Monday, 15 August 2005 – Plumbing Problems…

Well today’s trial involved fine tuning the sheath flushing pants. This has only been half successful. I have refined the fit so that it reduces the chance of coming out of the sheath,
by using various straps and bands by that hold the base of the sheath against my body. This is important to me as I have no access to reinsert myself once in my suit. This aspect whent OK.

This was all linked up to the collecting bag and bag emptying plumbing I proved recently during the catheter trials.

However, some hours ago I suffered a “plumbing malfunction” and I find myself here committed to being locked in my full TE suit until tonight, with several pints of urine sloshing about…

It’s not that I am in any discomfort, but it’s not ideal! The suit is totally water-tight so from the outside I look (and smell) as if nothing has happened. Urine feels just like warm water (or loads of sweat) has accumulated in the suit. None of these r ideal, but not the end of the earth. From past experience I know I am probably unlikely to suffer any skin irritation from a day or so soaked, as long as I don’t repeat the experience too often.

There is a perverse side to my nature that can even see the fun side to the situation and I certainly intend to play on the submissive in me to make the most of it. But all said and done, I would sooner be able to stay dry and am determined to achieve this end.

As I am now more limited in what I can do, I have had some time to analyse this issues. The main problem is the fit of the sheath and the forces of gravity. When erect, the sheath fits reasonably well but you find yourself urinating up hill. When flaccid, you have some gravity on your side, but the fit is terrible. In a suit it is difficult to arrange for the pipe runs to always be below the bladder & penis and difficult to avoid kinks and restrictions.

Now some people are able to get sheath pants to work well for them, but my personal preferences are making things more challenging. Most have access to their sheathed penis, to adjust the fit and arrange for downward flow when pissing – while I do not (neck entry suit). My sheath is totally inaccessible and prone to being squished in the wrong position.

Solutions? Well obviously I could go back to suits with zip access below the waist, so I could arrange things just before using the flushing sheath pants. I could go back to suits with built in sheath for the same reason. I also have seen other designs of pants that are drained from the lowest point (so I am not fighting gravity). Not going to make a snap decision today, but surf for inspiration. In the mean time I am going to slowly think this over while waiting for the time when I can get out of this sodden suit, bath and get into something dry…

Squelch!
Sealed

Friday, 12 August 2005 - Catheterisation – Suitable for Rubber Enclosed People?

(answers for Dark in comments section of last post…)

If Catheterisation is something that interests you, I think you should try hard to find time to read this entry to the end. It could save you a lot of bother…

I have never considered medical equipment part of my fetish, but faced with the realities of being sealed up in rubber for hours/days, they start to appeal where they are conceivably a means to an end.

BTW My suit of choice is a neck entry type with no zips or other access to the groin area - making it wonderfully comfortable and water proof / air tight, but this does give rise to the obvious difficulties in body function. I do own suits with 3 way - zip access etc, but I find there are down sides to these including:

1. Being less comfortable (zip runs by sensitive region and is not as stretchy/soft as latex)

2. Feeling less “sealed” (suits with no zips make you feel almost vacuum packed)

3. If you do get to hot, you can end up leaving puddles of sweat everywhere!

4. Because zips run over an are requiring bends / stretch and of item 1 (above), I find that the zip is under strain and is usually the first point of failure in a suit.

My trials with urinating sheath pants from fetish shops and condom-type catheters from medical suppliers have so far been unsatisfactory. Neither could handle the change in shape and size over prolong wearing that is inherent in normal male cycles of erection and flaccidity. So here I am trying out a Foley Cath.

I have the catheter linked to a small collecting bag (via non-return) inside my suit; this in turn is plumed up to exit via my neck, so it can be pumped empty.

Insertion (with lube) was unpleasant but not painful. It chose the smallest diameter size (FG12) to make it easy to insert and wear. The cath was a Bardo-matic – which means it is easy to deploy self retaining balloon that lives in the bladder.

Wearing it, I could not say it felt very comfortable. Not really what you could call uncomfortable, but for me “almost uncomfortable”.

