www.incontinentsupport.org

You brought up some old memories, DDS, and most of them are best left forgotten! <grin>

First, let me say my prejudice against AB/DLs is that they take over and ruin incon forums, in spite of having any number of places, sites, where they can discuss their life style amongst themselves. Too many got their fun by infiltrating legit forums and that left us with no place to talk about the serious issues of getting on with our lives after incontinence struck...which meant, for the majority of us, a life depending on diapers in order to venture out in the world and to get a decent nights sleep in a dry bed.

In those dark days before the internet.... adult diapers were absolutely pathetic.

A cloth diaper generally was so thin you'd need a half dozen stacked together to gain any real absorbency. On the other end of the spectrum was an institutional all in one that was ridiculously bulky and uncomfortable with a stiff waterproof outer shell. So I settled for terry bath towels to diaper myself.

A disposable diaper for adults was so thin it was a joke. And no hourglass shape back in those days....One wetting and they'd leak.

Waterproof pants....first, they were hard to find. You had to visit a pharmacy or medical supply store and generally in the back room they'd have incontinence pants, mostly rubber pants early on, usually Bittner but later the waterproofed fabric came along....Kleinerts and Sanipants are two names, as I recall. And you had little choice, each store carried generally only one brand of protective pants....so you had to shop in a variety of pharmacies to see if you could find anything useful.

I used the Sears Roebuck catalog to mail order what was termed "invalid pants". They offered the best selection but as I recall, all were rubber pants in varying "styles" including bloomers (which incorporate short legs). That contributed to my support of rubber pants for protection since that's all there was that had adequate crotch width and depth to cover a cloth diaper and actually prevent leaks. Comfort was a whole different thing. Rubber pants chaffed between your legs, in spite of liberal use of talcum powder.

I welcomed the arrival of plastic pants only to be disappointed that they were modeled after cotton underwear....very skimpy and a narrow crotch!

Some of you will remember Lang plastic pants, sold by Edley Enterprises (now long gone) and for me, they were the introduction of realistic plastic pants for incon folks to wear over a cloth diaper. They were a 4 mil vinyl like baby pants of the day and had a cut resembling baby pants....imagine that! Which meant they worked pretty well fitting over a cloth diaper and were far more comfortable for walking, than rubber pants, as the vinyl has some slip to it that rubber lacks.

Around this time, I was still perusing pharmacies always looking for something better....and Mark Clark arrived on the scene, and long gone now, of course, but they introduced a heavy, milky white vinyl and soft bound leg and waist openings. Later, Comco would provide this style of plastic pants. M/C did not offer baby pants; they started their line at 4-5 yo children and had sizes up thru adult XL. The crotch width was not great but the pants were pretty comfortable with a light weight diaper.

This gets us to about the time of the internet and the pressure by the AB/DL crowd....who outnumber us incons by a great deal, resulting in the arrival of good plastic pants. Gary was my first recollection of someone offering plastic pants meant to go over diapers...they had forward facing leg holes and a wide crotch, basic necessities for waterproof pants.

While we are on memory lane, the first decent cloth diapers in my memory were Angel Fluff and they are still around. Back then it was all flannel diapers, today they have them all...including gauze.

And the rest, as they say, is history. The proliferation of good cloth diapers and plastic pants was driven by the needs and buying power of the AB/DL crowd, so I have to give them their due. I can not imagine having to go back to what I had to use in the sixties!

JoeK

WOW JOE
I forgot about allot of that stuff names etc. But I do remember the leaky diapers I was always the disposable wearier I remember all to well the 70's pampers with out the elastic Then the adult diapers fashioned after the Pampers The old institutional rubber/plastic pants. You have me by a few years Joe. I was in my later teens in the 80's when as I remember seeing adult size diapers with elastic around the legs. I'm thinking it must have been Attends? I remember how bulky they were and the noise when you'd walk around Back then most of the time I could get away with pads during the day as long as I could find a rest room fairly easy. So I didn't need to suffer through the of those big noisy bulky diapers during the day But there was times I did during the day But like you I'm sure, you knew how to dress for it.

Yep people today that are just entering into the incontinence world have no idea how good they have it. Wouldn't it had been great back in the 70's to have what we have today .....................Sandy

Joe, I doubt the ab/dl crowd outnumber us at all in fact I would say we outnumber them a 1000 to one. we just don't speaak up. Papa

You've got a good point, Papa! I know we have many incons who suffer in silence while the AB/DL is extremely vocal......

JoeK

You have to wonder what the ratio is between us and them? I mean there is a huge effort to make products to suit the AB/DL crowd. Granted you don't find them in normal stores. But I have heard people say they have seen items in "adult stores" I've never been in any of these myself to know this for fact. But when you consider the amount of stuff that leans to the fetish crowd there has to be a significant market out there. According to a shrink I saw a few years ago on a talk show. She said the AB/DL thing was much more common then you'd think But many keep it behind close doors and never come out about it. I read somewhere online that the percentage of women into it is much higher then what the general perception is. Which would kind of make sense since in our world the amount of women who suffer from incontinence far out weighs the men. But yet on these boards I'm often the only female around? The thought is women tend to be to shy. As where men are much bolder. The same may hold true in the AB/DL realm.

My two cents and some change.....................Sandy

I always see these stores along the interstates and have wondered if they had a small supply of adult diapers/plastic pants. Any AB/DL should know the selection would be a lot broader on line, but I believe some people get a real "rush" or "thrill" buying these in person and actually looking/holding them.
I've read a long time ago that females don't have a "true" fetish for items such as this. I'm really not an expert at all, but I think most women if not all who are a diaper lover or an adult baby do it for choice. Males get sexual gratification with a fetish. Do females get this too?
I'm talking way over my head, but that's the way I tend to think. ....Paul Martin

Papa,
     My husband served two tours in Iraq and is only 28 years old.  He was there in 2003 and again from 11/2004 to 12/2005.  While he was over there his infantry unit escorted convoys and spent a lot of time on the road.  He's said that they often had to hold it for hours because they were not in a safe place to stop.  If it matters, he had the full cycle of the anthrax vaccine and three boosters.  He was also exposed to depleted uranium and God knows what else while in Iraq.  He HAS been diagnosed with PTSD but he also suffered a minor TBI (traumatic brain injury).  
 
Respectfully,
     Vicky Wells

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Vicky Wells

Hi Vicky.

I can fully, more than most sympathise with your husband. I am 29 years old, Ex military as of 2008 and have served several tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. There are things there no mind should ever have to deal with, just like all wars. My heart to you both, I know the burdens your husband will carry for life.

I was made incontinent whilst serving, not at war (irony) but by an accident with an aircraft battery back on base. They are awkward and weigh 88lbs. I had changed them almost daily for 3 years before I picked up my last one.

I loved and still miss every day the military, I wish with all my heart I could be back in...

Vicky, tell your husband to pm me sometime if he wants to chat.

Charlie P, 
     Hey, well thank you for your support and your military service.  My husband has an appointment scheduled at the VA at the end of the month and on the 12th with our private insurance to hedge our bets.  I'm worried, and waiting for an answer stinks!!!
        Vicky

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Vicky Wells