Bed Wetting - Sumerduck,VA

My son had te same problem until he was 6. He just slept so deeply that he wouldn't wake to go. I got one of those bed wetting alarms. It clips to his underware and as soon as it feels a little wet sets off an alarm. It only took 3 nights and he's been dry since!

I have been battling bedwetting with my 10yr old daughter since she was about 5. She had daytime accidents a couple of years before that but that was emotional issues. Before the bedwetting even started the daytime wetting completely stopped. At first I thought the bedwetting was emotional too but it wasn't. It was medical, although the doctor did tests but nothing medical ever showed any explanation. I did the whole withholding drinks, waking her up during the night, etc, but it didn't help. After the first several months I agreed to try the meds. I tried every one, the pills, the nasal spray, different dosages, but none of it worked. I finally gave up and let her use the goodnights. I have washable mats too that she sleeps on and a plastic fitted sheet on her mattress cause sometimes she wets so much she actually leaks through the goodnight. Very rarely does she ever wake up during the night. She sleeps at a friends house sometimes and she just discreetly changes in the bathroom. I always worried about her being embarrassed , but she's not. Quite the contrary, she doesn't even care. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing though. Bedwetting doesn't run in the family. Only one of her cousins on her dad's side who's the same age as her had it for a little while, but the meds helped him and it stopped. Basically it's come down to a waiting game. The doctor says that she will eventually grow out of it, especially with her maturing so much now. Just in this past month she has wet maybe 8-10 times which is fantastic! So maybe, just maybe, it's slowly coming to an end. She'll be 11 in Nov, so I'm hoping so. It's been a long 5 years to say the least!
I guess the best advise I can give is give the meds a try. At best it'll work, at worst it won't. I know that's not much. The only thing I never tried was the bedwetting alarm. Some people claim that when all else fails that's the only thing that worked. But I don't know. I never bought one cause my daughters med insurance wouldnt cover it and I couldn't afford it myself.
D.

S.,
I have a 3 yr old who has been completely dry since before she was 2, but with the occasional wet night (like once every 3 weeks). When she hit a growth spurt around 2 1/2 she began regressing.

It has been my experience in talking with Dr's and doing my own research that a lot of bed wetters suffer from a lack of bladder strength. This is especially true with those children who are still wetting well after their 5th or 6th year. We have used the following product with phenomenal results. Might be worth a try. Good luck!

<http://www.nativeremedies.com/be_dry_for_bedwetting.shtml&gt;

I have heard wonderful things about the bedtime alarms as well. Might be worth a shot.

Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend

Abolutely no dairy products after 5pm.

My 10 year old still wets the bed fairly regularly. I have tried the wet alarms and, while it did work for a while, once we were off the program she went right back to wetting. The alarm was incredibly loud and I had to get up to make sure she was waking up and using the toilet. I was told that it wouldn't work if she didn't fully wake up. She is a very deep sleeper and it was very difficult for me to wake her up. It quickly became a problem for me, being woken up several times a night to deal with the alarm and waking her. We used it for about 4 or 5 months and there was a decrease in her wetting, but then it reverted quickly once we quit the program. I find that among other things, if she gets enough sleep, she wets less, it's like she sleeps so deeply that she just doesn't wake up. Her Pediatritian said that there can be side effects of the medication so we don't use it. He says she will eventually out grow the problem. She wears goodnights and changes in the bathroom at sleep overs. I do ususally tell the parent so they can help her find a place to change if the others aren't giving her privacy, but it hasn't been an issue.

My son was a "mass urinator" since he was born and a sound sleeper, always a big bed wetter. At first he wouldn't wear good nights and my life was a nightmare of laundry. I asked about the pill at age 8 and my M.D. asked me why would I give an artificial hormone to my child for my convenience.....so we suggested waiting.. I started the pill at 12 when we outgrew the g'nights. The pills do help. Now, at almost 15, he only takes them on camping trips, and we still get an occasional wet night at home, but not every night like before. The pill is DDAVP and starts at 1 pill at bedtime, up to 3 tabs till effective...or not. Good luck. Oh yes...no caffeine either!

