I've had bed wetting problems since I was 14 and that was back when they didn't have disposables. I was able to use Birdseye cloth 21 X 40 pin on diapers with Gerber Toddler size slip on pants until I was 16. Of course the doctors thought it was a phase and I would grow out of it sooner or later.
At 16 I had to start purchasing diapers from the Sears Catalog, and medical supply stores. That was the first time I had to deal with the issue outside of the house other than the doctors office. At that age, I was mortified to walk into a medical supply store and ask for diapers. The one person that helped me the most was a middle aged lady that worked at the medical supply store in San Jose, CA. She told me I should consider myself lucky that I didn't have to wear them full time like many of her customers. It did help to know that I was not the only one, but there was also other younger people that had continence problems.
When I turned 19 and I had not grown out of it, I moved to another state, got a job, and started a new life. Being on your own for the first time in a new place is stressful, and I had to work 6 and 7 days a week to pay for rent and a car. After 5 years of dealing with night problems, it became the norm for me. I actually got up the nerve to call a diaper service to see if they had anything for adults. At that time disposables were still not available, and I found out I could get adult diapers delivered to my apartment. Very cheap, no more laundry, and they even supplied a diaper pail. They did not supply plastic pants, but they did laundry them.
Acceptance is a gradual thing. Anyone new to incontinence issues, the one piece of advice is be patient it gets easier.
Skipping forward to now (many years), I began to have problems during the day. That scared the heck out of me. No longer an in house issue to deal with, it had invaded my life. After many trips to the doctor, visits to a Urologist, they decided to do a urodynamic study may help with the determining the cause, and hopefully finding a solution.
It was the most embarrassing doctors visit ever. I won't go into details, but after removing a disposable diaper in front of a female technician, they inserted catheters and wires all over.
The results demonstrated that I had a low capacity bladder with uninhibited bladder contractions. One medication after another and some with side effects that were not pleasant.
I have been using diapers full time for the last 3 years. I sympathize with anyone new to incontinence, as it has been a life changing event. However, the good news is that it has gotten much easier. I have learned to deal with all aspects of it; even the most difficult issues like carrying a special computer bag (my diaper bag), changing in public restrooms, and even the occasional situation where my diaper is accidentally exposed (the most horrifying).
I order my products online now, and I am very thankful for several reasons. First they are a ton of great products out there. Disposables that are safe, cloth and high quality plastic pants, but the one thing that did the most good was talking to one of the sales people at one of the leading adult cloth diaper stores. She said, you are lucky, you only have urinary problems.
Acceptance is a great thing. It has taken years, but I am no longer embarrassed about incontinence and wearing diapers. I sure as heck don't advertise it or bring it up in everyday conversations with people. I will say that I have become very comfortable wearing diapers, and I am very pleased that I can afford the best products and for the most part, not many have any clue that I am diapered day and night.
I did not mean to rant, but I hope some of the experiences I have spoke about might possibly help the person that has been tossed into situation where they need to wear diapers.
