Bedwetting ... need advise

[fran99999]

Just an FYI my DS6 will be 7 in Feb06 wears pullups at night. His Pediatrician told me to just let it go. I have tried the wakeup in the night. I tried the undies with words of praise method. My DS sleeps so soundly he wont even walk to the bathroom he must be carried asleep. You can imagine this did not work. I purchased a few heavy duty shower curtain liners (hotel grade) at the local Dollar store at $5.00 each. If the pullup does not hold it all I just scoop off the sheets and shower liner and the 6 foot bath towel I have between the liner and the sheet. They go in the wash. I put on a fresh sheets/liner/towel and ready for the next night. Funny how the top sheet and blanket never get wet. Ok once in a while but mostly its just that stupid bottom sheet. I also wash my bathroom shower curtain at the same time. Put the top sheet on one side and a few bath towels on the other. Like brand new.

 

[dismom9761]

My oldest was still wetting the bed at 7 yrs-very deep sleeper.At seven years old we decided to try the medicine and after three nights he stopped wetting the bed.He stayed on the meds for about six months and then we weaned him off to see what would happen.He would wet the bed about once a month.Now he is 10 and doesn't do it at all.If we had waited he would probably have gotten through it without meds but it was really bothering him.

 

[Accentuate+]

I was a bedwetter until about the age of nine. Back in the days when there were no pull-ups, no medication...just a bed pad, a rubber sheet and a trip to the washing machine every morning.
My mom tried limiting fluids in the evening, waking me up in the middle of the night, bribery and even a trip to the Dr for x-rays to see if there was some physiological reason for it. Nothing worked and each attempt to 'cure' me only left me feeling embarrassed.
The simple fact was I slept like a log and it was many years before the need to pee broke through my sleep fog. Even today, at 38, I have multiple alarms set on five different devices (TV, clock, computer, cell phone, regular phone) in the hopes that I will hear at least one of them in the morning to get up for work.
I just 'grew' out of it one day and the bedwetting stopped. The advice you've gotten here is good. By all means have a chat with your Dr. to make sure there isn't a physical reason and then just let it go. Get the pull-ups or whatever and use them and don't make a big deal out of it. I'm not sure what it would take to convince your husband that your son is not just being lazy but please try. My Mom always thought -and occasionally said - that I could stop if I really wanted to but that just wasn't the case. No one wants to be a bedwetter and thoughts and comments like that just make the whole situation worse and make the kid feel like crap about something they truly can't help.

Oh, and...neither here nor there but I never noticed that it's more boys than girls (I'm a she) but I have wondered if there were any hereditary factors (I have two aunts who were bedwetters). Most likely it had much to do with my Mom's idea when I was a baby to leave a radio softly playing in my room as a slept. The goal was that everyone else in the house wouldn't have to tiptoe and I would still get a nice, sound sleep. Well....the 'sound sleeper' part was a solid success!

 

[justcruisin]

I'm the OP, thanks so much to all of you for sharing your stories. I feel much better now and will just let it go for a while.

Thanks too to cara loves the poly for posting back. I understand your thoughts, it's just difficult to express a concern and not sound harsh --- I appreciate you took the time to post again. (FWIW, we use a crib pad when we travel --- I hope others in similar situations do the same --- I also remove the bedspread and lysol the phone and remote!)

 

[denisekayt]

My DS 7 is still the occasional bedwetter...up until this spring he was an every night wetter. After talking with his doctor who said "no worries until he's 9 or 10, most kids grow out of it, but if you really want to do something you can try an alarm" and he recommended the SleepDry alarm we tried that. Interesting note here, we mentioned to the doctor that we'd tried limiting nighttime drinks and he said that rarely has an impact at all on whether a child is going to bedwet.

As other posters responded, the first 5-6 nights the alarm woke us, but not DS. This is expected and was explained as typical in the alarm literature. Each time the alarm sounded I would go pull DS out of bed, get him to the bathroom to "finish" if he needed to, then have him change PJs, etc. (the SleepDry alarm was great in that we could hook it up to a regular pair of underwear, but then put pullups on overtop of that so no changing bedding each night!).

Anyway, about day 5 or so when the alarm went off instead of having to drag DS out of bed and cope with zombie boy while trying to get him changed, I was meeting him in the hallway! He was starting to wake up when the alarm went off and knew that meant "get to the bathroom!". About day 8 or so he started getting up BEFORE the alarm and making it to the potty while still dry For the next week or so he only had the alarm go off 2 or 3 times, after that he was alarm free for 4 weeks!

After he had been dry all night for the 4 weeks we stopped using the alarm, and he did pretty well for awhile, then started having accidents again. When that happened we started using the alarm again for about a week and that would be all it took to get him back on track. He does still have occasional issues, but using the alarm has really helped him understand the feeling of when he needs to wake up and listen to his body.

A few points before I end...

- My DS was wanting to stay dry during the night and really wanted to stop wetting the bed (we weren't punishing him at all, he just wanted to be more like his friends). Without DS being motivated I'm not sure the alarm system would have worked as well as it did.

- The alarm wasn't a full cure, DS still has nights when he doesn't stay dry, but he did go from EVERY night to maybe 1-3 times per month and he's getting better.

