When Tight On Money

As someone who has no experience with being IC, I wouldn't even say that I know a lot about wearing in general, I could be saying some things that could make me come across as someone intrusive with a brain constantly doing backflips. This is pure curiosity though. Something I thought of a few weeks ago. Again, coming from pure ignorance here.

When an IC person has a low or even no income and/or relies on government assistance and is therefore tight on money, how does that play out in terms of buying diapers and other things? Because diapers ain't the cheapest thing in the world and can take out quite a lot of your income, but you also need to pay rent, buy food, etc.

As probably many of the people here live in a welfare state and apparently have access to an internet connection, I don't expect too dire current situations, but if this has happened in the past when it came to a point of it being dire, I'd love to hear about how that affected this specific aspect of that situation.

I still am not too familiar with the social dynamics of this website, so this might be completely out of line with what people normally ask and if it is perceived as such, this will be taken down for obvious reasons. It's just that these are the kinds of questions that generally interest me and given this is a forum, I thought why not ask directly.

This forum is not very active, so it may be a while before you get a response from someone who is actually IC. But I'll offer some possibilities.

Incontinence, particularly bowel incontinence is a recognised disability practically everywhere. I'm not aware of any First World country that does not offer financial assistance for the disabled, even if it isn't particularly generous. And there's always charities. But depending on just how constrained your income is, there are various possibilities. One obvious way is to minimise changes by maximising utilisation of the nappy's capacity. Use plastic or rubber pants, perhaps with a bit of cotton, to absorb leaks, and then wear them until they are full. Alternatively, do the same with the cheapest nappies on the market, and just change regularly. You could get a "pocket nappy" and stuff it with baby nappies, since they are usually the cheapest form of nappy available, due to mass production. Use boosters, since they are cheaper for their capacity than actual nappies.

However, in the most extreme situation, I suppose the only option would be cloth. Get plastic or rubber pants, then use old sheets, pillowslips, shirts and especially towels - any untreated cotton. If you're only bladder IC, you can get away with cold washing. I really can't imagine what to do if you're bowel IC, but as I indicated earlier, that's a serious disability, so I find it difficult to imagine that you wouldn't get any support.

I am on compassionate Social Security so I have very limited income but Medicare does not cover diapers unless in hospital or nursing home, Medicaid however supplies me with 3 cases of diapers 1 case of chux and rubber gloves every month ( I am in one of the few states that Medicaid will still pay for Tranquility ATN'SO so I wear those) the total monthly bill that Medicaid pays is $482.00 all of your incon supplies are free to you with no copay. I hope I helped with your question ? Anything that I did not cover feel free to ask!

Tetra

Hello Finn,

John here. I am medically double incontinent, wear 24/7, and will attempt to partly answer your questions from my own limited experience.

Unfortunately, those most in need financially will be the most severely impacted by incontinence. With insufficient incontinence supplies or the diapers/nappies of marginal quality often provided by healthcare programs, those affected frequently suffer leaks, tend to restrict their activities, and become increasingly socially isolated.

This particularly is true of those with bowel incontinence. Being bowel incontinent has been compared to being imprisoned or becoming a social pariah. The inability to find employment or hold a job because of incontinence guarantees the inability to afford quality diapers for protection and is a vicious cycle.

As Akastus indicated, cloth diapers are the more economical option to disposables but initially are expensive. Old sheets and shirts as makeshift diapers are not sufficiently absorbent. Some incontinents, mostly women, sew their own cloth diapers as a much more economical alternative to purchasing them. However, cloth just is not a desirable option for anyone with moderate to severe fecal incontinence due to the significant laundering required. For many wearers, while cloth may be o.k. at home or for wear at night, it is not a viable option for wear in the workplace.

As we are discussing the use of low-cost diapers, which frequently leak, the use of a diaper cover or plastic pants is absolutely essential. Of course, plastic pants always must be worn with cloth diapers.

