It Depends.

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The Night Defense post got me thinking about starting bedwetting at age 15, way back in 1998-99 and what was available back then. First, other people are right about how much Depends advertising is done. Over the course of my life with this these issues, I have seen Depends go full-time with their advertising on TV. They have had celebrities in ads and commercials on on prime time. The issue I see is that there is a huge disconnect between those who leak some and those who really void on the issues with Depends brand. Back in the past. The six-tape diapers were my life. Luckily, attends were carried at a local store as well because the Depends were out of stock a lot and they had issues. For me, online saved my life. Finding products that worked even if they came from questionable websites. I think that the biggest problem with Depends today is that a lot of people start their incontinence journey with Depends. This leads to people who do need better product to feel isolated. Just a simple search for incontinence products for men on Amazon leads to page after page of products that are not going to keep up with day-to-day activities. That means that someone like my family pastor who had prostate surgery is going to be isolated. Luckily he knows of my issue and reach out for suggestions. The fact is that without better products, I could not live. Catheters don't work for me and I am not going to change 20+ times a day. Plus with my voids being big, there is no way to get by with of the shelves incontinence products. I am also willing to admit that there are those who are fine with Depends. My biggest issue is that a company like that is really falsely advertising their products and not listing to their users. They could easily get a product out that rivals the best product competitors have to offer but they don’t care about what we need. They are not alone in this. They are just the loudest voice out there.

Just my two cents on this matter.

 

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If companies cared about consumers and not about profit, we'd be living in a more perfect world.

 

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Depend seems to concentrate on being discrete and they think nothing about those that require a heavier more absorbent diaper for people like myself

 

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@DPCARE @ThatFLGuy Fully agree! I don’t think Depend are alone there. I was very naive when I needed to use taped nappies as I figured that given I never leaked when I wore them as a kid that the most absorbent regular brands should work fine. How wrong I was!

I agree it’s discretion above all with these brands which I can understand but if my clothes are soaked that’s hardly discreet either and I need the confidence of knowing that my protection will do the job. Of course it does hit the bank account hard. My Personal Independence Payment is up for renewal and I’m worried about any issues with that as no PIP = back to uncomfortable, leaky protection. Indeed, the amount of added costs of disability are crazy and it’s why when it’s a choice of buying specialist clothing that meets my sensory and practical needs for adults which is craaaaazy expensive or clothing for kids which features that as standard and is a small percentage of the price I choose the latter. No one bats an eyelid and I save some cash to use on other things.

I’ve also desperately needed a new pressure vest for my autism and something to add some pressure to my bed to a) keep my duvet on and b) help me sleep. Disability is crazy pricey.


When I started using protection I was shocked at how low capacity a lot of products even were, even when my issues were milder. How anyone with big voids can cope with regular products I don’t know. The issue is a lot of healthcare providers believe the hype. I was told by the Continence Team (who provide four nappies a day if I remember correctly - three for during the day and one at night) that would be enough as the capacity was clear but whilst I can get by on that amount with the much higher capacity ones with a booster inside, there’s no way I’d be able to do that with Attends, Tena, Molicare etc. Again, I imagine it’s a case of unless you use them yourself you just don’t know.

 

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@DPCARE @ThatFLGuy Fully agree! I don’t think Depend are alone there. I was very naive when I needed to use taped nappies as I figured that given I never leaked when I wore them as a kid that the most absorbent regular brands should work fine. How wrong I was!

I agree it’s discretion above all with these brands which I can understand but if my clothes are soaked that’s hardly discreet either and I need the confidence of knowing that my protection will do the job. Of course it does hit the bank account hard. My Personal Independence Payment is up for renewal and I’m worried about any issues with that as no PIP = back to uncomfortable, leaky protection. Indeed, the amount of added costs of disability are crazy and it’s why when it’s a choice of buying specialist clothing that meets my sensory and practical needs for adults which is craaaaazy expensive or clothing for kids which features that as standard and is a small percentage of the price I choose the latter. No one bats an eyelid and I save some cash to use on other things.

I’ve also desperately needed a new pressure vest for my autism and something to add some pressure to my bed to a) keep my duvet on and b) help me sleep. Disability is crazy pricey.

So many of these low absorbency "discrete" products try to fool you into thinking they are a truly high absorbency product by using lables like extra absorbency or maximum absorbency what they don't tell you is its "Maxmum Absorbency" for that product range


When I started using protection I was shocked at how low capacity a lot of products even were, even when my issues were milder. How anyone with big voids can cope with regular products I don’t know. The issue is a lot of healthcare providers believe the hype. I was told by the Continence Team (who provide four nappies a day if I remember correctly - three for during the day and one at night) that would be enough as the capacity was clear but whilst I can get by on that amount with the much higher capacity ones with a booster inside, there’s no way I’d be able to do that with Attends, Tena, Molicare etc. Again, I imagine it’s a case of unless you use them yourself you just don’t know.

So many of these low absorbency "discrete" products try to fool you into thinking they are a truly high absorbency product by using lables like extra absorbency or maximum absorbency what they don't tell you is its "Maxmum Absorbency" for that product range

 

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@DPCARE Yeah, I also found it rather disheartening as there’s nothing worse than realising your incontinence is too bad to handle the maximum absorbency in a product range!

