Trouble at Night Staying Dry

I have had this problem with my son and my nephew. The Dr. prescribed a nose spray, if I remember correctly, it's called desmopression. It works really well.

There is a nose spray available for chronic bed-wetters. I don't know how it helps, but I know a lot of people have had success with it. I don't know the name of it either, but just ask a pharmacist at any drug store and they can help you locate it.

A.

My 9 year old daughter still has this problem. She will go for a while and do really well and then is seems I am washing her bed every day. A doctor once told me about bed wetting alarms. We never did get one becaues they are expensive. I have heard they do work well. Look in drug stores for them. Maybe something to think about.

My daughter had the same problem. I found out that BLOOD SUGAR is the culprit from a naturepathic physician. When blood sugar drops (in all of us) it signals the bladder's need to empty (you may notice that you often have to pee just before supper). In children whose bladder sphincters are weak, it will cause them to pee in the night as their blood sugar drops.

The remedy is to:
1. Feed the child a high-fat bedtime snack: cheese with crackers, grilled cheese, peanut butter toast... the heavier the better and the more they eat the better.
2. Let her drink as much as she likes until she is hydrated and right up until bed. Dehydration actually contributes to a drop in blood sugar as the body absorbs all it can from the food in order to digest. Dehydration is as much a "hunger" as a drop in blood sugar.

You won't believe how well this works! In one night I saw the results and, with a few exceptions here and there, her night-time bedwetting went away completely.

I had taken her in for tests - even to the University! Was I glad to finally get a real answer :o)

Good luck ~

My son is 7 and he just stopped regularly wetting the bed. We stopped the liquid intake and took him to the bathroom at night. It didn't work but we kept doing it because we didn't know what else to do. I got so sick of all the laundry. I talked to his pediatrician and she said that it was okay if he slept on a water-proof matress pad (I guess I needed permision). I started doing that. I also told him that we may have to start diapers again. Eventually he got it. I guess his body matured enough to have some control. We still limit fluid intake and take him to the bathroom at night but he is finally staying dry. He recently even got up on his own and went to the bathroom. It was so exciting! Rather than testing maybe you could buy one of those special underwear things that sense moisture and sets off an alarm. I started looking into those.

Hi M. - When my daughter was four we were having that same problem. She was fine during the day but at night she wet the bed. We tried an alarm and it worked great for her. It is a small clip that hooks the panties and then there is a little alarm that safety pins the shirt. They are hookes by a small wire that we placed up her back. Sounds wierd I know. The idea is that when the first drop of moisture hits the clip on the panties the alarm goes off and wakes the child up thus programing their bodies to recognize the feeling of having to go. My daughter slept very heavy and after talking to our doctor she said she probably didn't feel that she had to go because she was in such a deep sleep. She also said that kids have a smaller bladder and that could be a reason for the wetting too. Anyway, we tried the alarm (was about $50 about 5 years ago and we got it online) and it worked for us. I'm sure it is not for everyone but I just wantedt to share our experience. Good luck. C.

We were in the same position as you, our daughter is now 12, and our doctor keep saying she would out grow it. Since then that doctor has retired and within in the last 3 years our new doctor has run some tests, it may seem drastic to do some testing but it helped us eliminate some possible problems. After the testing came back negative, nothing was found with an ultrasound or with the dye/xrays. After this our doctor recommended a bed alarm, I was leary of that at first and put it off for almost a year. We kept trying everything we could come up with. We were told to stop using pull ups/ overnighters and have we only use them for sleep overs. I were to recommend anything to try, get a bed alarm. Our daughter has since started her menstrual cycle and the alarm is and has been so very helpful. She still has accidents but only once a week now and we are hoping that within the next couple of weeks we will be dry 100 percent of the time. There is a wonderful website that is very secure and sends the alarm of your choice extremely discreet, my daughter and myself stood looking at this package wondering what is this for about 5 minutes before we opened it in private and saw what it was. The website is www.bedwettingstore.com they even check up with you though emails to see how you are doing. I strongly recommend a bed alarm. Any other questions just contact me.
S.

My son, now almost 17 had the same problem. If you want to call it a "problem". Believe me, like all children with the same problem, she will outgrow it. My son was 9. I was 12!! Yes, I had the same difficulty. Invest in the Pull-Ups or Goodnights. It's only at bedtime. No need to subject the child to unneeded tests. Try not to worry. There are more parents out there with the same worries than you realize. ;-)
S. R

You are not alone! When my children started having friends sleep over, I realized how common this situation is. Several friends, ranging in age from 7 to 12, used night time pullups.

