PuraVidaDip

Welcome back! How long were you away? How long did you wear before?

Keep it up! You got to go to the tailor to get those pants adjusted. I had like 20 pairs of pants adjusted, many were part of a suit. I just told the tailor (who spoke broken English) about my condition. That way, I could say, "do you see any bulge" "Can you notice it is thick" etc as you turn around after the tailoring was complete. I only had to give away a few pair that were too tight.

I love the Tena plastic backed for working out. Went 4 miles in one on my most recent run and no issues! I just wear my gym shorts over. Any thin plastic backed diaper should work fine. I found no compression shorts is best for me but I’d try with and without. Avoid Chafe! - Try Chamois Buttr in the blue and yellow tube between your thighs and along your diaper - works great!

Hope you come back!

Oh man that's a tough one! I had this issue early on, where I was going right after going... so annoying! Spoke to my doctor about going too frequently with the incontinence and she told me to take two fiber pills each morning. I also typically eat oatmeal in the morning and almonds and bananas for lunch. That has kept me somewhat more regular. I now typically go in the morning and after lunch and try to time my day around this. I also cut out lactose or use a lactaid pill. That helps too. Diet is essential to prevent too frequent movements. Sometimes if I have a BM, I wait it out, like I go, then stay in my office or go to the bathroom, maybe for you that would have been stand by your car. Then I try and push the rest out. Just a thought. To answer your earlier question. I have been DL for forever and the AHA moment actually precursed my 24/7. When I started waking up in messy diapers, I knew I had to go 24/7.

So, one wedding down! I used In-control Hybrids (like the Rearz Barnyard but white). I drink a lot of water, and then was drinking, so one MegaMax wouldn't last, and I like to dance, and my suits are only so big around my bottom so a booster was a no-go. I had to change twice at the wedding. It was awkward because I had to carry my used diaper in a heaven scent bag under my suit jacket and dump it in the trash... one of the attendees saw and I was cursing the whole time, as I then dug in the trash to hide the diaper, like a crazy person, and he didn't ask questions. I don't think he knew what it was but might have figured I needed to toss my undies or something haha. Then the groom walked in and I walked out. Could have been worse. I ended up grabbing a shoulder sling camera bag https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07797XJ8X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1. Someone at my table commented about my man bag and I owned it "yes, got to." Switch subject and it was fine. It was obviously a camera bag but no one questioned why I didn't use a camera. I could fit three medium in-control hybrids in the bottom part, along with a travel thing of wipes from North Shore, some heaven scent bags, gloves, ointment. You could actually fit a small DSLR in the top pocket as well. AND... you just rotate it around your body and you can access all your changing supplies. Very easy! Thanks for all the tips, and I hope this helps someone out there... ? We had to take a shuttle... so I had to take the bag with me... but the camera bag was never questioned!

Just be honest and tell them you have to wear. No shame in homelessness. No shame in diapers.

I guess I just don’t feel comfortable with my book bag. Was thinking of maybe stuffing a thin diaper or two in my jacket, along with some disposal bags and a thing of travel wipes JIC. Or like a little brown paper bag with handles and some little bottles of water like, oh hey I have some extra water bottles, want one? Idk it’s a bunch of my wives family friends and I don’t feel like explaining the situation… but alas probably the answer

I am attending a few weddings this summer. Both will necessitate being away from the hotel/house for up to 8 hours. This is not something I have attempted before. Typically, I bring a bag and its no issue, but this is to a wedding, where everyone brings as little as possible. Most women bring only a clutch. 8 hours is too much for 1 diaper... I will probably need 3. Any ideas? ?

I started wearing diapers because of incontinence issues but for some reason thought that if I didn't use the diapers all the time, then I was somehow not staying true to the mission/purpose/ethos whatever of embracing my incontinence. I have exclusively used diapers for all waste for 4 months. Well, a couple of things have occurred. One is that my incontinence comes and goes. Two is that I love being on the water (boating, beach) and going to the pool. I figured, maybe, just maybe I don't NEED the diapers all the time. This was the crack in the armor... Heck, I even traveled with my in-laws on a week-long vacation and used the diapers the entire time. No one seemed to really notice. Well, this morning I got out of the shower and was standing naked after drying off and I felt a bubbling in my bowels and sat down on the toilet for the first time in 4 months and... you know what. It was fine! I am okay with this! I wiped and diapered up after to go play golf. I figured I would be 24/7 for the rest of my life, but now I realize this may be 24/7 most days. When I feel like I may be OK or when I am in or around the water where being diapered is just too challenging. I have gotten pretty regular with my BM's, so I can manage around them a lot of the time. The one concern I still have is the pool though. Not sure what I would do if I had an accident there, but again, pool time of day isn't typically poo time of day for me, so that's probably manageable. I was worried about not staying true to the path. Someone commented on here that 24/7 is whatever you want it to be, and that you are the only one whose keeping track of it, so you know what, if it makes you happy to skip the diaper when convenient, what's the harm in that. Anyone else go through this? Thoughts? "Heretic! Shame! Banned!"

