When did you transition from pads to…

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pull-ups or diapers?

I have BPH and have been wearing pads for a year. I’ve tried various medications for urges and leaking with little help. I’m definitely leaking more than a year ago but generally don’t soak my pads unless my OAB is on overdrive. I’ve had some leaks with OAB and have worn a pull-up until conditions improve.

I wear a pull-up at night, mostly because I’ve had accidents getting to the bathroom and the pad wasn’t enough.

That said, pads work for day time use 75% of the time. When did you say enough and just make the switch full time to pull-up or diapers. I definitely don’t need a tape on yet and I really don’t want to be in pull-ups all the time.
Thanks

 

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Unfortunately for me it wasn't a transition process. I went straight from having full control to having no sensory feeling or muscle control over my bladder after a head injury.

 

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It took a few wet pants at work for me to make the transition. At night I sleep on my side and pull ups just won't work

 

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I never used pads I went straight to diapers my leakage would not be contained with pads I have tried numerous different pullups with no success

 

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Like others my leaking required heavier protection and pull-ups just aren't that easy to change in a bathroom stall. At least with a tape on diaper I don't have to partially undress to change. During nights and my time off(unless I'm running errands) I recently started using cloth diapers to help reduce my consumption of disposable products.

 

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For the first 20 + years after a head injury, my problem was leakage, but with the occasional, unpredictable loss of bladder control. Believe it or not, a size 5 has on at least one occasion, held the contents of my bladder- it may have been that the volume I lost on that occasion wasn't as much as a normal void for me, I don't know. Many, many times, though, that same product hasn't been adequate protection, and after a while, I was no longer willing to play the odds, literally gambling with ruining a day while I was out and about, or at work. I had already worn adult sized tape on briefs on many occasions and never been outed or inconvenienced, so when things started to get worse, I realized that I knew what to do to prevent problems and upped the level of the protection I was wearing. I did try things like larger pads, the belted undergarments, pull-ups etc, but none of them was good enough. I didn't waste too much time looking around for something that would allow me to avoid wearing a diaper. This was all about 7 or 8 years ago, and I haven't had a truly dry day since then. The closest I've come to that, is when I am at home all day and manage to make it to the bathroom on time. That has happened twice. It's not really the same as having a dry day, but it's better than nothing, I guess. Sometimes, though, I have to remind myself that my life would have changed in HUGE and DRASTIC ways if I had refused to wear the level of protection I need; as well, when you stop to think about it, even considering the massive adjustment it is, most people are going to come to terms with it, if only so they can get on with life. I want to thrive, and having to wear glasses, or take certain medications, or even wear diapers can't be allowed to stop me from living as full a life as I want.

 

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I have used male gaurds. It seems like they was much more absorbant in the mid to late 90s than they are now. After several leaks and a few getting out of place and exiting down my pants leg I stopped using them much and never in public. Have used them with a pull on so that I could remove it to add more time for the pull up before changing. Seems like I ordered some large pads that was unisex design and tried several of those without much success in an attempt to reduce cost or easier to change without removing shoes or boots and pants, especially in a public bathroom.

 

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I started with small male gaurds in my underwear then larger shaped pads now I wear tena slip maxis most of the time.

 

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I started with small male gaurds in my underwear then larger shaped pads now I wear tena slip maxis most of the time.

I’ve tried the slips and like them very much. I would prefer over pull-ups but they are expensive and hard to get in the US.

 

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I recommend trying Depend pull-ups “Night Defense,” at any time of day. They’re a good stepping stone. People on here hate Depends but you’ll notice few have ever tried their “Night Defense” line.

My incontinence was immediate after falling down a cliff, so I didn’t necessarily go through a phase with pads. The womens’pads built to go in panties are a joke and would never handle more than a few drips. They don’t stay in place, either.

 

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I can tell you about my experience. It was not a transition for me, but I use both incontinence pads and diapers. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I suffer from urge incontinence and when things go wrong and there is no toilet, I lose almost all my bladder contents within half an hour. Fortunately, I can stop the flow - at least for a short time. So when I'm in the office or at home, I just use plain incontinence pads because they are enough to catch the maybe 160ml that comes before I can stop it

I personally find the incontinence pads, significantly better than diapers or pants because they are really easier to change, allow more air to the skin and are also cheaper.

Unfortunately, they are not enough for certain activities. When I'm out and about or doing sports outdoors, I wear diapers because they are much more reliable but can also absorb larger amounts - which is unfortunately necessary in this case. Of course, there are also incontinence pads that can absorb a large amount of liquid. However, I have not yet found one that works properly for me. The problem is that they often slip down the front when I'm moving and then leak out the front of the side.

Pants I have also tried but find them not really practical for me.

In principle, it doesn't matter if I use 3 incontinence pads or one pullup a day. However, there are times when I lose more, and then I have to change the pullup - which is quite complicated because you have to take off the pants to put on a new one. Now, of course, you could change for a diaper - but then I can't get that down fast enough the next time I make it to the bathroom.

Another point is that I find the incontinence pads simply more hygienic, because with the pullups I would have to stay in the wet pullup all day in the worst case or constantly undress to change. In the first case, this is not good for the skin and somewhat disgusting, in the second case it’s time-consuming and expensive.

And another tip for nights: if you wake up from the urge but can't make it to the toilet, try using a bed bottle. The trick is not to stand up but to turn on your side and use the bottle lying on your side. This is often enough to not let it go right away because the pressure ratio in the body remains the same.

 

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I didn't get the option to transition. I lost my bladder control pretty much immediately from an injury and the hospital sent me home weeks later in diapers and have been in them ever since. But, I'm still above ground so all is good.

 

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Even if I could get away with pads, I find pull ups more comfortable. And it's always better to have and not need rather than to need and not have.

 

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Bit of a weird one for me in that I was using nappies/diapers from the get-go due to my IBS although never when I was in public with people I knew, just for overnight, travelling and out and about by myself. I would wear pads during the day most of the time for after dribble but switched to pullups (Tena Men) when I found that pads weren't cutting it absorbency wise and the fact that I found that some drops tended to end up on my underwear meaning I'd still end up smelling and need to launder my trousers.

A combination of finding pullups awkward to change and growing more anxious about IBS issues caused me to switch to using a combination of pullups and the Tena Flex belted pads but started having issues with the velcro bits digging into my skin. Lockdown came and I just ended up using Tena Slips (cloth backed taped nappies/diapers) and the more heavy duty plastic-backed ones I was using for big IBS flare ups as I figured no one could see me and it was cheaper to just buy two products in bulk. The times I was out and about in the lockdown era for essential stuff got me used to being out in public in nappies and any anxiety about that greatly reduced when I figured no one could notice anything.

Then my issues worsened suddenly with the sudden onset of neurological issues as a result of Long Covid and I had no choice but to abandon pullups as they'd always leak. I also had to ditch the Tena Slips as they weren't absorbent enough. I've been in really heavy duty plastic-backed taped products for a year and a half now and have gotten used to it even if it is a real pain having to bring supplies with me everywhere.