When you have to go… you can depend on Depend.

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Depend. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

When the box arrived with my package of the new Depend panties to review, my husband started laughing and asked, “Are you seriously going to tell people you have trouble wetting your pants?!” It was near dinner time so my 15-year-old was in the kitchen and overheard this and couldn’t stop laughing. While I shook my head and laughed at the goofiness, the truth of the matter is that urinary incontinence is no laughing matter. It is embarrassing. It can determine where you go, how you travel and what you wear. It alters your life in a way that only those who deal with it or live with someone with it understand. I know where every single bathroom is at all times. I must. I won’t go somewhere if bathroom access is limited or questionable.

Studies indicate that up to 50% of women (1 in 3! Over 50 million American women today!) suffer from urinary incontinence at some point in their lives. It is usually the women who have delivered a baby, sometimes getting worse the more children she has. There are also sports injuries and illness or disease that can cause issues. Sometimes it is just a little trickle, after a cough or a sneeze, or even a laugh, other times it is like a dam broke. Every woman is different.

I get a double whammy of urinary issues. Yes, I have had multiple children, but I have also had illness and disease. With having Lupus (SLE), my urinary system has been very compromised. With chronic kidney issues, Interstitial Cystitis in my bladder and over 13 related surgeries, including one that placed a kidney/bladder neurostimulator (kind of like a pacemaker for the urinary system) in me, I am beyond blessed that it is only an incontinence issue, when it could be far worse. All that aside, I don’t want to have to worry about wetting my pants, but worry I have. I also have seizures and at times the seizure has been severe enough that when I have one, my bladder releases. That has happened at a party. At church. In Target. The seizure isn’t the part that makes me feel so bad about myself, it is the fact that I wet myself thoroughly. Hearing someone say, “Mommy, look, that lady wet her pants!” may have been one of the most humiliating things in my life. No one should suffer from that, but we do and we don’t talk about it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_mJmL5B47c

Last fall, I ran the Tower of Terror 10 Miler race hosted by runDisney and held at Walt Disney World Resort. I was feeling great, had stayed hydrated and my energy was good. I started with my girlfriends in a good position (Corral D) and felt confident that we would finish in plenty of time ahead of the balloon ladies. That didn’t happen. What did happen was my being one of the very last people to cross the finish line, if not the last. What happened? Pee happened.

I made it to mile 3 before I had to go. All that hydration and a weak system means that it doesn’t take long before the “I have to go now or I will go all over myself” feeling hits. It hit once. And then again. Over and over again. I made my way from porta-potty to porta-potty along the way. People passed us. The balloon ladies passed us. I still had to stop and go. And go. And go. The problem was, I wasn’t really going, I just felt like I needed to. My bladder had begun having spasms that couldn’t stop and I in turn was in misery. By the time we finally made it to the end, I was hunkered down, bent over in severe pain and didn’t even have it in me to celebrate at the finish line because I just needed to get to the bathroom. Again.

Fast forward to February and it is time for the Princess Half Marathon. I gave up my bib for the Glass Slipper Challenge and settled for only doing the 5K. I couldn’t take the chance of another fiasco (pee-asco?) like the TOT race. During the 5K, I wore a pad, just in case, but it was horrible and not made for running. I still occasionally used the pads up until the time of this review, but have never really liked them. Then came Depend Silhouette Active Fit briefs. And Underwareness. Finally, something made for me and people like me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvCN3giU27g

When I first put them on, they reminded me a little of those hospital panties they give you after having a baby. If you were ever given any, you remember them. The fabric was different and they didn’t have a lot of support. After a few minutes of wearing these, though, my thoughts on that changed. The only thing they had in common with those postpartum panties is that the fabric is different that what we are used to. It’s not harsh or rough on the skin, and there is a moderate level of support in them. The box they are packaged in has both black and beige so you don’t have to worry about not having the right color for your wardrobe.

Slim fitting (shown in black)

The first day I wore them, it took some getting used to. The box I was sent was Large/XL and they were too big for me. Although they are supposed to be low rise briefs, these came up to my navel and actually swallowed my butt whole. I have a big butt, I cannot lie, and these briefs covered them with excess. I continued to wear the box I was given for the next ten days, even though they were too big. I worked. I played. I exercised. I chased my granddaughter and played chauffeur to my youngest daughter and her friends. Basically I wore them like I would wear my regular panties. What happened over those ten days though was that I started liking them. Liking them a lot. I started feeling a little more confident. I became less afraid of having a seizure. Less afraid of sneezing or laughing. After I had used the box I was sent up, I went out and bought the S/M size and hallelujah! They fit! They fit well! My husband came into the bedroom one night while I was changing and commented that my butt looked good in those underwear. He didn’t even realize that I was wearing the Depend Silhouette Active Fit Brief! Talk about a win! He laughed at me at first but now he can’t even tell I am wearing them, and I was half-naked! That means when I am dressed, NO ONE can tell I am wearing them. They aren’t big and bulky, they don’t make any kind of rustling noise when you walk, you don’t have to go up a size because you are wearing a diaper, because you are NOT WEARING A DIAPER! You are wearing panties that fit to your body, that just so happen to have built-in protection for you.

Hugs your curves. (shown in Beige)

I am not ashamed of my irritable kidneys and grumbling bladder anymore. I am not worried about embarrassing myself, either. At least not because I wet myself, now being a total nerd, that’s a whole different level of embarrassment I have to worry about. 😉 If you are like me and deal with this issue, be sure to check out Underwareness to learn even more and grab your free sample. Don’t need the sample and ready to get your box? Click here for coupons for this and other Depend products. 

I really am so glad I was able to review this product as I know so many of us suffer from this problem and we don’t want to discuss it to find out the best ways to manage it. Let’s start talking and quit being embarrassed by something that so many of us have. We don’t have to suffer in silence any longer! With these Depend Silhouette Active Fit Briefs, we can quit worrying so much about going and get going in our life!

Until next time,

The Peachy Queen,

Charlotte Dawn