www.incontinentsupport.org

I went through the dehydration thing while limiting my fluid intake. My doctor pleaded with me not to severely limit my fluid intake as dehydration can be a very serious medical problem. I still try to limit my fluids say after 7pm so I am able to make it through the night with one double diaper but for the most part I do not limit my fluid intake during the day. I have been drinking lots of water the past couple of months due to the hotter than normal summer we have been having. While at work I am usually close to a restroom and I try to use it about once an hour. I do not feel the urge nor can I control the flow so I still end up wet by the end of the workday. When I use the restroom it can take me several minutes just to get a flow going and it seems I can never totally empty my bladder. Luckily I seldom wet a large amount during the day. Most of the time it is small amounts of urine and I am able to make it without a change until I get home. However there are those days when I am either on the road or not able to access a restroom on a regular basis or just having a wetter than normal day. For these days I carry an extra diaper or two in my truck.

To Kendall,

At 175 lbs, if you are not drinking 50-60 oz of liquid (mostly water) everyday you are dehydrated. At that rate you will be lucky not to have other health related issues. Please double what you are drinking now. Your output will be more for a few days then your body will adjust and regulate your water balance correctly. Right now your body is going through the equivalent of water starvation and survival.

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When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.

I don’t know which post you read about restricting fluids but that is something I do when I am in places that I find hard to change or I know I will be around lots of people. No this isn’t good for our bodies. My body always reminds me later that I shouldn’t have done it but this is the only way I know to survie when I am out and about and afraid of changing in public. When I do this, I then a lot of the times try to make up for this during the weekend when I am home. During the weekend, I will drink more and yes my bladder does at first just empties right away because it’s not use to having that much there. During this time, I have gone through up to 5 Abena XPlus or Secure XPlus, or Providers Choice diapers in a 24hr period. My choices of fluids and food also affect my bladder. So again when I know I will be home are the time that I will eat spicy foods and drink soda.

As for parents treating kids the way they do because of bladder problems is something I wish would change. I personally think though that things have gotten better over the years especially now with all the different types of diapers out there for all ages of kids and that they are starting to really advertise this on T.V.

Kent

Hi all, Im a long time member and first time poster, and this is something that I felt I should jump in on. Up untill a few months ago I was able to mostly manage my issues with disposable underwear, then I changed jobs(went from retail to long haul truck driving) and everything changed.
Now I love to always be drinking something, but without constant access to a restroom there was no way I could do this, and there was no way I was going to start using a full blown diaper. So I restricted fluids, and things became much worse, my urges became more frequent and stronger. And what I thought was going to be the ultimate problem solver became the ultimate problem. So I finally swallowed my pride, grabbed a bottle of water and some heavier protection and moved on with my life.
Sorry for such a long post, and may every one have a safe day.

M,M & M,
Glad you finally posted a message on the Board! You're right about trying to restrict fluids. It will most likely make the problem worse. Drinking plenty of water each day has a lot of helpfull benefits. One being keeping your bladder in good helth. Hopefully, you can still get by with minimal protection. Good Luck! ......Paul Martin

Sadly my husband goes back and forth with keeping his hydration vs trying to spend time away from the restroom too. I wish there was an easy answer but hopefully my husband will get an answer next month from his doctor. Good luck, and I'll keep you in my prayers.

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Vicky Wells

Personally i think the question 'diapers or dehydration' really, for me, is 'healthy or unhealthy'

i think everyone tries to restrict their intake when the incon first happens, but i have learned it is a bad idea. when i get sick, which unfortunately is quite often,i forget to drink fluids, and they always affect me by giving me 'UTI'S' 'Bladder infections and also kidney infections, which since my transplant, are very difficult to get rid of. also it seriously affects my Gamma GT's which is a test to see how the liver is functioning, the last time i had it tested when i was sick and not drinking fluids it was 79, it should be down around 22. my Biliruben would be seriously raised as well.

so diapers or dehydration? DEFINATELY diapers everytime! even though i used to hate the wearng of diapers, something which i have been working on accepting.. still aways to go..

Mike

This is one I have battled with for a long time, and still do. I have such a set schedule during the week with work, that I know exactly how much I have taken in and when I am going to need to "put out" so to speak. Normally I have 2-3 cups of fluid during the day. I also follow a set schedule to go to the bathroom, especially before breaks, and leaving work ALWAYS. When I get home, I make up for it as much as possible. That is dufficult sometimes too as you never know what is coming at you for unexpected outings that you never anticipated, which terrifies me to this day to the point of having a decent size list of "excuses" to not go where ever I am being offered. I am sure some people have noticed my denial of "let's go out" requests, as no one knows I am diapered when I go out, and am not about to share it with them either. Restricting for me has greatly improved, Tena Supers do the job covering outings fairly well, and I am rarely out long enough to worry about changing anywhere but at home. I feel much healthier having more fluids in me then I did when I drank almost none, thinging it would help my issue, but that only amplifies the symptoms and urgency to a much higher level. DRINK, DRINK, DRINK! Just have good protection, and don't worry about it, you will feel better in the long run.

Puff

I don't ever restrict fluids. I drink like I should all day long. I generally don't worry about wetting myself. For the most part, I wear Abena Xplus during the day. These diapers will hold alot. I have to drink so much due to a medication I take. Its one of my bipolar meds called Lithium. If I don't drink, my kidneys will shut down. So I have no choice. Wetting myself just comes with the territory.