Bed Wetting - Milwaukee,WI

My heart goes out to you and your son. Our son wet the bed until he was 17. Every single thing the other responders suggested we did--evaluations, counseling, the urine alarm, waking him up, reducing fluids--but nothing helped long term. I agree totally with the responder who says don't make an issue of it; that only makes it worse. For our son, it was emotionally devastating--he couldn't stay overnight anywhere without us. That devastation made things worse, even though we did our best not to make an issue of it. I believe, in my son's case, it was genetic as my husband had the same problem until he was 16. For both my husband and our son, it just stopped one day. Just knowing that others have had the problem and that it ended may help your son. Michael Landon (the actor) was a bedwetter and made a movie about it before he died. In my opinion, making an issue about your son washing his bedding only increases his embarassment and self-recrimination. Just encourage him to shower every morning and while he's in the shower, strip his bed and throw it in the washer. Believe me, he will greatly appreciate it.

Definitely contact an enuresis treatment facility. The program we did for our now 14 yr old son when he as 4, cost about $2k, but well worth it. The important thing to remember is that they don't wake up because they sleep so deeply they can't. It's like having a dream that they are going to the bathroom, but reality is, they are still asleep. If you put your child through the program, also remember that they need to fully wake up each time and go through the process of going to the bathroom to finish (in the begining they won't need to, but still make them - towards the end, they will have stopped wetting the bed before they finished uriniating and will need to use the bathroom). Next, you make them clean themselves and then their bedding. Limiting what they drink before bedtime is not the key. The key is to train their minds to wake up when the urge comes on. Our son would soak his bed and in less then 13 weeks on the program, stayed dry at night! Good luck. It helps their self-confidence tremendously.

Sounds like you've taken him to a doctor since he's taken meds for this. Did they refer him to a sleep specialist for an evaluation? Was his blood sugar tested? Maybe a referral to a pediatric urologist? I would push your doctor for these things if they haven't already been done. Maybe check with a chiropractor to see if they can help? It sounds like your son is really embarrassed so I would try not to make a big deal out of it or reprimand him until you get to the root of the problem. Come up with some sort of compromise about the sheets--can he leave them somewhere for you or have a signal that his sheets need to be taken care of? Leave you a note or something? Good luck.

Poor kid, my grandson is 11 and still has accidents. The guilt they can feel from this is horendous. You have to stop making any kind of an issue out of it. He is internalizing it and he will hear your words over and over for the rest of his life. You have to make sure he is showering each and every morning, I told my guy that there wasn't time in the evening and I needed him to plan on bathing in the mornings. I told him I really appreciated him making it possible for the little kids to have their time in the evenings. Have a hamper in his room and just check each day like you are but I think I would just have to accept that this is horribly embarressing to him and let it go, of ocurse he is going to try and hide it. Mine can't hide it, he rolls up in the bed coverings and is kind of "burrito style" so everything is soaked, even when he wears underjams, they don't work well as far as I'm concerned. Overnight pull ups worked much better until he out grew them, dang it!

Keeping fluids from him won't do anything except make him dehydrated. His brain isn't getting the signal to wake up and go potty. It may be reducing the amount he's peeing but it is much more concentrated urine and that can contribute to more issues such as UTI's and Kindey stones, see more below.

We had ours to a Pediatric Urologist and he had a few things to add but basically it's wait and see if the connection develops at this point. There wasn't anything biological. There are meds that the doctor can give too, new ones come out all the time but who knows what long termeffects they'll have.

Our Urologist did make a good point though. If you put a drop of water in a gallon of sand what do you get? A tiny grain of a rough, scratchy, concrete like material that is difficult to pee out. If you put a grain of sand in a gallon of water what do you get? You still have a gallon of clear drinkable water. Restricting his fluids is increasing the possibility of kidney stones. All food and drinks have minerals in them that don't dissolve in the body and "rinse" out. Let the doctor give you some input on this topic.

Hope you find a solution!

Do you think he is embarressed about wetting the bed and that is why he is hiding his sheets? I have a 4 year old who wets the bed every night. She has ADHD so I've heard this is common and I am prepared for it to last even as long as your son has dealt with it. I am planning on keeping her in nighttime diapers until it stops--no matter when that is! I just know it won't be practical for me to clean sheets all the time. Could you buy a box of adult/big kid night diapers and suggest it to him? It might keep him more comfortable at night and he could easily throw them away in the morning without anyone having to know. As I write this, I cringe at the idea of suggesting this to a 13 year old boy, who may well be horrified and offended at the idea. That's why I thought you could just buy a box, don't pressure him and let him try it on his own. Good luck!

