Bedwetting - Cross River,NY

T.

As a mom to a TEENAGE bedwetter (my daughter is 17) my suggestions are as follows:

Yes, some do grow out of this stage (though not in my case) - and other do not.

He can use pullups - or goodnites in the meantime.

I don't believe in the nitetime alarms if your son is such a heavy sleeper - in my experience, the alarms only woke everyone ELSE up in the house and not the bedwetter, and they corroded after a month or so.(even after thorough cleanings)(these are the alarms that clip inside the underwear so that when there is a presence of urine - an ear piercing alarm goes off to warn the bedwetter to get up and go to the bathroom)

I also don't believe in waking the child after they've been sleeping to go to the bathroom - if they are in such a deep sleep and you are 'dragging' them to the bathroom and making them go, chances are they won't remember going the next day. (in my experience this has happened)

I've used the following 'techniques'/'rules' :

no food/drink after dinner - eating promotes drinking - drinking promotes bedwetting.

Have your son sit on the toilet for 3-5 minutes every 2 hours - even if he says he doesn't have to go. Give him a puzzle or his gameboy or a magazine/book..etc...to occupy the time - the time spent on the toilet allows for his 'system' relax enough to go. Buy him a watch with an alarm and teach him how to set it to go off every 2 hours to remind him to go to the bathroom.

The last resort is the one I had no choice in making and that was to put my daughter on medication. DDAVP comes in a nasal spray and also a pill form. Ditropan is another medication in helping with bladder problems. She is on both and I'm happy to say hasn't had an accident in a long time! We've tried to take her off the meds only for her to have an accident and then go back on them. The doctor's say that her bladder is just immature and there's no telling when she may stop.

I hope this helps....good luck to your son!

I too have an 8 year old that may occasionally wet the bed. What we do is make her last drink an hour before bedtime and she must go to the bathroom before bed. I'm not sure if this is close to the problem that your 8 year old is experiencing but it is worth a try. Hope this helps.

Some kids just develop slower in that area. The most important thing is not to make him feel bad about it. My son had trouble until he was almost 10. Now, it almost never happens. He used Good Nites religiously until it was over. Also, a rubber sheet and a pad from the hospital, the kind they have new mother's sleep on. If you can get a few of those (most people know someone who works in a hospital), they saved the mattress and he slept better with it. No drinks an hour before bed and limit the salt intake later in the day so he isnt inclined to drink as much. Also, we got him up about 2 or 3 hours after falling asleep to urinate. It was hard on everyone, but really helped cut down on accidents. He cannot help it, his body is just built this way. If you have ruled out something physical, then he will grow out of it, just hang in there! Best of luck!

Dear T.,

My son also wet the bed despite every effort on our part until he was around 10 years old (he's now 24). We woke him in the middle of the night, cut out fluids, even used a prescription nasal spray nothing worked he just had to grow out of it on his own. He was a very sound sleeper, we would wake him to go to the bathroom he would practically sleep walk and never wake, go to the bathroom and back to bed. Some nights he would stay dry and others even though we woke him he would be wet. I purchased crib waterproof mats for him to sleep on top of this way when he wet the sheets would remain dry and he would just have to change his pajamas. It was very hard on him because he would not go to sleep overs and was very ashamed. I never got upset with him because I knew he wasn't doing it on purpose. I am not sure if your son is also a very sound sleeper but the doctor always told me it is very common in boys and usually they are extremely sound sleepers. I'm not sure if the brain is not signaling them to wake or their bladder is not yet fully developed, however until these occur and he grows out of it just be as supportive as you can. Good luck!!

Is he afraid to get up at night?

T.,

I wet the bed my whole childhood until age 9... then I saw an doctor who gave me medicine. It finally stopped... But my youngest son who is 11 years old started doing it as well... Instead of giving him a pill... We don't let him drink after 9pm and we wake him up in the middle of the night and take him to the bathroom... It works!

I'm not sure what you have tried but, try not letting him drink at least two hours before bed. And make sure to remind him to use the bathroom before bed. My 5 year old was having that same problem, but since I cut out the drinking after a certain time and remind him to use the bathroom its gotten so much better. There are special times where it will still happen, like when we go out and he drinks a lot or when I forget to remind him. I hope this helps. Good luck