Function worked very well. The flow into the bag was slow but kept my bladder completely empty. I managed to fit all this plumbing inside the skin-tight suit and yet keep it secured / comfortable. When there was sufficient fluid in the collection bag, it was very easy to empty via the second pipe (I used simple symphonic method in this trial).

Now, like I said before, I didn’t embark on these trial for any other reason than for the potential to solve some mundane practical issues associated with my chosen kink, but what do you know – I found there was a kind of thrill to all this. It felt quite perverse (even by my own standards), but I found myself liking things about my catheterisation. I really liked the losing of all control of my bladder functions and effectively handing control to my suit’s plumbing equipment. It literally felt like a release at some level. All the plumbing pipes added to a sort of cyborg type mental image – the new kit enhancing the idea of an amalgamation between body and fetish (suit).

In the interests of the trial I had to try out everything I wanted to be able to do while wearing the cath. Moving about was no problem. The cath stayed secure and did not limit my ability to move around at all. The rest of the plumbing was only really a first lash up – but actually felt pretty good when sitting/lying/standing/stretching/walking and stayed securely in position (I had augmented the supplied rubber belts). In fact the little resistance or pull offered by the kit was just enough to make you aware of your situation, which I found weirdly stimulating.

Next was the obvious erection test and that was the end of the good news. On the plus side, cycles of erection did not present any problems to the function of the cath, which stayed secure and functional. But I couldn’t say I liked the sensation. It wasn’t painful, but was very noticeable and verging on unpleasant. The masochist in me could get something out of it – and I found it could actually be a stimulating experience, but it was not the sort of thing I would like to endure every time I had an erection. Still, it didn’t stop me getting a thrill in the short term, so the test had to proceed to obvious climax….

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!!!! I knew there was some risk here before I started as, with a catheter in the urethra, there is nowhere for the semen to go (this is one reason why I chose the smallest diameter). Anyway - absolute explosion of agony. Some have said it enhances the experience, others have agreed with me – basically never again. Again, those into pain may get something out of this – but I would expect that this amount of agony is associated with real risk of damage.

Some semen did make it’s way past the cath, but the back pressure with all the fluid being suddenly being released was just too much for my kit to handle.

Luckily, the cath was easy to remove by deflating the retainer with a syringe and carefully withdrawing (no resistance felt at all). But this was not the end of the pain.

Urinating for a few hours after the experience was virtually too painful to consider. This actually did fade once I had successfully passed water. However, the initial sensation was unpleasant every time I urinated for the following 24 hours.

Summary

I tried this same experiment some 10 years ago with similar results. I spent the intervening time wondering if I had been unlucky the first time and building up the courage to try again. Now I know the truth - in-bladder catheters are not for me and will be more than a decode before I want to go there again!

Everyone is built differently and maybe I have a particularly sensitive or narrow urethra. Given how instantly I started getting a slightly unpleasant sensation, it is even possible that my urinary tract is allergic to latex (in which case there is always the silicone caths).

I could imagine some people may find Foley catheters comfortable to wear and even stimulating. However, I can’t see how anyone could comfortably or safely ejaculate without first removing the catheter.

Even if that were possible – Foley Catheter have their limitation and are only a partial solution. If the aim is to plumb away fluids so you can stay comfortably in your suit for extended periods, the Foley does not address the semen ejaculate. Admittedly this is less troublesome to an endurance rubberist than urine, but a perfect solution would deal with both.

For female rubberist the in-dwelling Foley really does offer some possibilities. Erections and ejaculation are obviously irrelevant here and I have heard some good reports. It probably would be worth considering as long as you take account of UTI issues associated with the shorter urethra and it’s proximity to unclean areas. Any female volunteers?!?! ;o)

Way forward?

On the plus side, the rest of the plumbing and collection worked a treat. I can easily see it being refined to a degree that would make it suitable and comfortable for constant wear every day. I just need a reliable & comfortable way getting stuff into the collection bag’s one way valve…

Next on the list for further consideration are proper medical appliances (e.g. McGuire Urinal), the Bioderm device and draining pants from fetish shops. Any feedback welcomed!

Sealed

Tuesday, 09 August 2005 The Inspiration and Challenges of 24/7 Rubber Enclosed People (or 24 Hour REPs!)

