Dealing with Adult incontinence

[rwood]

I have become recently urinary and fecal incontinent due to nerve damage, I won't go into the details, but its been about 4 months now, I am very excited to take my 8 yr old daughter to disneyworld, but being diaper dependent has me very stressed, Ive not had to deal with changing in a public setting as of yet. Im not sure if there are any places to deal with changing that is private other than the first aid areas, I don't want to use these areas and take away from someone that is truely disabled. any help would be appreciated.

 

[deegack]

There are a few companion bathrooms in each park. Their location is on the disability access map you can pick up at guest services. They are for situations like this where you may need a little more time and privacy to use the restroom.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

All the park restrooms have larger disabled cubicles there are also standalone companion restrooms which have more space and privacy. I would say use First Aid as that is by far the most comfortable, spacious, hygienic and private area for changing and there are areas designed for that purpose. There would be a comfortable place there for other members of the party to wait too.

 

[rwood]

I just want to thank you for the fast replies, Ive been so excited and doing all the planning, I didnt have time to think of this issue til now, arriving in Disney on July 1, My daughters 8th birthday present, she is going to be so excited, and now that I know theres places to deal with my condition, Im getting excited again and not so nervous

 

[Michigan]

I'm sorry about your recent incontinence issues but your doctor needed to do something other then tell you to wear diapers. My girls are both bowel and bladder incontinent due to paralysis from spina bifida, However because they both self cath every 4 hours and use high volume water enemas they are socially continent and don't have accidents.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[darthtatty]

Hi,
as already mentioned the main toilets have a disabled cubicle-this will be slightly larger and give you room. However I dont think it will give you enough privacy. Although they are generally at the end of the restrooms, they have gaps in the doors, the doors are high off the ground and are not of a great height.
The first aid room could be suitable but it is a trek if you are at the other end of the park. you may have to explain your situation each time, which I personally would hate.
I think you should use the companion restrooms, they are fully enclosed and private. Would you feel comfortable with either letting your child come in, or trust them to wait outside the door?
Please do not feel you are taking the toilet away from a disabled person that may be waiting.
you have a medical need and although your need is not visible, it is no reason why you shouldnt use the rooms.

 

[Ali]

Exactly what I was going to say, you do have a valid reason to use the companion restroom. Please take care of yourself so you feel comfortable in the parks. I had nerve damage in 2004 and went through several years of incontinence issues that left me trying to stay home instead of living life. I wish I had that time back.

Have fun and take care of your needs.

 

[JennyDrake]

I have traveled with a Sr. with bladder incontinence. The companion restrooms were a terrific resource. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm sorry about your recent incontinence issues but your doctor needed to do something other then tell you to wear diapers. My girls are both bowel and bladder incontinent due to paralysis from spina bifida, However because they both self cath every 4 hours and use high volume water enemas they are socially continent and don't have accidents.

Have fun on your trip!

Agree with Michigan.

There are things that can be done besides wearing diapers. A Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse (WOCN) could help you out if the doctor is not able to. You would need a referral from your doctor to see the WOCN.

I'd suggest going out someplace where you can try changing away from home before you go to WDW. Try a local mall or someplace like that. The changing itself won't be any different there than at home; you'll just need to think about how you will arrange things and where to put things.

For the parks, First Aid in each park has single stall bathrooms with a lockable door. They also have individual rooms with cots where you could change. There are some rooms with just a cot, a chair and a curtain to pull. They also have treatment rooms with doors, a cot or treatment table and a sink.

Each park has 4-6 Companion Restrooms located in various places in the park. These are all single stall bathrooms with a lockable door. Some have changing tables where you could set supplies, but many do not have a changing table and may have no where to place things besides the floor.

All parks have at least some regular restrooms with large handicapped toilet stalls with a sink right in the stall. AK and the Studio have these in most of their restrooms because one are the 2 newest parks. Epcot and MK are converting handicapped stalls to be like that, so many of the large restrooms in those packs do have that type of stall. As was mentioned, those stalls have doors that don't come all the way to the floor, so they would not provide as much privacy as using Companion Restrooms or First Aid.

here is a link to a thread about bathrooms that should be helpful.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2076903

 

[Bete]

with potty breaks. I do this for my mom and it really helps. For example, if she has been drinking we will visit a restroom about a half hour later. After eating, we try an hour later for a restroom visit. We will never go for more than 2 hours and not visit a restroom. If there's a long wait for an attraction we will visit a restroom before entering the line. If we don't get any results then we try again after the attraction is done. We do what I call preventive bathroom practices. This prevents most accidents from happening. Everyone is different with their cycles, but if you journal yourself each day you should be able to get use to your body and when you need to go to prevent accidents or at least slow them down.