- It was very interesting to find out what time of night he was having the accidents....I expected it was early morning (like 5 am), you know he just "wasn't quite making it through the night". That wasn't the case! His accidents were always around 11pm or so. About the time he was probably in his deepest sleep of the night and therefore not waking up because he was in such a sound sleep. The alarm would go off once and after that one accident about 11pm, he'd be dry the rest of the night!

Anyway, not sure if I've helped at all, but thought you might like more info from a family who has used an alarm system and found it to be a positive experience. Having a bedwetter is tough, especially when they start getting to an age where the child realizes he's "different" then his friends. For me, just finding out that MANY other families have boys my DS's age that still have bedwetting issues was a relief and helped me not worry that DS was "abnormal".

 

[crisi]

I wet the bed until I was 12. I finally would set the alarm clock for 1:00 am and get up and go to the bathroom, but I was nearly a teenager before even that worked. My mother tried everything - limited liquids, waking me when she went to bed.

It was really embarrassing back then - there was no medication and no big sized pull ups and no moisture pads. My mother and I would frequently be making the bed at 2 in the morning.

I would take the advice your peditrician gives you. And I would make sure your DH knows to put a sock in it. Guilt about something SO embarrassing that you can't control coming from a parent is horrible.

BTW, urine is generally sterile (unless you have a bladder infection), so there shouldn't be any need for the Lysol - unless you are trying to cover the smell. Of all the things that get on hotel mattresses, urine is one of the most harmless. Gross, but pretty harmless.

 

[SueM in MN]

This site is one of the main sites on the internet that sells alarms.
The information I have seen on bedweting is pretty mcuh what denisekayt posted. Most kids want to be dry and (rather than being an embarrasment to them) the alarm is something they see as helpful -especially as they begin to see progress. That site also has some really good information explaining bedwetting.

For the question of hotel stays -

All the WDW hotels have rubber sheets available from Housekeeping on request. They will provide extra sheets in case a change is needed during the night too.
Most hotels have rubber sheets available - they would much rather provide a set of rubber sheets than have to deal with wet mattresses.

 

[NotUrsula]

I luckily do not have to deal with this on an ongoing basis, but I did deal with it for about 6 mos. when DS was in the final stages of training; he was 5. I feel for you all and realize I don't really know what it's like, but I do have what might be a helpful suggestion for helping the adults makes it easier on themselves. It's a method for making beds that makes the middle-of-the-night changes easier. I learned it while we had an elderly invalid relative living with us.

Put several sets of bottom sheets on the bed at once, layering them with chux. I used to put 5 layers on the bed, alternating fitted sheets and chux, with a waterproof cover directly on the mattress, of course. When we would check on DS and realize he was wet, we just rolled him over and removed one sheet/chux layer, then rolled him back the other way and got it the rest of the way off. No need to lift him out of bed or attempt to wake him up (which is a pretty impossible thing in the middle of the night.) Another thing that really helped reduce the aggravation was letting him sleep naked; we could easily wipe down his skin to help prevent rash.

We put a large pail with borax and a bit of water in the hall outside his door, and we just dropped the sheets into it after pulling them off. We would wash them together in the morning.

 

[dismom9761]

This site is one of the main sites on the internet that sells alarms.
The information I have seen on bedweting is pretty mcuh what denisekayt posted. Most kids want to be dry and (rather than being an embarrasment to them) the alarm is something they see as helpful -especially as they begin to see progress. That site also has some really good information explaining bedwetting.

For the question of hotel stays -

All the WDW hotels have rubber sheets available from Housekeeping on request. They will provide extra sheets in case a change is needed during the night too.
Most hotels have rubber sheets available - they would much rather provide a set of rubber sheets than have to deal with wet mattresses.

Thanks for the info about the rubber sheets!One thing less to pack.

 

[Tidus]

After many years of pull-ups and embarrassment for my son, we put him on medication that the Dr. recommended. It took only 1 month of being on it for him to finally stop bed wetting. Since then, I have a friend that goes to a Chiropractor. This Chiropractor says that they can help with bedwetting. I know it sounds weird, but some people do take children to a Chiropractor. He also told her, that often bedwetters have asthma. Not quite sure of the connection, however, my son does have asthma too. I was very hesitant to try the medication, but I am so glad we did it! He also wanted to do it!

 

[CindyD]

Interesting to note about the asthma.
My son has reactive airway disorder (sort of a precursor to asthma) and someone else posted that wetters may have sleep apnea. My son did and as a result had tonsils and adenoids removed. Very interesting!!!

 

[PrincessLindy]

The asthma thing is interesting. I was a bedwetter and my DD6 is also. I was recently diagnosed with asthma and am getting DD tested. I went undiagnosed for so long because there are a lot of symptoms that I never thought were connected. I had stomach problems for instance and always thought I had IBS. Turns out it is an asthma symptom and has improved with asthma medicine. If it can affect your stomach like that it could affect your bladder.

Goodnights are the best thing ever. I do not want to punish her and do not think it is anything she can help. This way we both get a good night sleep and she is not embarrassed. BTW she recently had her first sleep over at a church. She changed into her pj's and goodnight in the bathroom. In the morning she put the goodnight in a plastic bag and slipped it in her little suitcase. No one knew.