My Cost Effective and Discreet Routine

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Since I have to be ready at any moment for a possible urinary accident, I choose to wear protection 24/7. This can get expensive and the diapers can be bulky under my pants. It took me a while to find a solution, and I thought I would share it in case it would help others.

Needs: full urinary protection, discretion, economy and convenience

What did not work: Pull-ups (leaky and have to remove pants to change); Hogh absorbency briefs (not discreet when full, get very heavy and hot after multiple wettings, expensive); cloth (obvious reasons);

What I Settled on:
First, i start with a cheap, thin tape on diaper (Attends Advanced, about $0.50 per brief).

Then I place an Amazon brand baby diaper (remove the elastic) inside the brief. The diaper is only $0.17 per each. They are crazy thin and hold a full void (if it doesn’t, the brief catches the spill over).

The baby diaper fits in my pocket without being bulky, so going into the restroom with a change is easy. Being able to throw away the diaper liner after a void means I don’t have to walk around with many voids in my diaper.

Night is easier. Tena Proskin Super brief gets me though and is only $0.55 per brief!

Briefs and cost per day:
1-2 Attend Advanced (about $0.50 to $1)
3-5 Amazon baby diapers (about $0.50 to $0.85)
1-2 Tena Proskin Super (about $0.50 to $1)

Total cost per day: $1.50 to $2.85

 

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Hey @JustAGuy;

Thanks for the tips man! Whatever works for you; and may help men and women who need added protection from leaks.

For myself I struggle with feeling infantalized due to my bladder condition - so I'd personally just probably go with the added boosters that Northshore Care provides. But luckily; my bladder surges and urges have been on and off - so thankfully I've not needed extra daytime protection unless I want to be cautious.

Using "Baby" diapers is something that may be well under recognized for older people in the continence community. I know there are caregivers out there who have mother's and fathers who are struggling who may hide them and I've even unfortunately heard sad stories of the elderly who dispose of them in closets, etc.

The stigma is what makes people like us feel alone. It's one of the reasons why I try so hard to get validation because it's one of those things that makes you feel your the only person on earth with bladder problems. But I come here and know I'm not alone; but in "real life" - it can get lonely.

But anyway - thank you for the recommendations. We need more people who are cost conscious as I am unfortunately going through a period of money issues myself - and we need advice like this on the message boards to assist those who need protection and need helpful ideas.

Once I'm back on my feet; I think I'm going to wearing a Northshore lite product for nightime for comfort and fit - and may end up using a pull on product for daytime (I hear good reviews on Northshore branded products; not depend).

Blessings In Christ,
Honeeecombs

 

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@Honeeecombs I get it about the “baby” thing. I tried using adult pads like the depend shields inside a brief, but the combo ended up being too thick for me. The baby diapers are crazy thin and 1/2 the cost so I can look past the lable.

Also, I have children, so the baby diapers are always available, lol.

 

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@JustAGuy I get the thing about the cost - back when my issues were much milder, I'd often use the largest DryNites/Goodnites size around the house and overnight (back when I'd get up to pee and have some leakage afterwards) and the amount it saved me was immense. Plus, weirdly, I found them much more absorbent and reliable than the Depends, which I found awful. They'd also make a useful booster when out and about.

In terms of cost, have you looked at a urinary sheath/condom catheter? I was hoping it would be the big solution I was looking for but it was far too fiddly with my neuro issues and I didn't like the idea of peeing into a bag all the time as I am able to make it to the toilet now and again if I'm lucky. Having said that, if you're able bodied then it may be a way to sufficiently cut down on cost.

I'm finding the Abena M4s with a booster are working well for me around the house. I think the sizing's a bit weird though as the mediums seem a fair bit too big for me. In terms of protection and bang for buckness, I do think BetterDry are the best but I tend to blow hot and cold on them and, given there's a recent thread on here about quality issues, I think they must have quality control issues.

 

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An additional cost saving measure is to use a cloth insert at home that can be rinsed after. I use microfiber car towels folded into thirds. You can get them from Costco.

Unfortunately my surges are too large and I would always leak past the baby diaper when I tried this method, rendering the main brief very damp and unable to last much longer than it normally would. That’s why I just use boosters and find the added bulk is not that noticeable.

 

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Let's see....Equate Assurance Incontinence Underwear at $.33 each....Equate Assurance Male Guard at $.13 each.....in a worst-case scenario if I use three underwears in 24 hours and six guards in 24 hours that's less than $2.00 per 24 hours.

 

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I am glad you found a cheap solution that works for you too, @lightninboy. I have never used the equate ones, but I have had too many leaks with underwear, and I like that infant diapers are thinner than shields.

Do you find a shield in underwear takes up a lot of rom, or gets uncomfortable against your ‘man parts?’

 

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It seems any absorbent part of disposable underwear will swell when it gets full and be more noticeable, but I don't have a job where a lot of people look at me closely and hopefully the ones who do would understand if they knew the situation.

When using a guard in the front of disposable underwear I have had a rash on my inner thigh at the end of the day a couple times but it was gone by morning.

 

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My typical diaper usage is two Depends Night Defense pull-up x $1/each = $2/night. If I wet much more than I currently do I would have to dip into some of the more serious brands I’ve read about here so often. But “fortunately“ I wake up after every time I wet a diaper (and I also wake up many more times per night to pee, without wetting the diaper, alas). The max I go through in one night is four diapers, so $4. I usually have a diaper leak through to my disposable bedpads ($0.40/each) about once every 10 days. But the way I set up my bed pads, instead of having to change six of them in the checkered pattern I set up, I usually only have to remove one of them from a leak, which is a relief. I probably only have a severe leak requiring a total change in bedding and bedpads once a month. Those are the nights I sleep really good when I don’t wake up at all to pee! Thank you, Ambien!

I used to pee a lot more when I had just fallen off the cliff and incurred Neurogenic Bladder. I guess it just settled into a pattern, fortunately. Initially, it felt outrageous and overwhelming - ney, terrifying!!! Oh yes, and then I also did PT and learned Kegel exercises, which were, and still are, a helpful remedy.

During the daytime, I have the best possible solution: I work remote from home for a company in another state! So nobody has any idea how often I use the restroom or wear a Depend!!! I don’t typically wear them outside of bedtime unless I go to something like a concert, movie, or a parade where I won’t be able to use the restroom for multiple hours, in which case I will wear either my Night Defense or a Depends Silhouette which has a thinner profile and feminine design and colors. Those cost probably $1.25 and I don’t have to wear them often. If I have an event like that I try to restrict my fluids for the entire day.

I consider myself lucky that I can get away with “just” Depends!!!!!

Sorry I haven’t had time to reply very often to our community here lately for the past few months, but know that my heart is with you as I work unending 18-22 hour days, seven days per week for the past nine months to produce for you who play video games, all the voice talent to the Activision Blizzard games. I’m finally getting game credits, yahoo! I would rather be getting motion picture film credits, but that’s what I’ll see to next in a few months.

I’m also moving from a combo of three housing/storage areas into a condo, so that’s been rather overwhelming and will continue to be so for several months.

Hugs to all! You’re in my heart and I think of you all, often. Keep up the good work so we can have this community and welcome in the newcomers

 

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@Snow, since you go so many times at night (4x$1), would you not be happier trading a little comfort for sleep and just wearing a super absorbant night diaper? I don’t think the most expensive diapers are more than $4 per night.