 

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@ThatFLGuy my bedwetting started as a teen too. I was so embarrassed that I used a plastic garbage bag cut open to cover the area I slept on and some towels over it. When I would bedwet, thankfully infrequent, I would sneak to wash the sheets and my clothes after my parents left for work and before school. As for Depends products, I did find and use GoodNites later on as product of the parent company of Depend. They worked great for me when I was no sleeping at home. And as I got older I tried other products. The Depend Night Defense and RealFit pull-ups do work for me. However I think that is due to the fact that I do not void out a huge amount of pee when I bedwet. I can see where a total and complete full bladder release would overwhelm the Depend pull-ups type of protection.

 

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I agree and am dismayed that Depends didn’t invest or offer a true quality US made product. Profits over consumer needs.
They’re there to help the lighter leaks in the world of incontinence, which is undoubtedly the majority.
I’m glad that we have options, but that is almost always an online purchase. And for Alaskans, the shipping cost is outrageous.
It would be nice to find something at your local grocery or drugstore, but they are looking for a quick turn on products on the shelf and corporate profits as well.
Amazon has helped by offering better quality from other brands, but they come and go. Here today, but not necessarily available tomorrow. Northshore offers quality product and has free shipping to those in the contiguous 48 states, but I can’t afford the unreasonable more than double shipping costs they want to ship to AK.
It takes some planning to get what you need.

 

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I don’t think Depend (the brand name is singular; not plural, despite the way everyone says “DependS”) falsely advertises. Their “Silhouette” like absolutely works for me in the day and their “Night Defense” is all I ever need at night.

Here’s a photo to prove the way they spell their name:

 

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@ThatFLGuy

I think the reason people on this forum so readily and consistently rag on Depend is because they’re jealous Depend doesn’t work for them, forcing them to have to use a much more complicated online delivery system with diapers that sometimes cost upwards of $3/each, when a Depend can conveniently be bought either online in bulk or at any big box store, and each Depend diaper/pull-up only costs $0.88/each.

Nobody on this forum should rage against solutions that work for anybody else. You should be happy for those of us for whom Depend works, just like I’m happy for those of you for whom NorthShore works. The goal is to help each other find protection that works so we can take care of our incontinence, period, the end! Who cares what brand it is? I’m so sick of these brand wars against Depend.

Everybody always hates the winner, whether that’s the United States, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, or Depend. When you rag on the most successful things in life, you just look stupid.

 

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I started my journey with the 6 tape Depend products back in the 90’s. They were a solution that worked for many years. As my needs changed, so did the products I use. Depend was more of a gateway product that caused me to research what would work best for my incontinence. Now, I’ll use a lighter cloth backed brief during the day as it is hard to change pull-ups without disrobing. At night, I’ll use a heavier plastic backed for a good nights sleep.

Depend suits the lighter incontinence needs well, but for a full time and large void type of need, others have worked well for me.

 

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@Jetskier I can imagine how as my spine deteriorates and continues to crush my spinal cord and therefore more nerves to my bladder, I will need to have stronger protection. Thanks to this forum, I have a list of what I’ll try first.

Sometimes I wonder if I had a stronger diaper already, then maybe I could get rid of my bedpads. But emotionally, bedpads are good for me at this point. I feel safe when I sleep. I don’t think I could afford more expensive diapers right now anyway.

 

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@snow I assume Depend in the US is like Tena in Europe, the leading brand - doing a lot for awareness and with good products. I guess we all should appreciate a variety of brands, shapes, absorbency levels - each of us are different and no product is best for all of us. Even gaining or losing weight can make it better to change brand rather than size. And different types of incontinence calls for different solutions.

Personally I find regular diapers with tabs more reliable during nighttime, but they are more difficult should you be awake and want to use the toilet - as the refastening tabs are not really that. I find pull-ups a good solution for my diarrhea issues - even if the slimmest tab-style diapers are recommended for fecal incontinence, but they are also making a more visible diaper butt, so I normally use pull-ups in flares. But I have been seeking around and so far there is no perfect solutions.

Proper protection makes me relax and during nighttime it is not an issue to keep it discrete. Good absorbency is and skin care is a good preparation for avoiding rashes - as the diaper is feeling dry against the skin.

I think I will need bedpads to really feel safe - regardless of absorbency. The tab styled ones are not always put on perfectly - and a bad job might lead to leaks. I used reusable bedpads and was thinking that it could be something to consider for you @snow to reduce overall cost? Disposable bedpads are adding to the diaper cost - although they are convenient.

Bottom line - I want as many styles, types and brands as possible to find the preferred range of products as our needs are changing.

 

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@Allan_59 We do have Tena here it; it’s a different company than in the UK and Europe. Here, there are only a couple of kinds of TENA diapers and they’re horrible. They’re the kind of diapers that the government will pay for, and as usual, with the government, they only pay for the crappiest stuff. They don’t fit well, and they don’t absorb well. But we’ve heard from many folks abroad that their version of TENA is the best. Depend here isn’t the best for many, but it is still the most popular and easy to find brand.