Vacation Travel Insights

[FretaBWet]

 My partner and I have been on a 30 day vacation and tonight is the last night in a hotel before the last leg home tomorrow. Our trip was driving just over 1,500 miles one way to attend a reunion and visit family. The peripheral travel added a lot of miles alone. I haven't been 24/7 for long compared to some of the veterans here but this trip really gave me a boost in confidence. I was already confident about living my life in diapers but this gave me confidence in the real world logistics of being diapered.

My partner wears diapers part time due to her own issues but she is a DL also, like me. Whenever we go on long drives she will wear diapers too but it's always come at a cost. She has scar tissue right near where her legs meet her torso so tightening the lower tapes to get a good seal and then the act of sitting in the car seat pulls the diaper tight against the scar tissue causing pain. Any joy and convenience of being diapered is mostly cancelled out by the discomfort. This trip she asked if she could have one of my medium diapers rather than one of her larges and she put it on standing up against the wall and pulled her panties up to hold them in place and then pulled up her jeans. I was a little sceptical and she was a little nervous but it worked. Gravity pulled the urine right to the center of the diaper and it did it's job marvelously. She even walked into the rest area to change it out in the family bathroom and you couldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. No pain at all, just the comfort of knowing you're protected without any discomfort. I'd call that a big win.

An important thing I learned on this trip was that I'm not timing my diaper changes properly. I have always been somewhat focused on getting the maximum use from a diaper. I've found that as the cost of the diaper increases, the desire to squeeze every last drop of use increases in kind. That's not a good mindset for someone who wears diapers to prevent wet pants. On this trip we have been changing diapers halfway through the day regardless of how wet we are. I haven't had a leak the entire trip.

Even though I'm full time I've found that most of the time we go out I'm not out so long that I need to change in public. This trip was one where I'm changing in public a lot. I've learned to love the family bathroom at rest stops, or as I like to think of them adult diaper changing stations ? After the change you get to play basketball with your rolled up diaper into the trash can without an audience.

Big surprise for me was I'm missing my pacifier a lot. I wasn't using it every night but it's always there and I can just pop it in if I feel the need. It took being without it to highlight how much I need it when I need it. I even considered how my thumb might feel nestled in my mouth but then realized where that thumb has been and the company it keeps and decided against that option.

I have had to get up halfway through the night a couple nights to change diapers because they were saturated and couldn't risk a leak. I didn't pack a single pair of plastic pants because I was of the mind that with just disposables I wouldn't need them. Big mistake there, they take almost no room, weigh nothing and worth their weight in gold for the insurance.

Hugs,

Freta

[~Brian~]

@FretaBWet

it sounds like you and your partner had a lot of fun on your vacation! I'm glad that you did. Thank you for your vacation insight. Far too many times people may not be able to plan for the inevitable or something that they're not prepared for. If you are a DL or if you're incontinent or whatever and you wear diapers or use diapers, you always should be prepared for something to go wrong because usually it does. One of the things I learned is that if I put trifectas over the top of my diapers. Or any diaper cover for that matter, the likelihood of me wetting my pants is lower than if I didn't period of course, if for some reason I have to go to the bathroom real bad, and I have to pee, sometimes what happens is that I have to go so bad that I have to let it all out at once, hence flooding the diaper, which can result in weeks regardless of what you have on over the top. You should always be prepared for such things to happen, and I'm sure that you will make sure the next time that you have what you need because you learn from your experiences right?

