Had Mri Today

[badback9]

Just had my 2nd MRI today, had one 5 years ago. Start rehab on Thursday and I've had some wetting during the day. I feel a little embarrassed to wear some protection, but I feel as though I might have to. Should I wear a diaper to rehab. I'm so worried about the noise it might make.

BADB

[Dougie]

Try wearing a pull-up.

[DailyDi]

Pull up if it's enough protection. If not, just wear a diaper with underwear over it to muffle the plastic sound.

[Guitarzan]

Wear a diaper with underwear over it. Trust me, it's nothing they haven't seen or heard before, and they won't think twice about it. Do what you have to do to rehab your body.

[Darkfinn]

I'm with Guitarzan (love that name by the way). If you need protection, wear protection. The people working at rehab are professionals, they've dealt with it before and they know what to do and how to act.

[johnstone0822]

Just had my 2nd MRI today, had one 5 years ago. Start rehab on Thursday and I've had some wetting during the day. I feel a little embarrassed to wear some protection, but I feel as though I might have to. Should I wear a diaper to rehab. I'm so worried about the noise it might make.

BADB

I've been incon for several years and it's really no big deal if you wear a diaper. In short, I have a spinal cord injury and the VA provides me with all my medical needs including diapers. I go the physcial therapy (PT)once a week, and I see two doc's every evry month. It's well documented in my mediacl records that I'm incon and not one person has every made a comment, or remarked in a negative way about me wearing diapers. It's not like your the first incontient person they have every seen before. Trust me, they see planty of incon ppl.

I really never dry for very long before I start getting wet. When I arrived for my weekly PT appt last week I was wet as I forgot to change before leaving home for the appt and as I was running last. Story short,.... by the time I got to the VA hospital where I have my weekly PT I remmbered I didn't change before leaving home and was running late. Once you've been incon for a while you don't worry about these kind of situations. I take meds that control odor, and the diapers I use are high quality so they don't leak. That being said, I knew I was wet and it really didn't make any difference. The therapist knew I was incon and wore diapers. I guess the good news is that I was not going to do anything that would require me to remove my pants. As such, there was no way anyone else would know I was wet. Don't worry about wearing any product that works best for you. The only reason the medical ppl I deal with even know I'm incon is because its part of my medical records and for PT they hook up 4 electrodes to my back which means they lift up the back of shirt which exposes part of the daiper. Don't worry aboput it. I don't know how many times I've had medialc appts and had a wet and messy diaper. I don't have any odor so there is really no way for anyone else to know that I need to change. I guess what I'm saying is even if the worst happens and you wet the diaper so what? Your the only person that will know. Relax......

[badback9]

Well I went to the appointment today and everything went pretty well. I had ultrasound then a tens unit. When the doc put the electrodes on my back I knew that he saw the depends because I felt him move it down. I did tell him before the procedure that I had become slightly incon. They gave me some shorts to wear that I know all three of the heard the crinkling, but I think they all knew my history. The cool thing is that when I did the traction I really felt relief. They wanted me to go 2 times a week, but it costs me $25 a pop, so I'm going to go back once a week. I have 20 referrals and my back feels great...although I did have an accident on the way home when a light was red. Thanks for the support...he did refer me to a couple of neurosurgeons tho.

[Dougie]

Glad it went well for you. Hopefully you see long term improvement from the traction. I have a Teeter inversion table and it helps when I need to pop my lower spine back in place. It doesn't do much for me on really bad days though.

[johnstone0822]

Well I went to the appointment today and everything went pretty well. I had ultrasound then a tens unit. When the doc put the electrodes on my back I knew that he saw the depends because I felt him move it down. I did tell him before the procedure that I had become slightly incon. They gave me some shorts to wear that I know all three of the heard the crinkling, but I think they all knew my history. The cool thing is that when I did the traction I really felt relief. They wanted me to go 2 times a week, but it costs me $25 a pop, so I'm going to go back once a week. I have 20 referrals and my back feels great...although I did have an accident on the way home when a light was red. Thanks for the support...he did refer me to a couple of neurosurgeons tho.

I would recommend you wear the Abena XPlus instead of the Depends. The VA sends me the Depends. However, I stopped using them about 4 months ago. I got tired of the tapes breaking and the diaper leaking so I've been using the Abena XPlus, or cloth diapers. I don't have a very good opinion of Depends. Wings are worse, but Depends is pretty low in quality as far as I'm concerned,......plus they make noise like you said.

Did your doc give you a prescription for a TENS unit? I get some pretty good relief when I use the TENS unit I have. I sometime get a good laugh when I stand in front of the mirror wearing my compression socks, diaper, TENS unit, and Lumbar back brace. What a sight. LOL I don't have diabetes, but my ankles will sometimes swell so I wear the compression stocking to control the swelling in my ankles. I'm not sure what is cause my ankes to swell, but I kinda think it is probably related to the nuropathy that I have.

If your having a lot of wetting problems at night you may want to try using a cloth diaper if your going to be incon for a while. Not cheap, but they really are very good for night use because of the absorbance.

As you found out yesterday, wearing a diaper to a medical appt is no big deal even if you use it. It's not uncommon for anyone with severe spinal cord, and/or nerve issues to be incon. I was bladder incon for a long time before becoming bowel incon too. I'm mobile and active.......at least to a certain degree. I sometimes have a lot of pain, but I seem to get around pretty good if I don't over due it.

