Urinary Incontinence Support Group

This is the right place. I'll stay off your posts if you want me to, just message me to let me know.

Once everyone starts showing up they'll have plenty to say.

Jes

Hi Joe. Welcome. This group is ok. If you ask a question it will usually get answered in a day or 2.

Ok, you have bowel and urinary incon. I can help with the urinary part but I have no experience in bowel problems. For medical reasons I’m stuck with diapers. I’ve done all sorts of research and know what works and what doesn’t and what is the most cost effective.

You asked for advice because your diapers don’t hold everything in. I’ll try to help but some more info would be useful. Here are a couple of questions:
Are you urinary and bowel incon 100% of the time? What is your frequency for both? (Its important because it dictates what the diaper has to be able to handle in a short period of time.)
Are you ambulatory or are you required to use a wheel chair?
Can you change yourself?
Is your diaper having problems with urinary or bowel issues? (or both?)

But aside from those questions, you may just be using a cheap and useless product. If you bought it in a grocery or drug store, it won’t do much for complete incon. This would be your generic or store named brands or Depends brands. Those brands only work for minor incontinence. They can’t handle a large volume of urine that urge incontinence or bladder spasms can bring.

For bowel incon, they do not have much of a containment area and do not fit tight enough to properly handle things.

It may be better if you use a higher end adult disposable diaper like ABENA or Molicare. There are others but these work very well for me and due to my size, I’m hard to fit. Depending on shipping costs the price per diaper can be from $1.60 to $2. A good place to get them is at: http://www.xpmedical.com/ If you have specific questions about styles and sizes, just ask.

If cost is an issue, you can use the higher end diapers at certain time and cheaper store brands during times when you are at home.

Cloth diapers work very well but since you also have bowel incon, laundry may be a lot to handle. You may want to use disposable for awhile before you attempt cloth. Especially when not at home.

If you wish to try cloth, I would suggest Velcro Tabbed diapers instead of the classic pin-on. The Velcro diapers tend to stay on much better and are easier to change. Cloth diapers also require plastic pants. The initial cost for cloth diapers is high. The average payback over disposables is about 3 months depending on your usage.

This is just general info about cloth, if you are interested let me know and I’ll provide more details.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot to know and learn about what diaper to use and more importantly, how to correctly put it on. Here’s a very important tip: Make sure the diaper is snug as high as possible around your legs. Not too tight to cause circulation problems but tight enough to keep urine in. THEN you make sure the waist is snug and comfortable. Its not unusual for a diaper to ride high above your waist. They should fit higher than normal underwear. If you use cloth and plastic pants, its not uncommon to have the plastic pants up near your navel.

Message me any time if you have questions.

Joe301558,
Although I second all of the above advice, I do have some additional questions and comments. How long have you been dealing with double incontinence? Are you able to manage your bowel incontinence by adjusting fluid and fiber intake? Do you have or need the assistance of a caregiver? Have you tried Nullo or another chlorophyl tablet? Have you ever been assisted by a physical or occupational therapiist? An occupational therapist watched me wash and change, and made some very useful suggestions. I had thought I was pretty good at incontinence management, and I was, but not so good that there was no room for improvement. There were several things that I simply did without thinking, that her suggestions much improved.

God luck and keep in touch.

To answer some questions. I am both urinary and bowel incontinent 100% of the time. Frequency for both is pretty high, pretty often. I am having to change at least 6 to seven times a day, if i decide to change because I am so angry at myself. I can move around on my own, I have no restrictions that impair how I move. I can change myself, but find it rather difficult and find it better when I have help. My diaper is having problems with both urine and bowels. I have also been dealing with "double incontinence" all my life. I really have tried all these different things like fiber intake and mngmt, exercises, medications, etc, but nothing has really worked. I don't have a caregiver at the moment, and I probably don't need one because I am pretty mobile other than this . I also never have an a physical/occupational therapist help me out whatsoever. Seems like y'all have been around the block. Hopefully I've answered the questions you sent me, and we can now figure out a plan of action. Thanks for all your help.

Joe

Joe, in order to manage bowel incontinence, I regulate fluid/fiber intake, and I clean myself out with enemas when I am fearful that I could have an accident in public. Nullo takes care of odor, but does not prevent rash if one delays washing and changing. My GI specialist described it as bowel re-training, and, with coaching, though I still have accidents from time to time, it does work. I would think that a physical or occupational therapist with the right training would be useful for you. However, if you must deal with Crohns's disease or ulcerative colitis, your situation would be far different. Keep in touch.