah I'm in this category for the most part.

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I decided I didn't need a signature

Awhile since I've signed in, even though I pop in every day to see what's been posted. I have things to say but just want to be where sure when I say it, it's well organized.

So my question today is, does anyone who's issues happen intermittently, notice that it suddenly returns at times of extreme stress? My bedwetting I've always believed is driven by stress. Daytime issues have been really nonexistent for me until lately. Recently, as Winter drags on and on, I'm short on money all the time. And short on everything else as a result. So, while I wait on the work season to really get going, I find myself having to visit the toilet more and more often. Today I arranged a small advance from one of my clients that I do work for and went to town. So, this is where I decided to diaper up "just in case". I think I'd better from now on. Just a couple hours of shopping and I "leaked" 5 times. I'm talking enough "leak", it would leave a significant wet spot each time on your pants. For months I've been doing somewhat ok. The past week has just been so stressful......and my issues are back.

I just think being short on everything I need and normally have creates so much stress that it triggers my issues and my bladder gets twitchy and overactive.

Anybody else notice when the stresses of daily life pick up that their problem gets twitchier?

Hi wwboy, as you mentioned having a wetting accident at home is one thing, but in public, especially if it could be in a business setting, I would want to be appropriately protected virtually 100% of the time. I've been diapered 24/7 for several years now and although I've had a few leaks (thankfully not bad ones) my anxiety level concerning a leak has dropped to practically zero. I'd recommend trying out wearing protection 24/7 for a short while to see if it works well for you.

This is exactly what my diapered life has become. I have urgency and frequency issues, and I'm not anywhere close to completely incontinent. Though I almost always feel like I have to go to the bathroom, accidents for me are very rare (maybe a few times per year), usually fairly small (leaking maybe a few ounces, just enough for a really big wet spot down my pants), typically right about the time I think "That one wasn't very bad, I'll go in just a few minutes right after I finish this up...." My symptoms fluctuate in severity over time. I've tried almost all of the OAB drugs on the market and the side-effects just aren't worth taking them, even for the few that do produce some noticeable benefit.

This leaves me having an urge and heading to the bathroom every 1-2 hours "just in case" depending on several factors: hydration, cycle, time-of-day, etc. I work at home on a computer almost 100% of the time, so getting up, stretching, and walking a bit every hour or so is a good thing.

My biggest risk for an accident is when a particularly nasty urge or series of urges hit in rapid succession when my bladder is fairly full.

A spate of more than a few very badly timed accidents when my problems first arose that left me embarrassed in public in front of friends and co-workers has led to my current situation....



The "line" is whatever risk you are comfortable with. Anytime I am away from home (for more than an hour or so...) or I feel myself vulnerable to exposing myself to such potential embarrassment, I am wearing a diaper. If I choose to put a diaper on that day, one is always on for the rest of the day. The fear of being exposed as wearing a diaper is nothing compared to the embarrassment of peeing yourself at a company event in front of your coworkers, boss, and boss' boss.

When my urgency issues are very bad at night (for me, that's waking me up more than twice over 8 hours), I will wear a diaper to bed until things calm down again. I hate wearing it at night (I wet the bed until my mid-teens, and it reminds me of that not-so-pleasant time in my life), but I've found it much easier to fall back asleep and I get a better night's rest without having to get up to go to the bathroom 3 to 4 times a night, so trade-offs... Fortunately, I haven't had an accident in bed now for over a year now. I never ignore an urge that wakes me up at night. If I were having accidents at night, even as little as a couple of times a year, I think I would find a good cloth diaper configuration I could re-use over several dry nights in a row rather than use a disposable every night.



Diapers take care of this quite conveniently. In fact, I've experienced the exact opposite: several coworkers and I were working at an off-site in a small conference room. After several hours everyone else had excused themselves to take a bio-break, but my diaper wasn't anywhere near full. So, I faked going to the bathroom, just to avoid any awkward observations about it.