I have the same issue. I have tried a bunch of plastic pants and found the GARY Pul pants, shiny side in and soft side out do a great job at catching leaks. Often I use some TP to wipe out the liquid in my pants when changing. But my outer pants stay dry! I also try to remember the last time I changed and factor in how much water I drink and this helps. Drinking more water noticeably reduced the pee smell but increases volume of pee and chance for leaks. You just have to test things out to see what works! Good luck and hang in there. It's just something to work around.

Update: I wore my onesie with 5 metal snaps on a plane twice last month with no issues. Went through TSA metal scanners. I happened to be dry because I changed right before security, but it didn't matter.

I have boxes of printed diapers in my attic. Since going 24/7 all I want is plain white or similarly discreet. I thought I’d get bored but nope.

Just carry a backpack. Change in the stall, place used padding into a Heaven Scent or Northshore baggy, and place into bookbag. Then dispose of baggy from bookbag at trashcan. Keep changing supplies in backpack and get a hook to hang it if there isnt one.

I think you’re right about this. The more time that goes on the more comfortable you feel, the less you need the community reinforcements. It is super helpful to post here so that others who may be going through this will have more information to help them along.

I have every rash cream made I think, including yours. Currently the one I am using all the time is Medline Sooth and Cool. Just ordered a box of tubes. It’s more expensive petroleum jelly but I think works better with the additives. Seemed to deal with the friction/ incon rash the best on my bottom. I also wipe after every change and then pat dry with TP or a dry washcloth. Frequent changes also help if you are truly 24/7 for everything for a variety of reasons, but everyone is different.

Great update! #2 in public is no big deal. I’d say the biggest issues is carrying the bagged soiled diaper to the sink to toss it in the garbage. Just make sure you have wipes and extra cream. For running, chafing was a major issue for me. I got 1 mile in a plastic tena (my workout diaper) under my running shorts and had to walk back. I ran 4 miles the other day thanks to liberally applying Chamois Buttr to my inner thighs and diaper. Now I glide no problem! I tried but stopped using fixation pants and compression shorts. If I go to a gym I’ll use compression shorts. I even went to the drug store after my run and carried two bags home. No issues. I wasn’t even that noisy. I went skiing with my in-laws last week for a week and other than my father in law asking me “but you don’t poop in your pants right?” TWICE at a family discussion, after I told him in private I was having incontinence issues, all went well. I don’t even think people knew I was diapered, even though I thought it was obvious. I ski with a pack all the time anyways, but wearing a backpack around got questions. I just answered, wipes, a bunch of crap I probably don’t need etc. But with the skiing I didn’t need the chamois buttr. I just wore PUL pants shiny side out. I’m 2.5 months dual 24/7.

It’s all good! You’re not hurting anyone so why deny yourself? Embrace and accept with gratitude. I had a dream the other night where I was peeing in a urinal and was so confused. Woke up ironically to a dry diaper somehow.

You got this! Getting some cloths to get you through supply shortages are a great idea. Thank you for sharing ?

I prefer white diapers or the blue ones from NorthShore. This since I’ve been having incontinence issues. For whatever reason. Part is that I don’t want people seeing prints when I throw them in the trash, even with a cover.

I’m in the 4-5 per day camp. I use a NS supreme (max out at 2-3 hours of wetting) with 1/2 better dry capacity or a incontrol hybrid with the same capacity (3-5 hours of wetting). I drink a lot of straight water, but my bms mostly dictate the change. For example I had one this morning at 1030 and another one at 1215. I was in a hybrid so that was a waste. It’s just not realistic if you have bowel incontinence to use less for me. With diet changes I reduced from 4-8 bms a day down to 3-4 now. Not sure how you guys/gals do it but I’m impressed! Diaper Dynamo on YouTube goes through 2 a day and he poops in them. My urinary incontinence comes and goes but I find most mornings I’m wet.

