www.incontinentsupport.org

I am getting ready for cardiac surgery in another six weeks. Aside from the preliminary tests and scheduling to get ready, my family have decided that my inventory of washable diapers will not suffice for my recovery; they want me to order disposables to last eight to ten weeks following my hospitalization. I do use disposables for brief periods of time now; however, the array of disposables I'll need to use is frustrating.

I welcome all the advice disposables users here have to offer.

Hi Patrick.
Im sorry to hear of your upcoming heart surgery. Will you have a caregiver during recovery? If you have someone to help with changes you can probably get away with tranquility atn. If changes are more difficult and cannot happen as often you will want to go with something like the MegaMax. Thats what I am wearing these days. On days I require help from my aide and am bedbound I use the atns. I lay on a disposable chux.

I hope your surgery is successful and let us know how you are doing.

- elijah

Thank you for your advice.

Whether I will need or receive an outside aide during my recovery has not been decided. I can envision all sorts of scenarios involving aides. I am curious what my surgeons and physical/occupational therapists will recommend. Again, thank you for your advice. The array of disposables for adults is so large that I am confused about what works and what does not. I will be eager to resume using washables when I get permission.

Patrick,

My daily go-to diaper is the Better Dry L10 from LL Medico or XM Medical. It has an ISO absorbency of 5,128 ml in size Large. This diaper uses adhesive tabs. Purchased by the case the cost per diaper is about $1.85, making it a better value than its competitors.

The Northshore Care Supreme is a good competitor, but pricier.

If you want more absorbency for nights, the Northshore Care MegaMax with an ISO absorbency of 6,500 ml costs about $2.99 ea, purchased by the case. This diaper uses a front plastic taping panel for easier untaping and retaping.

The Incontrol Elite Hybrid diaper from Rear is a white plastic shell diaper with an ISO capacity of 5,345ml in size Large. It has mechanical hook and loop tapes and a front panel. Price is about $2.16 ea, purchased by the case.

As I am double incontinent, all the above have tall internal standing leak guards.

--John

Patrick,
Given your situation with the sphincterotomy I would not personally use ATNs. They are decent but are at best a midrange brief. I'm guessing your voids are small and frequent. Since you don't flood, you don't need to worry about acquisition rate. Megamax is a bit pricey. I would suggest Better Dry or Beyond XP 5000. Both have a wide crotch, tall leak guards and ample padding which is crucial to contain bowel movements. Tranquility ATN is a decent choice if you are on a budget, change often and don't mind smaller tape tabs.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your recovery.

_________________
"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

Patrick:
I hope I'm not being Capt. Obvious here but the only advice is can give is to be careful when using the super premium disposables (as mentioned above) in that you can have skin irritation issues long before the diaper reaches it's stated (massive!) capacity.

Thank you all for your advice. It will considerably shorten the time for my search. As for skin irritation, it is a real concern for me, which makes your wisdom especially useful. I thought I had dealt successfully with incontinence. However, being a cardiac invalid is a new ball game in a different league for me. Cardiologists have been keeping track of me for decades; only now have they decided the time has come for surgery.

Again, thank you for your wisdom and advice.

Hope your surgery goes well Patrick! And quick healing.

I recently had an angiogram and a stent put in. That's a walk in the park compared to what I perceive you will be enduring.