5 Yr Old Bedwetter...

J.,

This is a very sensitive issue for me. I was a bedwetter until 18! YES! I said 18. My aunt and uncle tried the alarm with me, but it just did not work for me. I am not saying they do not work for many children, because they do. My experience was that the noise was so loud that it scared me and I became paralized with fear. All I could do was sit there and finish peeing. My aunt and uncle were furious. It had worked on my cousin, so now I was spanked every time I woke up wet. They did not understand that I was not doing it on purpose. After puberty, which was late (16 years old) I gradually stopped wetting the bed. When I came home to my day and step-mom, I was put in charge at age 7 to do my own sheets and pajamas when I was wet, and we watched my fluids too. It took a LONG time, but I don't feel that there was any other option at that time. There is a medication out there called DDAVP that helps those children who don't make the hormone to slow urine production during the night. This works on 75% of bedwetters.

I am now the mother of two children a boy (9 years old) who is still an every other night bedwetter, and a girl (6 years old) who once potty trained has never wet the bed unless we were up really late with lots to drink right before bed.

I have tried the DDAVP with my son and it did not work, in fact it made it worse. But it does work on MANY children. The only option doctors have given me for him now is wait it out or an alarm. Since I have had such a horrible traumatic experience with the alarm, I cannot bring myself to even try it on him.

I am sorry I don't have any real advice for you, but I do want you to know that most pediatricians do not consider bedwetting a problem until age 8 and most urologists (my son has seen one as well) do not cosider bedwetting a problem until puberty has passed! Also know that I feel your pain. I wash sheets almost every day, go through Febreeze like it is candy, and pray daily that this would soon come to an end as my son is getting older and becoming embarrassed by the fact that he is a bedwetter.

Good luck to you with whatever you decide.

J.

My daughter did the same thing and when I asked her pediatrician about it he prescribed a nasal spray. He explained that it is usually a sleeping disorder in which the body functions don't slow down as they normally should. I used the nasal spray right before bedtime and she never wet the bed again. I would definitely ask your pediatrician about this. Mine gave me printed material about it also explaining why it works and that it is not the child's fault or due to laziness, etc.

I just wanted to add the alarms did not work for myself as a child either. Everyone in the house would be awake after I wet the bed except for me. I was such a hard sleeper that it didn't even phase me!
I know it can be genetic, and that some children just grow out of it. I did stop wetting the bed miraculously at around 6 years old.
It was a humiliating thing to stay the night at a friends or family member's house and have to wear a diaper at 5 years old. I wouldn't even take a nap in Kindergarten because of the fear of wetting my nap mat. I remember being examined at the doctor's office and feeling even worse about myself.
I think if the meds. work and your pedi. recommends it I would try that. Good luck and god bless you!

My now nine year old wet the bed up until he was eight. WE talked to his pedi about it and he prescribed a medication that he took nightly that worked miracles. He has now grown out of the bedwetting. He said little boys bladders are just slower to mature and that the alarms were cruel. He told us that once his bladder matured, he would stop the bedwetting but the medicine would allow for dry nights and would allow him to get his confidence back up. It worked!!

Hi there- my son is 6 and wears a Good Night at night too.... our dr told us not to worry about it or make it an issue.... it could be really humiliating for him if I make an issue out of it... she sais that it can bet a genetic issue (did others in yours/his family wet the bed at night?) and that his body is just not developed enough yet to hold it at night. We do decrease fluids at night (no drinks after dinner, around 6:30) Sam gets really excited when he's dry in the morning (maybe once every few weeks!) but we haven't pushed it. Does your son want to do this too- is he embarrassed? Then I would try to work on it (waking him up at night to go to the bathroom, alarms etc) otherwise, my advice is to just let nature take it's course....

You may want to research chiropractic care and find a pediatric doctor in your area- www.icpa4kids.org. We have had great results w/ adjusting bedwetters. Email me offlist if you have questions.

