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Posted 1/28/2010 2:42 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Guys,

I have been meaning to ask this question for awhile but never got around to it.  I am at 4 months post surgery (DaVinci) and although the incontinence is slowly beginning to ease, I appear to be having increasing problems with missing the pad.   I attribute some of this to the reduced size of Willie but, I think I am doing something wrong with regard to pad placement.  I was just wondering if others are having the same problem. I am using The TENA Male Guard (moderate). 

I change my underwear more often than I have to change the pad.  Very frustrating mad !!! 

Thanks for any pointers,

Len

Posted 1/28/2010 3:28 PM (GMT 0)

Len

I am only two weeks post surgery.  I am using Poise - maximum during day and ultimate at night.  They are quite large and  little willie seems to have no problem hitting these.  I assume that if you have tried something like this and are now down to a smaller size but if not might be something to consider.

Ray

Posted 1/28/2010 3:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hopefully you aren't doing what I did when I got my cath out - I was wearing Boxers...Going to breifs did the trick. Little willie couldn't miss if he had too.
Posted 1/28/2010 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
I found the Tena guard to have less "capacity" than the Depends guard (a known trade-off, since they (Tena) are so much thinner), and at +14 weeks (today!) I can not use them without buying a case a week. Hope to get to the level that I can soon.
Big problem is that the guards protect "down hill", so you will never use the part above Willie except at night. They do not really have much wicking power to them.
The Tena shape puts a lot more of the absorbent material higher in the pad.

I've found two adjustments -
1) If you dressed Willie to one side or the other all your life, remember that. The pad doesn't need to be centered, so run it from center up to your preferred side. The Tena pad is wider than the rest, but there is still some room for adjustment.
2) Mount the pad down more in the brief (willie permitting) so that it comes further back behind the guys. This gives you more "downhill" territory, and a little more protection. Less comfortable, though.

Also, if you have not tried the Depends, go on their website. There is a free sample option. They will send two plus a coupon, if you sign up online.

Good point above - give the boxers to the goodwill - briefs are the only way to use guards.

If anyone had told me I would be writing about this sort of thing six months ago ....

DaVinci 10/2009
Posted 1/29/2010 12:08 AM (GMT 0)
Ray,
Unlike women, willie has a way of moving around. The width of the pad is as important as its capacity. Also, when you pee, make sure that you position willie properly on the pad.
Posted 1/29/2010 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
I have been using the Walmart brand - Assurance I think. I found that by putting them on upside down from the directions (I put the wide part on the bottom), and not placing them up too high in the underwear, that the leakage problem stopped.
Posted 1/29/2010 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Len,

Yeah, I had the same problem. Even with the briefs the pad would move around and leak especially when I was active. I stopped using them a month or more ago and now use only Tena protective underware. You'll get 100% protection and mine have never leaked plus they look masculine when worn. A little expensive though.

Steve
Posted 1/29/2010 2:30 AM (GMT 0)
LenB,
Sadly, I consider myself an expert in this field.
1) I use a pair of briefs one size smaller than my usual.
2) In my experience, Tenas have less capacity and are more prone to leakage than the CVS or Depends Mens Guards. (I can dig up my data later.)
3) I make sure the protective strips are folded up over the edge of the pad so my clothes and skin don't ever touch the pad.
4) If I am going out, I will slip half a poise pad inside the Men's Guard. That will hold about 100 ml and can be ripped out and thrown away while standing at a urinal if you can't get to a stall. It is also quieter than ripping out a Men's guard. And it is very easy to slip in a new 1/2 pad.

How much are you leaking? At 400 ml you should need about 2 full men's guards and 1 or 2 half poise pads.

Good luck,
Jeff
Posted 1/29/2010 3:14 AM (GMT 0)

Len,

When I was discharged from the hospital they gave(not really) me a take home package of gauze, another catheter bag, and a two pair of Sir Dignity briefs(one sml/med and one lg/xl) among other things.  The briefs have built-in pocket for a pad.  I have had no problem keeping my much shortened member within the confines of the pocket.  If you google them you will see that they are available from a number of sources.  Their price($12-$15) is offset by the fact that there are no worries about placement of your member, the pad moving or urine leaking through since the pouch is waterproof. 