As far as scar tissue: I've had scar tissue on my legs on my feet where my hips are, and in my groin area. Each one of these types of scars has healed enough so that it doesn't bother me.A couple of times I've had surgery where they've had to take bones out of my legs to support my ankles, and then when I was 13 I had my foot fixed twice on the right side , so I had 6 different scars . When I was 17, they ended up doing my double D rotation osteotomy on my hips : this means they ended up breaking my legs at the hips twisting them around and then pinning them back together with pins , while releasing the tendons and groin muscles in there so that they're not tight so I won't have bad arthritis, because if they didn't do that I would have my hips attempting to pull away from the sockets and I would have arthritis for the rest of my life . These particular scars don't bother me too much because I'm so used to them, but the one that causes me the most discomfort when it gets hot or it gets sweaty downstairs is the one that was given to me when I had my appendix rupture and they had to go in and take it out . They ended up cauterizing the wound so they closed up, and for about a week afterwards it really hurt regardless of what was happening then, they ended up wrapping me up every day so that I wouldn't hurt , and then they started cutting the tube but leaving this thing open as a fistula and sometimes that would be painful . Now that my scar has healed , it is sort of like embedded in a fold of my skin on my right side right on the beltline . Sometimes this thing hurts like a bee or a wasp stinging me , because of rubbing against it . Other times, the stupid thing itches burns and causes me no end of discomfort because of the way it was put on my body, and the way it was done . I still have to sometimes cover my belt with the front of my shirt to make sure that contact with that particular scar does not cause a problem .

scar tissue can be a pain in the **** . I hope that your partner was able to use the medium diapers rather than the largest, and probably will realize that it is better to use the mediums than the large.Scar tissue looks terrible , and sometimes can be painful , so I can only imagine what your partner has to deal with when she has all the scar tissue where are you said it was. I remember when they did my surgery when I was 17 . I ended up having 2 scars on the outside of my legs, and two right between my legs. For awhile, both sets of scars really bothered me , and you could barely touch them without causing problems. When I first came home from the hospital , I had to be on bed rest for about 2 months, and the doctor wanted to leave my stitches in for awhile, stating that they were the dissolving type and that they would have no problem after awhile. When it was time for me to remove those butterfly tapes, I had my neighbor who was an LPN help my mom because she was worried that I was gonna hurt myself , or she was going to hurt me by removing them. Once those were gone, I felt a lot better, but those stupid scars can really itch sometimes

my dad at 75 had a tracheotomy when he was 71. He had an accident when he was a young man, before I was even born, and he went through the windshield, severely injuring himself. Long story short, he stayed in the hospital and then came home for a long rehab at my grandmother's house. Dad told me that the doctor had told him when he had the operation when he was younger, that it would require him to come back every couple years to have the scar tissue cleaned up. Well, time goes by things happen, and my father trucked along, and then when he turned 70, he started having problems breathing. When he was checked by the doctor, they found a whole bunch of scar tissue that they'd have to remove, so they gave him a tracheotomy and then removed it, but it was not an easy task since there was a lot of scar tissue there to remove. So I guess scar tissue can be a pain, and I'm glad that they were able to help my dad, but my dad is still having problems sometimes with his breathing and has to use all of his machines.

So how did you like the northeast, or the East Coast?Did you find a lot of interesting things to do ? Boston and Maine have a lot of good things too, but Vermont has a town named sto, and it is a ski town, so in the winter it has a lot of people going in and out because they can ski and stay at the mountains. We have a couple of ski areas that are within 20 miles of Waterbury or Bolton or Burlington, and then there were other ones in the southern part of the state . Hopefully, one day, you will be able to come up during the fall , so you can enjoy the fall foliage and what Vermont has to offer, including the Vermont Maple syrup, Cabot cheese, the Bragg farm sugarhouse in east Montpelier which has awesome Maple creamies, and of course me in Montpelier , working at my thrift store.

I hope you and your partner have a safe trip home, and that you're able to get enough rest so that you'll be able to function the way you want to be able to, and have the energy that you need to be able to have fun at home. Vacations are always a fun thing to do, but they can be tiring after a while, and part of the the problem is is that sometimes traveling really can put a number on somebody because they have to sit for long periods of time, such as on a greyhound bus. Did that once, and then I did it again when I went to New Hampshire. When I did that, I had a mega Max on, so that wasn't too bad.

Safe travels!

Brian

[rusty pins]

I'm not 24/7 and would never want to be.  I'm a once or twice a week diaper wearer and often only for just a few hours early morning and I don't sleep in diapers.  A few times a year, like Christmas time I will go out of town shopping in diapers, usually Betterdry or something that will last me most of the day.

