Bladder issues

[Mama Steph]

My 9 year old daughter has been having some bladder issues. We have been to the Dr a few times, no UTI, however she is having to use the bathroom very frequently and quickly. We are trying some different things but so far no answers. If it continues, our next step will be to see the urologist when we return home from Dis.
I am concerned about her being able to stand in lines while we are there. Is there any sort of accomodation that a GAC can offer in this type of situation? I am planning to have her use the bathroom after just about every ride or attraction but am concerned that she may need to go again while we are in line. I am wondering if we could have some flexibility where I could take her to the restroom and we would be able to rejoin our party already in line.
We plan to use FP a lot but I am concerned that even there, we may have issues! TIA for an advice or tips you may have. I checked the FAQs but did not see any info for anything like this.

 

[mackay_j]

Hi you didn't say how many are in your party, if there is another adult you shouldn't have too much of a problem as they can wait in the line. No-one tends to get cross with a child having to squeeze by to get to the loo. Its hapened on almost every line I have ever been in. You may hit more of a problem in ques in at the loos. I would just ask to skip infront if the lines are too long in there. Also the longest time she will have to wait will be to get back to the disney hotels if you stay to the end of the park day. At busy times these waits can be quite long, and we have hit the need to go now problem when waiting there. May be another could help by telling what they do in that situation. If you are really lucky you may find that all the distraction of disney will perhaps take her mind off it and she may not need to go as much- Good luck

 

[Schmeck]

I know MK and EPCOT have bathrooms outside of the gates, so needing to go after leaving the park shouldn't be too much of a problem.

If you need to leave a queue, let the CM at the entrance know that you had to leave for a medical concern (you don't have to tell them everything, btw) and hopefully they will assist you in rejoining your family in line. The only issue would be if your family gets to the boarding area and you're not there - discuss what you want them to do, ride without you or try to stand aside until you get back?

The queues at WDW are very tricky and deceiving - they wind around inside the attraction buildings like a maze.

 

[Windjammermay]

Your 9 year old daughter with bladder issues may find it difficult and embarrassed by a situation she may have if she leaks. I have a catheter and when I leak it is very embarrassing and it can get smelly, very quickly in the heat. I am concerned with my trip to Disney having an incodent and I am a grown up.

I have my chucks, change of cloths, stuff for a quick clean up and most important Posie (a type of pad in my under pants). They do have many products to help with bladder accidents. A little perfume might make her feel better about things. People are not very understanding when you leave a puddle. Can you ask your doctor about a medicine that may keep her from too many spasms. Like I take detrol, urelle so that I won't get the urge and it slows down the amount of leaking.

Good luck, I really hope things go well. standing is a hard thing to do with a bad bladder.

 

[Bete]

Before a show or ride do a pit stop. Avoid drinking too much while doing the rides through the park; although, you need to drink enough not to get dehydrated, especially, if it's too hot. I would avoid fruit, too. Caffiene products give you the urge to go more; so, stay away from such products. If the wait is long for a ride, do a pit stop before and after it.

You have an awesome amount of products out there to help with bladder accidents; use them. Carry more with you to get you through the day. Take extra underwear and pants/shorts each day for a possible change in the park.

As others have stated be more strategic and go during early entry if you are an on-site Disney guest or as early as you can, if not. Hit the most important rides to you right off. Use fastpass as much as possible. Staying for late extra magic hours will help, as well. These methods help to avoid long waits on rides.

Some rides have incredible long waits like Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios; so, I would consider skipping it altogether even with fastpass. You need to decide when you see the waiting times at each attraction whether it's worth the wait. The Safari ride in AK is a long ride and usually has longer waits; you may have to skip that ride, too. Many rides have emergency exits you can use, if you have to make a sudden break for a bathroom. Be aware of all your options.

Try to get a handle on her cycle of voiding; so, you can get an idea of when you need to visit a bathroom. Use your watch diligently to help in this matter.

I don't think GAC will help too much, but if you want to try it, it might not hurt using one.

I think it's very important not to make your daughter feel self-conscious about this problem. Praise her for voiding in the bathroom everytime. Good luck.

 

[Windjammermay]

OH, and I am very excited about this.....Disney resorts like Sports, Movies and others have laundry rooms

Excuse me but I just found that out I had thought that I would have to wash out soiled things by hand

 

[buffettgirl]

not really related to your question, but have they checked her for Diabetes?

