Most Liked Positive Review

Not perfect, but the best I've found if I do my part..

This review is for: Depend Guards for Men Convenience Pack Maximum Absorbency, 52-Count I started using Depend For Men Guards 18+ years ago, shortly after radical prostatectomy surgery for very aggressive prostate cancer. That was 1996 and I was 52 years old at the time. Mine was a classic case of ...the cancer being removed but the patient leaking; and I've continued to leak since. While I've tried virtually all available brands of absorption pads in the past, I find that Depend Guards work the best for my circumstances. For that reason I've stuck with these guards through all of their various changes and modifications over the years. Frankly, while there is still plenty of room for improvement, they have advanced considerably during that time and IMO are the best deal going for my use. There are several suggestions I'd like to offer for others using or considering using these guards. These are things that I've discovered, during my almost 2 decades of use that have greatly improved my quality of life,.. ** First and foremost, this new version, IMO, absorbs much more fluid than past versions and contains it better than in the past. Also, the new version seems to have much improved odor control over previous Guards. That is especially appreciated during long wear times. ** Personal fluid leakage varies from day to day, even hour by hour. It is up to the user to monitor themselves and change pads at necessary intervals to prevent the pads from becoming overly saturated and therefore start overflowing. ** My pad use sometimes varies radically, depending upon fluid/food intake, exercise, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, medications, wellness or illness, etc. Sometimes a pad may last me for 12 to 15 hours and other times a change is warranted every 3 to 4 hours. Failure to monitor leakage, and act accordingly by changing the pad as needed, may lead to embarrassing circumstances.. ** Pad performance is very poor when used in boxer-style underwear. ** Pad performance is so-so to poor when used in loosely fitted jockey-style shorts ** Pad performance became quite good when I switched to bikini-brief style underwear. This type of brief rides much lower on my abdomen, provides a good pouch for the pad and my 'package' to rest in, and generally provides excellent support of the pad close to my body. This combination catches virtually all leakage and generally prevents leakage around the already much-too-narrow pad. It also tends to keep the pad positioned where I put it rather than where it wants to wander off to.. Using the bikini briefs also allows me to place the top of the Guard up along the elastic waistband of the briefs and further helps hold everything in place. ** When I plan to be active, out in a crowd or social setting, or may be sitting in unusual positions, I wear the bikini-brief underwear as above and use TWO PADS inside the pouch. The 1st pad I place on the left side of the pouch, opposite the right side where I normally dress myself. The 2nd pad is moved as far to the right as possible while still keeping the pad adhesive completely within the underwear. The 2nd pad in tends to overlap the 1st pad and allows the two pads to act as one wide pad. I can wear this two-pad arrangement for a full day of active use and typically only need to change out the right-side pad when it becomes saturated. The more active I am the fewer pad changes are required. Plus, this method also provides much improved pad coverage in an active environment. It may initially take several attempts to get the two pads placed properly, but once this is figured out this system works exceptionally well, at least for me. ** Discarded Guards can normally be wrapped using the adhesive strip protective cover from the new pad to secure the rolled-up old pad. The little bag the new pad comes in will usually also hold the used pad until it can be properly discarded. ** Always keep spare Guards handy unless you have your leakage figured out quite accurately. A Guard or two can easily be carried in a pocket. ** Being "OCD" as my wife says, I typically write down on the package the day I open a new package of 52 pads so I can monitor the usage rate for future ordering. Currently my rate of use for a package of 52 Guards runs between 10 and 15 days. Therefore I know that I'll typically use 2 or 3 packages a month. This allows me to monitor pricing and order for future needs when the pricing is low. I prefer to keep at least a 2 or 3 month supply on hand. Other uses: I always pack an emergency bag or back pack of some sort in my vehicle when venturing away from home. In it I carry spare meds, other emergency items I may need and always a decent supply of First Aid stuff, "just in case".. These pads, and other similar pads, have MANY potential applications in emergencies. They can be used as absorption pads or sponges for blood or other fluids. They can be rolled and used under a tourniquet to slow or stop blood flow. The backs of these pads are plastic and along with the adhesive material can be used to temporarily stop air leakage in the event of a puncture wound to the chest cavity. With duct tape or medical tape the pads can be incorporated as a bandage for various parts of the body.. Use your imagination. Typically I'll have at least a dozen of these guards in any emergency bag I have in the vehicle. In addition to emergencies, these Depend Guards work well as absorption pads in men's underwear..