Handling Bedwetting while in the Hospital

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musicfan9389

musicfan9389

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  1. Diaper Lover
  2. Incontinent
I have a condition called hydrocephalus where fluid doesn't drain off the brain as it is normally supposed to. It is managed by a tube (a "shunt") that goes from my brain to my pelvis near my bladder. Anyway, I've been incredibly lucky with it since I've had my same shunt/tube for 23 years since I was 18 months old. Shunts can last a very long time like mine, but can fail at any time. I've been lucky since many other people have had over 100 brain surgeries for their shunt. However, mine feels like its getting worn out overtime. I'm hoping it stays functional for many more years, but I still worry. If I ever need to go to the hospital to have surgery for the tube again, I would need to stay overnight at least one night. If this happens I'm going to be very embarrassed now that I wear diapers instead of pull-ups. Has anyone stayed in the hospital before? Are you allowed to bring your own diapers and is there anything they can do so that you can change without them knowing? I would not want any of the doctors or nurses knowing I have accidents, because I don't want them to make mean comments. Hopefully I won't have surgery for a while, but I just got thinking about it since my birthday is next week. Thanks everyone.
 
musicfan9389 said:
I have a condition called hydrocephalus where fluid doesn't drain off the brain as it is normally supposed to. It is managed by a tube (a "shunt") that goes from my brain to my pelvis near my bladder. Anyway, I've been incredibly lucky with it since I've had my same shunt/tube for 23 years since I was 18 months old. Shunts can last a very long time like mine, but can fail at any time. I've been lucky since many other people have had over 100 brain surgeries for their shunt. However, mine feels like its getting worn out overtime. I'm hoping it stays functional for many more years, but I still worry. If I ever need to go to the hospital to have surgery for the tube again, I would need to stay overnight at least one night. If this happens I'm going to be very embarrassed now that I wear diapers instead of pull-ups. Has anyone stayed in the hospital before? Are you allowed to bring your own diapers and is there anything they can do so that you can change without them knowing? I would not want any of the doctors or nurses knowing I have accidents, because I don't want them to make mean comments. Hopefully I won't have surgery for a while, but I just got thinking about it since my birthday is next week. Thanks everyone.
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Now i dont know what country you are in, I dont see why you shouldn't be allowed you bring your own, that would weird. And absolutely no one would ever say mean comments about it at a hospital they see it everyday.
Here in Denmark they will provide you with Tenas or Abena nappies if you require it.

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Incontinence and bedwetting are issues which hospital staff deal with every day. Many patients have these problems. When you go for your preoperative examination, you should tell them that you wet the bed and wear a diaper at night. If they know that in advance, the hospital may very well assign to a room with another patient that has bladder-control issues; and that should lessen your embarrassment. When I was in hospital following surgery, I brought my own diapers and could have changed myself after the first night. However, after recovering from the anesthetic, I was unable to urinate; and they inserted a Foley catheter. I kept the catheter in place until the day before I was going to be discharged and only wore a diaper for the last 24 yours I was in hospital.
 
I’m in the USA so take my word for what it is...

I’ve been in the hospital a couple times in the last few years, one of them when I was decidedly still wetting nightly, and the other when I was wetting just on rare occasion at nights but after it had been recorded in my medical record.

In both cases, I was called to pre register by a nurse from the surgery center. This person went through my history with me and gave me instructions for pre op. In both cases I told them that I had had issues bedwetting and that I wore “incontinence briefs” to manage it. I asked if I should bring some with me, and I recall that in both cases, there was a slight pause before they said yes or “um, yeah, I would.”
I followed those instructions and in the hospital had no sideways looks or problems.

Although, in the first case, I ended up having pretty difficult retention rather than leakage - they had to Cath me like 3 times in fact. But I kept wearing a diaper throughout because I had truly no idea what my bladder was doing.

In the end it seemed like a non issue overall. I was way more hyped up about it than anyone on the staff exhibited.
 
cm90210 said:
I’m in the USA so take my word for what it is...

I’ve been in the hospital a couple times in the last few years, one of them when I was decidedly still wetting nightly, and the other when I was wetting just on rare occasion at nights but after it had been recorded in my medical record.

In both cases, I was called to pre register by a nurse from the surgery center. This person went through my history with me and gave me instructions for pre op. In both cases I told them that I had had issues bedwetting and that I wore “incontinence briefs” to manage it. I asked if I should bring some with me, and I recall that in both cases, there was a slight pause before they said yes or “um, yeah, I would.”
I followed those instructions and in the hospital had no sideways looks or problems.

Although, in the first case, I ended up having pretty difficult retention rather than leakage - they had to Cath me like 3 times in fact. But I kept wearing a diaper throughout because I had truly no idea what my bladder was doing.

