Bedwetting. Help. Meds?

[JudoMom]

Bedwetting is evidentially some sort of freaky dominant gene in our family. All four of my potty trained boys wet the bed at anywhere from 3-7 times a week.

 

I'm about to lose my mind. They were in pullups for a long time, but spent the summer in underwear in the hopes they'd learn to wake up. They haven't.

 

In order of likeliness to wet, it's ds7(8onFriday), ds6, ds9, & ds4.

 

Winter means more layers and more to wash and I don't think I can do it. But I don't want to spend $20-$30 a month on pullups, either.

 

My brother wet the bed for a long time, so did my Mom, and so did dh's sister, so there is a genetic component.

 

They don't eat peanut butter, they have 1 cup of milk in the morning, 1 cup of juice at dinner, and water the rest of the time. I cut off their drinking about 2-3 hours before bed, and make them go to the bathroom before the go to bed.

 

What are my options? Has anyone ever gone the medicine route? How did that work? Side effects?

 

Any other options?

[MyBlueLobsters]

I wonder if there is some sort of bladder 'issue' that runs in your family. I know of people whose kids have bladder spasms. Maybe it's something that they can control during the day and not at night? I do believe there is something they can take for that.

[charlotteb]

My son is 11 and still ocassionally wets the bed too. We did tried the medicine a few years ago (can't remember the exact name of it though) and it did nothing. Our doctor has just advised us that some people sleep deeply and not to worry about it- that DS will outgrow it when his body is ready. He has mentioned using the bedwetting alarms if we'd like, but I haven't bought one because they can be quite expensive.

[Elaine]

Oh, I know how frustrating bed wetting can be! We did the medication route for a while but we have been using chiropractic care and it has really helped.

 

Sorry, JudoMom.:grouphug:I am all too familiar with how annoying bed-wetting can be.

[Valerie in MI]

There is a pill your pediatrician can prescribe called Desmopressin. It does work, but if you are hoping to save money, pullups are way cheaper. At least with our insurance, the meds were quite expensive out of pocket. We're back to pullups at night at age 13.

[Tracy in Ky]

Ds used to wet the bed. My ped. told me that some children just sleep so deeply that the signal that the bladder is full just doesn't get to the brain, or wake them up--one of the two.

 

That doesn't really help your situation. I wish I had suggestions for you; it must be so much work for you. I am sure that it is exhausting. :grouphug:

[woolybear]

Ahh...lots of sympathy here. My ds is only about to turn 6 and I had expected this to be done by now. We go through waves of it. Just about 2-3 weeks ago it was almost every night. Now we've gone for about a week without any. We did go through months of dryness so I really thought we were done. With this ds he had Lyme disease starting around 2 1/2. He was still in diapers, but he got terrible rashes. Finally after he was dry in the day, i figured the problem was because he still wet at night. Anyway, the Lyme went on and on and he was on antibioctics for quite a long time as a result. I thought that might be why he had that problem. Now that i think about it, he was on antibiotics again for a short time this summer. Perhaps that triggered it??? Sorry, no specific suggestions here. Though I do have a friend who used the alarm successfully with her son who was older. She said it worked very quickly. Hth.:grouphug:

[Jumping In Puddles]

It might be tougher with four but I wake my 2 up and make them go in the middle of the night. This is not optional for them. I pick my girl up and she doesn't even seem to wake up, I put her on the potty, I wipe her and carry her back. My boy gets woken, carried, and I kind of hold him up under his arms until he's done them I pull his pants up and walk him back to his bed.

 

Sometimes I do it 2X a night (10pm and 2am) sometimes just once at about midnight.

 

If I'm exhausted and know I don't want to stay up late, I'll put a pull up on them. Usually 1-2 per month.

 

Good luck!

[Michelle T]

DH wet the bed until he was nine, and so did DS. I was getting ready to try the med, but then DS outgrew it.

 

But I only have one child, not four to deal with! Maybe you could try it for your older two, and see how it goes.

Michelle T

[BMW]

My 9 yob stepson wets very frequently. It was genetics for him, his older brother and his mom. When we had ran out of pull ups I was determined for him to not wet the bedding because I didn't want to deal with it, I got up 4 times in the middle of the night and every single time he emptied a lot out of that bladder... I was amazed at how much urine he produced throughout the night!! He doesn't drink after 6pm.

 

Many people might not like this at all, but it has worked for us - I lovingly explained to him that he would never be in trouble for wetting (he never has been), but that every day that he woke up dry (it does happen randomly), we would write down that he stayed dry. When he got up to 21 times of being dry, we would get him something special. He loved this. There was absolutely no pressure, but we would celebrate and get very excited when he stayed dry. He cared about it, in a non pressure way, for the first time. No shame. We got him a new game that he'd been wanting. Then we moved and it began again... every.single.night.

