OAB & Dribbling - Pull-Ups vs Tabs

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Hi everyone!

I've been lurking here for sometime but wanted to get everyone's thoughts. I'm a male, in my mid 40s, who has been dealing with post voiding dribbling and OAB. I'm under treatment and have been prescribed oxybutynin but still wear protective underwear (i.e., adult pull-ups) daily. They are mostly to catch leaks though I sometimes have urgency issues. I can usually get by with 1 (or 2) per day.

However, some days are worse than others and at times I need to change while at work. As most of you probably know, that's where the pull-ups get annoying. I work in an office and I hate having to take off my shoes and dress clothes in a public restroom.

So I've been thinking about using the tabbed briefs, which would definitely solve the issue above. But at the same time it seems like overkill. Does anyone know of some good refastenable briefs? I'm talking about ones were I could undo them when I can make it time but then could refasten them so they are tight afterwards in case I need them later. I did buy one bag of tabbed briefs that said they were refastenable, but they don't retighten more than once. I tried them on Monday and while I didn't need to deal with public changing, I was more self-conscious and made less of an effort to manage my symptoms.


I'm probably thinking too much about all this, which I tend to do with pretty much anything. And I know it's a little long-winded, which is also par for the course. But does anyone have any thoughts? It feels like a "six of one and half dozen of another" issue; i.e., each option has pros and cons I'll need to deal with. But I really don't have anyone to talk to about this and everyone here has (A) dealt with these issues (or even worse) and (B) seems really kind. Maybe the post itself was self-therapy. I don't know.

The whole situation is frustrating and isolating and I was hoping other had thoughts. Thanks in advance.

 

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Just wanted to share some input- I bet money Northshore has some products that would work well for you. I spent half a year being a car porter and had to use Abena M4s but they aren't very reusable. If I recall correctly Northshore has the MegaMax brand that works really well.

I found it easy to lean against the wall in the bathroom and do a quick change but we had a single person bathroom at the dealership(not many women worked there). I'd mention the specifics of your issue to Northshore and I'm pretty sure they have re-tab-able ones. I hated how I wasn't able to take the M4s off until they flooded because they couldn't be put back on. Hope this helps! You can send me a message if you want to talk more about it, but I know Northshore has really great customer service and can probably get you what you are looking for. I stopped using them because my issues got better and I am luckily able to just use about 2 store bought pullups now.

 

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I'll 2nd the Northshore suggestion. They have a brief that tabs and is slim, made for daytime. Can't remember the actual name, I think it's their own line. Give their website a look.

 

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I wear tabs diaper, better dry or dry 24/7, I do not place the tabs too tight because if i want to go for number 2 i can down and up my diaper like an underwear, easy without remove the tapes, this is what i do

 

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Hi @Manco80, and welcome to this forum! I think a lot of people "lurk" here to decide if this will be a help to them or not but it's good you've introduced yourself.
My protection of choice would be the pull-ups as they work well for me and I see no reason to wear anything else, at least for now. But seeing as how you work in an office, presumably a regular 8-hour shift, and that restroom facilities in such a setting aren't conducive to changing pull-ups then if I were you, I would consider the tabbed type of briefs. It would be much more convenient than taking off shoes and business type clothing every time you needed to change, plus the big fact is it wouldn't take up all that much time and you can get back to business more quickly!!
You have already seen that North Shore, out of Chicago, gets some votes here. They do have a big variety of protective undergarments in any style you want. In fact I think they specialize almost solely in incontinence wear. So Google them and find out more. Talk to them and tell them just what you're looking for and they should be able to accommodate you. As in one of the posts "upstairs" here they do have briefs suitable for daytime wear and would most likely be pretty discreet. Ask them for a sample, or you could go "whole hog" right off the bat and have them send out a pack of them!
I can understand why you say this is isolating but since all North Shore does is incontinence goods then you definitely know that you aren't the only one with these issues!
I hope that helps and do let us know what you think of them!!

 

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Yes North shore are place to go for Diapers. I to wear the mega max Diapers from there,they do have lite diaper called North shore lite i think. Check out North shore Diapers web site and look unde tape tabs diaper. I hope this helps

 

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You might want to check out MDP4men.com. My husband has post void drip and these have been a perfect solution for him. We order them on Amazon.

 

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I have used guards with the pullup in some situations. In some cases i can start the day with pullup and a guard or pad. Then i can remove the pad when needed and still have the pullup for the rest of the day, or at least until
I got home. I also have carried a few extra guards/pads in my pockets and had more stashed aways in the area if needed. I also cant stand to have to take off shoes and pants in a public barhroom.

