www.incontinentsupport.org

It's really weird, I know I have these big trips with unusual situations coming up but I guess because I'm now so comfortable with my IC and protection on a day-to-day basis i really don't give it a second thought. Well, I just just realized that I've got a big trip to the Indy 500 coming up tomorrow with a couple of friends. Attending the Indy 500 has been a Bucket List item with me so I'm really stoked to go but I just realized that some of the guys I'm going with don't know about my issues and the accommodations are going to be, to say the least tight, since we are a group staying with a friend in a communal room. So all of a sudden I realize that while a few of them know my situation several do not, hence the challenge. I think I'm just going to go with super premium diapers to minimize changes. It will be great for the long drives and the race itself but it's still going to be a bit difficult to keep my diapers secret from the group during the entire trip. Guess we'll see how this goes and as I said, always a challenge! I think I've got figured out but I'll let you know how it all goes.

Good luck on your trip. I know the feeling very well. My anxiety level tends to rise whenever I venture too far. I just got back from a 3 day trip to Prague along with an 8 day trip down the Danube River from Nuremberg to Budapest. I did not have any problems at all. The hardest part was the extra large duffle bag that I carried my diapers in. I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do, but I divulged my incontinence issues with my fellow travelers. They were very supportive. They all knew of my prostate cancer surgery, so that may have helped with their acceptance. As for the rest of the people on the boat, the only one that was aware of my issue was the attendant that cleaned the room each day and disposed of the trash. Have a great time at Indy.

Have a great time on your trip, and enjoy yourself. If the issue presents itself, 'fess up to it and move on. They will see this as "no big deal", the same as you do. Like most of us, you may be overthinking this.

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- Tom

Good luck, enjoy the trip and visit the Indianapolis Zoo while you're in town! I have fond memories visiting that as a kid!

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When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

Marcus Aurelius

Padded53,

I'm not sure I understand the details of your accommodations other than sharing a "communal room". I would interpret that to mean you are sharing a one room with more than two people besides yourself and everyone will be sharing one bathroom for at least one night, possibly more. I'm guessing these are the accommodations, or close to it.

If "some" of the people you're sharing the room with are knowledge of your "IC" (I assume that means incontinence), I think I would disclose your disability with others you will be sharing the room with. I can't think of any discrete way that you can share a room (hotel room, or other) and enter a shared bathroom and somehow hide the diaper, or item used to hide the diaper in and not be noticed by others as you enter, and exit the bathroom. Even if you could somehow hide the fresh diaper you are entering the bathroom with, how do you plan to hide the diaper you are disposing?

For reasons mentioned, I think I would fess up and tell those you are sharing the room with about your disability. If humor presents itself, I would offer anyone interested one of your diapers to wear the day of the race (tomorrow). I'm certain there will be very long line of people waiting to use the bathroom at the race track.

I enjoy auto racing (NASCAR, & Indy cars), and would thoroughly enjoy watching the race from your seat. The best I can do is watch the race from my Lazy-Boy chair,.....do you want to trade? I wish I had your problem.

Enjoy.

I hope you enjoy the 500 race.
Make sure that you drink a LOT of water, they are saying that it will be 93 degrees out.
Also make sure that you have sun screen on, you don't want to get burned.

I have been going to the 500 for many years. I actually only live about 5 miles from it.
I have a medium size back-pack that I take that has my supplies in it and extra diapers.
There are MANY bathrooms scattered around the track and most of them are clean.
I just pop in one of them and if it is busy (or someone didnt flush the stupid toilet) then there are other bathrooms not far away.
A lot of them have handicap stalls and they are a lot easier to change in.

The main thing to do is get there early and have a great time.

Schoppy

Schoppy,

I'll trade places with you tomorrow if you want to watch the race from my Lazy-Boy chair?

Now I'm jealous. Everybodys going to the Indy 500 but me.

Enjoy, and be sure to wave if you see the TV camera.

Traveling is always the occasion in my life when i feel extra stressed about dealing with incontinence issues. At home, I have my routines, private space, etc. But on the road, there is a new opportunity for embarrassment around every corner. Honestly, if i could have a magic pill that resolved everything only while traveling, it would be worth a huge amount to me.

I know that ultimately, self acceptance is an important way of dealing with it, but at 37, Im still very self conscious.

So how was the Indy 500?

I'm finally back from the Indy 500 and all in all it was a great trip. As I suspected it was a bit of a challenge but it worked out (almost) perfectly as planned. It was a two day drive to Indianapolis and the first day we stayed in Atlanta with my best friend. FYI...He was the one I was traveling with earlier this year and ended up telling him about my incontinence. So for the drive to Atlanta I wore a Dry 24/7 and that, as usual, worked great for the drive up and then some. That first night I ended up on the couch but my plan to pack a plastic shopping bag with everything I needed for a change in the bathroom worked well and my premium pull-up w/ cotton pad insert and PUL pants worked well to get me through the night. Next morning again into a Dry 24/7 using my "bag trick" and again no problems for the long drive to Indianapolis. Now came the challenge as the group was going to be sleeping in a out building that our friend near Indianapolis had. The building was split into two rooms and my best friend and I were in one and the others were in the other room. There was only one bathroom and it was in the other room but again using my bag trick everything worked out discreetly. Then the next day onto the race and it was going to be a long day so I added guard pad to my Dry 24/7 diaper and headed to the track. It was all of our first time at the race and we ended up parking a long way from the track but we persevered and got there in plenty of time for the race. It was one of the hottest Indy 500's on record and I think I put as much sweat into my diaper as pee but my protection held up just fine. About half way through the race I did go to get a drink and on the way stopped in the bathroom and removed the soaked pad by ducking into a stall for just a few seconds and then into the trashcan with the pad. The first part of the race was a bit boring with everyone just lining up and following the leader. There were a few spins into the fourth turn wall but that was about all. However the last third of the race got very exciting with a lot of passing and fuel stop strategy so it was a great ending. The rest of the trip went just like the first part and I thought I was home free discreet-wise until the last morning in Atlanta. Everyone was getting ready for the last leg of the trip down to Florida and I had already used the bathroom and changed into my Dry 24/7 and side-snap PUL pants and shirt and shorts. After leaving the bathroom I realized that my shirt was, shall we say, less than fresh and I decided to change it. Well everyone else was in their room or bathroom changing and I figured I could get away with a super quick shirt change there in the living room. I dropped my shorts, pulled off my shirt and just as I started to pull on the new shirt I realize one of my friends was right there not ten feet away. I put my shirt on and kind of glanced over at him and he didn't seem to be looking my way but what I was wearing would have been hard to miss. I pulled up my shorts and tried to act normal but I suspect I was a bit red-faced. So the last leg of the trip was fine and about thirty minutes before I dropped off the last guy (the one that saw me that morning) we were talking in normal conversation about being "conservative" and he said that he was a "tightly whitey" kind of guy and that he had seen I was too. I was surprised and probably a bit red-faced but tried to act normal about that comment. I don't know if he could tell what I was wearing wasn't "tighty whiteys" but I suspect he, like most non-IC folks, really didn't focus on my underwear enough to tell the difference. So OK, sorry for the long-winded story but all in all it turned out great and even if my one friend could tell I was wearing a diaper it's all fine with me.