Am I leaking? If so, how much?

LARP done 20 days ago, cath removed 12 days ago. From the moment the cath was removed, I had control over starting/stopping urine flow.

I use a pad. I throw it away at the end of the day, and it appears to be clean/dry. But, perhaps there is some amount of leakage which is simply absorbed well by the pad. (I have no explanation on why there are no traces of yellow on the surface of the pad.)

I occasionally have a sensation of a trickle of urine "descending" from the bladder to the urethra (if that makes any sense), but almost never a sensation of urine actually leaking from the penis. I very rarely feel moisture in the crotch area.

Any ideas on how to confirm whether I'm leaking, and, if so, how much? I could try going without a pad for a non-workday, and see what happens. Or perhaps someone makes a pad that changes color in spots contacted by urine?

Any ideas?

-Gedman

gross as it may be , the smell test works every time. Ich mach nix, though. If you are, its minor. Woman live with that daily……

Gedman,

To be that dry at 20 days is great. It is possible that you have a few dribbles now but the way you are going it sounds like you will be totally dry soon. It is true that pee pads are designed to wick moisture away from your body which can make it hard to know if they are wet at all. You could occasionally try going without a pad on the weekend wearing white tighty-whiteys (which are less forgiving) and see how it goes.

You could also weigh your pads in the morning and at night on a postal scale, or, for a geekier solution, you could try looking at your pads in a dark room using a black light. Urine fluoresces under (some wavelengths of) black light and you can also use the black light to find spots in the carpet from your pets if you have any.

This UV Flashlight on Amazon is cheap and well-reviewed.

Wearing NO Pad would be how I would do it...

Gedman,

I was almost dry the week before I discarded the pad and night time pull ups. I was fully dry after that, 3 weeks after the rubber snake was removed. I still have an occasional drip if I fart with a pretty full bladder, but no wet spots yet on the tan pants. Sounds to me like you are dry.

Terry 

Post Edited (Water Guy) : 4/23/2013 12:58:36 PM (GMT-6)

Smell test or just go without a pad on a weekend or some other time where it won't matter and see how it goes. If you are really curious, cough or lift something heavier. If you are leaking, it will show. My guess is that you are good. Best wishes.

When I got home from work (30 mins ago) I removed the pad. Already a tiny leak occurred (like 2-3 drips) in my underwear. We'll see how this goes as the evening progresses.

-Gedman

I'm almost 8 weeks out and still going through several full pads a day. But...I drink a lot of water and non-cafine beverages so there's bound to be a lot. Getting better a little every day, not soon enough for me, but is progress! One suggestion for checking for leakage is also to buy some Azo tablets, they're OTC anwhere that sells medicene. They'll turn your urine orange for up to 24 hours after you take one. At least you can see the color through the thickness of the pad. Hang in there, you're doing great!!!

Oh Gedman, Gedman, Gedman,

I am so disappointed... You asked about how to measure leakage and you didn't cotact me?! Puhleeze! I am a leakage measuring expert!

For 2 years I weighed my pads on a Mettler laboratory scale down to 0.01 gram and plotted the results. The curves were further processed to include two and three day running averages, forecasting, and polynomial and logarithmic curve fits.
After my sling surgery in the peak of winter, I discovered that I could be leaking but the pee would evaporate from the pads. I call that "Sub-observable leakage". To determine the SOL level I started noting the relative humidity while running experiments with impervious layers over the pads. I won't bore you with the methods and data but here are the results:
In a dry climate, in the dead of winter, I evaporated about 8 ml/ day when fully dressed and wearing jeans. That means I could leak a full 8 ml about 120-150 drops throughout the day and still be totally dry. In more humid conditions the leak appears to increase but that is due to a decrease in evaporation rate.

I performed a brief confirmation experiment at Cajun style GFMPH this past weekend. I went from a climate with low indoor humidity to a climate with a relative humidity of (est.) 200% and I noticed my pad had drops in it and needed to be changed. I was unable to take hard data. (For all their hospitality Cajun Jeff and Pat do not keep a calibrated Mettler laboratory scale in their kitchen. )
Other variables prevented this from being a true test. I was laughing a lot. I consumed a moderate amount of alcohol, and drank plenty of other beverages. I had spicy food that caused me to sweat in places that have not seen sweat in ages. All can have an effect on leakage and thus confound the SOL determination.

Go without a pee pad but have an extra pair of undies in your desk drawer.
Congrats on your fast recovery!

Jeff

Post Edited (Worried Guy) : 4/24/2013 8:15:39 AM (GMT-6)

tooyoung4rthis
And I didn't even touch on the subject of pee pad storage capacity and the asymptotic nature of leakage and continence!
Jeff

Hey Gedman.

While we're dipping into the subject of peeing, here's a thread that covers it in a little more depth.
Zeno's Pee Paradox and Incontinence
Consider it a test. If your pad is dry after reading it you are safe.
Jeff

Post Edited (Worried Guy) : 4/24/2013 1:48:01 PM (GMT-6)

Just reading that again, I chuckled... Again.
Sometimes it's the little things that make your day!