ItsCordell

Really? 1/3 to 1/4 of all patients? That seems like an awfully high percentage. Do you work in an ER? Curious mostly, I’ve got no evidence or experience to contradict...

I do this as well. Plastic grocery bags with a diaper wrapped in a second bag inside. Then I have an extra for disposal after I’m done. Less obvious than a backpack and then I don’t have anything to carry around after a change.

Of course condoms would protect from that. But I’m sure many people have unprotected anal sex and I wondered if that posed a UTI risk to the penetrating partner... Did you ever get a diagnosis for your bladder problems?

Thanks, yeah, they didn’t do that on me because they had recent (from an unrelated issue) imagery on file from a CT scan that shows my prostate is normal sized, etc. also, I had a scope inside the bladder to check for cancer or stones or whatever and it was totally normal Haha [emoji23] that’s part of why I’m so embarrassed about accidentally causing the UTI - there aren’t other obvious causes in my case other than something like a STD or whatever. I actually wondered, does the risk of UTI rise for males who have anal sex (as the one penetrating). That would seem to make some sense. It’s not an activity I participate in right now, but I wondered if that could be a reasonable excuse that wouldn’t draw more attention...

Right, I’ve heard that it’s rare in young males - and usually due to an anatomical abnormality, cancer, or some major neurological issue. I have none of those other issues as far as I know - although my overactive bladder is unexplained heretofore. Is OAB a cause of UTI in males? I wonder

So as the title says, I was goofing around with a straight catheter because I was curious: practicing putting it in (I have a penis), feeling how to do it without pain, watching as it entered the bladder and begins to drain, etc. like I said, I was curious and just wanting to experiment. Well, I ended up apparently pushing a little too hard one time and had some blood in my urine. A couple of days later, my urgency became crazy crazy and painful - and frequency became like every 10 minutes. The bleeding increased to where I was passing small clots (smaller than a fingernail size). Anyways, I went and got urine tested, and got on some antibiotics. Cultured for e Coli. The doc didn’t ask how I got it. And I didn’t surrender the truth that I gave it to myself. I was very embarrassed because as a under-40 male, I understand it’s very rare for people like me. I felt guilty and stupid. Do you think the doc suspected anything like this? Are there other reasons besides being an idiot that a young man like me would get these? Is over active bladder or urgency a risk factor for uti in men? Thanks

Oh that’s interesting, so if clothes are going to come off, it’s more likely to happen once at the hospital?

For those who are emts or paramedics or firemen/women, etc. how frequently do you encounter people in diapers? What do they tend to be like (old/young/poor/rich/genders/races)? Have you ever cut clothing off say, a trauma victim, to find a diaper or other pad underneath? What do you assume? How do you react? Is it common for emergency personnel to laugh about these things? In what situations is it appropriate to cut off clothes? What would you say to hospital staff about things like this? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen on a call? Weirder than diapers? Are you required to be confidential - like follow HIPA just like any other medical Person? Thanks for sharing your experiences - I’m just curious after a recent car wreck where I was wearing a pad - but did not go to the hospital or anything.

An update... Oops, jumped the gun. I had my consult with the specialist. I ended up running late so I couldn’t stop on the long drive from my town to the hospital (5+ hrs) - I wore a BetterDry which is typical for me while traveling, and because I didn’t stop, it was quite wet when I got to the hospital. I changed in a private bathroom, wiped off to get as little odor as possible, and then put on a pull up. (I’ve been dabbling with this new brand from NorthShore, Allyne?, they are very impressive actually) Anyways, I was shocked during my visit, but it didn’t even come up. The doc didn’t ask about if I was using pads or how many or whatever. Didn’t say a word. They did do a residual urine check on my bladder - and the nurse saw the top of the pull-up when she did that scan. She didn’t say anything about it and neither did I. More or less, I felt pretty dismissed. I was admittedly trying to get clarity on an underlying cause - and the doc essentially said that we don’t know what make people have OAB and that there was nothing life threatening happening to me. That was disappointing but also relieving if you know what I mean. Strangely, for the first time in my life actually, I distinctly got the feeling that the doctor and nurse were laughing st me. The physician kept kind of smirking st me in the exam room and kind of laughing under his breath and kind of cracking awkward jokes. When I left I felt very very judged - and like they thought I was an odd duck for wearing the pull-up - and maybe even suspected me of being a fetishist. It was not a happy feeling I left with. It could be in my head but I’m usually pretty intuitive about these things. Anyways, the long and the short of it is that wearing a pull-up was either a non issue or it was a source of being laughed at and not taken seriously.

