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LtsofQues,
Don't let those classes make you worry about you protection. I think you have enough advise fron all of us to pick the protection that might work for you. I would go ahead and wear something you think is too much protection. Once you get into the groove of your classes and you have your confidence, go to something of less protection only if you think you can.
It's always better to have too much protection than to have too little and you end up with an embarrasing leak. Good luck and let's us know how it goes! ........Paul Martin

Thanks again Paul. The real test will come when I have a test in a week or two. I looked on the internet and it looks like Molicare may be the most industrial thing if you have to sit througha couple hours. It would be overkill, but as you said better safe than sorry. I'm thinking during tests people are pretty nervous and will probably be too distracted about their own studies to notice. Since it's cold I can probably hang my coat over my chair, put it on before I turn in the test and then leave. Then hopefully it will be enough to change at home but I'll keep an extra in the backpack for an emergency. I'm just concerned about the noise since classrooms are very quiet during tests. From my experience of only leaking I thing depend refastenables have the potential to leak in a flood. I may have found a positive. As far as changing in public restrooms this may be a plus for women because of the tape sound of women changing sanitary pads (not that you want to know but I was glad to discover a positive), also just generally getting stuff out of purses plus women are likely to talk in public restrooms and this is how I'm weighing the benefits of using something with tapes soon. The noise factor may make it easier for us to deal with than men.

Hi LtsofQues,
You are right about the Molicare as being industrial strength! If yoy're looking at their full brief, that one will hold me for 6 to 8 hours, and I wet a lot. They are quite bulky, but are not very noisiey at all.

You mentioned about wearing a coat the day of the test. Do you wear blue jeans? I find that when I wear blue jeans, you can't hear anything of a crinkle sound. The fabric is so thick. As I wear my slacks at work, they will allow the crinkle to come through a bit.

If you have tried Molicare before and already know what they are like, you may want to consider a not so industrial strength brand.

I have found that the Tena Ultra is very absorbant and it has a cloth backing. I use to use these all the time, but switched to Tranquility when they changed the tape to the hook system. The hook system worked great, but they were always sticking to each other in their package. When I tried to pull them out of the bag they were in, they would stick and trying to pull them apart, they allowed holes sometimes to be made in the diaper surface which allowed small leaks.

They may have fixed that problem by now, though. Anyways, for a two hour test, you would be OK with the Tena Ultra. Any questions, just reply back. Have a good day! ........Paul Martin

I have a few more questions. The first being have you ever tried to figure out what types of foods trigger more or less leaking? The bread advice was very helpful. I already know that caffinated soda, tea,coffee and for some reason grapefruit juice are ones to avoid for myself. I'm trying to figure if I should add or eliminate anything else from my diet. Another thing is if I am sick, especially a cold or flu, I have some real problems. Another question probably for Sandy, is about what jeans to wear. I know the tight stretch ones that I have now are useless. I was thinking that the Lee relaxed fit ones may work well with bigger protection but I just want to know if there are any suggestions as far as brands or styles. Finally the last thing is about this situation. I wonder if anyone else experienced this. This seems kind of weird to me, especially for shopping. Before when I went somewhere, like a store, I was limited to ones with a bathroom and had to know exactly where it was before starting any shopping, and even with that I was always nervous and wouldn't drink anything for a while before I went. I was limited to large grocery stores, malls, and walmarts. Even at that I felt like I couldn't spend much time there. Now I'm just going anywhere and feeling like I don't have to worry. For instance going to stores that are in strip malls I know is a big risk and when I remind myself of this it makes me nervous all over again. Recently, the few times I have needed to change after being in the mall or in the library, I felt bad for not being more mindful for not sticking to my old routine. I sometimes can't decide which way I was more in control. Maybe I am the only one who's felt this way but I'll put it out ther regardless. The more questions I get answered the more I come up with!

Hi Ron,

Thank you for your kind words about this Forum! Your incon is relatively new to you and as you say, finding a diaper that works is a hassle along with getting used to idea of wearing diapers at all! Many of us are in your shoes!