Hey Kali, did you have an update to this 12 month program? Curious on your thoughts, especially on the diet front. Also, curious if you've found many people resulted in urinary retention issues due to bladder atrophy, considering the number of people you have interacted with on this. Lastly, curious on your back of the napkin math on the number of people who have tried to gain continence back, and those that were ultimately unsatisfied with their decision to lose continence after a number of years.

Just doing some follow-ups here (various geographies): Goal / provide clear data to help end the stigma! A lot of this is just reported, so the actual numbers must be higher. I am most curious about the 40-65 range. Over 65 the numbers increase dramatically. 1% of adults 40-65 with fecal incontinence 10-15% of adults 40-65 with urinary incontinence IE - more common than most assume, even under 65! ~1% of the population between 40 and 65 have full fecal incontinence "Fecal incontinence is a physically and psychologically debilitating condition that has a negative impact on quality of life, leads to embarrassment and social isolation, and strains personal and family relationships. A prevalence up to 12% has been previously reported.1,2 Men and women of all ages can be affected by fecal incontinence, although studies suggest it is more prevalent with increasing age.3 In a large community-based study, the prevalence of fecal incontinence was 0.9% in adults between the ages of 40 and 64 years and 2.3% in adults older than 65 years.4 In clinical practice, more female than male patients are typically evaluated for this condition." source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3783075/ ~3-17% of the population have urinary incontinence "In women, moderate and severe bother have a prevalence ranging from about 3% to 17%. Severe incontinence has a low prevalence in young women, but rapidly increases at ages 70 through 80. In men, the prevalence of incontinence is much lower than in women, about 3% to 11% overall, with urge incontinence accounting for 40% to 80% of all male patients." source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1476070/ ~15% of 40-65 women have urinary incontinence PARTICIPANTS:Sample of 485 women aged between 40 and 65, obtained by randomised sampling of the census of health cards, stratified by the three kinds of health districts (rural, urban and peri-urban). MAIN RESULTS:Mean age was 52, with 15.4% prevalence of UI (2.6% stress, 10.6% urge and 2.1% mixed). In the multivariate logistic regression, association with the number of vaginal deliveries (OR = 2; 95% CI, 1.2-3.1) and with constipation (OR = 2.5; 95% CI, 1-6) was found. CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence found situates UI as a relevant problem in the population under study. Most women had not consulted the doctor on the problem. Several associated risk factors could be prevented, which justifies the setting-up within PC of coordinated programmes of UI education and prevention for this group of women. source: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/14622553 40% of women over 65 have urinary incontinence Source: https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/urinary-incontinence More stats: https://www.allaboutincontinence.co.uk/incontinence-statistics

