Inpatient Hospital Stays with incontinence

[Slomo]

I wonder, who has ever had to stay overnight as an inpatient at a hospital, and was also incontinent. How did the hospital manage it with you, what diapers or other methods were used, and what was your experience?

Tomorrow morning I check in for a total knee replacement. I'm functionally incontinent, and my go-to diaper is Crinklz (yes with the abdl prints). I don't have any other brands on hand either. I'll be staying overnight, and will be bringing my own diapers with me. So I'll let everyone know how it goes.

I've also made the mistake of not bringing my own diapers before, and the "best" diaper a hospital ever carries is torturous junk. This won't be my first stay while using Crinklz either. During the covid lockdown I had a kidney stone lodge itself in my ureter. That turned into a blood infection, and due to the then protocols I was put into a full isolation room for a few days (over a weekend, as their testing lab was closed) untill my covid test came back negative. I was really out for most of it, at deaths door really. So it's pretty hazy. The nurses did keep me diapered, and did also change me at least a few times. I don't recall what, if anything, was ever said about my choice of diaper. And at the time I didn't care either. By the time I was discharged at least a dozen nurses and doctors had seen me in just my diaper, yet nobody ever commented to me about them or made it out as any kind of an issue. I guess with an infection that bad they all had bigger things to worry about....

 

Ps. Kidney stones are NOT the "worst pain I've ever felt". I don't know what people are talking about there, but I've had worse.

[Scarth]

bit over a year ago i had an infection that landed me in hospital for a week, because of where the infection was i used the hospital diapers, they needed to get to that area, my go to diaper is also crinklz but i also wear better dry, they are the same diaper, i wear the betterdrys when i go to the doctors, i had 2 diapers with me when i was admitted, one my nurse changed me into the first night, after that was the hospital diapers. the nurse said that mine were way better 

   

[emily1890]

last time it happened to me, I think a patient was more concerned more than the doctors were. she kept saying to them are you not going to help her?. she needs new clothes eventually I was taken in to a sideroom and the doctors like oh no.. don't do this to me when he saw how badly I'd gone in my diaper. for the duration of my stay I had to use the staff bathrooms to change- but when it was bad it would drive the staff mad

[Slomo]

Well I'm in a patient room recovering.  My knee surgery went as expected, and my pain is also as expected but being managed. And wow, am I glad I brought my own diapers. My nurse said they don't even have adult diaers here! They would have used an external catheter and collection bag. Which I know from personal experience is uncomfortable and tends to leak way too often.

[Scarth]

Glad your knee surgery went as expected 🙂 i had one nurse last time i was in hospital that really wanted to have the doctor order a catheter so i wouldn't be in diapers. when she mentioned it to me i flatly refused. she didnt bring it up again but also she was my least favorite nurse 

[Slomo]

Just had an interesting conversation with my night nurse. They had me get up and put weight on my knee (yea, I can walk). And with night approaching it was also a good time to change my diaper, so I killed two birds with one stone. I had the nurse grab one of my Crinklz, and she was immediately interested in it. At request I actuall gave her a demonstration for changing too! With dropping the old diaper on the floor to catch drips, prepping the new diaper, how to lean on the wall to hold it in place, alignment/fit, and finally tapping with rubbing to reinforce their stick.

She said the design was cute and asked the brand and where I got it from. I told her about Northshore and how they also have call support for caregivers. And then she asked about their cost. I explained they are expensive but also cheaper than depends- when looked at as a cost-per-day. If depends are $0.50 each and barely last 2 hours, that's a whopping $12.00 per day. Betterdy and Crinklz cost more like $2.50 each, but last 8-12 hours. Meaning they only cost $5.00 or $7.50 at most. And of course they perform better and are way more comfortable. 

My nurse then asked but why I wasn't using an external catheter, since those usually work better. I explained, sure but only better than depends, which are only dependable that they will leak. But an external catheter is still way less comfortable than my diapers, and that catheyers still tend to leak all the time. My Crinklz don't leak, and out perform most anything else out there. 

My nurse then also noted that while collecting my old diaper for the trash she saw how swollen it was yet it didn't smell at all. I told her it's because they have SAP (super absorbent polymer) which helps lock the wetness and smells away. Which is what makes them so effective, and is something that also helps prevent rashes.

And lastly, my nurse then commented most patients she sees could definitely benefit from them, but she though they would bee too thick and noticable. Maybe, I said, but a thick diaper that's done its job is way less noticeable than a thin one that's leaked.

[Scarth]

8 hours ago, Slomo said:

but a thick diaper that's done its job is way less noticeable than a thin one that's leaked.

and really thats the point, not leaking. i dont really think they are that noticeable either  unless you are wearing clothing that is skin tight 

[John Davis]

I brought my own diapers - BetterDry and Megamax.  As I was badly fevered, I had assistance from my nurse to put the diaper on while standing leaning against a wall.  I think it was the first time she had seen a diaper changed that way.  Later I just changed myself unassisted.  As I recovered I was able to point out the benefits of a good diaper.  

--John

[david49]

I went to the emergency room in the middle of the night for severe stomach pain. it was so painful that I forgot to mention my incontinence at reception. it was later when I undressed that the nurse saw that I was wearing a diaper. I left a few hours after the crisis but I had to come back the next day to have an X-ray. they discovered stones in the gallbladder and decided to remove it. I had fortunately planned my own diapers because I did not want to wear those of the poor quality of the hospitals. I spent 2 days in the hospital and I had a lot of trouble changing my diapers after the operation. The nurses were very professional and I never had bad comments.

[Slomo]

On 7/26/2023 at 12:17 PM, John Davis said:

I brought my own diapers - BetterDry and Megamax.  As I was badly fevered, I had assistance from my nurse to put the diaper on while standing leaning against a wall.  I think it was the first time she had seen a diaper changed that way.  Later I just changed myself unassisted.  As I recovered I was able to point out the benefits of a good diaper.  

--John

Lol, I've also had several nurses who didn't know you can change while leaning against the wall. I keep explaining and showing my diapers to them, and have gotten a really positive response. The only downside is one's modesty must take a hit and get tossed out the window.

[John Davis]

18 hours ago, Slomo said:

The only downside is one's modesty must take a hit and get tossed out the window.

So true.  No modesty at all.  But, when you are that ill, modesty is the least of your concerns.

Unfortunately, those who really need our "diaper tutorials" are the hospital administrators who make the buying decisions for the hospital, not the nurses and aides.  I would never expect a hospital to buy premium diapers but would hope they at least would improve on what they usually offer.

--John

Edited July 28, 2023 by John Davis

[Slomo]

On 7/28/2023 at 7:13 AM, John Davis said:

So true.  No modesty at all.  But, when you are that ill, modesty is the least of your concerns.

Unfortunately, those who really need our "diaper tutorials" are the hospital administrators who make the buying decisions for the hospital, not the nurses and aides.  I would never expect a hospital to buy premium diapers but would hope they at least would improve on what they usually offer.

--John

I took your advice. Had a chance to talk to one such administrator to give some optional feedback, and I took it. She seemed very open to my comments, and also seemed interested in my explanations. Of course I also directed her to northshorecare.com and let her know about the caregiver support they offer.