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for those who used a bedwetting alarm


HappyLady
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We've used it for 3 nights now.  The first night it seemed to work perfectly.  It woke us up (I slept with my DD) and she was only a little wet when the alarm went off.  The second night, as soon as she got in bed the alarm went off for no apparent reason.  I wiped the sensor and didn't think much of it.  In the middle of the night, my DD woke me up because she was soaked.  The alarm never went off.  The third night, it again went off as soon as she got into bed.  This time I took the batteries out and put them back in to maybe reset everything.  During the night, the alarm went off, but my DD was soaked.  I don't know if she just peed so fast that she didn't have time to wake up and stop or what.

 

I'm just curious if any of you experienced any of this.  The alarm going off for no reason worries me that maybe it's malfunctioning, and it not going off at all or maybe going off too late makes me wonder if it even works correctly as well.  I'd hate to return it if other models do the same thing so I figured I'd ask what everyone's experiences were first.

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Which alarm is it, and how are you hooking it up? We used a Chummie alarm and had some issues at first. We could not get it to work right with underwear. It was a dream when we started cutting slits in GoodNites and taping it into place. Some of them are too sensitive and will go off if your child sweats, and some of them like the Chummie need to be a little more wet to go off, which is why having it on the underwear made it go off too late.

 

I agree with the poster who suggested testing it with water. Try to see how sensitive it is and how wet it needs to be to go off. Then look at how you have it hooked up and consider whether there might be an adjustment you can make.

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Which alarm is it, and how are you hooking it up? We used a Chummie alarm and had some issues at first. We could not get it to work right with underwear. It was a dream when we started cutting slits in GoodNites and taping it into place. Some of them are too sensitive and will go off if your child sweats, and some of them like the Chummie need to be a little more wet to go off, which is why having it on the underwear made it go off too late.

 

I agree with the poster who suggested testing it with water. Try to see how sensitive it is and how wet it needs to be to go off. Then look at how you have it hooked up and consider whether there might be an adjustment you can make.

 

 

I have this one:

 

http://www.wetstop.com/

 

I have the alarm clipped to the top of her shirt, the wire running down underneath her clothes and the sensor clipped on her underwear right next to where the pee comes out.  :)

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That's the one we used. My kids would turn it off while half asleep, and go back to sleep. They are very heavy sleepers. You didn't say how old your daughter is, but mine are finally outgrowing it at 11 and 12. I tried everything I could think of, short of medication. We just had to wait until they outgrew it. 

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That's the one we used. My kids would turn it off while half asleep, and go back to sleep. They are very heavy sleepers. You didn't say how old your daughter is, but mine are finally outgrowing it at 11 and 12. I tried everything I could think of, short of medication. We just had to wait until they outgrew it. 

 

 

She's almost 7.  I suspect since my DH wet the bed until the age of 9 that this might be the case for both of my kids, but figured I'd try this just to see if it worked.

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My ds used an alarm (malem) for a year.  It didn't work long term.  at first it seemed to work...he had a good 2 months dry....but then he would turn it off and go back to sleep.  I was getting him up some still when I heard it....but here we are years later and he's still soaking the bed every night.  

 

We did have a sensor issue for a bit....and I sent it in....they sent it back with reporting no issues.  It needs to be dry before the night starts.  Make sure it's clean.  Call and ask them what they think about the sensor.  but I do remember having some nights where it went off when we were putting it on....always weird and no real reason why it did.  I always thought the darn thing was broken.  

 

I hope you have better luck.  Ds just turned it off eventually and finally  broke it.  I figured it wasn't worth another $100 to try any longer.  :-(

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but here we are years later and he's still soaking the bed every night.

FWIW, I have a little anecdote in case it might be of some help. My ds11 had wetting issues for years. It was blamed on some combination of constipation and his prior tethered spinal cord (both reasonable explanations) and mysteriously managed with magnesium citrate for years. But if I missed the mag citrate dose for one or more nights the wetting would return. Recently, for unrelated reasons, I gave him D Mannose, the alternative UTI treatment. Lo and behold, it fixed the wetting... this is a recent development; he went on a school trip two weeks ago for 4 nights (with no supplements whatsoever) and the laundry came back clean, not a drop (unlike the mag). I wonder whether my ds had some sort of subclinical level of infection going on (he had been tested multiple times over the years). We may never know - I just hope the dryness continues.  (eta, I have discontinued the mag and I am continuing the mannose for a little while to make sure any lurking infection is gone)

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Funny story.... now....  When I was a kid my parents got a bed wetting alarm from my aunt to see if that would work for me.  I kept complaining that I didn't like it because it hurt me.  No one would believe me.  The last night I used it, my Dad came in to help me change everything and the two sensors actually sparked when they touched the wet underwear.  He immediately took the whole unit out of my room and put it in the bathtub  until he could take it outside.  Then he apologized to me.  I knew it hurt when I had an accident!

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AmyontheFarm, oh geez! That sounds awful! Your dad must have felt so bad he didn't believe you, what a freak accident! 

 

OP, we've used the Malem bedwetting alarm and it worked like a charm. It sounds like your sensor might be bad and since it's so new I bet they'll replace it for you. I'd check it with water and see and then you can call them and ask what the replacement procedure is. Ours worked perfectly every night and within 3 weeks my 6 year old who had never been dry really was dry consistently and *knock on wood* hasn't been wet at night since then and it's been 1 month since he stopped wearing the alarm. He stopped wearing the alarm after 6 weeks. Now he wakes himself to go pee about half the time, the other half he just sleeps through dry. 

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We also used the Malem......it took a bit to get it in the correct position but within a week our son was completely dry.  For him he just didn't recognize the signal from his brain and/or body to get up and urinate or stay asleep but hold it.  I did take seriously the part about making him wake up and turn it off.  He slept beside our bed on the floor for a couple of nights so I could make sure he woke as soon as it went off and stop himself from peeing.  By the 3rd night as soon as the alarm began he would stop the flow and by the end of the week he was totally dry.  In the 2 years since we used it, he has had an accident I believe twice.

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