$25 co-pay for each PT appt is not cheap if your doc wants you to have PT twice a week. I would think you will do just fine going once a week. I've been going to PT on and off for a long time. I justed started going again last week and will continue for the next 5 weeks.

How long have you had the incon problem? Does you doc have any idea what is causing the problem?

[rusty pins]

Probably everyone already knows this, but if you have to have an MRI and have to wear diapers, make sure they are disposables. You can't have anything metal in an MRI unit so diaper pins will cause a problem if you wear cloth.

[badback9]

right..I thought about that too while I was in the MRI machine. My back really feels good though after the traction. My doc does not know why I am incont. I get the updated MRI's in a couple of days. I think the crinkling was a little too much though, I was quite embarrassed when the one girl was watching me do the leg exerscises I just know she heard it.

I was dry last night too BTW. My Carefirst does not cover the TENS, but I have seen them on Craigslist pretty cheap , about 80 bucks

[johnstone0822]

I would be interested in knowing more about your experience with traction in during your physical therapy (PT) secssion. The reason why I'm asking this is because this coming Thursday, I'm going to receive the traction therapy. The weekly PT secssions I'm having do not include any type of exercises. They have been doing electrode therapy for the last two secessions. I'm told the traction theraphy will not cause any pain as it relieves the pressure on the spine. This could feel good.

I use a TENS unit all the time. I'm sure you will like it as it does work very well. However, the 4 electrodes with the wires are a hassle. The electrodes are not the hassle, but the wires are. Still worth the hassle so I recommend you get a TENS unit as soon as possible. I do have one thought for you to consider......see if you can find a nice used wireless TENS unit. If I had to buy one this is would I would be looking to purchase. I understand the wireless TENS units have only been in the market for about a year, or so so finding one at a reasonable price may not be easy.

I understand your situation pretty well. When I was using private insurance the co=pays added up. I recall some of the co-pays on the meds were $50 each. The co-pays on the meds I was taking at the time were costing me anywhere from $10-$50. With 7 prescriptions that adds up, plus the co-pays for the doc visits, and PT secessions. All of the things combined plus the cost of incon supplies (diapers etc) can really put a dent in the pocket book. My spinal injury was not military service related, and I'm not retired military service, but I did qualify for VA medical coverage. This was a blessing. The VA pays for everyhting including diapers. My private insurance wouldn't pay for any of the incon items I use so having the VA pay for everything is a BIG help.

From what you've described, I would take a wild guess that the cause of your incon problem is a pinched nerve(s). The spinal cord injury I have caused what is known as Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES). In short, this means nerve damage. So, besides having CES, neuropathy, I also have degenerative scerosis, and a bulging dic at L5-S1. Ouch! My situation is not as bad as some, and I'm active and mobile and that is a blessing. Being incon is more of a hassle than anything else. At least there is no pain associated with incontinence.

I highly recommed that you buy some high quality diapers so you don't have any issues with the diaper leaking, tapes breaking, noise when moving, and bulk. I don't what anyone to know I'm wearing a diaper. If you feel the same as I do, you don't want it to be obvious to others that your wearing a diaper. I have the odor under control with over the counter meds, so I no longer have any concers about that issue. The only remaining concern I have is someone finding out that I'm incon because of a leaking diaper, bulk, or noise. It I was bedridden, or never went out of the house it really wouldn't make any difference, but when I'm out in public the quality of the diaper I'm wearing is very important to me. That being said, I stand by the recommendation I made about using the Abena XPlus diapers. I can go for as much as 10 hours before this diaper starts to leak, the tapes never break loose, there is very little bulk, and there is NO noticeable noise with movement. If you still want more protection, I would recommend the use of certain types of plastic pants, and/or the use of Abena Fixing pants. I have and use both of these items depending on my planned activities for the day. For example, if I'm going on a long trip such as flying, I will wear the plastic pants for added protection. The Abena XPlus diaper is one of the best on the market, but I want to make certain I don't have any diaper issues. I will only change in public restrooms if it is an emergency.

I hope the info I've provided helps. I can only tell you what works for me and why. Have you seen a urologist yet? If so, what tests did the urologist do? IMO, the longer you remain incon the harder it will become to return to continence but that's just my opinion.

[KittenAB]

If you're dealing with doctors, just don't worry about it. It's not their job to judge anyhow. Been through the hospital 5 times in as many months ... having to wear "diapers" was the least of my worries.

[buckeye87]

Badback, I wouldn't worry AT ALL about what the doctors/nurses/PT's are thinking - unless it's their first week on the job they've seen enough patients in diapers that it's not even anything special anymore. In our rehab ward, you can go to the facilities, close your eyes, and hear the crinkling of folks from ten feet or fifteen feet away - everyone's more or less used to it. I've brought up the topic with other students to probe what normies think of it; I said stuff like "it's so weird to walk through that place and you can tell who's in diapers". Most of them respond very maturely, so I would think the full fledged professionals would be even better about it!

[Dougie]

Most doctor and health care personnel are too concerned with HIPPA anyway.

[redneck diaper boy]

They would much rather have you wearing protection with respect to getting their equipment wet.

During my many MRI's I wore plain old Attends and didn't have a problem.

Believe it or not, medical professionals see diapers all the time. It is no biggie.

Just had my 2nd MRI today, had one 5 years ago. Start rehab on Thursday and I've had some wetting during the day. I feel a little embarrassed to wear some protection, but I feel as though I might have to. Should I wear a diaper to rehab. I'm so worried about the noise it might make.

BADB