Megamax questions

[Don]

For those of you who have tried the megamax from Northshore, what was your experience like? I’ve been wearing Abena M4’s for about 10 years. I think I may be allergic to something in the diaper. I’ve been dealing with a diaper rash that won’t go away for about 3 months. Yes, I’ve tried OTC creams and have prescriptions from my doctor that I’ve seen a few times for the rash. I keep it clean, change frequently, etc. Airing out doesn’t fix it. I can only go without a diaper for so long. It’s incessant. I’m looking at changing brands. I tried Northshore diapers previously and found them too narrow. I didn’t have confidence that they would contain a bowel movement. I suffer from chronic GI distress. I thought I’d give the megamax a try. They look very bulky. Are they concealable under light clothing? Bulky? Noisy? I used dry 24/7 for a couple years. They were very noisy and could be heard under my clothing. I did receive a few comments from people asking if I was wearing a diaper. I have to wear very light clothing in the warmer months due to a chronic health issue so that didn’t help with hiding the noise. Are they good for bowel containment? Please advise. Thanks.

[Patrick]

I guess, because I haven't used Megamax, I should not respond. But here goes anyway. Have you tried cloth diapers? If your PCP cannot solve your problem, perhaps you might ask for an appointment with a dermatologist. I wear Dry 24/7 on vacation; a fixing pant, if you can wear one, does a good job of suppressing noise. Good luck finding what works for you.

[Don]

Hey Patrick. I used cloth for about 6 months. It just wasn’t feasible for me. Like you, I too have gastroparesis and I also have frequent diarrhea. While at home, the care wasn’t too bad. But when I went in public, with the amount of changing due to my incontinence, I wasn’t able to manage. I couldn’t keep enough diapers on hand. I need to be able to throw away the trash and not have to carry it around with me in a wet bag. I do still have several prefolds and flats though. The doctors thought it was from heat and sweat in the Florida summer. They advised me not to use the cloth and use something that absorbs and locks away moisture.

The rash started when I went to universal studios in Orlando back in June. It was hot. Every time I go to a park such as Disney World or Universal, which we do often enough, I always get a rash no matter what I do. I saw my doc when it wasn’t responding to at home treatment and got combination steroid/anti-fungal cream. You just can’t take steroids for very long. My doctor told me next time I go, to mix in a 1:1 ratio of Vaseline, A&D, and Desitin into paste and apply it to my skin. She also told me to stay away from plastic pants in the heat. They trap moisture really well which is not a good thing and they can breed yeast. She told me to wear compression shorts to keep my thighs from rubbing together.

[Patrick]

Gastroparesis is the pits. If it makes you deal with frequent diarrhea, wow! I recall having read, somewhere, there is a company that sells tissues meant to facilitate the use of cloth diapers, which fit between the cloth and the skin. GP can cause significant weight loss, so my doctor's nurses always weigh me. I would imagine that diarrhea would exacerbate weight issues. Your medical difficulties would make me stay pretty much housebound; that you get out enough to go to an amusement park is testament to your management skill. In recent weeks my GP has started to give me projectile vomiting, which I guess is off topic here. A swallow of water will hit the back of my mouth, then come out forcefully, so quickly that I do not have time to react. When that happens, I'd better be wearing protection.

I'm glad we found each other. My family are as sympathetic as they can be, but making them listen to my aches and pains would soon grow tiresome.

[Don]

I see a therapist for all this stuff. It’s really hard to deal with. I recently was diagnosed with PTSD secondary to medical trauma. It’s from repeated life threatening situations over and over again. The therapy helps. I also talk to my wife but there’s only so much she can do. I don’t like depressing her with all my medical issues.

My gastroparesis makes me nauseous to no end. I only throw up every once in a while. Mostly I just feel very ill. I’m barely able to eat but I’m not losing weight. My doc drew labs recently and they looked pretty good. I was kinda worried about them.

With my health issues I just do the best I can and not worry about what other people think. I think I mentioned before that due to my nervous system problems, I don’t sweat properly and have to wear lightweight clothing to keep cool. I don’t go outside in the mid-day. Because my clothing is so light it sometimes shows the outline of my protection. I just try to carry on and minimize what I can. People have noticed In the past. Some have commented. Most don’t though.

[doogles]

I've been wearing MegaMaxes daily for around six months, and they are probably the best diaper on the market right now. The only other diaper that comes close is probably the TotalDry X-Plus. I don't have bowel incontinence, per se, but I have had accidents resulting from poor planning, and wearing a diaper has been lifesaving.

[mattwp]

what about using a diaper cover over the dry 24/7 to hide noise or have you looked at the better dry diapers

[5bugles]

I tried Northshore diapers previously and found them too narrow. I didn’t have confidence that they would contain a bowel movement. I suffer from chronic GI distress. I thought I’d give the megamax a try. They look very bulky. Are they concealable under light clothing? Bulky? Noisy? Are they good for bowel containment? Please advise. Thanks.

Hi Don,

I regularly use the Megamax and have been very impressed overall. To address some of your concerns, they are a bit wider in the crotch than a NS Supreme, with tall leak guards. They consistently contain my morning BMs very well - probably better than any other I've tried. Almost like clockwork, mine occur anywhere from 5 - 35 minutes after getting up in the morning, so I just keep my already wet overnight Megamax on when I get up, and haven't had any problems. They contain odor about the same as any other.

As to bulk and noise: I would put them in the Dry 24/7 range for bulkiness, but I am in shorts and T-shirts from March to October/November here and have never been "discovered" as far as I know. I wear shorts/pants a size larger than I need and they seem to hide fairly well, especially with an untucked shirt to break up the profile. I don't find them to be noisy at all. They fit very well, and the landing strip on the front allows a nice, tight fit around the waist and the ability to reposition the tapes multiple times if needed. On a side note, the tapes, once in position for any length of time, hold extremely well, making it a challenge to remove them sometimes. I much prefer this to the tapes on other diapers that have a tendency to slide down on my leg or come undone.

Performance-wise, they hold a lot of fluid. They handle my typical "flood" very well. I am prone to leaking if I flood while sitting, but these seem to do the trick. On days when things are cooperating and I don't flood, I can usually wear a Megamax several hours (as many as 12, depending on fluid intake, etc.) What I have found is that on "flood" days, I have to change more often, as the first one tends to bulk up in front, limiting its capacity to contain a rush of fluid over time.

All in all, I would agree with the above that the MM is the best diaper out there right now, at least for my issues.

[Don]

Mattwp,
I have tried the dry 24/7 and was dissatisfied with the tapes. I wet heavily at night. The confidry weren’t absorbent enough and would leak out the waist. When this happened, I would end up laying in urine and the tapes would come detached. I woke up several times and the diaper would be around my knees. I don’t like wearing any additional garments over my diaper. A pair of plastic pants over a leaking disposable doesn’t work for me. If wetness escapes the disposable, there is nothing there in between the plastic pants and disposable to catch urine. Liquid will find the quickest way out. I prefer to just wear the diaper under my clothes. I stay cooler and it’s more comfortable to me. I generally wear athletic style shorts or board shorts in the warmer months. Heavier fabrics are too hot for me.

5bugles,
With the megamax, I’ve read that some people put booster pads in the diaper to help distribute liquid more evenly throughout the pad. Have you tried this?

[5bugles]

@Don, I do occasionally use boosters from NS in the MegaMax, and it does seem to help with distribution.