Last year I was able to take a solo vacation to Wisconsin Dells, about a 4 to 5 hour drive.  No one that I know is aware that I like wearing diapers so this was a chance to be diapered almost 24/7 the whole 4 days I was gone.  Perhaps not being 24/7 made me really prepare for being diapered the whole time.  I took along mostly Betterdry diapers, a couple Mega Max, several Abena L4 diapers, some TENA cloth backed and my Garywear waterproof pants.

I was already familiar enough with my choice of diapers to know about how long I could go before needing to change, but the first day I wore my waterproof pants over my Betterdry disposable just in case.  Camper style shorts a size larger than I normally wear gave me lots of room for thicker diapers and because they were very short legged shorts, helped keep me cooler and believe it or not, helped hide the bulk from my diapers.  I spent 4-1/2 hours getting to my first attraction, spent 2 to 3 hours there so I was already close to 8 hours in that diaper.  I got to my motel intending to change at the 8 hour mark and found I had plenty of diaper left to use.  I went to my next attraction for about 2 more hours and my diaper held just fine!  It was very hot and humid and I was sweating more while still staying hydrated, but maybe that helped my diaper last longer.  I changed back at the motel into an Abena L4 to last from 5pm to 10pm.  I also knew that one day I was going to be more than an hour's drive from the motel for one of my attractions so I put on a low end cloth backed diaper when I got up, went out for breakfast and to kill some time before I had to drive an hour away.  This allowed me to head back to the motel and change from that low end 2 to 3 hour diaper into a long lasting diaper instead.  Choosing a particular type of diaper allowed me to maximize the premium diapers for being away from the motel most of the day while allowing me to choose a lower end diaper for just a few hours around town.

The thing is, I was prepared just in case.  My attractions were mostly around town allowing me to stop by the motel for a quick diaper change if needed.  Things I have learned is it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.  Always have waterproof pants and several diaper pins in case of tape failiers.  After the first day I was confident enough in the diaper I chose to know how long I could be in it before needing a change, and I didn't wear the Gary waterproof pants much after that first day.  Just my diaper and a t-shirt onesie to hold it in place.  My situation might have been a little different since my drive was only 4-1/2 hours and I was mostly close enough to my motel to stop by for a diaper change when needed, never had to take diapers with me or change in a restroom.  This trip just worked out that way, but I can see other types of trips where taking extra diapers and needing to change in a restroom would be necessary, such as a trip to Disney World parks or all day tours where you leave the hotel when you get up in the morning and don't get back until evening.  I had thought things out for weeks and had planned for the just in case situation and that helped me out a lot!

[Hannah YMS]

On 8/28/2022 at 6:39 PM, FretaBWet said:

My partner wears diapers part time due to her own issues but she is a DL also, like me. Whenever we go on long drives she will wear diapers too but it's always come at a cost. She has scar tissue right near where her legs meet her torso so tightening the lower tapes to get a good seal and then the act of sitting in the car seat pulls the diaper tight against the scar tissue causing pain. Any joy and convenience of being diapered is mostly cancelled out by the discomfort.

My suggestion here is that your fiancée should tape her bottom tapes just snug and not tight. If your bottom tapes are too tight then you'll just be in pain. I've not noticed a decrease in leak-proofing with the bottom tapes are snug. And by snug, I just mean let the tape just come into contact with the plastic without any pulling, as if it were meant to get to that spot naturally.

On 8/28/2022 at 6:39 PM, FretaBWet said:

That's not a good mindset for someone who wears diapers to prevent wet pants.

I recommend plastic pants for this very reason. Gary PUL pants will work nicely.

[DenisBradford]

Thanks for sharing your insights. It's always motivating to read about top experiences like yours. It's great to hear that you've gained confidence in managing real-world logistics while wearing diapers. It's all about finding what works best for you and your partner's comfort during long drives. And I completely understand the importance of timing your diaper changes properly. Sometimes, it's better to change earlier to avoid any potential leaks and ensure a dry and comfortable experience. As for missing your pacifier, it's interesting how certain comforts become more appreciated when they're not readily available. It's all about those small things that bring comfort and familiarity to our lives.