 

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When it comes to tab type diapers there are basically three types of tab closures.
One is a velcro type tabs which is generally used on cloth-like (outer sheet) disposable diapers. They say they are refastenable but in my experience you can only get one additional fastening and even them they tend not to hold too well.
A second type is a second-chance double tape tab which is generally used on plastic shell diapers. You fasten the diaper initially with the bottom (usually blue) tape tab and to unfasten you pull the "top" tape tab off of the lower one and can use it to refasten the diaper. Again it's usually just good for one refastening as trying to remove the tape again will often tear the outer plastic shell of the diaper.
The third is a single very strong tape tab that fastens onto a very thick/strong front plastic panel. Unlike the second type it can be refastened multiple times, easily two or more. The diaper that comes to mind is the excellent Northshore Mega Max diaper. But beware this is a super premium thick diaper and is not always discreet enough for some. There are some other diapers in this same category but they tend to have childlike prints on them which are generally intended for the adult baby fetish group and they are usually very expensive.
I also agree with a poster above that if you don't tape up your diaper too tightly you can just pull it down like regular underwear and pull it back into place with just a bit of repositioning. I've done this a lot of times and it works better than you would think.

 

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I’m going to be honest with you. There really are no refastenable diapers. You may get away with doing it once but that’s it. It’s possible that the Northshore supreme lite may work for you. I don’t think you need anything as extreme as the MegaMax though. I personally wear the MegaMax but I have full multiple voids throughout the day and rarely make it to a toilet. If I have a bowel movement I can usually get away with pulling the diaper down and back up. But only once. After that it tends to leak. Definitely check out Northshore.

 

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justej: Not to be contrary but I've been able to refasten a Mega Max multiple times. Nonetheless as you said I too find it easier to just pull it down when needed and then back up. Obviously I haven't tried every diaper out there but its the only one I've found to be securely refastenable multiple times.

 

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Everyone:

Thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate them because today was one of the frustrating days. You all have given me some great ideas that I will try along with some really good information. I didn't understand all the variations on briefs and didn't realize that you could tape a brief looser to where you can get it up and down yet it still remains effective. When I tried the briefs out on Monday, I was using a tranquility ATN.

I think I also felt a little self-conscious that I was considering (and for 1 day did) "upgrade" to a brief at work mostly because of the changing issue. I honestly felt like I was crazy (lol). I'm also going to try adding the guard or booster to the underwear.

Finally, I checked out Northshore's website and the Lite (6hrs) do look like a good option. So do the regular ones (8hrs). The megamax looks far beyond what I need, but I do appreciate the information. Thanks again everyone...so very much!

 

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You're most welcome! And do go with the Northshore Lite and see what happens!! If it doesn't quite do the trick there are other options and everyone here would be most happy to help!!!
Remember, we are open here 24/7 and there is usually someone around who will talk to you!!!

 

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Manco, at one point I was sent some Tena Active Fit which are kind of in between a tape diaper and a pull-up. They were FANTASTIC! Except I couldn’t use them much as they wouldn’t hold a full void, which my bladder is infamous for… Very light feeling, cloth backed with fully refastenable Velcro side tabs. Highly recommend, especially in warm weather.
If only they’d work for me!

 

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@Padded53 I think because of its landing zones it’s probably why you’re able to refasten. I haven’t tried much to do that but even so it’s probably overkill for the op’s needs. I’ll have to try tomorrow to refasten the MegaMax. I normally don’t have the need except to have a bowel movement

 

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@Manco80 Prior to my issues getting worse due to Long Covid I was mainly dealing with the same issues you are (with added IBS) and I ended up going for taped briefs/nappies.

I started with the guards and found that it was a pretty small catchment area so would still get damp spots so switched to pull ups. Found pull ups awkward to change when out and about so switched to the standard taped nappy. I also wondered if it was overkill but found that the wetness indicator would still get set off after a few hours. I think after dribble is deceptive in that whilst it seems like only a small amount and so gets wicked away quickly, it does add up as the day goes on. Curiously I did see a site recommending high capacity taped products for after dribble due to this build up even though I suppose one’s first intuition is to use something more like a guard or pull up.

I found that the cloth backed Tena worked well for me as the hook and loop tapes mean it’s easy to unfasten/refasten when you need to use the toilet. It took some getting used to being in a full blown incontinence product but it also saved me money in the long run as I could just bulk order one product rather than a mixture.

Nowadays it’s a very different story incontinence wise for me so don’t use the clothed backed Tena anymore.

 

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I Would opt for a tabbed diaper and have heard really good reviews of the incontrol hybrid elite diapers which have Velcro fasteners and could be adjusted multiple times. Also a tabbed brief can be pulled down and up like a pair of underwear to facilitate using a toilet normally. The brief would have the added protection that you could void into should you not be able to reach a toilet in time if you were outdoors.

 

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@Manco80

Which pullups are you currently using? Depends?

I know that you probably do not need heavy bullet proof protection.

The using of a pad in a pull-up helps a lot. I also have worn 3 depend pullups at once, then as the day progressed removed the inner most (soiled) depend.

I also wear boxer briefs to add support while the depend pullup fills.

This provides a balance between being dry and cost.

Depends are not made for heavy duty or for staying wet for a few hours.

 

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Maybe it’s just me but I totally failed at refastening a MegaMax.

 

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Was that the first time that happened @justej? Maybe there was some powder or lotion on the tabs. That doesn't really do wonders for refastening, or maybe you were just in an awkward position when that happened. It happens to everybody at one time or another.