10 Yr Old Bedwetting

This may sound crazy, but when my daughter was 8 and still wetting the bed and wearing pull-ups I tried putting her to bed without any underwear or pull-ups on. She wore just her night gown to bed and hasn't wet the bed since. Try it, it might work. Also limit the drinks after 6:00PM.

Well, I don't know if this info will help, but my younger sister had the same *problem*. She just outgrew it around 12 years of age. Apparantly, a cousin of mine had the same problem, and we were told that their bladders didn't grow with the rest of them, and caught up at puberty....You aren't alone, and I understand it is frustrating. Hope it works out for you!

HI there - my six year old daughter had never had a dry night -heavy pullups, etc. We finally tried the Malam alarm and it was a MIRACLE! She had her first dry night that week, and after about a month, has been totally dry all night, and sleeps soundly through the night. It's expensive, but much cheaper than pull ups in the long run. I'd try it - I'd been told everything that everyone else had (will outgrow, try hypnosis, nasal spray, drugs etc), but I also did extensive research, and found that the alarm is far more effective than anything else, trains their brain to respond accordingly, and avoids medication. Good luck!

My son had this problem and I tried EVERYTHING. Even did the "potty alarm" which would go off when he began to potty. The only person waking up was me! I took him to a chiropractic neurologist who had the problem fixed in 2 weeks! The way he explained it to me is that the neurological signal from the bladder to the brain that says, "Hey, go to the bathroom is working." But the signal that says, "Hey, WAKEUP and go to the bathroom!" is broken. He did a couple of chiropractic adjustments in such a way that it stimulated the correct side/part of the brain and AWAY WE WENT! We saw him a couple of times a week for two weeks and then went month to month. That was about 4 years ago. My son is 10 now and we just went back b/c he had a couple of night-time incidents so we got things re-adjusted again. All is well AND DRY!

In this area, contact Dr. Willet Neff, 608 Easton Rd, Willow Grove, PA ###-###-####. We love him. You don't want to see a regular chiropractor for this one.

I'm an engineer by background and scientifically minded. I'm believing more and more in alternative therapies. I can't explain how/why it worked. I'm just praising God that it did. This problem is so embarrassing for the children. I hope you are able to find success in this type of treatment like we did! Chiropractic is covered by most insurance companies.

L.

I HIGHLY recommend the alarm. I had the same situation with my daughter - now 10. Just before she turned 9, we made the investment (less than $100) - and in 1 month it was amazing. We had the Malem alarm with sound/vibration. After the first couple of weeks it was not easy - in fact my husband thought it was not going to work at all - we would have to get up when it went off (as opposed to sleeping through the night when using GoodNights). But then it clicked in with her body and we had a complete turn-around! I think it seemed like a big investment, but really, we saved on the nighttime pullups and we are in such a better place. If you choose this direciton, be aware that it may take 4-6 weeks but it will be well worth it! We have had zero problems since then. One hint - although we were not suppose to, we did put the sensor on her panties, but put a pull up on over them so the first few weeks we didn't have wet sheets.

www.bedwettingstore.com malem alarm

Good luck!

I suppose you have tried the obvious - not letting your daughter drink any liquids after 6:00pm? My nephew is still wetting his bed at night at age 11. He was recently diagnosed with Asberger's Syndrome, which is a mild form of Autism. They figure that is the reason for his bedwetting.

hi M.,

your message just caught my eye. i do have a suggestion. first of all, you shouldn't worry. she will overcome this and probably soon. her body is just taking a little longer than most to develop a "mature" bladder. But...you MAY want to try something that i saw during my psych training at school many years ago...and this approach is based on the notion that the bedwetting has a psychological root. the therapist told the little girl to get into bed at night and wet her bed soon after she gets in...as if to "get it over with." that way, she can get up, change her own clothes, change her own sheets, and go back to bed and sleep through the night without an incident. within several days, the little girl no longer wanted to go through all those steps/work when she first got into bed. she asked to stop doing it. the parents agreed. the following night, the little girl got into bed dry...and woke up dry. i sure hope this works for you...its only a thought! good luck,
A.

I can never remember the name but this is a disorder that isn't uncommon among children. My oldest son, now 21, had this problem. I thought it was laziness. Nope. After bringing up to the doctor years into the problem, he said it is a disorder that they have no control over. Do not punish her for doing it. I wish they had the overnight pull ups when he was young. It would have been so worth the money for me. After we found out it was a disorder, the only thing we expected from him was to clean up his own mess and wash it. It can last up until about age 12 and happens mostly with boys. My son finally stopped around age 10, out of the blue. But, we went from that mess to nocturnal emissions! Blah! I don't know which was worse. Well, yes I do! LOL It will pass. Be sure to talk to your doc about it so she can be diagnosed.

I just grabbed this from online:

"The fancy name for bedwetting, or sleep wetting, is nocturnal (nighttime) enuresis (say: en-yoo-ree-sus). Enuresis runs in families. This means that if you urinate, or pee, while you are asleep, there's a good chance that a close relative also did it when he or she was a kid. Just like you may have inherited your mom's blue eyes or your uncle's long legs, you probably inherited bedwetting, too."

