My Local Medical Supply Store

[RMS401]

First let me say that I'm not one of those people who doesn't care who sees me buying or wearing diapers. At 47 I'm still pretty shy about those kinds of things, so the relationship that I've formed with the ladies at my local medical supply store is pretty exciting stuff for a timid DL like me.

Not far from where I work there is a store that sells Tena diapers. They have the pull-ups on-hand, but they can order any Tena, Attends, or Prevail diapers you want. This is how I introduced them to the Tena Super Stretch, my current favorite diaper. I bought a case from them and had them delivered there, rather than to my house. Good thing too, since they came in a big box that said "TENA SUPER BRIEFS" all over it. Not cool.

When the diapers came in I learned that they had never seen them before, so I opened up the box and showed them what they looked like and how they were different. I even offered to leave a couple samples, but they declined. But the very fact that I had a face-to-face conversation about diapers with someone was absolutely thrilling for me. Being able to talk about fasteners, absorbency, and fit . . . pretty exciting stuff.

Yesterday I finally did something I've been wanting to do, but have been too chicken.

Yesterday morning I got dressed for work, barely noticing that I was wearing dark blue slacks. But around lunchtime it occurred to me that if I were going to hide the fact that I was wearing a pull-up, and any incidental leak, it was that day, in these pants.

With trembling hands I walked into the medical supply shop and looked for some Tena underwear. I didn't see any, and one of the ladies asked if I needed help. As straightforwardly as I could I told her that I was looking for the Tena pull-ups in large. She told me she thought she had some in back. She left and went looking.

A few minutes later, she returned and asked for my information so she could find me in the system. Since I'd bought that case of diapers from them, I knew I was in there, and she recognized me. She even gave me a little discount.

This was the BIG DEAL part for me: They have these rooms where the ladies who work there--all female nurses, I believe--can advise you and even show you how to use medical devices. I'd been planning this for a while, but it was still hard to ask if I could use one of the rooms for a minute. The clear implication was that I wanted to put on one of the pull-ups.

For reasons that aren't clear to me, she instead suggested/asked that I use their rest room. Maybe it's because she assumed I'd have a wet diaper to dispose of, and the rooms didn't have a proper disposal can. Maybe it's because she didn't want me to mess up the paper on the exam tables they have in there. Whatever the reason, it was a small bummer that I didn't get to change in there, but it was still thrilling to essentially tell someone that I was going to put on a diaper.

I wore that pull-up the rest of the day, while meeting with several people. I even wet a little while standing right in front of some of them. Pretty exciting stuff for me.

I know this is a pretty tame adventure for many of you here, but for me it was as thrilling as it gets. Thanks for reading my rambling account. ;-)

-RMS

[diaperpt]

Don't apologize at all. We each have our own level of confidence and at least I think it's always interesting to hear from people of an exciting experience.

Your's is beyond what mine has been in that your name is in their computer and you've special ordered. I've been into 'my' med supply store to find them out of Attends (my diaper of choice for several reasons). They've offered to call me when they come in, but I've simply said I'd come back - and have to find them again in stock.

Several of the workers have seen me enough to recognize me - and once, a clerk aske ME the price of a bag of Attends because she'd forgotten; "You ought to know!" she said, jokingly.

Thanks for your post.

[drynot]

Several of the workers have seen me enough to recognize me - and once, a clerk aske ME the price of a bag of Attends because she'd forgotten; "You ought to know!" she said, jokingly.

LOL.....thats pretty funny!!!

[rusty pins]

The one place that you can be accepted when talking about wearing diapers is in a medical supply store. They deal with all types of medical situations from leg braces, mastectomy products and incontinence. It's their job to offer products and answer questions to help their customers. As long as you act normally and as if you have an incontinence problem, it can be a good experience. Those of you who say that we are taking up the time of a store clerk to talk about diapers when we may not really be incontinent or have questions we already know the answers to, think of this; We usually buy some diapers or products before leaving so we are legitimate customers. Also, learning is a two-way street. We may actually learn about some brands of diapers that we didn't know about before, but in turn the clerks may also learn from us why some types of incontinence products may not be good for some types of incontinence!

It seems like most times I go into a medical supply store and ask about the incontinence products they carry I'm shown the disposable pull on underwear instead of the diapers. Now days the disposable underwear get so much more exposure (pun intended) in stores and on TV than actual diapers do. This is probably because manufacturers think that people would be more accepting of pull on "underpants" as opposed to a tape on "diaper". It's all about how clerks and manufacturers feel customers will react to their products. In reality, I've told medical supply clerks that the pull on underwear would be fine for light leakage problems like from smeezing or laughing too hard, but for people with total loss of bladder control they are impractical. People with total incontinence need something that is very absorbent that we can wear for several hours without worrying about leakage and something that we can easily change when we need to, which is several times a day. This teaches the store clerks that with different levels of incontinence it's not always about the perception of having something thin and discreet that dosn't look like a tape on diaper. It's actually about a well functioning product that will have large capacity and ease of changing, even if it's a bulky plastic backed tape on disposable adult diaper. It helps actual incontinent people too, by showing the medical supply stores that they should keep diapers in stock and not just the pull on underpants. Also, think of someone who might have recently become incontinent due to a car accident or something and is looking for advice. Having a clerk automatically recommend pull on disposable underpants because that is what they are told to recommed or because that is what they know the most about may cause the customer problems. He or she wouldn't want to buy the underpants based on a clerk's advice only to find out they leaked or didn't work well due to the level of incontinence that person had.

Anyway, I've had many conversations over the years with clerks in medical supply stores about different products for my "incontinence". One thing we can usually count on with adult disposable diapers are the continuing "new and improved" changes they all seem to keep making. Less padding, cloth like backing, trimmer fit, etc. Most of the time, the "improvements" are anything but! That leaves the door open to conversations with clerks in med supply stores. Just saying that the product you have been using has changed and is not as good as it used to be will allow discussion of many other available products. Even going into a store and requesting waterproof incontinence pants can open up a discussion. I've asked about such pants and when asked about the paitent, I redily explain that I'm incontinent and due to changes in the disposable products I have decided to use cloth products at home and disposable only when I work or have to go out. I may also say that disposables don't last all night without problems so I want to start using heavier cloth "products" at night. I've been shown DURO-MED and SALK waterproof pants and have actually been asked if I plan to wear them over cloth diapers. I may not actually be incontinent, but that dosn't mean that I don't need to buy those waterproof pants for use over cloth diapers because I in fact do plan on wearing them over cloth diapers! Just not every day!

Once more, a medical supply store is a great place to talk in a normal way to clerks about diapers and incontinence products because they sell them and expect people of all ages to need them and ask questions. Just don't walk in to one with shortalls with snap crotches, a pacifier in your mouth and a baby bonnet in your head and say, "I need diapews, pweese!" Act normal, intelligently and responsably!

[RMS401]

Thanks, Rusty and DiaperPT. Just being able to have an open conversation about diapers--something I know more about than nearly anyone I'm likely to meet face-to-face--is a thrill. I also have a fantasy involving one of the younger nurses who works there and one of their exam rooms, but that's a story for another day. ;-)

-RMS