 

So, we mentioned earning points again. It drives me CRAZY!!!! He stays dry for days in a row when there's something to earn! I know I should be happy about it and believe me I am, but it still drives me crazy that I can't say, "Hey little fellow, lets try to stay dry" That does nothing. I want him to want to stay dry, but he only does (for now) when there is something to gain! AH!

 

Anyway, you have a lot of little people to work with and I don't know that my story helps in any way, but I do know what it's like to have soaked bedding every morning...

 

We also got a plastic, zippered cover for the entire mattress. The bedding comes off, the cover gets sanitized... bedding washed... bed made... repeat... repeat...

 

What I do, though, is keep the bedding simple - I lay a flat sheet over the mattress and he has either a light blanket or a heavy one, depending on the weather... It keeps it simpler for me.

 

Best wishes,

Bee

[laylamcb]

I've got one, too--my dd6 still has this problem. She's SUCH a deep sleeper. I put the kids to bed early and then go in and drag her to the potty once more around 10 or so (just left there, as a matter of fact). She doesn't even remember it in the morning. And yet STILL sometimes she wets the bed during the wee (no pun intended) hours. Exhausting, isn't it?

[Frankie]

http://www.amazon.com/Malem-Ultimate-Bedwetting-Alarm-Vibration/dp/B00070QH64/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1221015258&sr=8-3

 

Buy a bed wetting alarm. IT WORKS. Worth its weight in gold.

 

My son was cured of bed wetting in one week.

 

The problem was that he slept too soundly and just wasn't waking up. The alarm woke all of us up, it's loud. It also has a vibrating feature if you don't want the noise.

 

I cannot recommend this highly enough.

 

It may be expensive, at $100, BUT when you consider your time and energy washing bedding, clothes, etc., or buying Good Nights, etc., it pays for itself fast.

 

When I was looking into it, there was a gal on eBay who would rent one to you for a month. I don't know if she's still there or not, but it's worth a visit and search.

 

Best wishes.

[lighthouseacademy]

 

They don't eat peanut butter, they have 1 cup of milk in the morning, 1 cup of juice at dinner, and water the rest of the time. I cut off their drinking about 2-3 hours before bed, and make them go to the bathroom before the go to bed.

 

 

I am dealing with a bed wetter who once upon a time was dry but we moved and it was a huge emotional upset to him...now it is habitual. This is what I have learned though. Back when my son was dry all the time, he would wet the bed if he had ANY dairy. This is a very common allergy reaction and dairy is often the culprit (I have a friend with a 15 yr old son who wets if he drinks soda or eats/drinks any dairy). Second, my son is more likely to wet if he isn't drinking ENOUGH. I know that sounds really odd and counter intuitive, but dehydration causes muscle spasms. Also, by drinking enough water throughout the day, the bladder gets exercised and grows stronger. I never found that withholding liquids before bed ever did any good, and like I mentioned before, it might have done more harm than good. I was actually talking to another friend about this this weekend and she said when she stopped withholding fluids her boys stopped wetting. Third, I have found that if my son is not having proper bowel movements each day then he is more likely to wet. I read about this in several wetting help books as well. There are some who say that allowing a child to roll onto the back at night stresses weak kidneys so if you can prevent the back sleeping you are more likely to help the problem. Also, lifting (waking up to potty) is counterproductive. Good luck. I know this stinks. My son is sick of pull ups and it is double worse for him that his little sister doesn't wear them at night and his baby sister is dry half nights.

[Ellie]

My dd took Tofranil (I think that's how it's spelled). She was 5ish. No side effects, and she was dry from the first night she took it. Every 10 days the dosage was cut in half, so she only took it about a month.

[Annie Laurie]

I feel your pain. I am the mom of many boys who have all wet the bed at one time or another, my brothers had the same issue, so you're right about a genetic component. It's hard to stay caught up on laundry and it can be a big drag.

 

The drugs did not work for our oldest. We used to try waking in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom but it only worked sometimes and I later read something about interrupting the sleep cycle probably making it worse, so I stopped doing that.

 

My boys' wetting issue seems to have a dairy link, when I forget to put rice milk in my 7 yr old's cereal and instead give him cow's milk, he almost always wets. I had noticed the same pattern with my oldest and had to eliminate dairy from his diet.

 

I wish I had a great solution, in our case it was just time that helped my oldest outgrow it, he was a super deep sleeper and I don't know if he just started sleeping less deeply as he got older, or if a hormone finally kicked in or what. My 7 year old does fine unless he's overtired, so the way they sleep makes a difference also.

