Bedwetting Kid

[linda0706]

My DD6 (turns 7 in May) still wets the bed nearly every night - she's dry maybe 1-3 nights per week. It's really starting to upset her so I've been researching the alarms that attach to panties & go off when the kid starts to pee.

Does anyone have any experience with these alarms? Two are "Dri Sleeper" and "Malem".

I understand that she'll outgrow it eventually regardless, but what's the harm in helping her out now?

 

[meeskamouska]

I don't have any experience with these but justed wanted to ask if she has been seen by a urologist to be sure that it isn't anything medicaaly that is causing this??

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

My dd6 still wets the bed just about every night. I have to wake her up before I go to bed (around midnight) so that she can use the bathroom and then I put her back to bed. She usually stays dry that way. It's such a chore though! Sorry I don't have any advice for you...I'm in the same boat.

 

[dismom9761]

My oldest wet the bed every night.We tyried waking him to take him to the bathroom but he still wet.At about 7 yrs old we finally put him on a medication that the Dr. reccommended.It took about a week but then he stopped wetting the bed.He stayed on the meds for about a year and then we weaned him off of them.Good luck with whatever you try.

 

[december]

My dd6 still wets the bed just about every night. I have to wake her up before I go to bed (around midnight) so that she can use the bathroom and then I put her back to bed. She usually stays dry that way. It's such a chore though! Sorry I don't have any advice for you...I'm in the same boat.

My ds9 is the same way. My husband gets him up every night around 11. We tried medications (DDVAP I think) and it works great. But he gained a ton of weight and didn't have any energy. A nurse friend clued me in to the side effects and we took him off. He is losing wt and his energy is returning.
We'll just keep getting him up for now.

 

[ahutton]

My DD just turned 7 and her ped said as long as she isn't worried it is not a big deal. I have a friend who swears by the Dri Sleeper, I'm sure we'll be using one when DD does start to be concerned. She is such a heavy sleeper that I just can't wake her in the middle of the night to go, and I'm not a fan of the meds because of the side effects I've heard about.

 

[LBAK]

DDVAP was a life saver for us. My DD just stopped wetting the bed in Dec. and she is almost 12. When she got to sleepover age she was embarrassed and did not want to wear Goodnights. Can't say I blame her. Alarms did not work for her, neither did us waking her up to go. DDVAP helped and we slowly weaned her off and now we've not had an accident since Dec. Good Luck!

 

[mookie]

I dont' know if these were the brands that were around when I was a kid, but that's what my mom did for me - the alarms. It was the only thing that worked. Granted, I think I was 8 by the time I was completely a non-bedwetter, so it might have just been coincindence and I grew out of it.

DH and I were both bedwetters and I heard it's pretty heriditary. I don't think I'm really goign to push the issue with our dd(4) for another year or two...she still wears a pullup, and there are no signs of her staying dry all night.

Good luck!

 

[horseshowmom]

When my DD (now 19) was your child's age, she wet the bed every single night. When I talked to my doctor about it, they were going to refer her to a pediatric urologist. She wore Pull-ups at night, and it really wasn't an issue with her.

After checking with the urologist (and getting an idea of what the tests were going to cost - we had no insurance at the time), I decided to try other things first (as others have said, I really didn't want to go the meds route, but to each their own). Let me add here, that she could go all day without going to the bathroom with no trouble (which led me to doubt that there was a urological problem) and was a very heavy sleeper. Also, I was a bedwetter as a child.

I found a very old book in the public library (wish I could remember the name) that mapped out a plan of action. The book included "practicing" every night. She would pretend to be asleep and then "imagine" needing to use the restroom. She would focus on how that feeling would feel and then jump up and run to the restroom. You would do this several times every night (I think I'm recalling it correctly).

Also, together with the child, you would develop several "steps" of rewards that would progress as the number of dry nights increased (little things like an ice cream cone, etc.).

My DD went from wetting the bed every single night to being completely dry in about a month and never wetting the bed again.

