www.incontinentsupport.org

Hey, guys. Next week, I am going to look at different websites that sell diapers and try to get some different samples, but until then, I am in need of some advice about a good diaper for nighttime use. Luckily, the vast majority of my incontinence is limited to daytime (for some odd reason), and rarely at night. However, it seems that maybe once every week, to two weeks, my brain doesn't wake me up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. Instead, I just urinate while I am sleeping. Can someone please suggest the most leak-proof pullup they have used? The Depend Real Fit I use have no sort of leg cuffs to prevent nighttime leaks, so those are not totally effective. For now, preferably a pullup is preferred, but other suggestions are OK, too. Thanks.

urgeoab76: I have exactly the same nighttime problems as you describe. To handle it I use a premium quality pull-up like the Abena Abri-Flex, Molicare Mobile, or Northshore Go Supreme and add a folded cotton cloth tucked inside the raised leak guards. The cloth I use is a Walmart "Flour Sack Cloth" (5 for $5) that I fold in half three or four times. It adds a huge amount of capacity, absorbs floods very quickly, and then distributes it to the pull-up. One word of advice here, make sure to tuck the diaper gathers snuggly against where your legs meet your body, this is critical! In addition I wear a Gary PUL (Poly Urethane Laminate) plastic pant over that just to be sure of no leaks. The plastic pant may well be overkill (in your case?) but it does give peace of mind. The really great thing about this combo is that it allows me to just pull everything down and use the toilet normally in the instances that I do wake up.

Just a note here concerning the PUL pant... Get at least one size larger, and in my opinion two sizes larger than you think you need. Although the PUL pant will appear quite puffy and overly large once on it allows much greater coverage, especially if you move around in your sleep. Note that the PUL pant isn't really designed to hold standing liquids (although it will to a great extent) but actually to keep moisture from wicking to outside surfaces like your sheets or clothing. If you want to "disguise" the diaper/PUL pant a bit just a add a t-shirt for around-the-house wear or for bedtime. Yeah, you'll still be able to see the lower portion of the pant but at least it doesn't look like a diaper.

Those North Shore Go Supreme look pretty good, but their sizing is odd for ME. I think my waist size is a 40, and the Medium ranges from 30-40 which would obviously put that at the extreme end of its size, and I don't know if it would be too tight or not. While the Large certainly fits within the range of my size (36-48), I just wonder if that would be too baggy and affect the leg cuff fitting (I mean, if the cuffs would be a little larger and allowing leaks)? This would be the perfect reason to ask for a sample of these, but I don't see anywhere on the North Shore website that says they offer samples. I do plan on buying the North Shore XL booster pads, though. They are actually wider than the Tena Guards I use. I wish the Tena Guards were a little wider, but they are only 7 inches wide, or so. These North Shore XL booster pads are 10 inches and also have an adhesive backing. I was originally going to go with the Tranquility Original Contours, but they have no adhesive backing. Better to be safe than sorry, but I don't what the pad to shift and show! Lol.

I am a 40 waist and I use the Large size from Northshore. They fit me very nicely.

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- Tom

Wet Dad: Thanks, good to know. How do they look under clothing? I am wearing shorts for summertime, and these Depend Real Fit absolutely do not show, even with a Tena Guard inside. Just wondering if the North Shore would be obvious or not, though this would probably be primarily used at night while sleeping, if they don't show too much, I might switch.

You might consider building an inventory of washables and plastic pants. Although there is a seep initial expense, and frequent laundry, for me, they do offer better nighttime protection.

The premium pull-ups will definitely come up a good bit higher on your waist than the Depends or Tena (Striped) pull-ups. While it's easy to fold the upper portion of the pull-ups down there won't be a "waistband" like the Depends/Tena. As for "showing", well they are a good bit thicker than the Depends/Tena but I think the only real potential for showing is in the lower rear area if you are wearing pants that are a bit tight in that area. I live in Florida and wear shorts most of the time and my Wife has never mentioned that my protection was showing.

Regarding sizing, in general you will want to choose on the large side rather than on the smaller side when you are in-between size ranges. If your protection is too tight it can cause leaks and note that the larger size will have a good bit more absorbent material which is generally a good thing and helps avoid leaks. Unfortunately sizing between the various brands and types of protection varies widely, so it is often a good idea to ask about the fit here on this forum or you can (usually) talk to or chat with someone online where you are making your purchase. I know Northshore has this feature and they also have a place on their order form where you can request a few samples.

When it comes to booster pads one thing to watch out for is not to get ones that are too wide and will interfere with the leak guards. I use Guards and boosters fairly often and haven't had a problem with the ones without an adhesive strip shifting.

Finally, when it comes to using protection it tends to be a very personal thing and what works great for one person might not work at all for another as there are so many variables involved. Unfortunately a lot of this comes down to trial and error testing to finally figure out what works best for you but hopefully the advice on this forum will help reduces the "errors".

For me Betterdry diapers have worked the best I have had fewer leaks then any other diaper I have tried (im a side sleeper).

I'm rarely a side sleeper, but sometimes I am. I just looked at the BetterDry and they certainly hold enough. As long as the leak guards work well, those look like a winner. They aren't cheap, but since I rarely have nighttime accidents, that wouldn't be a big deal. Hopefully I won't for a long time, lol. I just did a search for an "assembled" Better Dry on Bing to see if I could find a picture of the leak guards. I found one, and those leak guards look like they would be quite effective.

urgeoab76:
If you are looking to wear a premium tape-up diaper for nighttime you probably can't beat the BetterDry. It has the highest leak guards of any diaper and probably one of the largest capacities. Definitely one of the best choices for nighttime.

If you are still interested in trying a premium pull-up I personally like the Northshore Go Supreme (they run a bit on the small size) or next the Molicare Mobile. However be aware that generally no pull-up will hold a full flood if you are sleeping on your side and that's why I add the cotton pad inside and the PUL pants.

BTW... Northshore does indeed have a place to add a request for samples. It's at the very end of the online ordering process, you just can't go wrong with Northshore.