Incontinence Part II

By the time we got home, the uncontrolled laughter and urination had subsided and I felt pretty nasty. I changed out of the really soaked diaper and showered. I spent my first catheter-free night wearing a diaper. Seemed sensible after the leaky day. Not comfortable. The plastic gets so sweaty it actually fooled me into thinking I had filled it up. I'm down in the bathroom at 3 in the morning earnestly pinching the absorbent pad and wondering why it wasn't wet. I spent the rest of the night wondering how an otherwise sane man would end up doing such a thing.

In the morning the diaper looked dry so I got brave and tried shifting to a pad. Way more comfortable though at night it was still strange, like having a few wadded up baggies stuffed between your legs. Amazingly, I seemed to be getting bladder control back. Sneezing tended to yield some unfortunate results and I had to concentrate a bit when standing up or sitting down. By Thursday I was going commando. At least I was going without pads. I settled on keeping an emergency kit close at hand. I prepared a bag that had two diapers, two pads, some clean rags, a pack of baby wipes, a few large plastic bags and a pair of lightweight nylon hiking pants. Four days on I haven't had to use the kit but I'm glad it's ready. Just in case.
So, if you're about to have your catheter removed, here are some tips:

1. Wear dark colored pants. Hides any stains.
2. Prepare a kit as per above.
3. Anticipate zero bladder control for at least 24 hours after the catheter is out.
4. Change your disposable diaper early and often.

Today I'm going back to work at Linfield. We'll see how things go.