The total annual cost of medical incontinence is surprising to most people. One must consider not only diapers, but barrier creams, wipes, plastic pants, perhaps absorbent pads, etc.

--John

Tetra said:

I am on compassionate Social Security so I have very limited income but Medicare does not cover diapers unless in hospital or nursing home, Medicaid however supplies me with 3 cases of diapers 1 case of chux and rubber gloves every month ( I am in one of the few states that Medicaid will still pay for Tranquility ATN'SO so I wear those) the total monthly bill that Medicaid pays is $482.00 all of your incon supplies are free to you with no copay. I hope I helped with your question ? Anything that I did not cover feel free to ask!

Tetra

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Your pardon Tetra, but $482 a month sounds rather a lot for the supplies you describe. I thought that ATNs were about $80 a case?

It sounds high but I am reading this right off my statement. The government and insurers negotiate weird thingss like 100 vinyl exam gloves are billed $30.00 chux are $ 99 dollars a case and the three cases of ATN's are the rest of it.

Its just like I " cath" 5 X's a day and those 150 catheters are billed at $1.447.50 almost 1500 bucks a month for a sterile lubricated tube. Makes no sense does it? Just like the new wheelchair I got last year was $ 33.000.00 + you could buy Ja nice chevrolet or dodge for that. Now you know why the airforce paid $23.000.00 dollars for a toilet seat and $10.000.00 for a hammer. For what they pay for Tranquility you could wear abena's or anyother high end diaper.

Peace

Tetra

It sounds high but I am reading this right off my statement. The government and insurers negotiate weird thingss like 100 vinyl exam gloves are billed $30.00
Fook me they're only £3 to but over here so that's $5 ish dollars

I get 545 dollars a year in my country or at least my state
what this means is Ill wear a diaper when Im going out but while at home it just means wet pants
If I had free unlimited diapers things would probably be much easier but its 25 dollars for 14 molicares and Im not about to spend my years worth of cash in a flash so I just have to clean mop and do laundry a lot

saix said:

I get 545 dollars a year in my country or at least my state
what this means is Ill wear a diaper when Im going out but while at home it just means wet pants
If I had free unlimited diapers things would probably be much easier but its 25 dollars for 14 molicares and Im not about to spend my years worth of cash in a flash so I just have to clean mop and do laundry a lot

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It's usually quite a bit cheaper if you buy them by the case rather than by the package. XP Medical sells a case of 56 large Molicare super pluses for $86.95. $545 a year is pretty ridiculous though, that's only enough for like 6 cases and 1 pack if you were to spend it all at once, 350 molicares per year. Wow, so they literally pay for less one diaper per day.

INTrePid said:

It's usually quite a bit cheaper if you buy them by the case rather than by the package. XP Medical sells a case of 56 large Molicare super pluses for $86.95. $545 a year is pretty ridiculous though, that's only enough for like 6 cases and 1 pack if you were to spend it all at once, 350 molicares per year. Wow, so they literally pay for less one diaper per day.

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Im in Australia so foreign companies cant help much
my supplier gives me free delivery at least and is really good with customer support
I did once have someone say that things are different in other states but in mine its just the 545 dollars
I buy my wipes and powder out of pocket, tried cheaper brands but lille leaked and vlessi were too uncomfortable and didnt fit well at all so just sticking with cloth molicares

As much as I sort of was prepared for not hearing too many good things, it's still hard to read through some of this.

My enuresis costs me about 5-8% of my monthly income. The cost of incontinence, of course, would be much more if I had daytime incontinence as well. In Russia the price of incontinence supplies is only compensated for people with disabilities under special social program, but if you are young active person you have to buy all this for your own money even if you have to be in diapers all the time, to say nothing about adult bedwetters like me.

I have been mocked before for saying this, but I really do not see how it could be that expensive......mind you I have mostly worn recreationally and only recently for an as yet unexplained bedwetting. (only theories based on assumptions nothing to prove what is happening).