Dark, your response was so wide ranging and comprehensive that it makes it a daunting to produce an adequately cogent, structured response…. But here goes nothing… For the others I apologise if we go a little deeper and long winded today, but my normal self gratifying superficial banality will return shortly ;o)

In examining the wearing rubber, there are the practicalities / challenges and then there are the positives aspects and thus inspiration we need to have the driving force to overcome the challenges. We better get some of the challenges out of the way first otherwise the motivations are merely theoretical.

Although interesting in the subject, I don’t feel I can contribute anything fundamental or staggeringly new on challenges of sociology or clothing politics (for want of a better name), partly because I generally only wear my fetish clothing in non-public manner and not for any “scene”, fashion or extroverted reasons.

Nevertheless in response to the assertion “rubber will never be mainstreamed for regular clothes because..” [comfort issues and fetish motives], I will say that “never” is long time! Some very strange things which are either uncomfortable and/or worn for (sometimes oblique, sometime overt) sexual motives have come to become mainstream fashion at one time or other. Things that would have been impractical or unthinkable right up to the time they suddenly became mainstream. At one end of the continuum you have (in the West) ever shorter skirts in the second half of the 20th century right, ever more dangerous high heel shoes, right through to body modification, which is routine and (to western eyes) extreme in some cultures (piercings, feet binding, neck rings). So I accept we are a way from any degree of rubber clothing being acceptable clothing in all situations, but I actually think this may change in time. Since my childhood I have seen it become acceptable for women dress more and more in “men’s clothes”, sporting short “men’s” haircuts and then there was the (near) fetish of the punk fashions that became widespread the late 70s.

How do I feel about it? Well it’s not going to affect my current activities, but yes I think it would be generally a good thing if people were not inhibited by society and able to wear anything that makes them feel good or allows them to express themselves. And, although it’s not what drives me, I think future generations of fetishist will owe the current trailblazers (e.g. Blackie and Latex Lady) a huge debt of gratitude when they feel at ease wearing latex in public.

That said, I do think that you are pretty much spot on in identifying the 3 fundamental aspect (or motivations) in wearing latex : physiological, social and psychological – although in examining the subject it is often difficult to talk about one without the other. For example, the impermeable nature of latex is equally applicable to physiological, social and psychological aspects wearing the material. You could put the argument that, for example, latex’s (often) figure hugging propensity, sensual nature, sexual “practicalities” and overtones all have physiological, social and psychological aspects. This is not to diminish the validity of examining all three aspects.

We all know there are challenges of latex lifestyle. The most obvious are the physical challenges and practicality of being totally sealed in an impermeable material for long periods. If we assume an aim of being as total encased in latex as possible, for extended periods, challenges would include:
- maintaining a safe and comfortable body temperature
- dealing with sudden changes in environmental temperature
- dealing with perspiration
- dealing with condensation (both in suite and on goggles / eye pieces)
- allowing for all the other body excretions
- providing mechanism for required nourishment
- having the desired access to breathable air
- ensuring the total enclosure kit is complete enough (to the desired level of encasement/bondage) while allowing the wearer to pursue any necessary activities.
- Avoid painful pressure sores after long periods.
- Ensuring that the suit does not impede blood flow to extremities while being sufficiently close fitting.
- Dealing with vitamin deficiency due to lack of sun-light on skin.
- Having some strategy to exercise enough to prevent atrophy and maintain a level of physical fitness while either not overheating while in latex or spending too long out of latex while exercising. For me this is the ultimate physical challenge….

A challengingly long list, but, if you take them one at a time, it is not that they are insurmountable; it’s just that they are challenges to be overcome. Some are much more difficult to deal with than others. They could be solved by engineering a way out, which might include throwing money at the problem or might mean a compromise in comfort v endurance v degree of encasement.

How an individual deals with the challenges may depend on the nature of their desire to be encased and on how long they are aiming to spend in latex. I don’t claim to have dealt with them all to the extent of making them all a non-issue in all circumstances, but I am merely on the road to finding successively more effective ways of coping with each challenge as and when I chose to increase the latex to non-latex ratio of my lifestyle (and the degree of my total enclosure).