Posted 1/30/2010 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Everyone, I've been trying to follow all the conversations about the pads/guards and I'm just more confused! No one ever talks about how much they are drinking, how many times they make runs to the bath room, or what their activity level is. I would think all three would be huge factors! I’m only four weeks post op and still resting at home. On most days I’m sitting in a recliner making hourly trips to the bathroom and only using one pad per day. But on active days I may use three pads and fewer trips to the men’s room. I’ve been very lucky to be dry every night but I usually have two or three bathroom trips during the night. As far as liquid intake, I’m guessing about 64 ounces per day (mostly fruit juices) and stopping all drinking two hours before bedtime. How does this measure up to everyone else? Should I be being more active and thereby using more pads? What works for everyone else? Larry
Posted 1/30/2010 6:32 PM (GMT 0)
Larry,

You are doing very good.  At 4 weeks I was still using 8-10 pads per day one-2 at night.  My fluid intake is about the same as yours and my activity level is normal. I work from home so I am not out and about that much.

Currently I am on 2-4 pads per day Surgery was 9/10/09.  I think that I am beginning to make progress and the doc tells me I will probably be dry by April.  Everyone is different.  Some guys take a few weeks and some a few months.  I just started using the Cunningham Clamp (not bad) but I will only use it if I am going out of the house. The doc doesn't want me to become dependent on the clamp and stop my nerves, muscles and brain from reengaging in what they are supposed to be doing.

I hope this helped.

Len

Posted 1/30/2010 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Len, Thanks for the reply, I was thinking that everyone else was just more active and therefore used more pads. As for the clamp .... I have a friend here in Cincinnati that had surgery 7 weeks ahead of me. He is a truck driver and has been having a lot of leaking. His doc advised against the clamp also and for the same reasons. Larry
Posted 1/31/2010 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
There are no experts, no uniform formulas concerning this - because we are individually so different from one another that "standards" don't apply.  I, too, have had leaking-on-underwear problems, from time to time.  I've gone from dense pads to light ones as time has moved on.  Hopefully, I'll be through with the pads in several months.  In my situation, I've stuck to jockey shorts which keep the pads snug and tight - and I place the edge of the pad as high on the inside of the jockey briefs as space will allow.  I found that placing the pads lower made wearing them uncomfortable and also permitted leakage.  Best wishes for a full, happy recovery.
Posted 1/31/2010 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
Larryandangieohio,

I measure everythijng. I have more data on my pee production than NASA has on ISS missions.
If I am working from home, I drink 10-12 oz for breakfast, 10-12 lunch and 10-12 dinner and 8 oz just before bed.
If I am going out I cut way back on fluids 8 oz breakfast, 6 oz lunch, and 8-9 oz if I am out or 12-14 if I am home. I will drink a full 16 oz just before bed to make up for the loss. I get up once during the night and pee with such force I wake up my wife. (I'm so proud of that sound.)
Lately, I have been leaking about 10 oz per day - more if I am active, less If I am sitting. I do not leak if I sit or lie down. When I kegel I can make it to the bathroom with a constant but low level of leak. For me, no level of kegeling will stop the drip completely. It comes close, but never stops. If I relax - out it comes. Clearly the connection is there but there is something preventing complete closure. Being the engineeer I figured it is equivalent to a 70 um pinhole - a little bigger than the cross section of a hair.
Typically I will pee about 10x per day and 1x at night.
Your mileage will vary.
Jeff
I have all my data on an excel spreadsheet with plots. Yep, more data than NASA for sure.
Posted 2/1/2010 2:06 PM (GMT 0)
hiya guys
- thanks for the tips and ideas regarding leakage - I was doing well until this last week - in which I seemed to have to change my pants and pads three times a day - night time is fine - I got a male urinal bottle to keep in the bedroom ( to avoid having to go down a flight of stairs to the bathroom) - last night collection was 32 oz - :o -even though last fluid - 8 oz of water was a 8pm... and pee'd twice at bedtime ...
-will try the upside down routine for the pad today - mr. happy was always a right-dresser and that is where he leaks - so pad will be off to that side - I am an analytical type to but get bored - so will let Jeff be the NASA liason.
dry hugs ( for the moment)
BRONSON

P.S. I do like kegel as a verb ! :)
Posted 2/1/2010 2:33 PM (GMT 0)
I found that putting a pad in my shoe really helps when I can't keep willie where he belongs. He likes it down there !
Posted 2/1/2010 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
Len,
A P.S. to my previous advice.......you can use the Tena underwear AND put a pad in them. That saves the expensive Tena, let's you use a pad, and you have double protection.

Steve
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