www.incontinentsupport.org

First, I'm glad to see this site up and running again. I miss this board.

Woah... life has been super super busy. As you may remember, a few months ago, I experienced a marked increase in both volume and frequency of incontinence episodes, so much so that I upped my protection from Better Dry to Mega Max. I don't know if I have posted about this, but I have decided to discontinue using Better Dry altogether. It's a shame, because they used to be a decent product. But, I have come to feel that the backsheet is not as comfortable as other diapers, I have issues with tabs not sticking, and on a large number of diapers, the tab was folded over on the left top, making it pretty much useless. I reached out to LL Medico, the place where I bought them from, giving them details, hoping for a resolution, was offered a replacement, I asked for credit instead...and never heard back. Ok then. If they don't want my business enough to reply after I asked for credit, I'll stick with Northshore. But, your mileage and experience may vary. I've been using either Northshore brand or Forsite pretty much exclusively since Sept. I'm slowly easing back into using cloth in order to save money, and I'm hoping to be consistent with washing them.

So my urologist wants me to try Botox injections. He feels it is the next logical step. Back when we met, my bladder was out of control to the point where I was soaking Better Dry, so I said yes. After being reassured that it was likely that I would not need to cath, I felt ok with it. Surgery is scheduled for Dec 3.

Life for me has been really busy, working 2 jobs. Pushing carts at Meijer and substitute teaching. I missed working with kids, so I decided to give subbing a shot again. It's going well. Working 2 jobs is exhausting, but doable, and so far, my boss at Meijer has been very flexible and understanding with me wanting to have days off in advance to take sub assignments.

I used to think my preferred option was Angel Fluff's U3 diaper. But, they almost always seem a bit snug, perhaps I gained some weight since I measured myself. When my newest order arrives, I will have more AFDC prefolds than I do shapleys or u3. If my urine is dilute enough, and if I use cloth freindly creams, I can see flannel being a very comfortable option for every day around the house use. Ecoable is being reserved for work, since it has the stay dry liner and thus I need to change less often than I do angel fluff.

On second thought, maybe all my diapers are shrinking... because after all it is 100% cotton... Those of you who use traditonal cloth, how long can you wear a particlular style of pin on diaper before you notice it shrinking and not fitting as well?

One last note.. I was subbing gym yesterday, and a kindergartner was telling me he liked my shirt. I'm like thank you. Then he said, I like the rainbow one. With horror, I realized he was referring to my diaper, as I was wearing a Tie Dye MegaMax. I just said, thats not my shirt. I thought my shirt and Protec were covering the Mega Max.. oops. Note to self, wear a bodystocking next time subbing gym. I was going to, and then ran out of time to decide whether to put it on. Thankfully, no one was the wiser among the students as far as I know. At least no one said anything to me about it.

Sorry for the novel and half, but its been a long time since I posted here.

Peace out!
Rob

_________________
"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II

Likewise!!

Wow, Dec 3 is soon. Best of luck!! It's hard to predict where you'll be at after the Botox. It's strong stuff. It makes big changes happen in there, for good or bad. But no matter what, it's temporary, so if it does mess you up you'll be back to where you were after a while, and then you get to decide if you want another shot or not.

Keep us updated. Happy Thanksgiving!

My experience with Botox injections was that they wore off after a period of time and needed to be repeated. As time went on, each new injection lasted less than the previous injection. When the last injection lasted less than two months, the decision was made to have a sphincterotomy. Botox injections work pretty much as advertised, but are not permanent. In my case, they gave me valuable experience about living with free flow, no bladder control.

Patrickk, correct me if I'm wrong, but you had retention issues along with sphincter detrusor dyssynergia, yes? I don't think I have that issue. I don't always sense when my bladder is full, and i leak urine from overflow.. or, my bladder spasms and I leak urine. I have never been told my detrusor and sphincter are in dyssynergy. You had Botox in your sphincter, yes? To allow your urine to flow freely? If I did that, I'd be spending a heck of a lot more on diapers than I am now.

Now the patterns have shifted again, and I'm not soaking diapers. But, my hydration might be off.

Peace out!

Rob

_________________
"We cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa

"THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" - Captain Picard from Chain of Command, Part II