There's a special pad you can get from a company called Moliform. These pads are huge and come in different absorption styles. They are meant for both ends of the spectrum and you can add booster pads to them to even make them more absorbent. We take cleaning products with us in a diaper bag just in case there's an accident. We bring a change in clothes, as well.

My mom is older; so, this is how we deal with it. In your case, you may want to seek out other solutions as suggested by other posters.

I would make sure I knew where the restroom is located in the places where you plan to stay for a while. You don't want to panic at the last minute trying to find out where the restroom is located.

 

[rwood]

I just want to thank you for the reply, I have talked with my Neurologist about my options, My problem is caused by a form of spinal stenosis, The nerves in my c3-c4 have a calcium build up do to an old injury, which over time has blocked the nerves from feeding the nerve cells in turn causing the cells to die, but the muscles still work and there is a chance that once the calcium build up has been removed and with a strict vitamin diet its possible that I will get control back, So the Dr doesn't want to do an ostomy or have me use a catheter, once I do either i will be taking the working muscles out of the loop and it will be very hard to reverse. As of now my system works fine, the problem is my brain doesn't get the signal when I need to go nor can it send the message to stop when i do go, its like its unplugged. But The Dr is pretty confident I will get control back though it may take a long time,when the obstruction gets cleared and the nerve cells regenerate I will be normal again. Though no guarantees.
So as embarrassing and uncomfortable as it may be Diapers are my best option.

 

[Michigan]

I just want to thank you for the reply, I have talked with my Neurologist about my options, My problem is caused by a form of spinal stenosis, The nerves in my c3-c4 have a calcium build up do to an old injury, which over time has blocked the nerves from feeding the nerve cells in turn causing the cells to die, but the muscles still work and there is a chance that once the calcium build up has been removed and with a strict vitamin diet its possible that I will get control back, So the Dr doesn't want to do an ostomy or have me use a catheter, once I do either i will be taking the working muscles out of the loop and it will be very hard to reverse. As of now my system works fine, the problem is my brain doesn't get the signal when I need to go nor can it send the message to stop when i do go, its like its unplugged. But The Dr is pretty confident I will get control back though it may take a long time,when the obstruction gets cleared and the nerve cells regenerate I will be normal again. Though no guarantees.
So as embarrassing and uncomfortable as it may be Diapers are my best option.

No offense but your doctor is wrong. Using a catheter to keep yourself dry is not going to cause working muscles to stop working. If you don't time the catheter right those so called working muscles will still release just like they are now. If my girls wait longer then 4 hours their bladder will empty itself. I agree an ostomy would be radical but you can use a stoma cone bag enema filled with nothing but water hold it on your bottom and give yourself a high volume enema that will keep you from having bowel accidents. Also if your only use diapers to manager your incontinence you are setting yourself up for some serious infections. Babies have antibodies that you lose as your grow to prevent them from ecoli infections.

 

[Zbugz]

I'm sorry about your recent incontinence issues but your doctor needed to do something other then tell you to wear diapers. My girls are both bowel and bladder incontinent due to paralysis from spina bifida, However because they both self cath every 4 hours and use high volume water enemas they are socially continent and don't have accidents.

Have fun on your trip!

I am curious how old your girls are? Do you have them self-cath in the regular restrooms or go to First Aid?

My 13 year-old is paralyzed from transverse myelitis as of June 28th and is in the process of learning to self-cath. I am really new to this so am trying to visualize how we can manage a trip to DLR.

TIA, Zbugz

 

[Michigan]

They self cath in the restrooms. Both now have a mitrofanoff they cath through. It's a small stoma that looks like an extra bellybutton. Oldest daughter didn't get hers until she was in high school so she would transfer to the toilet and self cath. With the mitrofanoff they now only have to pull their chairs up next to the toilet lift their shirt and do it. Don't let you child's paralysis keep you from doing Disney.

 

[bopper]

Forget about the "i don't want to take away from someone is truly disabled"....guess what?
You have a temporary disability. You need to use the companion bathroom/First aid room just as much as anyone else. Just about everyone can find someone more disabled than themselves. It isn't like only the most disabled person in the world gets to use it and no one else does.