An active sportsman speaks frankly about staying dry while on the go.
By Bob Vogel
In the 1977 movie Semi Tough, professional football players, played by Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson, vie for the affections of Jill Clayburgh. Clayburgh convinces them to attend a “pop-spiritual” seminar called “B.E.A.T.”, a take-off of Werner Erhard’s “est” seminars. One of the well-known rules of “est” seminars was not letting participants use the restroom for 8 hours at a time. Reynolds’s character, a smooth talking borderline con artist, attends the seminar with a trick up his sleeve. Late in the seminar, attendees writhe in agony, their bladders about to burst, others peeing in their pants. The camera pans to Reynolds, he exudes a relaxing smile as he stealthily relieves himself (we find out) into an external catheter and leg-bag. Chalk one up for hidden advantage. No embarrassment there.
I still remember my first introduction to the external catheter/ leg-bag world. In 1985, I became a T10 complete paraplegic; the result of a skiing accident. In my stay at the rehab hospital, the initial shock of not walking was soon replaced by another surprise, the new way I would have to manage my plumbing.
At first, things went smoothly. My bladder was quiet. I stayed dry and was able to void using a catheter 4 to 5 times a day. I got strong, healthy and wheeled out of the rehab hospital. I went on to college, adventure and an active life.
Plumbing Talk
A year and a half after my injury, a curve ball came my way. While studying at my desk, I looked down and saw that my lap was wet. Sure enough, I had peed my pants. This happened several more times, but fortunately I was raised with a philosophy that states, “If you have a problem and seek expert advice or help, your problem gets solved. But if you try and hide it, ignore it or cover it up—the problem gains control over you.”
I went to see my urologist, who ran some tests and discovered that I had a spastic bladder. He put me on a drug called Ditropan to quiet the spasms and suggested I use condom catheters (the only external option available at the time) and a leg-bag to manage the leakage. I still remember being embarrassed placing my first condom catheter and leg-bag order. Trying the system on for the first time felt weird.
I also remember a sense of relief. I no longer had to worry about ending up with wet pants—at least as long as the condom stayed on. Still, it was something that I kept to myself. Yes, it was embarrassing to me.
It was about that time that I started getting involved with wheelchair sports; wheelchair racing, adaptive water skiing, and snow skiing. Hanging out with veteran wheelchair users, I quickly lost my embarrassment about the leg-bag—primarily because when a group of wheelers get together and “locker room talk” ensues, the subject often turns to plumbing. Who uses what system? What works better for what type of injury—and of course humorous tales of when things didn’t work.
One of my “locker room” stories of late is telling my buddies about Liberty external catheters by BioDerm. It has a unique design that is smaller and more discrete than condom catheters, but more importantly, it won’t roll off (or peel off, like the neck of a turtle). So, the worry about the occasional “blown condom” is a thing of the past. This has been a huge deal for me! My wheeling peers were a great example—an external catheter system isn’t a big deal, but it can be an important deal.
I also learned from these “locker room stories” that external catheter systems are no big deal to women either. In fact, over the years, I’ve had girlfriends tell me after they got to know me that my confidence about the way I manage my bladder (and having the self respect to keep the system clean and discreet) was, in fact, attractive.
Drysuits and Wetsuits
It turns out external systems are more widely used than one may suspect. I scuba dive in the frigid waters of Monterey Bay, California. In the group I dive with, I’m the only person who uses a wheelchair. When our group started diving, most of us dove in wetsuits. In 48-degree water, even with the best wetsuit, a body gets cold fast. Over time, we all switched to drysuits. A drysuit is waterproof and fits over layers of warm clothing to keeps you toasty and dry. While the drysuits kept us warm, they presented a new problem. When scuba diving, it is important to stay well hydrated to help avoid the bends. The problem is, you put a well-hydrated person in the water and the kidneys go into hyperdrive. It is acceptable to pee in a wetsuit (in fact it warms the diver up), but in a sealed drysuit, this is a messy deal and a big no-no. Because of this dilemma, some drysuit divers wear diapers while others just suffer and “hold it” until they get back on the boat or to shore. My external catheter/leg-bag combination had already solved this problem. I shared this information with a good dive buddy of mine named Dan. He wanted to try it, so I gave him some spare external catheters and a leg-bag.
Embarrassing secret? Heck no! Dan was thrilled. In fact, this gave him fuel to torment other members of our dive group. We could see the tension in people’s faces as they surfaced after a dive. They were forced to “hold it” on the long swim to shore while Dan let out a loud relaxing “ahhh” as he filled his leg-bag and leisurely swam. Soon, other dive buddies tried the system and now keep a stock of external catheters and a leg-bag with their dive gear. For them, putting on the external catheter/leg-bag combination is just another piece of dive gear. A hidden advantage.
Another passion of mine is hang gliding. Hang glider pilots fly around looking for rising columns of air called thermals. When a pilot finds a thermal they circle in it and gain altitude. On good days, hang glider pilots can reach 18,000 feet, and by flying from one thermal to the next, a pilot can fly cross country. The best pilots can fly hundreds of miles, which can take 8 or more hours. The air at altitude is dry and pilots can dehydrate easily. Like many sports, it is important for hang glider pilots to drink plenty of fluids. Like scuba diving in a drysuit, there is no way to relieve yourself in a hang glider harness. The only option used to be wearing diapers, or being very uncomfortable trying to hold it until landing. In the late 80’s, word of external catheter/legbag systems reached top notch hang glider pilots. For many top cross-country pilots, an external catheter/ leg-bag system is just as important as their altimeter or airspeed indicator. Again, a hidden advantage.
I was recently watching a television special on off-road truck racing. The narrator described the intense heat inside the truck, and like other sports, how important it is to stay well hydrated. The narration went on explaining that races can range in length from hours to—in races like the Baja 1000—days. For such lengthy races, many top drivers wear external catheters and leg-bags rather than risk loosing precious seconds and minutes for a “rest stop.” Another hidden advantage— and much better than sitting in a wet diaper for 1000 miles.
This first-hand look at sports and adventures where men use external catheter/leg-bag systems for a hidden advantage is probably only the tip of the iceberg. One can logically assume these systems are in common use in many sports and adventures. Yet for the athletes that engage in these sports, putting on an external catheter/leg-bag system is no more embarrassing than breathing through a regulator, putting on a hang glider harness, or strapping on a helmet. It is just a logical form of systems management.
When it comes to systems management and gear, guys like sharing information—bragging may be more accurate. Commonly referred to as “bench racing”, we like to talk about the latest glider, what kind of scuba regulator or dive mask we prefer, engine and suspension modifications, what is the latest and greatest. In terms of incontinence, this is also true—at least in wheelchair “locker room” talk. Life is interesting. Had you told me 24 years ago that I would be nonchalantly sharing information about a unique and revolutionary external catheter system with my buddies—and stoked to share the information, I would have thought you were crazy. Yet here we are.
Life is all about choices. When it comes to incontinence, the first choice should be getting information on the best way to manage it. The second choice is how we view this management system. Do we think of it as an embarrassing secret, or do we choose to see it as a hidden advantage, an advantage that gives us more control over our daily lives? I choose the second option; a system that puts me in control and allows me to live life to the fullest, on my terms.
Bob Vogel writes Bladder Matters for New Mobility magazine.