Hi,
My son wet the bed until he came close to 8 yrs old. I am so sorry you have to go through this because I definately feel your frustration and also sorrow for him. He was so embarrassed and could not spend the night at friends homes either. I can give you some tips if you email me directly.
I certainly would not spend money on those alarms been there done that and it was useless. He was a sound sleeper and the only people it woke up was everyone else in the house !
L. T

My daughter is 7 and JUST stopped nightime bedwetting. She could go for a couple of months, then have an accident. She was sleeping too hard I guess. We watched her fluid intake in the evenings, and DH and I took turns waking her each night between 11 and 12 to use bathroom. We gradually weaned off doing it, and she now wakes by herself to go.
I've heard the alarms do work. My pediatrician actually recommended one, but we chose to ride it out. Good luck!

My daughter was in pull-ups at night for several months after being able to use the potty in the daytime. After almost a year my husband and I got her up twice a night to potty and after a couple months of that, she was able to do it on her own.

I am a firm believer in "s/he'll do it when s/he's ready" and not rushing things. We as parents may want it to happen now, but our children are on their own timelines.

We went through the same thing and the alarm did work! My son was 5 also and didn't wake up to go to the bathroom. And we didn't have to use it very long. A week or 2 was all he needed to get used to waking up by himself.

I think it's very worth it!

Good luck!

I am glad to hear the alarm is working for you. My parents used an alarm on me (some 35 yrs ago) and it was a GOD-SEND. Yes at first it would scare the daylights out of everyone, but it solved the problem very quickly. Sometimes the rest of the family has to be willing to sacrifice a little sleep in order to help another family member overcome something so embarassing and somewhat debilitating. I could not spend the night with a friend or have one spend the night with me and that is not fun when you're invited to slumber parties and such. Been there many years ago and am thankful!

We had a difficult time night training our daughter last year. We stopped giving her liquids after about 6 p.m. every night. We would also wake her up each night before we went to bed (around 11 or so) to go to the bathroom and then put her straight back in bed. After a few weeks, she started getting up on her own and going. Good luck!

J., I understand your frustration.
Have you had your pediatrician look at your son? I know there are several conditions that affect boys more than girls and end up causing them to lack bladder control.

And there are some different ways to treat that.

Because if he is truly sleeping through the message "I have to pee", you can wake him up every 2 hours at night for as long as you want and it won't change what his body is or is not doing.

I also encourage you to find some support on the really great boards on iVillage or Parents.com or other places. It will help you and therefore help him.

I hope that y'all have a *great* summer.

~K., good friend of someone who's BTDT

J., wait one more week. My son was 4+, and it was two weeks of bed wetting, every night. After that he had maybe only 5 accidents in a whole year. I would say, wait a little longer than one week with making it a BIG thing for him with special alarms etc. It is not a one week thing with most children.

Good luck with all the laundry!!!!
I.

J.,
We went through years of bedwetting. Some kids don't make enough of the hormone that shuts down urine production when they sleep. As they get older, they make more of the hormone and then they stop wetting the bed.

We used the alarms and they did help. I have one that we used 1 week, and I'd be willing to sell it cheap. New the alarm costs about $100. You can buy new covers (which are washable) and that's the only part that touches the body/fluids. Let me know if you're interested.

This is the site and alarm we used.
http://www.bedwettingstore.com/Bedwetting_Alarms/malem_ul...

A friend of our that had three different kids that wet their beds late (age8)tried multiple things: alarms, medication, waking them up, withholding fluids, limiting types of fluids, etc. The key for her: plenty of water throughout the day. It seems lots of toxins in the body cause one to sleep heavier, thus the bedwetting. When you drink water throughout the day, and before bed, you wake up and go to the restroom.

By the way, she was a mother of 24 kids. Twelve natural and twelve adopted. Different ones wet the beds, with three wetting the bed later (til age 8). The key was water intake. That took care of all their bedwetting issues.

Hope this helps!
L.