 

[qtwns]

Go to www.bedwettingstore.com . They have alarms and other products for bed wetters, but they also have a lot of useful info. My ped. told me about it b/c my twins (7) are still having trouble--although I think one is just about over it. The alarm mat is ok--if your kid sweats a lot at night the alarm will be triggered. That got pretty old. Good luck. It is definitely frustrating.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

Yeah, I heard it's hereditary too. My mother wet the bed until she was 8 and I wet the bed until I was around 10. So I guess it's only natural that dd follows in our footsteps. I'm not really too concerned...I'm sure she won't wet the bed forever. It's just that she's SUCH a heavy sleeper. A bomb could go off and destroy the house, but she would still be curled up asleep in the charred embers that used to be her bed.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

i would check with the doctor to make sure everythings ok
i wet the bed til a late age and i ended up in childrens hospital in boston
i missed almost the entire year of 2nd grade
i had to have my tubes widen and had several surgeries
it was very painful

 

[belle&beast]

We took our DD to a pediatric urologist last summer because she was still having daytime accidents when she was 5. We were told to eliminate caffeine, red dyes and citrus from her diet and to be sure she stays regular (she takes Mirilax daily.) These products irritate the bladder, so it could be beneficial to eliminate them for night time wetting, too. Now daytime is under control, but she wants to be dry at night, too.

At our urology appointment just a few weeks ago, I asked about bedwetting and she was really hesitant about using the alarms with such a young child. They told us 15-20% of kids still wet the bed at 5. They recommend the alarms for kids 8 and over.

 

[minnieandme]

Did you see a urologist yet? It could be that her bladder is small for her age and can't hold that much liquid when they're sleep.

 

[linda0706]

We took our DD to a pediatric urologist last summer because she was still having daytime accidents when she was 5. We were told to eliminate caffeine, red dyes and citrus from her diet and to be sure she stays regular (she takes Mirilax daily.) These products irritate the bladder, so it could be beneficial to eliminate them for night time wetting, too. Now daytime is under control, but she wants to be dry at night, too.

At our urology appointment just a few weeks ago, I asked about bedwetting and she was really hesitant about using the alarms with such a young child. They told us 15-20% of kids still wet the bed at 5. They recommend the alarms for kids 8 and over.

We haven't seen a urologist. At her 6yo checkup her pedi basically said not to worry about it for another year or two because she most likely WILL outgrow it. It's just that recently it's started to bother her - mostly after she declined going to a sleepover because of it. (Really, though, I was FINE with that--I wasn't too hip on sleepovers at her age anyway, but that's for another post.)

Funny you mentioned Mirilax - she takes it daily also for constipation since she was about 2. As long we don't miss more than 1 day at a time she stays perfectly regular. Wonder if the 2 problems are related.

Thanks for the info that your urologist gave you about waiting till they were 8. I think I may just hold off till her next well-child checkup in May & ask the pedi's opinion.

I've also heard about it being heritary but she's adopted so I have no clue about birthparent's bathroom histories!!

MAN, I wish kids came with instruction manuals!!

 

[mickeyboat]

My girls don't have a recurring problem, but a couple times a year, when she is very tired, my 7 year old will wet the bed. Thank you for this thread, because now I know it is more normal than I thought, and that she is likely to outgrow it.

Good luck to everyone else!

Denae

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

My 5 y/o son is a binge bed wetter. He can go for months without having an accident and than boom he will wet 3 times in a row. The dr said nothing to be alarmed about. It really does work to limit fluid intake after 5pm.

 

[linda0706]

i would check with the doctor to make sure everythings ok
i wet the bed til a late age and i ended up in childrens hospital in boston
i missed almost the entire year of 2nd grade
i had to have my tubes widen and had several surgeries
it was very painful

Wow, how traumatic for a 7yo! Just curious, did you have trouble holding it during the day also, or only at night?

 

[ttfn3]

This may not work for you - but I thought I would mention it. My DS had a night time bedwetting problem when he was younger. After trying many things, we cut out his nightly (at dinner) cup of yogurt and that did the trick. I figure it may have been causing him to sleep really deeply - and he wouldn't wake up until it was too late.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Our DD9 still can't make it through the night. She wears pull-ups. A couple of years ago we thgought she had stopped, but soon started wetting teh bed nightly. I have kind of mixed feelings about the pullups. First, we don't want to make DD uncomfortable about it because I do believe that it is something she can't help right now (hereditary, etc). Second, I just hope the pullups aren't a crutch that will keep her wetting longer. The more I read up on this, the more I understand that it is something that she just has to grow out of.