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

OH, and I am very excited about this.....Disney resorts like Sports, Movies and others have laundry rooms

Excuse me but I just found that out I had thought that I would have to wash out soiled things by hand

They all do. DW and I only pack about half the clothing we need, and plan a "down day" in the middle. We do laundry in the morning, then hang out at the pool and drink RUM drinks! hehehehehhehe

 

[ireland_nicole]

I'd also try to get her into the specialist before your trip, if possible. That symptom, if she's needing to go even 2-3 times in an hour, is better checked out sooner rather than later.

 

[della]

I remember how traumatic this was to my dd when she was your dd's age. My oldest had similar problems (to some extent still does), although the docs said she was fine. My sister who has IC (intersital cystitis-probably spelled wrong) reccomended a book to us called "You Don't Have to Live With Cystitis". I don't know if the book is still around but it talked about foods that can stimulate over sensitive nerve endings in the lining of the bladder. You can probably google something along these lines. When my dd (now grown) feels a flair up she avoids certain foods (citrics, spicey, vinegars, etc). My dd claims to feel the difference.

She will join us on our upcoming trip, along with my younger daughter who has no med problem-just a pea sized bladder, my 3 yo who only recently potty trained and my dh who is on a high dose of diruetics. We may spend more time at the bathrooms than on the rides! I find limiting caffeine and sodas (they keep hydrated with just plain water) during park hours help them all. Good luck.

 

[mechurchlady]

The only time I have had bladder problems is with iced tea. I have a 2 glass limit as the caffiene really affect my stomach and bladder. You got a lot of great tips already.

 

[Mama Steph]

I tried to post this last night but kept getting an error page.

Thanks so much for all the excellent tips. I think I will skip the GAC. We have 9 in our party and most of the time at least 7 of us would be in a queue together. I will talk to her about the poise pads (I use them when I have a bad cold). And I will definately bring extra clothes. With 3 girls pretty close in age, I can usually get away with stretchy shorts that fit any of them in a crunch so I don't bring extra clothes for everyone. I am doing my daily plans now and plan to be a FP queen while we are there! Hopefully we won't have long waits for anything but even short ones could cause problems if she is having one of those days. When she is having a hard day, I may just have her sit in the stroller since she feels better and the urges are less while sitting. My kids drink very little soda and even then it's usually root beer or sprite. However, all we'll be having at Disney is our water and lemonade. As for what's going on, we have no idea. We were at the ped last Monday and Saturday thinking at was a bladder infection. They cultured her urine and it was negative. It seems to come and go with good days and bad. A couple of friends mentioned diabetes as well. I guess I need to do some research. I wish I could get her into the specialist before we leave but she is at camp with school til tomorrow afternoon and we leave Thursday morning. Thankfully she is pretty good with things and goes with the flow. I am thinking of getting her some pull up (she is pretty tiny for her age, wears a size 7 slim) to see if that would help. Of course they probably wouldn't fit well under her trendy, skinny jeans. LOLOh, and we are staying at a house offsite with laundry. I always do all of our laundry on vacation so we only bring home clean clothes. Nothing worse than coming home and having to do a week's worth of laundry.Thanks again for all the tips! This board is so great!

 

[peemagg]

Mama Steph,

I sent you a P.m. the other day. Something that my Mom used to find was that the original test for infections always came back negative, but try it again a couple of days later and it would show up. It would still be up in the kidneys and it would take the infection a few days to descend into the bladder.

 

[teachallday]

I am thinking of getting her some pull up (she is pretty tiny for her age, wears a size 7 slim) to see if that would help. Of course they probably wouldn't fit well under her trendy, skinny jeans. LOL

The Brand Pull-ups (although they have Disney Princess on them) may not really fit your child anymore if she is in size 7 clothing. They do fine for kids up to about size 6, but most kids I have dealt with wearing size 7 or bigger usually do not fit them anymore.

Don't worry however, in the same section of the store where they sell Pull-ups they sell products for older kids. These are marketed towards older kids dealing with bed-wetting, but MANY children wear them during the day for bladder control issues. The Brand Goodnites are made by the same people who make the Pull-ups (Huggies). Pampers recently came out with a version too called, UnderJams. There are also many other brands like All-Nites and others. These are designed for kids who have outgrown the "little Kid" Pull-ups but still the product as a "big Kid".