Thank you all for your replies. I’m sorry if this is a dead horse that I keep one beating, lol, I’m just anxious about it and I want to be sure to be respectful. Can you tell me what a normal, NON-DL person, who has newly developed incontinence would wear with a diaper/pull-up (especially when they are first starting to use those things)? Do people who are not DL tend to wear underwear over the top of those items, or just to wear it under pants/shorts like normal underwear? I’m pretty much resigned that I need to wear protection to the doctor. For the past 2 weeks or so, I’ve been wearing pads at minimum at all times, and for any circumstance where I dont know about the bathroom situation, I’m wearing a pull-up, or even a diaper depending. So I dont’ think its misleading or any kind of fetishizing thing at this point. Now I’m just confused about what is normal for someone who is not DL. Obviously, I like diapers and normally prefer to not have underwear over them at all — and I think that they work better without. But I also dont’ want to seem to eager/weird if that is unusual for newly incontinent folks. Thanks for your continued advice!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Right, I get that. I’m just curious to hear people’s actual experiences. What have you had them say? Has it been unpleasant, uneventful, totally normal, confrontational? Reading on some of these boards, to me it seems like it comes across that many people who have chosen to live with diapers and forego invasive treatments - or give up on them after trying - have faced ridicule or weird treatment about their choice. I’m just wondering if that’s the outlier or the norm for people’s experiences - especially at first. I am admittedly new to all this. And while I feel like I’m coping ok, i want to make sure I’m not dying or anything... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Thanks, this will be me getting a second opinion. I’m definitely trying to get my symptoms checked out - to find out if there is some underlying cause that is really bad. That’s what I’m the most scared of. As a DL, it’s not the end of the world to me to have to use absorbent products to cope, but I know that incontinence often is a symptom of very serious medical issues. I want to get that treated and checked out. Not to worry. Your experiences are helpful to me. Did your doctor ask you if you were wearing a diaper? How did he/she know? Did you have to disrobe, etc? Was it part of an intake questionnaire? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Thanks, yep. You say it in an interesting way. But yeah, you’re kind of right. In this instance, I DONT want the holistic piece because I’m afraid that bit of information (me being DL) will end up getting me written off or having worse care. Perhaps if I came to trust the doc after a long period of time...maybe...but for the most part I dont want that kind of attention. Hopefully you’re right. In your experience, did the urologist on first visit ask directly about your using pads/diapers/etc? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

During your intake exam or first appointment with urologists, what did they ask about your diaper/protection usage? What did you tell them? Did they discover after having asked you to disrobe? Did a nurse ask you? Did a nurse see it after having asked you to disrobe or after using a ultrasound device on your bladder to check residual? *What was the conversation like? I’ve heard a lot of “horror” stories of judgmental reactions, etc. Did it seem like it was normal for them to have a patient using absorbent products? What did they say about it? I appreciate your advice on my previous thread about my OAB and worries about what to wear to a second opinion urologist, my DL side, moral limits, etc. Since then, I’ve been relying increasingly on pads (male guards) and pull-ups, but also sometimes diapers in certain settings. In the past month, I’ve had 2 incidents where my bladder emptied completely while I was in public, both times it felt like it was a tiny leak and my bladder just kept pushing apparently. Both times I was just wearing a pad and my pants ended up soaked. Since then, I’ve been a little more aggressive with protection that would cover me in the event of a rapid empty while in public. I’ve had numerous episodes like this while exercising over the last year, but I don’t care nearly as much in these situations because I’m already soaked with sweat and out on the road or sidewalk not in super public places. Anyways, I’m just trying to prep myself for what might be asked, how they might react, what they might say, and what NORMAL is for non-DL people who have these kinds of problems. I really do not feel comfortable revealing my DL side to This doctor because I think it will lead him/her to not take my symptoms seriously. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Yes I’ve had one cystoscopy and the finding was negative for any growth or cancer or malformation. I have another appointment once again soon with a little higher level urologist at s medical school. Hoping to verify that indeed, I am not dying, and to get a more definitive diagnosis.

Over the past few weeks my daytime symptoms have been getting worse. My urgency is more often and more intense. I think I’ve pretty well decided to wear a pull up that day, at least. Both for fear of leaking in the office and Also to make clear to communicate how serious my problem is. I’m not sure how exciting this might feel anymore - it is much more of a drag as time goes on.

I have been finding that the intervals between spasms are going down if anything. I typically can last an hour, but sometimes it’s just 15 minutes apart and I get these intense urges — then hardly anything even comes out even though it feels like I have a full bladder to empty. I’ve essentially been wearing pads in my underwear non stop for the last couple weeks - and when I’m going out where I don’t know about access to a bathroom, either pull-ups or even diapers. It’s consuming s lot of my thought and attention. This is no fun. I think for me anxiety and stress increase the symptoms - and the anxiety about having an accident increase The symptoms even more.