My oldest (a boy) was dry at night by the time he was 3. My daughter wasn't dry at night until she was 9 yrs - she just stopped wetting one night and that was it. Until then she had wet every single night, and I just used pullups and didn't make a big deal out of it. She was a very deep sleeper, and Waking her at night to go didn't help - she never fully woke up, I just half-carried her to the bathroom. Not using pullups didn't help, she didn't feel the wet sheets. It was amazing - one day she woke up dry and that was it!

My 7 year old wets at night too, but not every night. I notice that dairy and sugar seems to affect it. I found the comment about blood sugar interesting, and I am going to check into that. My nephew wet until he was 12 and his parents used the bed alarm. It was a lot of work I hear.

Whatever you decide to do, this will end and one day it will seem a distant memory....

M.,

We had some trouble with our son. We ended up going to a urologist. Sometimes they will give them some medication to help the bladder be in more control. Don't worry...they are not on it forever.

L. :)

Check into this company Pacific International, LTD. I got so frustrated with the Dr. telling me that my 10 year old would grow out of bed wetting, and that it was normal... any parent of a bedwetter knows this is not normal. the program at Pacific International had my 10 year old dry in about 2-3 months.... it goes against everything the Dr. tells you about limiting drinks and waking them up when you go to bed. The child sleeps on an alarm, and when the alarm goes off they are supposed to get up and shut it off... at first you may have to go in and wash her face with a cold cloth to get her to wake up and shut it off, and then she changes the pad with your assistance and goes back to bed.... it is kind of like having a newborn all over again for a while, but evenutally the accidents get fewer and farther between, there is a case aid assigned to your daughter, and you fill out report cards and send into them every two weeks. The case aid sends encouraging mail to the child addressed to them. and there are also instructions for the parents based on the report cards....The program is a little expensive but they do have a payment plan and if you are lower income they do a fee adjustment for you... I swear by this program, when they explain it to you it makes so much sense... I could type pages of explanation to you about the program but it is probably easier foryou to check into it yourself. the phone number is 800-477-2233

Sometimes, the urethra isn't mature or strong enough. However, many times, a chirpractor can help. Our chiropractor had bedwetting problems until he was at least 13 years old. His dad's teacher worked on him, and found something in his ankle was out and popped it back in. He hasn't had a problem since. You may want to try that route. If you don't know where to find a good one, try asking at your local health food store.

I'm not sure if this will help you, but here it is. My son had the same problem as your daughter. We eliminated milk and dairy products from his diet and the night wetting stopped. His sleep was like the dead and it was extremely hard to wake him up. After we eliminated dairy his bed was dry. Whenever he did get into dairy after that, he'd have a wet bed. We started by eliminating it for 1 week. When that worked we knew he had an allergy to dairy. Also he had a lot of spitting up when he was a baby. Hope this helps. M.

My oldest daughter is 23! and needless to say, no longer wets the bed. :) She wet the bed too. I tried everything from withholding evening drinks, waking her, putting her in cloth diapers. It wasn't until she was in Kindergarten. Strangly enough when she was scheduled to have her tonsils/adnoids removed, the Dr. said "she will probably stop bed wetting now". I didn't see what the difference would make, but it did. After surgery, she never wet the bed again. Obviously, we had the surgery for other medical reasons, but she had a double benifit from the surgery. I am not recommending surgery,but thought I would share her experience with you. My grandson is almost 7 and still wears a pull-up to bed. He is going to camp this summer. The camp said they have numerous campers who have this "problem". Thank God for pull-ups. As a mom who has been there, I would be more concerned about not embarrassing her and trying to minimize any shame she may feel about this. I would reassure her that many children still struggle with it and she is not abnormal. I know numerous children who have trouble past 10. Eventually they grow out of it. Our babies grow up way to quickly. Don't sweat the little stuff.

Sounds like your daughter is a sound sleeper. I have a 7 year old son with the same problem. He can go weeks without wetting at night and then he starts wetting again for weeks at a time. We have also tried the different methods to prevent him from wetting at night. I find that when he is really tired, he wets. I have heard that it can sometimes take until the age of 14. I don't discuss it or make a big deal about it in front of him anymore. This seems to be helping.
Another thing, my daughter was a bed wetter until she got her tonsils and adenoids out at the age of 4. Her tonsils and adenoids were so large, I feel that she wasn't getting the sleep she needed some nights due to sleep apnea, so therefore, she would be really tired and sleep sound some nights which would cause her to not wake up when she needed to use the bathroom.
Just some thoughts, I hope they help.
Don't get discouraged....you're not alone.