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/bladder/enu...

Good luck!
K.
mother of 5 including triplets

I have the same problem with my 9 year old son, who will be 10 in May. He has not had sleepovers at all, unless he is with me and we can hide the goodnights. My oldest had the same problem, and his tonsils were the answer. He got his tonsils out, never wet again. Mind you he got tonsils out because of sleep apnea. Anyway, I have tried the beepers... Don't really work, and lately I have tried the medication (nose spray) given to me by my pediatrician. The nose spray cost 10 dollars for a little container, I thought I would save on those costly goodnights. Well, it worked a little, then I guess he got used to it, because we are now back to where we were in the beginning, soaked every night and paying for goodnights again. Everyone tells me that he will grow out of it, I guess that is the only advice I should listen to, more time and money. Good luck with you!!

M.,

Please try calling your local Chiropractor. He/She might be able to help your child. By taking away any mal-alignments in the spine, her nervous system may be able to function better and her bladder may be able to respond well. The nervous system has great affects on the body's organs. Children are typically easier to adjust than adults, but you might want to ask your chiropractic provider about this since everyone's body is different. Chiropractors deal with this problem quite a bit in their practices. The children going through these experiences are usually very embarrassed and their feelings need to be considered as well.

M.:
Her bladder is still developing. Some children just take longer. My daughter did that up until she was 11 or 12. She was born a month early so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. Suggestion: Stop her from taking in liquids after a certain time. I know it's hard but try waking her up at the same time every night to go. You have to be consistent (maybe set an alarm clock). Also, Use rubber sheets. They help with the clean up. I know how you feel as well as your child. Keep coaching her with love & Understanding. It will pass..trust me. My duaghter is now headed for college.

I have a thirteen year old daughter that had the same problem. The alarm did not wake her up. To make things worse she no longer fit in the goodnights. I was washing her bedding everyday. When she was ten I talked to her Pediatrician and he said that her bladder may not be fully developed. He told me that I should now see a specialist. I took her to see a Urologist for a 2nd opion and he checked to see if there was an underlying issue first. When everything came back ok he prescribed a nose spray that slows down the kidneys a little at night time. She has not wet the bed since. It has done wonders for her self esteem. She is no longer afraid to stay at a friends house or to have her friends stay over. Good Luck.

Hi M.,
I was wondering if your daughter is under any stress at home or at school? When I was 12 yrs old I started wetting the bed. I'd wake up and be so embarrassed that I would change my sheets in the middle of the night and never tell my parents. At the time my uncle was dying of cancer and my family was under a lot of stress. I believe that is what caused me to wet the bed. I worked it out, eventually I stopped doing it.

I've read that sometimes fear can cause bedwetting. Anyway, maybe your daughter needs someone to talk to who will listen to her. My cousin Matthew wet the bed till he was almost 13 - he had the alarm and everything. He had a lot of fear or his step dad and he was actually the child of my uncle who died of cancer. He was only a few months old when it happened
I'm just throwing it out there because I went through a phase like that for a while and I know who it felt.
Of course, now I'm a grown woman with a child of my own, but those sorts of things always stay with you somewhat. I hope she can work through it.
take care,
Peace, H.

You didn't mention cutting down on liquids...have you tried that? Nothing to drink after dinner?

A friend of mine wet the bed until she was about the same age as your daughter...she has a small bladder. Now that she is older she is up about 5 times a night to urinate.

Maybe your doctor could give you a referral to a urologist (is that the right word?) - a doctor that specializes in this area.

Hi,

I would take your daughter to a pediatric urologist. There is a good team at CHOP or Dr. Ross Dector at Hershey Penn Medical Center. Rule out if its anything medically related before trying behavior modifications.

Good luck!

Carolynn

M.
I personally never had problems but my boyfriend and his ex did with their son. Once, he got to be 11 and 12 years old he outgrew it. The doctors said it was because his bladder was not growing fast enough to keep up with his body. Doesn't help much but at least its now over. They also didn't let him drink an hour or so before bed and he went right before he went to sleep.

Hi M.,
There is a hormone nasal spray that is very effective. I'm surprised that your pediatrician has not recommended it. My daughter was 10 when ours prescribed it. We used it twice and that was all it took. Believe me, the situation was horrible before we tried the nasal spray. My daughter would rip off her night time diapers, pee on the bare mattress etc. Nothing we tried was effective either. It was amazing to have the situation fixed in just a couple of sprays up her nose. Wish I could remember the name. Also, I hope your daughter has been to a Urologist. It never hurts to cover all the bases. God bless.