[katalaska]

I have an 8.5yo dd who still wets. And she normally doesn't sleep in a bed (she has one...well, actually she has TWO) but on the floor. So although one "mattress" (it's actually more like a gymnastics crash mat but it's the size of a twin mattress and we have a fitted sheet on it) is waterproof and the other is covered in waterproofing materials it doesn't matter.

 

I can't afford constant carpet cleaning and dd doesn't sleep in the same place every night.

 

So we do pullups. I order them from Amazon and am on their delivery plan so I get an extra 15% discount. I can order more or skip a shipment or cancel the plan at any time with NO penalties (that's the ONLY way I would sign up!).

 

My ds hasn't wet the bed in ages but he is wearing pullups at night because his sister does. I just got the really cheap cheap ones at Safeway for him because he panicked the last time he ran out. But since he can't even remember the last time he was wet (neither can I) and now that he IS sleeping in a bed every night (except sleepovers with his siblings) I am comfortable not having him in pullups. So we just had the discussion a few hours ago that as soon as the current package of "nighttime underwear" runs out, no more for him.

 

It's hard when the younger isn't wetting anymore and the older child still is. To add insult to injury, he also reads and spells better than she does (and he corrects her spelling, to her great annoyance!).

 

**sigh**

 

I feel for you...four would be really tough. I hope you find an answer that works for you. Our pediatrician is having us take the wait-and-see approach. If dd starts feeling bad about the wetting we can talk to her about medicine, alarms, etc. but until then we're all "happy" with pullups.

 

I do like the idea of trying something with your oldest one or two first. Seems reasonable...

[Alaska Mom]

In order of likeliness to wet, it's ds7(8onFriday), ds6, ds9, & ds4.

 

 

I'm just curious: how old were they when they were potty trained?

 

My mom's theory is that kids who potty train "late" and become dependent on pull-ups (as mine did as well), have more problems with bed wetting later on.

 

Anyone have any opinion on that?

[Jumping In Puddles]

I'm just curious: how old were they when they were potty trained?

 

My mom's theory is that kids who potty train "late" and become dependent on pull-ups (as mine did as well), have more problems with bed wetting later on.

 

Anyone have any opinion on that?

 

My son was potty trained at 2.5 years old and my daughter on her 2nd birthday. I told her she was such a big girl, she could wear underwear and that was the extent of her training - she just starting using the potty! :lol:

 

Maybe it is dairy, weird, I never would have guessed that.

 

A few people mentioned waking them at night disturbs their sleep and doesn't really work so I'll try and rethink that but my dd doesn't even really "wake up" I sit her on the potty and she does go but never opens her eyes and still seems to be sleeping sound when I put her back to bed and she is always dry in the morning.

 

My ds barely wakes up... but I don't need to be creating new problems.

There have been some interesting thoughts posted tonight!

[tinag]

I don't have time to read the other replies(so hopefully I am not repeating everyone else) but we have 3 boys that have wet the bed. With the oldest we did an elimination diet and he stopped wetting the bed. Went off the diet and he started wetting the bed again. We gave hime fish pills when he was 9 for adhd and he stopped wetting the bed that night.

My 8yo and 4yo wet the bed and when I give them Nordic Naturals omegas they don't wet the bed nearly as much. My 4yo has not wet the bed for about 3 weeks and my 8yo is down to about once a week and not every. single. night.

A bottle of the omegas run me about $20. You could try it and see. I know there are different things that can cause wetting the bed but this worked for all 3 of my boys.

:grouphug::grouphug:

 

ETA: Tried the alarm, didn't work. Tried waking them up at night and still wet the bed. Cut out the drinks early, no help. We try not to eat any dairy except for cereal in the morning.

[Haiku]

Also, lifting (waking up to potty) is counterproductive.

 

I know that people (including my pediatrician) say that, but after a year and half of having to do the bedclothes laundry almost every day, we just started waking my son up when we went to bed and having him pee. Now he only wets the bed about 2x a month. If it's genetic or a problem of the body growing quicker than the bladder, waking the child won't affect that. If it's a problem of deep sleeping, waking probably won't help the child learn to "feel" the signals in his sleep. But the way I see it, it's less stress for all of us if he just gets up and pees at 11 pm. He gets very upset if he wets the bed. He'll get up before we do, take a shower, and make his bed with clean sheets, all so that we "don't know" he's wet the bed. He's five. I don't want that stress on him.

 

Btw, we tried a bed alarm. It was a huge waste of time (luckily, we borrowed one, so it wasn't a waste of money). It did nothing but scare the daylights out of our son and make him cry.