My daughter wet at night until she turned 6. We started the "no drinks after dinner", but that didn't work. So, we got her 2 alarm clocks. I set one for 11:30 and one for 3. She finally got in the habit of getting up and going when the alarms went off. I had to get loud ones because she is such a heavy sleeper. After a while she just got used to getting up at those times and did it naturally. She really never remembered getting up the next day at all. That is how heavy of a sleeper she is. Now, she will be 7 next week and she barely gets up at night to use the bathroom at all. I think we just had to wait for her bladder to grow to be able to hold it all in all night :) The alarm clocks worked, though -for her. Just thought I'd mention it and leave it to you if you'd like to try it or not!

She is probably a sound sleeper and it will take time for her body to catch up to where it should be. I myself was a bed wetter until age 12, my daughter who is 13 still has the (rare) problem (on nights after she's had an overly exciting day and sleeps too soundly).

Once your daughter starts getting invited to sleep overs, the problem will begin to resolve itself on it's own as she won't want the embarrassement of wetting then. Teach her how to take care of it herself, how to strip her bed and clean it (we use fabreeze...wonderful invention!) and remake it with clean sheets. Set aside a basket in the laundry room to put her wet things in. She is also old enough to start learning how to do laundry herself. My daughters wetting went down drastically once she was able to take care of it herself and didn't have to worry about the embarrassement so much. She felt much better knowing that she could take care of it herself. Give her time, and teach her how to help herself by allowing her to take care of it herself (laundry) and in her own time. Nothing helps better or faster than knowing that you have responsibility over yourself.

I have found some interesting literature on the web that my chiropractor suggested to me about "bedwetting", I have a nine yr boy who still has this. Look under Dr. Fred Barge. Also since starting chiropractor care for my son he has had only 2 episodes in the past 2 months, he used to be several times a week.

Hi M.. My daughter, almost seven, has the same inability to stay dry through the night. I do NOT agree with those who tell you to set alarms. I believe that the body will develop this skill in time. As a parent, educator, and sleep deprived mama of 3, I do not think that disrupting a child's sleep is a good idea. Sleep deprivation can cause issues with learning, eating, etc. I agree to invest in Good Nights and to make it a non-issue for your child. Good luck.

I have an 11 year old boy with the same problem. What we had to do is buy an alarm clock with 2 alarms and set them about 4 hours apart at night. Depending on when she goes to bed but maybe 1 am and 4am? It doesn't always work, especially when he decides he's just too tired to get up and turns them off! But my nephew was 13 when he finally stopped so I'm hoping we're almost done!

Hi M.,
Not to worry...there is hope! My son was still wetting the bed at night when he was 12. He was such a heavy sleeper and wouldn't wake himself up at night to use the restroom. He wouldn't wake up until morning and had slept all night in cold wet sheets. I was frustrated and tired for years. I finally took him to a urologist who prescribed a nose spray that he took each night before bed. The medication re-wired his brain to help him sleep a bit lighter so he would wake up to use the restroom. He used it for about 2 weeks and never had a wet night again! Happily, he is 18 years old and has been dry every night since. Good luck and I am so glad I had him tested.

Our daughter had the same issue...and we finally realized that she needed to be seen by her Ped. They did some testing and concluded that she just was not neurologically developed to sense the urgency at night. They gave her a nasal spray to use at night and I am sorry I do not recall its' name but it made so much difference.
We did get her some depends type things for discreet use when she went to friends homes later..as the issue was not fully outgrown till she was in her later teens.

I hope you will seek some Med. advice, because it might be as our daughter and not her fault.

We had the same exact problem with our son. We attributed the bed wetting to him being such a deep sleeper as he would not wake up when he wet the bed. Now that he is 8, he really wanted this problem to stop as he was embarrassed. Our pediatrician told us that they would not do anything until the child was at least 8 years old and the child wanted to fix the problem, not the parents. Our pediatrician recommended the Wet Stop, bed-wetting alarm. It cost us about $70 as insurance does not cover it and it was awesome. It is very easy to use and within 2 months he was staying dry. What it does it wakes the child up at the least bit of moisture (the alarm is hooked to their underwear), and they are supposed to go to the bathroom to get rid of the rest of their urine. I really don't know how this works but somehow it does. Now my son stays dry all night long, and if he does have to go potty, he wakes up and goes by himself. This was a very simple and easy solution, however, remember, your daughter has to be willing to work at this and want to stop the bed wetting. Good luck. I would also talk to your pediatrician about this.