In the end it seemed like a non issue overall. I was way more hyped up about it than anyone on the staff exhibited.
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That's good to know that they didn't make a big deal about it. I'm hoping I never end up in that situation, but with medical devices I never know when I will need surgery again. I really appreciate the advice and how much you guys are helping me. You guys in the ABDL community have even made it so I rarely leak anymore, now that I've switched from pull-ups to diapers. That and I'm finding a fun way to accept my incontinence through wearing ABDL print diapers.
 
I'm in UK and can't see any problem with bringing your own diapers, staff deal with such issues every day so don't feel awkward, they would, imho, appreciate your honesty,,,
 
musicfan9389 said:
I have a condition called hydrocephalus where fluid doesn't drain off the brain as it is normally supposed to. It is managed by a tube (a "shunt") that goes from my brain to my pelvis near my bladder. Anyway, I've been incredibly lucky with it since I've had my same shunt/tube for 23 years since I was 18 months old. Shunts can last a very long time like mine, but can fail at any time. I've been lucky since many other people have had over 100 brain surgeries for their shunt. However, mine feels like its getting worn out overtime. I'm hoping it stays functional for many more years, but I still worry. If I ever need to go to the hospital to have surgery for the tube again, I would need to stay overnight at least one night. If this happens I'm going to be very embarrassed now that I wear diapers instead of pull-ups. Has anyone stayed in the hospital before? Are you allowed to bring your own diapers and is there anything they can do so that you can change without them knowing? I would not want any of the doctors or nurses knowing I have accidents, because I don't want them to make mean comments. Hopefully I won't have surgery for a while, but I just got thinking about it since my birthday is next week. Thanks everyone.
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Are you going to be admitted to a neuro ward at the hospital? I've been in a few times. My experience is that even if you don't bring your own diapers they'll have them available and will ask if you need or want them. And in my experience the beds have wetting protection as well. Urinary incontinence is a common problem with neurological illnesses so its doubtful that anybody would judge you or be nasty about it.
 
yup no problem in Australia as well. Both times they either supplied me with them Molicare of I brought my own.
 
I was in 1 year ago and I brought my own and they change me with no problem.
 
i was in over night for a sleep study. i was a little embarassed to admit that i wet, so i told the nurse i leak a little. well middle of the night i wet. nurse came in with a pullup and new bed pad. by morning i was soaked. she told me that if i have to come in again, just bring overnight briefs in when i come in or tell the nurse and she will supply the overnight briefs (she almost said diapers). you should have no problem either way, musicfan.
 
Yeah, too many times. A word of warning, do NOT rely on the hospital provided diapers. They truly suck bad. Bring your own changes with you. For outpatient, even just one will suffice.

Show up diapered, and let them know you need to stay in one even during your intial prep. You can almost always stay in it right up to them taking you into the OR. When you wake up, right away request to be put back into one. Possibly, even the one you brought. There is no reason to go into any explanations, just keep it short and simple.
 
musicfan9389 said:
IAnyway, I've been incredibly lucky with it since I've had my same shunt/tube for 23 years since I was 18 months old. Shunts can last a very long time like mine, but can fail at any time.
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One thing I’m curious about, how did that tube stay in place as you grew if you got it at 18 months & you had it for 23 years? Did you have additional surgeries to extend it? Not part of the diaper equation, but my head can’t wrap around that part, lol.


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I'm glad you said that Mark. I was thinking the same thing.
 
A year and a half ago, my dad was bedridden in the hospital. I asked if he was wearing diapers and was told they no longer put them on patients. They just put the mattress pads down and let the patients do whatever they need to do.

Granted, this is one hospital and it was in an elderly section.
 
RW25 said:
I'm glad you said that Mark. I was thinking the same thing.
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DiaperMark said:
One thing I’m curious about, how did that tube stay in place as you grew if you got it at 18 months & you had it for 23 years? Did you have additional surgeries to extend it? Not part of the diaper equation, but my head can’t wrap around that part, lol.
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They thought they would need to do surgery to extend it in middle and high school as I grew. Obviously I didn't grow that much considering I still fit into GoodNites for my bedwetting (I switched to Depends because of leaks but even they were too big and leaked so I wear ConfiDry 24/7's). Not to mention I had the embarrassment of my parents trying Pampers Size 7 on me once when they came out. Just to give you an idea of how I didn't grow as much as the doctor thought. They coiled the extra tubing as a baby and there is still enough coiled in my pelvis near my bladder. I did have to get xrays and CT Scans every year on my head and tubing from 6th to 12th grade. (then had my 5 year checkup scan when I was 23 two years ago) They did it to make sure the tubing stayed in places it should and didn't break or clog. I've been luckier than most though, because I didn't need surgery to extend the tubing. Now I can feel it stretching when I stand up straight or bend my neck due to scar tissue healed over the tubing. (it hurts sometimes when it pulls) As long as it keeps stretching I will be fine, but I could need surgery anytime later on in life, so I'm happy it is still working great.
 
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