Getting used to diapers

I am 70 years old.When I was 56 I lost all bladder control. I went to a urologist
and he ran all his tests and found nothing. He sent me for a MRI from my neck to my tail bone. I went back the next day and met with the doctor and a surgeon that worked on spinal cord injuries . I was diagnosed with severe spinal stenosis with nerve impingements when I was in my late twenties
They told me that the impingements had damaged my quada equine nerve bundle and then my diabetes had attacked the damaged nerves and had destroyed them. The quada equine bundle controls the bladder. I used caths for about a year but they had a braided my urethra to the the point that I could no longer tolerate the pain and bleeding.When I would take the cath out in the evening to shower the urine would hit that raw urethra and it was like battery acid and I would piss blood
in the shower for sometimes five minutes and the pain would put m to my knees. I can't use condom caths because I am not circumcised and the keep
coming off. When I first lost control I swore I would never use diapers. Well that was the only choice left and my only regret is that I didn't go with diapers right from the start and save myself a lot of agony. I use disposables during the day and cloth diapers and plastic pants at night. I have to use cloth at night because with the stenosis I have to sleep on my side an I have tried many many disposables from both north America and Europe and have yet to find one that doesn't leak if you sleep on your side. American made diapers lean to discreetness first then absorbency second and diapers from Europe are just the revers. If your going to start using diapers just relax and go with the flow it's not the end of the world.

Im sorry about youre problems boomer

The European Diepers i have to say are very good quality i use Molicare Super M and they are both discrete as well as good absobency However im afraid that for us who sleep on the side there will always be the risk of leaking im afraid so we better also ad IC protection in bed in my opinion

lastly Warm welkome to Adisc :smile1:

I too sleep in my side. The ONLY disposable I have found which works is Betterdry/Crinklz. Give them a try.

And I fully get the catheter pain issue. I have a urethral sensitivity from using them too much- and I'm currently still stuck with needing to always have on in place or I simply can't pee at all. My urologists tried opening up my urethra with the intent of just letting me continuously drip into a diaper. They tried removing my sphincters, which sort of worked. But even after 11 various surgeries I still can't pee due to another blockage from scarring.

My bladder control problems stem from a surgical misadventure when I was 14 years old in 1956. I’ve never been reliably dry at night since then, and I’ve had to wear a diaper 24/7 for the past 30 years or so. Diapers have become a routine part of my life, and wearing one no longer bothers me. I try not to display the fact that I’m wearing a diaper, but I no longer worry about the fact that people may be able to tell what I’m wearing under my jeans or sweatpants.

One thing that helps the leaks with the cheap Tranquility ATNs I wear is to add a booster and added packing tape on the sides to seal them up better.

It's not perfect but it is a dramatic improvement for a side-sleeper like me. I also sleep on washable bed pads