 

We seem to go through cycles here. We'll wake him up for a couple of months, and then we don't, and for a couple of months he won't wet the bed. Then he'll start again, so we'll start waking him up again. It's not perfect, but, like I said, it's less stressful for us all.

 

Tara

[MJN]

chiropractor. Honestly, I'm telling the truth. Worked like a charm. He was 4.5.

 

HTH!

 

Molly

[graywiggle]

my son is 11, and we went to the doctors. As he is dry during the day, it was considered unlikely to be a physical problem, though he did have a blood test.

 

The malem alarm worked brilliantly. Yes, it is loud, but he was dry within three weeks. We have not needed the alarm since, nor have we had any accidents. I noted that one reply said how it frightened her child, but that was not an issue for an 11 year old.

 

I was reluctant to buy it, but it was worth it's weight in gold!

 

Maria.

[lighthouseacademy]

If it's a problem of deep sleeping, waking probably won't help the child learn to "feel" the signals in his sleep. But the way I see it, it's less stress for all of us if he just gets up and pees at 11 pm. He gets very upset if he wets the bed. He'll get up before we do, take a shower, and make his bed with clean sheets, all so that we "don't know" he's wet the bed. He's five. I don't want that stress on him.

 

I think you hit the nail Tara. Most bed wetters that I know sleep right through and never notice that they are wet until morning. Lifting doesn't help them learn to keep the pee in, it just moves their body and continues the process of wetting except in the right place. If it helps your son, that is great though. It doesn't help my son at all.

Marisa

[Jennay]

My oldest DS is almost 6 and he wets almost every night. His younger brother hasn't wet the bed in 2 years! I think I want to try and see if it is related to diet. What do I need to eliminate from his diet? Dairy and peanut butter? What should I add? Fish Oil?

[WTMindy]

My 9.5yo has the same gene! :glare: I'm curious about the responses too, even though so far we have just chosen to ignore it. He chooses when he wears a pull-up and puts his sheets in the wash when he wets. But, I can see if you have 4 doing this, it would add up.

[WTMindy]

My oldest DS is almost 6 and he wets almost every night. His younger brother hasn't wet the bed in 2 years! I think I want to try and see if it is related to diet. What do I need to eliminate from his diet? Dairy and peanut butter? What should I add? Fish Oil?

 

You can certainly try, but diet elimination didn't do anything for my ds.

[Twinmom]

:lurk5:

 

BTDT and you have my sympathies! Got no ideas, but I'm listening with curiosity!

[senunk]

I used this alarm with my 8yo dd.

http://www.grogans.com/research.jsp?documentid=63

 

It took a few weeks, but she hasn't had any accidents in almost 2 years.

I put off buying it because of the cost, but wish I hadn't waited.

[Alaska Mom]

My oldest DS is almost 6 and he wets almost every night. His younger brother hasn't wet the bed in 2 years! I think I want to try and see if it is related to diet. What do I need to eliminate from his diet? Dairy and peanut butter? What should I add? Fish Oil?

 

Peanut butter? Really? Is there a connection here that anyone can tell me about, I had not heard this one before?

[lynn]

Bedwetting is evidentially some sort of freaky dominant gene in our family. All four of my potty trained boys wet the bed at anywhere from 3-7 times a week.

 

I'm about to lose my mind. They were in pullups for a long time, but spent the summer in underwear in the hopes they'd learn to wake up. They haven't.

 

In order of likeliness to wet, it's ds7(8onFriday), ds6, ds9, & ds4.

 

Winter means more layers and more to wash and I don't think I can do it. But I don't want to spend $20-$30 a month on pullups, either.

 

My brother wet the bed for a long time, so did my Mom, and so did dh's sister, so there is a genetic component.

 

They don't eat peanut butter, they have 1 cup of milk in the morning, 1 cup of juice at dinner, and water the rest of the time. I cut off their drinking about 2-3 hours before bed, and make them go to the bathroom before the go to bed.

 

What are my options? Has anyone ever gone the medicine route? How did that work? Side effects?

 

Any other options?

 

The meds I think is DDTP which can become a crutch. It wills top the bed wetting but when they stop taking them chances are they will still be bedwetters. I only gave it to ds when he went camping or we were traveling. Have your tried an alarm? This seemed to work with my ds. We had one that vibrated and had an alarm. A couple thigns suggested to me, show the older kids how to run the washer and ahve them wash their own sheets and night clothes and make up their own beds with assistance as needed of course. My ds was 11 before he stayed dried every night. It does get very frustrating and expensive....I so btdt.