I had a daughter that had this trouble. I learned from a friend that wnet to specialist with bed wetting andhe said the best is to drink a glass of water half hour before bed. this is the right thing to have in your bladder at night.
Yes do the alarms but this helps the bladder to be less irratated.
This worked for her and I mean like in days she had very little problems.
Also teenagers need lots of sleep so if he isn't getting enough sleep he might sleep throught he signs of needing to go.
Good Luck.

First thing-has he been evaluated by his pediatrician? There can be physical reasons for bed wetting at his age. That would be the very first thing that I explored. I just re read and saw that he has taken meds in the past. I would have him reevaluated. Perhaps by a pediatric urologist.
If the doctor rules out anything she/he can do then look into the alarms that the kids wear. It attaches to the front of the undies and has an alarm that attaches to their pj top. The first sign of wetness the alarm goes off. This helps to train their body.
I don't blame him for hiding his sheets and such. He's got to be embarrassed. He's not wetting the bed on purpose I'm sure and to make him clean it up/wash the clothes I would think only adds to his humiliation. If it were my son I wouldn't make a huge deal of it but ask him to place everything in a laundry basket that I placed in his room and tell him I'll take care of it.

I see a couple of people suggested chiropractic and that's what I would do. I personally know a couple of fabulous chiropractors that I would highly recommend, one in Lakeville and one in Eagan.

if you would like a recommendation to one of these areas, let me know.

Sometimes, it such a simple fix.. Good luck,

try the chiropractor!!

You have got to get the book "Waking Up Dry: A guide to Help Children Overcome Bedwetting". We got it from our Pediatrition. I hope you can find it. It is very helpful . . . much more than I could say in this email. book by Howard J. Bennett.

Bed wetting is inherited on some level. Sometimes taking children off all artificial colors and flavors can help if they are willing. Our son wet the bed until he was 10.
Good luck,
S.

you just might want to take him in to the dr.could be something wrong with bladder or kidneys...

A.,

It may be time to contact an Enurisis Treatment Center. They treat this as a sleeping disorder - which it is - and a professional consultant teaches you and your child a step by step program to retrain sleeping habits. The program has a very high success rate (97%) even with older children and adults. The program takes an average of 6 months depending on the situation. It is expensive however, over $2000. But it's a one time fee regardless of how long it takes and a money back guarantee if your child is in the 3% it doesn't work for. I don't know if insurance covers it, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Here's a link for a company in business for 35 years and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. http://www.nobedwetting.com/

Good luck,
S.

I would suggest getting one of those alarms that hooks to his underwear and then to his clothes. As soon as urine hits the alarm, it goes off and wakes the child. We used this with our DS who wet until he was 8. For about the first week or so, the alarm would go off every night. Eventually, he started having some dry nights and finally was dry for the 28 days in a row.

The whole system is based on training the child's body to sense when the bladder is getting full and the child needs to use the bathroom. That's why, when using it, parents are taught to let the alarm wake the child. (If that doesn't happen the first few days, you go and wake the child--but do not shut off the alarm for him. It only stops beeping/buzzing when the child removes it.) Another important part of the system is having the child get up, go to the bathroom, change clothes, change the bedding, and do all the laundry. It makes for some "short on sleep" days and nights but it does help in the whole process.

Some other tips we heard from other parents and our doctor:
~ Have your child drink extra fluids in the morning--to stretch the bladder.
~ When going to the bathroom, have your child urinate for a little bit, then stop and hold it for a few seconds, and then finish going. This helps to train the body to hold in the urine.
~ Make sure your child goes to the bathroom before going to bed.
~ Do not withhold/reduce fluid intake in the late afternoon/evening. That isn't really what's causing the problem.

We also found that certain things (lemonade, certain red-colored medicines) seemed to increase the chances of night-time wetting.

Good luck with this!

I have been a chiropractor for 20 years and have treated bedwetting very successfully. I once had a 16 year old girl that didn't want to go to friends house because of that. After we xrayed her lower back, determined what needed to be adjusted....she responded 100% to her treatment and quit bedwetting with one month of starting treatment. I have other scenarios also, but wanted to list one. The nerves that come out between the vertebrae in the lower back, go to the organs such as the bladder. Only 6% of the nerve contains pain fibers and so the other 94% does other things like making your organs work properly.
Good luck.