While some of the challenges require a specific strategy, others require adaptation or familiarisation. For instance, I notice that when I visit very hot climates the locals have acclimatized and are not sweating as profusely as I am (despite common biological ancestry). The same is true in cold climates, at sea, at high altitudes, dry climates… Part of this may be strategy (to quote Coward, in some countries “…only mad dogs and English men go out in the mid day sun…”) but there is also an element of the body adapting to the new norm. It is my contention that, given the right “training”, the human body has the ability to adapt to a degree where it can noticeably perform to increase comfort levels when perusing the goal of a latex lifestyle.

Of course no amount of acclimatisation is going to be enough to overcome all these challenges in all situations. So the question is, are you looking to endure the worst the latex enclosure has to offer to satisfy a submissive desire? For some (like Blackie) the endurance is the motivation and a sweaty challenge is the aim. I can understand this and have sometimes deliberately gone for this and more in making life hell in rubber. But my current aim is to wear rubber for far longer periods than my skin could tolerate being regularly saturated with water and bodily waste, not to mention being uncomfortably hot / cold. I also want to be able to adequately function (e.g. work, play) while wearing latex and the key to this has to be to stay comfortable and (for me) above all stay as dry as physically possible.

So after taking what physical steps I can, my next step has been to adapt my routine behaviour in order to stay within the margins of what is practical with a rubber lifestyle. For me this means modifying my WHOLE lifestyle so that I can use my behaviour to control my metabolism (or my response to rubber encasement) and therefore my body temperature, perspiration and bodily functions. This is ongoing and being refined day by day. Some of it is controversial, others common sense. For example, avoiding some foodstuffs and stimulants that contain ingredients that increase your rate of perspiration, excretions, urination and general metabolism. Even the actual moment I chose to first get into latex is critical (time of day and what I was doing beforehand).

However, the most fundamental impact of a latex lifestyle is the pattern of behaviour that I find sustainable once in latex. On the positive side there are lots of things that I spend the bulk of my life doing that are totally possible while in latex TE, even if not quite as easy as when in vanilla. Much of my work is quite possible (basically thinking, using a computer, talking on the phone) and the bits that are not possible are mainly to do with how clients and fellow workers (society) would react to me where I to visit site in latex TE! Most other housebound activities are totally possible, including sleeping, eating, listening to music, reading and of course sex... And if this were all that I wanted to do, I am sure I would already be on course for 24/7 latex lifestyle…

And this is were it gets difficult for most of us. A decade ago I think I would have been more than willing to give up virtually all outside activities to achieve a latex lifestyle, if I had only had the courage, dedication and knowledge needed to attempt what everyone said was an impossible dream… Now I find that despite my best efforts (!) I have accumulated some of the usual vanilla interests and attachments that give me an extensive set of reasons to want to be out travelling, socialising or playing (backpacking, photography, and sailing). These activities are (often) impractical while in latex TE for either social or physical reasons.

So, my latex lifestyle is about dealing with the physical difficulties, finding the right balance, making sacrifices and taking control. If you are serious about a latex lifestyle you first need to think about how you are going to sustain yourself financially such that you get the opportunity to wear latex most/all the time. If you have an independent means or have a partner who will support you, that’s ideal! For the rest of us, you really have to take control of your career to give you the latex lifestyle and living standard you want. I am (currently) lucky as I took the necessary risks to become freelance long ago and now work mainly from home. Others will have to make their own tough decisions which make take years to accomplish. There is little I can do about the time the customer requires me to spend working on site, but the rest of my life is about the hard sacrifices I chose to make. I find that I cannot spend 24/7/365 days in latex and have great social, family and outdoor life (maybe others can). But given that I am truly dedicated to latex, I can endeavour to find the mix that gives me the least possible time out of latex while staying sane and happy.

To achieve a latex lifestyle I therefore now hit the biggest challenges. The physical stuff is almost the easiest to deal with – you just need to come up with a technique or strategy to deal with it. Ultimately, if you can’t do 23/7 everyday, do 20/7 - whatever the limitation, just find the limit and go for the max that is achievable. One day, one day off, Three days on, two off – whatever. But for me, when I have spent 48 to 72 hours continuously in rubber, it is often not my physical condition that makes me want to strip off but that I want / need to go achieve something out in the real world that would be impossible while dressed in rubber.