First I will say that I use the Assurance/Certainty brand generic fitted briefs, usually get the $16 package with 32 briefs.

For the bed wetting that is relatively cheap, I only use one a night. (only three occasions in the past two months I used two in one night- for honesties sake) So, that is say $20 a month after taxes. I do not use any creams or powders as my skin is apparently pretty resilient. So, at most that is say $250 a year to round up a little bit and to account for defects.

I have estimated in the past that I would use roughly 4-5 diapers a day if I wore 24/7. One in the mornings, one in the afternoon, one in the evening, and one at night, and one assuming I may mess or need an extra change, so that is roughly $80-100/month with extra diapers leftover and factoring any wipes or creams into the cost. Therefore, at most $1200 a year, which isn't too bad considering what I pay for cell phone service I rarely use.

However, here is something else....in my state and with my student health insurance- which I only pay $1000/year for with just about all tests and procedures being written off since I am a full-time student -assuming they diagnose an underlying medical condition, I qualify to have all of that paid for. ( 300 diapers a month, and my estimate is roughly 150 for full time.)

Also, there are charities and places that will help you obtain the supplies you need when you cannot afford then. And if some people who didn't NEED them would stop buying them, some Goodwill's and thrift stores would sometimes have a decent cheap stock of them.

I am not certain, but apparently using a discount prescription drug card can also apply to any medical supplies. Also, save all your receipts for diapers, they are tax deductible.

Well, for one thing, if you are incontinent of bowel, you will be having more than one bowel movement a day. At worst, you could be continuously leaking stool, so the number of changes goes up dramatically. And if you are a heavy wetter, generic briefs may not be sufficient. If you wish to maintain skin health you will need creams and lotions. And incontinence may not be the only thing that is wrong with you - it may be a symptom of something else that requires (expensive) treatment.

But more importantly, I don't think you understand just how restricted some people's incomes are. There genuinely are people in this world, even in the West, who can barely afford the basic essentials of life. They cannot afford one thing that is not essential. It's not right, but that's how things are. If you live in a society where there is no state-funded healthcare, and where you cannot afford insurance, you have a real problem. $1,200 may not seem a lot to you, but to someone living on the breadline, it is. Especially when you consider that bowel incontinence in particular tends to make you a social pariah, which can make it difficult to find work. And while charities do good work, they can't shoulder the burden all the time, not to mention that accepting charity is still stigmatised, at least in people's minds.

Leaving aside politics and any debate over the appropriateness of it, and what it's true goals are, and whether it will work, and whether it's morally right, why do you think that the Affordable Care Act was proposed? Because its proponents believed that for some, care genuinely wasn't affordable.

To be blunt, if you can afford anything on the order of $1,000 per year for a cellphone, especially one that you barely use, then you are not on the breadline.

We tend to use our own experiences as a basis for evaluating reality. We make assumptions about the world based on our lives. The Fallacy of Anecdotal Evidence. Hence, privileged people are rarely aware of their privileges. You are privileged not to be dirt poor. So am I for that matter. But not everyone has that good fortune.

alexandradomaseva said:

My enuresis costs me about 5-8% of my monthly income. The cost of incontinence, of course, would be much more if I had daytime incontinence as well. In Russia the price of incontinence supplies is only compensated for people with disabilities under special social program, but if you are young active person you have to buy all this for your own money even if you have to be in diapers all the time, to say nothing about adult bedwetters like me.

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Ahh...the same in the USA. As mentioned in this thread, there is a government program for older adults in the US called Medicare and they will not pay for diapers long-term. Most private insurance companies in the US don't pay for diapers either. Only if you are deemed medically disabled and cannot work you can get diapers through Medicaid or if you are a vet through the Vet Hospital. My diapers cost me around $1,200 dollars a year. Through most employers (not my current one unfortunately) you can pay for medically necessary diapers pre-tax through a Flexible Spending Account. Basically, they take your income out before it is taxed and place it aside for medical necessities. You pay for those things and get reimbursed by the FSA account later.