S.--Check out the book called "Dry All Night" I cannot remember the author, but it's a great book. It actually has a program to follow and invloves the child in understanding their body. Good luck! Traci

Hi S.,

My daughter had a similar problem when she was that age. My pediatrican said that not all kids' bladder mature by that age. And gave me a couple of non invasive tips to help...and they worked somewhat. No drinks after 5-6 pm. Have them empty their bladder right before bed. Although these helped some...what I found out on a whim...surprised me. I was at my chiropractor's office on a visit for myself then I started talking about my daughter and her difficulty. To my amazement, he told me there was an adjustment that would help her. I was soooo desperate that I decided to try it. To my complete surprise...the adjustment to her lower back worked like a charm the very first night. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Hope that helps!!

I have an 8 yr old (almost 9) and a 6 yr old daughter. My youngest daughter doesn't have a problem with bed wetting but my oldest daughter does. I tried a medicine for her that was prescribed but it didn't work. She wears pull ups to bed every night and likes it better than waking up in a wet bed. It isn't quite as embarrasing for her. The doctor told me it was hereditary (I wet the bed until I was in 3rd grade, my youngest brother had a bed wetting problem as well as my dad). The doctor said she will grow out of it and there isn't much to do other than try waking her up during the night and having her go to the bathroom. We tried setting the alarm to get her to get up and go and it worked for a few weeks, than she just started turning the alarm off and going back to sleep. I guess the best advice I have is patience. It sucks, but from what I have been told and what I have learned I am just being patient with her and whatever you do, do not punish her. From my understanding, it is a bladder problem and it can't neccessarily be controlled. Good luck and if I can help anymore, please let me know!

D.

My daughter had the same problem when she was that age, and nothing worked. She was terribly embarrased about it, and could not have sleep overs or go to them. I chose to go with a prescription that our doctor recommended. It helped, and actually, stopped it after a period of time. She is 15 now, and hasn't had the problem at all since taking the medication.

I know someone whose son is a college sophomore and is still a bedwetter. She has tried EVERYTHING! Just recently, they started investigating a link to sleep apnea and, so far, it seems that might be the answer. Not all docs have heard of it though but once she found one that did, she was told that during sleep apnea episodes, a hormone is released that produces urine. Her son has been wearing a CPAP at night and has been staying dry! Does your child snore? Does she gasp/choke/cough a lot during sleep? Maybe you can request a sleep study which would measure apnea episodes.

S.,
My daughter is 3 and we've conqueored the potty training all day now we're working on the night time. I wake my daughter about every 2 hrs or so and take her into the bathroom(she's usually still sleepin on my shoulder) but i turn the light on, pull down her panties and sit her down and run the water so she knows to go. I don't know if this would work for a 7 yrs old but it really helps my 3 yrs old and we have been accident free for about 3-4 months now. Just a thought.

bed wetting runs in my family. it is just something that you have to accept sometimes. I never put my sons on the meds because I knew it was hereditary and when they came up with 'pull ups' I was sooooo happy. Why would the others at the sleep over know she has pull ups or 'Goodnights'?Just please remember that yelling or shaming a child never works it only makes the child feel bad for something they don't have control over or very little. You could try not giving her drinks after 6 pm. If she gets a really dry mouth just give her a mouthful to moisten it. She will grow out of it when her bladder matures and she gains more control over it... my grandfather on my mothers side had that problem even once in awhile while he was married to my grandmother, my sister had the problem until she was almost 14. My sons out grew it at different times, one at 8, one at 4, one at 12 and the other in between the 12 and 14 somewhere... just tell her to dress or change in the bathroom when she has a sleep over.... her undergarments are no one elses buisness.

All I can say on this is I have known a few children with the same problem. Even myself, and my son. I myself went through lots of tests due to my problem, but the doctors said there was nothing medically wrong. As embarrassing as it sounds I had it till I was almost 15. With my son on the other hand, I found when he watched horror movies with his brothers, or was scared for some other reason he wet the bed. I started not letting him drink at least 2 hours before bed, only water before, and encouraged him to go to the bathroom a few times before bed also. That seemed to work and the bed wettings have become very few and far between! Good Luck!