www.incontinentsupport.org

Hi all,
If you had rare nocturnal enuresis episodes like I've previously mentioned, would you bring diapers for night use if you were traveling, use bedpads only, or something else? The wife and I are heading to Paris the day after Christmas for our 1st trip off the continent. I haven't had any accidents since July although waking up once each night, needing to go, is fairly routine now unfortunately.
Update to this posting: I just saw another post about alarms. Maybe an alarm plus a bedpad would be sufficient. Can someone with an alarm sleep comfortably on their stomach?
Lastly, Just because I'm not wetting often doesn't mean i have confidence, especially when sleeping on the couch.


G

G, for many years when my bedwetting was moderate and infrequent, I just had a rubber sheet, then a waterproof mattress cover for home use, and I washed sheets. I think you have a good to excellent chance of wetting the bed during your trip, since a change in a person's normal routine (i.e., travel) can trigger bedwetting episodes in people who have a bedwetting history. I would research the availability of disposable pull-ups and bed pads in Paris, and also pack a few of each, just in case there's a glitch in buying them locally.

Wetters

Back in my early 20's, I only ever wet the bed rarely (once or twice a year), but I drenched a hotel bed on a professional development trip. Long flight, too much water at dinner, and general exhaustion contributed.

I think wetter has a good idea use pull ups, my though is why take the chance.

I wet a hotel bed twice in my lifetime - both times in the late 1970s when I was in my late 20s. I didn't give management a heads-up beforehand, nor did I turn myself in afterwards (I had read somewhere that hotel mattresses were encased in plastic). I allowed the wet spot to dry as thoroughly as possible, left a note for housekeeping advising them that I'd had a wet night and apologizing for the inconvenience, and left a generous in-room cash tip. I never heard anything about it either time, so I'm guessing that housekeeping didn't out me.

Wetters

Not all hotels protect the bed properly and many mattress protectors will not absorb a full bladder void. One incontinent posted a while back that he was charged $600 for the hotel mattress after a massive leak.

None of us wet the bed on purpose. Mlhr is right - why take the chance? At least wear some protection and put disposable absorbent pads under the sheet.

--John

Take a few washable waterproof pads with you if you can the bigger the better also tell the hotel,you have an issue and ask for a full mattress protector. Most hotels have them on standby or have rooms with them already installed

Thank you to everyone for the advice. An interesting thing for me to think about is that the French apparently eat much later in the evening than we do here in the U.S. and a fair # of restaurants don't open until 6-7 pm and it is normal to drink wine and stay 2-3 hours. I want to experience life as a French person would and so want to do the same as they. Wine is one of those things that tend to make me urinate in the middle of the night.

G

If you're sleeping as a guest on the couch in a friend's house, wearing high-capacity protection becomes a priority. Doubly so if you're eating French food on French time, and drinking French wine. Although I envy you your opportunity to live in France, managing your incontinence under these circumstances must be stressful. Good luck and report back, especially about the availability of supplies in France.

We're leaving for Paris in 2 weeks and I recently made a serious change to my diet in preparation for the trip; no more caffeine. I have been off caffeine completely now for one week and the effect on night bathroom issues has been remarkable. I no longer am waking up to use the bathroom! I am still taking Pygeum every day, my urine stream is strong, and I'm not dribbling.

If things stay this way for the next 2 weeks then I won't be needing to bring protection.

G