You mentioned Depend diapers and I have to say they are one of the poorer diapers out there in my oppinion and that of many others.

While there is often a leakage problem with any disposable overnight, it is usually when sleeping on your side and voiding in that position that taxes any disposable. If you are not a side sleeper, any "premium" disposable should work well for you.

In most cases you have to get premium diapers on line so check out www.xpmedical.com and consider the Abena X-Plus or any of the other premium diapers. I'll bet you will minimize or even put an end to your overnight leaks problem.

And, if you would, please let us know how it goes.

JoeK

Hi LtsofQues!
I'm not a good source for what brand of jeans to buy, but I think the relaxed fit would do great, That's what I wear. Sandy is somewhere out there, and I'm sure she knows.

About you mall/shopping trip. You have made up your mind that you're not going to let your incontinence make you a prisoner of your home or force you to make a lifestyle change in your everyday activities. Don't feel ashamed of having a wet diaper or having to change after you have finally enjoyed your shopping and having the peace of mind that you don't have to worry about chasing down a restroom. You made the right decision in wearing protection. Like you said, the alternative of having an accident trying to find a restroom is not good. You doing great, LstofQues! ........Paul Martin

Hi LtsofQues!
I'm not a good source for what brand of jeans to buy, but I think the relaxed fit would do great, That's what I wear. Sandy is somewhere out there, and I'm sure she knows.

About you mall/shopping trip. You have made up your mind that you're not going to let your incontinence make you a prisoner of your home or force you to make a lifestyle change in your everyday activities. Don't feel ashamed of having a wet diaper or having to change after you have finally enjoyed your shopping and having the peace of mind that you don't have to worry about chasing down a restroom. You made the right decision in wearing protection. Like you said, the alternative of having an accident trying to find a restroom is not good. You doing great, LstofQues! ........Paul Martin

Thanks Paul. I looked on depends website and I'm thinking belted undergaments may work for the gym only. The advantage of a pullup is that it allows you to use the restroom quick. The cold weather really gets me for some reason especially when I walk to work from the parking lot it hits me no matter what. I don't understand how it is that you could just have gone ten minutes ago but can still get hit suddenly with an urge or leak, that's mindboggling. Anyway, I noticed the products and they have booster liners which I'm going to try. I called the customer service line to ask before I bought some (the cost of this adds up) and they were very helpful. They have coupons on the website. I told the rep my concern and she said the belted is better for easy change. She did say it only holds two cups of liquid which doesn't seem all that great considering what can happen when you excercise. She also said there are simple surgeries and medications to talk to my doctor for that may help me. The thing is , to me no surgery seems simple and some medications have so many side effects. I have a coworker who had surgery so maybe I will talk to her about it.

LstofQues,
The belted undergarments are very convenient for changing. Easy to put a clean one on when you change out of a wet one. I used them when I first started my incontinence.
You're right about simple surgeries and the medications. I don't think any surgery down there is simple. The medications do have side effects too.
My wife has been taking Detrol for her overactive bladder. She says she has no side effects, and it seems to help her. (if you ask me though, she still goes to the bathroom a lot, but atleast she hasn't had any accidents).
That is strange about the cold weather and how it effects your bladder. I've never heard that before! ......Paul Martin

Hi all--

Re: meds---my sense of this from reading a lot and from my urologist is that the meds help some people. I'm not one of them; tried them all, but side-effects ranging from headaches or stomach pain to memory problems, depressed mood and low energy were the outcome, along with no more than a 30% reduction in wetting episodes. Not much of a trade-off.

Re: surgery---I've shared on other boards my experience with a trial of the Interstim (Sacral Nerve Stimulator) Implant system, and the lack of sufficient efficacy during the trial to do the whole implantation.

I don't think I'm the only one who has sought some medical relief from incontinence, only to fall back to the position of doing my best to manage the symptoms with diapers and simply prevent too much interference in my life and activities. I don't regret the attempts, but I'm not currently willing to do much more on the medical front...

Gimwet

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Gimwet