Just before I move on, Dark says “People such as LadyII, whose circumstances might allow this could attempt it...99.9999% of the rest of us it is impossible.”. I find it interesting that you accept that a lifestyle like is 100% achievable (I hope everyone is OK for me to round to 3 decimal places ;o) ) – many ruberists not only do not believe her, but think the whole idea of 24/7 is “impossible”. (Incidentally, I find the term 23/7 to be splitting hairs when you examine LadyII protocols). I have no idea if she is for real (and have no idea of how anyone could categorically prove it to my satisfaction) but am convinced from her writing and my experiences that a rubber lifestyle technically possible if very, very difficult. If she is for real, then she has shown unbelievable dedication as a submissive and rubberist. In fact if she cheated one whole day once a month, it would still be massively impressive to me.

I hope she is for real, and, while keeping an open mind, I actually chose to believe there is much more than an element of truth in here story, mainly as I can think of no motive for her to deceive that seems compatible with what we have grown to know of her character. If I was in her position I know the biggest challenge would be the social isolation – but we are told she has a constant companion, a very organised fetish master, a rubberist son and a circle of fetish and s/m oriented friends that they meets up with. Well if all that was true, the biggest physiological challenge (the “latex isolation” effect) wouldn’t be such an issue and suddenly the whole thing becomes believable to me.

Now for the motivation…. You certainly need a strong motive to find the necessary inspiration to even attempt a latex lifestyle.

Dark invented a term “platonic notion of enclosure...” - which sounds fascinating and would like to here more about…. I wonder if this is this linked to the transition from (instant) sexual gratification to the sensual experience that 24/7 REPs have reported?

To go into all the reasons for “the psychological need to enclose in rubber” now would make this already long entry unbearably long, but can agree there is probably lots of reasons for lots of people. Some that are less strong in me are the social counter culture stuff or (I think) a direct need to be perverse. I am not into this for peer approval (although not being alone does help!). Dark also mentions sexual need, sensual need and these seem more applicable to me.

I have one further (rather ill defined) theory to put forward. Motivations for some people to have alternative lifestyles, appearances, sexual behaviour (as well as physiological disorders!) is in some part due to a specific strong personal identify or body image issue that may be at odds with reality. How this stuff gets into your head I cannot say, but maybe some of us have a strong image of themselves that includes a latex covering. Being in a non-latex state would cause an unpleasing mismatch between the personal self image and reality. As for what aspect of the (idealized) self image would be missing, for some it might be the shiny appearance, the figure hugging appearance, the flattering/firming “hand” of skin tight rubber on the form, the sensual feel, the perverse mode, the loss of human identity, the objectification, the idea of being hermetically sealed, the feeling of being “the other”, the overtly kinky sexual association, the breath control associations of masks or even just the smell! For me I think it is all these thing in different measures and something more. My fetish really does include the love of what is obviously (to everyone else) an inanimate object. Some people have worshiped trees, rocks or fellows. This Looney is dedicated to the latex that gives me so much back and spending long periods in TE involves dedication and me making some sacrifices. All disturbingly common human behaviour patterns maybe...

Now the footnotes…

BTW – the powerful desire to strip off latex after sexual climax seems to be very common, but I can report that it is also eminently curable! I used to get around this by being physically locking in with no access to the key (!), but Latex Lady & others gave me the necessary encouragement and hints on how to overcome this and now I often don’t even get a slightest impulse to de-rubber. Overcoming this impulse really is possible – assuming you have at least the slightest interest in seeing what happens if you stay rubberier for a few hours longer….

BTW2 - One thing I didn’t deal with was the comment “and train your psyche to deal with the social issues.”… That’s because this is still work in progress for me!

Sealed

Monday, 08 August 2005 – Physical And Mental Issues of becoming a Rubber Dependent fetishist.

Dark and others have talked and asked about both the physical and mental challenges associated with the possibility of becoming “rubber dependent”.