I have the same problems of bed wetting with my 8yr old son, I have seen doctors with him, I was told that he will outgrow this. I don't let him have anything to drink after 7pm, and try to make sure that he goes before bed. That is the best that I can do. He is still occassionally having wet bed and we just change the bedding.

Actually, by age 6, 90% of children no longer wet the bed.

Consider whether you want to try this:

English Title: Primary nocturnal enuresis: omega-3 fatty acids may be of therapeutic value.
Personal Authors: Logan, A. C., Lesperance, F.
Author Affiliation: Nutrition Research Consulting, 50 Yonkers Terrace, 8-J Yonkers, NY 10704, USA.
Editors: No editors
Document Title: Medical Hypotheses, 2005 (Vol. 64) (No. 6) 1188-1191

Abstract:

Primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE), or bed-wetting, is a distressing urinary condition which can persist through childhood and beyond. Altered prostaglandin and nitric oxide production have been observed in children with PNE, and prostaglandin inhibitors are known to be of therapeutic value. Omega-3 fatty acids have the potential to influence the symptoms of PNE by inhibition of prostaglandin and renal nitric oxide production. In addition, children with PNE have an inappropriate startle response and an apparent maturational delay of the central nervous system. Research clearly shows that omega-3 fatty acids play a critical role in the development and function of the central nervous system. It is our contention that inadequate omega-3 intake may play a role in the lack of inhibitory input to the startle and micturition centres in PNE.

Publisher: Elsevier

_____
Please note that the balance of Omega 3/Omega 6 matters. If you try this, take her off of processed foods as the Omega 6 will be too high. Also ensure that the Omega 3 EPA dosage is high enough to work. If your daughter is deficient, you might also see dry skin or other signs of it. Recently, scientists have begun to appreciate that people vary greatly in their ability to process Omega 3s, so some people need to take in more than others. This new information has not yet made it into medical education, so your doctor most likely does not know about it. Try a few web searches with reputable sites.

My son (will be 8 in May) has had the same problem. We have been using a bed-wetting alarm and it has really helped. The alarm clips to his underwear. As soon as any drops of urine hit the alarm, it goes off. Even though he is a very sound sleeper, it wakes him up. When he first started using the alarm, he would still usually soak (even though the alarm woke him). However, after a very short time, he would hear the alarm, stop going, and get to the bathroom to finish. You use the alarm until they have 21 dry nights in a row. My son has made it to ten, then had a "wet spot" night (just a few drops of urine in the underwear). I would highly recommend looking into this option. My son no longer wears pull-ups and is so happy to have the alarm. He's really made progress! (Which is great since his 6-year-old sister has never had a problem staying dry at night.)

Hi M.,
Much bedwetting is genetic. Our son wet his bed until he was 10, at least now and then. Taking him off artificial colors and flavors helped. I say, just go with the pull-ups. Eventually she'll stop. About 10% of children wet the bed into their school age.
Best of luck,
S.
http://www.YesToSuccess.net
helping families with health and wealth for almost 12 years.

My 8 year old still wets at night and has to wear a pull-up. We have spent a lot of money from chiropracters to Urologists. We did buy the alarm and it didn't work. Here is why...if your child is a heavy sleeper they will never hear the alarm. Our family dr said that is why he is still wetting at night, first because he sleeps so deep and doesn't get the "signs" from his body and second because his bladder is smaller in size than a normal 8 year old. We had an ultrasound done and we found out his bladder is the size of a 5 year old.

Good luck, patience is the hardest, but more important part.

Sue

Hi M.! I know this can be troubling, esp. to a child's social life (sleepovers and such). If you're worried, you might ask your doctor to be more proactive.

I'm not sure about your options, but I did hear a pediatrician lecture on this once, and she said this is a neurochemical thing (maybe a hormone, I don't quite recall). It's good to know one's own nighttime continence history b/c late bedwetting can run in families. Some kids don't produce the chemical until later in their lives. I seem to recall she said you could take the missing chemical in a supplement of some kind. You might also look at an alternative medicine/ natural supplements store (get a knowledgeable one).

So you might see what your doctor could do for her (some docs are just more laid back than others, which can be good in some situations and bad in others).
Best, J.