Oops

Timing and volume of urine are important to get the right combination. If you have "predictable" incidents of relatively low volume, pads work fine. They are much more convenient to carry, change and dispose. If one chooses the correct pad for the volume, they are usually reliable. They are less bulky under clothes, etc. And, as all of us have learned, one must experiment a lot to find the right product. Like "deewet", I've found that bladder pads sold for women fit better and are more absorbent. The "overnight" pads have loads of absorbency. Men will find a better fit if the pad is reversed, so the wider portion is in front, providing more absorbency where needed. Many pads have adhesive strips that hold them in place. Pads "made for women" seems to mean they are packaged and bordered with flourishes and colors like lavender and fuchsia. They are also located in the women's section of the incontinence aisle at the store. Otherwise, they offer the same paper-pulp-polyester absorbent pads covered in polyester net. However, the range of absorbency levels is far greater for "female" pads than those offered for men. At some point, most of us opt to buy online in bulk. There are SO many more options online. For instance, you can buy Poise Overnight from one drop ... all the way up to eight drop absorbent levels. Walmart makes an Equate brand overnight 6 drop pad that is currently $0.33 each vs. Poise 8 drop overnight for $0.59. If you use lots of pads, that price difference is significant. Underwear also makes a big difference with pads. You must wear snug briefs to hold the pads in place. Otherwise, you get dribbling and surges that spill outside the pad, rather than get absorbed. Any brief with spandex will work. However, as "deewet" learned, women's briefs hold pads better than mesh hospital pants and don't add unneeded bulk, like Y-fronts. They are also much cheaper. Being incontinent is at least inconvenient. It makes one focus on hygiene and clothing in a completely new way. Experimenting with absorbency products and clothing adjustments introduces an element of "adventure".

It seems that many of us would like a "quick fix" to many of our problems. Looks like the use of diabetic drugs to cause weight loss in non-diabetics is coming to a close OTC. Each of the contributors on this forum seem to understand how difficult it is to identify a single cause for our IC. However, it also seems that lots of creativity has made the IC issue manageable, so that we can get on with our lives (diaper bag in hand).