The physiological or physical effects on de-rubbering was a surprising for me when I first noticed them. After weeks of spending much of every day in latex, building up my exposure day by day, followed by a few days spent in rubber 24/7, I did notice that I felt very strange when wearing non-latex clothes. All sorts of sensations – some of discomfort – that you spend years acclimatizing to were suddenly apparent.

It reminded me of childhood sensations of being asked to wear “fancy” clothes to go to special events (weddings and the like). The first time I wore any new type of clothing as a child was always a challenge. Typically you were being asked to wear itchy, scratchy things that were too tight or too lose or that pinched somewhere. I just got through such things by looking forward to the massive release when I was back home an allowed to return to my normal clothes.

It was very much like for the first few days after returning to non-latex after my 24/7 latex experiments. The cloth of my chinos felt scratchy against my legs – like they were made of wool. I tried several different pairs to check this out but they all felt the similar. All the clothes seemed to be binding or knotting on areas that needed to move, such arm-pit / shoulder and the top the legs. They needed to work their way up a limb to allow the movement – which felt very odd compared to the rubbery stretch of my “normal” second skin.

The most uncomfortable thing was getting used to the brutal way the non-latex clothes felt around the crotch area. If I wasn’t being chaffed, then I was being squashed or cut into by the seams as I moved about. I found it impossible to resist the impulse to re-arrange myself to get comfortable. This was something that made it a bit challenging to be in public for a few days.

It wasn’t that my skin had been damaged during my time in latex. I am lucky to rarely suffer skin irritation due to long exposure to latex. Anyway, this felt different. My skin felt OK, it was just that everything outside felt odd. Even having air moving over my skin at my ankles, wrists and collar felt noticeably odd.

As I wore the non-latex for longer I noticed something else that I would normally only have been vaguely aware of - a lot of vanilla wear is not very breathable! In addition to this the usual solution is to wear socks / underwear – which, along with other areas can get sodden as the day goes on. On a hot day I found it very strange to think that I was being “vanilla” by wearing an extra soggy layer under my outer clothes. The way I found to help with the transition was to switch to mainly wear climbing or sailing base layer clothes that were specifically designed to wick away the moisture.

On a similar subject, another thing I became aware of is the smell. At the start of the day you clothes smell of the material and the perfume of the detergent and by the end of the day all the items have their own strange character…

In summary, after the first 24 hours out of latex, I don’t think I could have felt more uncomfortable if I had been wearing a canvas sack! Ironically, a lot of the physical challenges of wearing latex that had taken months/years of perseverance to acclimatise to had their parallels in non-latex clothing.

The skin physiology seems to adjust to life in latex, but possibly more importantly, the nerves and brain seen to slowly get adjusted to certain patterns of stimulus in response certain movements or even being motionless in latex (or vanilla). In anticipating these sensations, they become less noticeable and more a background factor. After days in latex, it still physically feels nearly the same as it did after an hour in latex (which is handy when I am looking for stimulation), its just that my brain does not constantly remind my of the feeling to the same degree (unless I want it to). The interesting thing is that my experience seems to indicate that it works for all clothes, not just latex. As a child, you have to adapt to feeling of wearing shoes, cotton, wool ….

Luckily for me, this uncomfortable effect on going vanilla has always been bearable and easy to overcome after the first few days. This is undoubtedly due to the relatively short periods I have managed 24/7 in latex. Also I have found that a good cure is to never go more than 24 hours out of latex!

The interesting question for me is, how physically difficult would it be to bear to go back to wearing non-latex clothes after spending weeks/months/years in a (near) 24/7 latex lifestyle?

And this is all before examining the psychological impact! I wonder what people think about this…

To be honest I still have some mental challenges after just a few days in 24/7 latex to overcome before worrying about the physiological barrier that would stop me taking off the latex. However, as others are noted, going several days without getting back into rubber does steadily become more difficult once you start on down the route to a rubber lifestyle. I think I might examine this whole area after some feedback and further reflection.

As for my future latex lifestyle, I am still at the tantalising stage of being very close to having secured a latex lifestyle friendly chunk or work. I should know in the next few days. If things work out, I will have some international travel (New York) but should also have plenty of time to work in rubber at my home office.

Sealed