Here is some sourcing with examples on both sides of the coin. I don't see any evidence of retention issues but hey I’ve been wrong before. 1 Here's some data on retention. Bold and italics below are for emphasis. It only mentions sphincterotomy though. Source: https://sci.washington.edu/info/forums/reports/urinary_problems.asp Bladder emptying for males: Open the sphincter There are a few methods for keeping the sphincter open so urine can flow freely from the bladder into a condom catheter. Sphincterotomy: Surgically cut and open the sphincter. Scarring can occur over time, and the surgery may need to be repeated. It can also worsen erectile dysfunction. Botox injected into the sphincter. This needs to be repeated every three to nine months, and as it wears off there is an increased chance for urinary retention. Urethral stent (small steel tube) placed in the sphincter. Disadvantage are that the stent can move around or tissue may grow into it and block the flow or urine, requiring corrective surgery. Methods that keep the sphincter open only work for people whose bladders are able to contract, allowing urine to continuously drain into a collection device like a condom catheter. If your bladder does not contract, the urine won’t drain out, and you are at risk for infection. The downside of any sphincterotomy method is that the bladder may lose its ability to contract and urinary retention may develop over time. Also, condom catheters are not without problems. They can be hard to keep in place, and some patients will need to have a penile prosthesis put in so there is enough penis for the condom to attach to. And even though the condom catheter does not involve a tube going into the bladder, it does not seem to result in fewer UTIs than indwelling or Foley catheters. 2 Here's another showing intermittent catheritization in women vs using "padding." Showing a 40% complication rate vs 17% for CIC. https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1016/S0022-5347(01)67432-9 3 Diapering as an option https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1016/j.juro.2012.09.079 4. OAB is not a disease; it is a symptom complex that generally is not a life-threatening condition. After assessment has been performed to exclude conditions requiring treatment and counseling, no treatment is an acceptable choice made by some patients and caregivers. Expert Opinion Initiating treatment for OAB presumes that the patient can perceive an improvement in his or her QoL. Patients who cannot perceive symptom improvements may not need any treatment beyond toileting and/or diapering, as treatment may be potentially unsafe and/or futile (eg, in the very elderly or demented patient). It is important for clinicians who treat this problem to recognize this issue and set feasible therapeutic goals with the patient and/or caregiver. 20. Indwelling catheters (including transurethral, suprapubic, etc.) are not recommended as a management strategy for OAB because of the adverse risk/benefit balance except as a last resort in selected patients. Expert Opinion Management with diapering and absorbent garments is always preferred to indwelling catheterization because of the high risk of indwelling catheter-associated UTIs, urethral erosion/destruction and urolithiasis. Intermittent catheterization may be an option when concomitant incomplete bladder emptying leads to overflow incontinence; however, this approach generally requires either patient willingness and ability or significant caregiver support. As a last resort, an indwelling catheter might be considered when urinary incontinence has resulted in progressive decubiti. 4 This is for spinal cord injuries. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1949036/#app1 Reflex Voiding Reflex voiding is a method that depends on an intact sacral micturition reflex. As bladder filling begins, sensory afferents begin to feed this information into the sacral cord. Continued bladder filling eventually triggers sacral efferents to cause an uninhibited (involuntary) bladder contraction. But because of the spinal cord injury, coordinated relaxation of the sphincter mechanism is absent; thus, detrusor sphincter dyssynergia is usually present. Despite dyssynergia between the bladder contractions and sphincter relaxation, voiding occurs because the sphincter relaxes intermittently during the bladder contractions. However, detrusor sphincter dyssynergia frequently results in elevated voiding pressures, which can then cause poor drainage and complications to the upper tract. Another problem that commonly occurs in those with detrusor sphincter dyssynergia is poor drainage of the bladder. In those with spinal injuries at T6 and above, autonomic dysreflexia can occur when the bladder contracts against a dyssynergic sphincter. Autonomic dysreflexia can also occur from bladder distention from incomplete bladder emptying. Because the bladder contractions are involuntary with little or no warning, individuals who reflex void require a collecting device. The presence of detrusor sphincter dyssynergia frequently necessitates other interventions (e.g., suprapubic bladder tapping, alpha-blockers, botulinum toxin injection, urethral stents, or sphincterotomy) to allow the bladder to empty effectively and prevent upper tract complications. 1. Consider using reflex voiding for males who demonstrate post-spinal shock with adequate bladder contractions and have: ▪ Sufficient hand skills to put on a condom catheter and empty the leg bag or have a willing caregiver. ▪ Poor compliance with fluid restriction. ▪ Small bladder capacity. ▪ Small post-void residual volumes. ▪ Ability to maintain a condom catheter in place. (Scientific evidence–None; Grade of recommendation–None; Strength of panel opinion–Strong) Rationale: A reflex (uninhibited) bladder contraction adequate for bladder emptying is needed for those who are considering reflex voiding as their method of bladder management. It should be noted that as the bladder develops reflex contractions to keep the bladder from getting distended, the bladder loses its capacity. This will make it very difficult to revert back to intermittent catheterization. Males can use external collecting devices very effectively, but no such device exists for females. In rare instances, reflex voiding may be used in females if they wear incontinence padding. However, incontinence padding has its own disadvantages. First, it requires frequent changing, thus making it both labor intensive and expensive (see appendix A), and, second, wearers risk skin breakdown. Reflex voiding is suited to those with poor hand function because there is no need to undress or catheterize with this technique. However, some help from a caregiver will be needed if a person does not have enough hand function to change a condom catheter or empty a leg bag. Leg bags need to be emptied periodically; however, there are electronic devices that will allow the bag to empty. Reflex voiding is also suited to those with poor compliance or unwillingness to limit fluid intake because the bladder will contract reflexively and empty whenever it reaches a certain volume. Finally, this method is suited to those with a small bladder capacity, since a large bladder capacity is needed for intermittent catheterization.