www.incontinentsupport.org

Hi all,

Up until now, I classify my incontinence as moderate to heavy, NOT heavy to complete, becuase i still have some measure of control.. I suppose i can say I have control for two reasons.. one.. I can sometimes hold the flow back and make it to a toilet to let the rest out.. and two.. I can pee in the toilet at least once a day if not more.

Both have been true for the most part... but, I think it is inevitable as time goes on that that will fade too, because this summer, I probably wont be able to use the toilet much if at all during the work day. I already told myself i don't plan to. just 2 seconds ago, i had a flood where i had just gotten out of bed and was looking something up at my computer. For the simple fact that i didn't want to drop everything and go pee in the toilet RIGHT then..guess what.. the flow in the diaper started.. and i was able to stop it.. and then i get up to pee the rest in the toilet, but the muscles relaxed again unavoidably. and it all leaked out into the the diaper. This is i think is THE hallmark of urge incontience. You can sometimes make it if you drop everyhting and go NOW. From what ive read on this forum, users of this type of incotninence/oab.. ofen start out with moderate to heavy inconteince, and end up being heavily to completly incontinent as a natural progression, not necessarily due to anything they have done.

Forgive me, this is more or less a rehash of a previous post about control slowly fading.. but i hope you guys don't mind. I have gone through a fair amount of emotional turmoil, and writng posts like this kind of like on a blog about my thoughts helps keeps me sane and calm. Posting on here is my form of therapy.. I can use my situation to help others, as Sandy did. With my PDD-NOS, the thoughts (thus the posts) can get repetitive. Please be patient with me.

I guess one thing I want to report on is that i think slowly ive started to wonder what the point is to even trying. I seem mentally closer to just using the diaper all the time.. Thats still difficult to contemplate.. but with time, I may be able to accept it.

Peace out!

Rob

I think once you start wearing nappies all the time any control you have will slowly diminish. I know it has for me. I have to admit a degree of lazyness on my part. I am wearing a nappy so often make no effort to find a toilet. My capacity to hold is very limited so a lot of the time I think why bother.

Interesting topic.

As I understand it, "diaper dependency" is a theory that someone who not already completely UI, after an extended period of diaper wear, may increasingly and involuntarily use the diaper, with the risk of eventually losing voluntary control and becoming totally dependent on the diaper.

Many Internet postings suggest that a partial loss of control may occur over a period of several years of using diapers 24/7.
It is considered likely that the individual will not lose all voluntary control but instead will have decreased control (difficulty holding urine). if you have some voluntary control and exercise it by trying to pee in the toilet as often as you can, this should not develop into a problem.

Despite extensive research I have been unable to find a medical study that substantiates the diaper dependency theory - I did locate one which involved only a handful of very elderly nursing home residents and provided inconclusive results. Of course, it is not the sort of topic for which the diaper companies will provide research grants.

--John

My personal experience is in the same camp as ST50. Increased dependency did sneak up on me but once I gave in to just relying on them within a year there was no going back. I had to actually be thinking about it to stop myself from just wetting. Even after a decade of relying on them if I'm actively thinking about my bladder control I can still feel the urge and even hold back but only for a minute. And I would just wet myself as soon as I moved around. So no chance of making it to a toilet. I have been told that with a lot of biofeedback training there is a chance to get back significant control but I don't really see the point of it other than to say I wasn't fully diaper dependent. As many of us know doctor's see it as a big victory to only go through 2 pullups/diapers a day and stress through many bathroom trips and always worrying. But practicality and laziness got to me in why try so hard when 4-5 diapers a day can allow me to not have to care about my crappy self control.