Hi M., I understand exactly what you are going through and I know that it gets to be frustrating. My son, who is now 17, wet to bed until he was close to 14 years old. I did everything that you mentioned in your letter. I even bought the sensor that attached to the underwear. It worked for about a week and then he seemed to get used to the noise and just slept right through the alarm. What a specialist explained to me is that some children are extremely sound sleepers. They do not develop the sense/or urgency that causes the rest of us to awaken when we feel the urge to urinate. It takes them a little longer to recognize that sensation. They did warn me against trying to awaken my son during the night to get him to the bathroom. The reason was that if I became his alarm then I was slowing the process of him developing it on his own. I learned that patience, kindness and understanding was the best course to take. I never embarrassed or reprimanded him for something that he could not help. They do grow out of it eventually. Until then just invest in some good mattress pads and keep encouraging her. Best wishes and God bless...
T. S

I haven't had any experience with your problem, yet. But in Dr. Feber's book on sleeping they had an entire chapter dedicated to the subject of bedwetting. They discussed a variety of method's including the alarm that every one is mentioning. You may want to check it out.

i think you already got a variety of responses, but i wanted to add that you might consider a sleep disorder. you did say that she is a profoundly solid sleeper. without any more info, it's just a shot in the dark, but if all else has failed you may want to look up some symptoms of sleep disorders.

my 5 year old is still wetting the bed and i know what a pain it is. i am tired of washing the bedding and everything (and him) smelling like pee! hang in there, if there are no medical problems this will, like may annoying childhood problems, pass. that's what i keep telling myself!

M.,
I would suggest a physical from her pediatrician.
Bedwetting this much and at this age could be a symptom of diabetes. Request a test for this from your dr.

I have a daughter that did the same thing and I took her to a Dr and put her on medicine and stopped her from drinking after 6pm at night and after 2 weeks she stopped wetting the bed and she is now 15 yrs old. She wet the bed til she was 11 yrs old. I wish you luck. Your daughter may have a weak bladder. Please try taking her to a dr and see if that helps. My name is B. from Pa.

Hi

It looks like you got a lot of good responses. I got this idea from a friend who said it worked. the children's hospital AI Dupont Hospital for children in Wilmington Delaware (1 800 416 4441) does consulting with parents and child(also checks your kid for any physical problem) and they talk directly to your child as well. It's the Enuresis clinic. I don't know how much it costs but she said it worked for her boy ( they talked to her kid and then he used the buzzer thing)
I'm sure they would recommend a treatment and I think they do it through behaviour not meds. good luck

When my nephew was young he had that problem too. He was probably 8 or 9 when my sister was told about a WEE PAD. I am not sure if it was the kind that goes in underwear or if it just went under the sheet, but it did work. Basically some children sleep so deeply that they cannot recognize the body cues of having to go to the bathroom. The sensor makes an alarm go off that wakes the child so that he/she can go to the bathroom. The child then learns from repetition of this process the body cues that signal needing to go to the bathroom and will begin waking on their own. You can also try retricting fluids an hour or two before bed to decrease the need to use the bathroom. Hope this helps.

My brother-in-law wet the bed until he was 7 when by chance his mom figured out it was a reaction to milk. He could drink water or juice any time after 5:00 and no problems. If he drank milk after 5:00 then he always wet the bed. No idea why. My best friend's son is 10 and still wets the bed, he has an actual bladder condition that requires medication. He doesn't take it every night, only when spending the night away from home, and it has really helped.

Hi M.,

I also have the same problem. My son is eight years old and he still wets the bed.I feel the same way about it I am tired of the smell that i have to wash his clothes in vinegar. My younger son doesn't wet so i thought that he would be embarrassed cause his little brother doesn't do it.But it didn't work. The pedi told me about alarm to but i don't think that will work. I drag him to the bathroom and sometimes have to splash water in his face. I feel so bad so i started going to the childrens hosp. near me and we have been working on the problem. They have a urology department that deals with that specifically. I buy pull-ups and everything its like having an infant all over again. So don't feel bad there is alot of us out there. Maybe u can check in your area and see if there is any progams but keep me posted. Its refreshing to finally talk to someone that understands.

My son successfully used an alarm system 2 years ago. But I think there are a few things you need to know. It can work, but it takes time to work. You need to use it as part of a behavior modification program. My son was like your daughter, he wet every night. He also slept until morning often without noticing. He slept through alarm clocks set to wake him. I really had to help him succeed.

When we first started with the alarm, I slept on the floor in his room and got him up when he slept through the buzzing, the flashing light and the vibrations. It was then that I realized he was wetting 2x most nights. Next he started waking to the alarm but was totally disoriented. I still needed to be there to tell him what to do. Slowly, over a period of months, he went to wetting once a night. Then he started waking up before he had completely emptied his bladder and making it later and later into the night. Eventually he started having the occasional dry night.

In the program that we used the child had to be dry for 28 consecutive nights in order to stop using the alarm. I don't remember how exactly how long we did it, but his stack of weekly charts was about half and inch thick. We really liked the book "Waking up dry: a guide to help children overcome bedwetting" by Howard Bennett

I would recommend an alarm, but it isn't a magic pill. It really helps the child learn how to wake up when they have to go, but that learning takes time.

K. L.

My son is almost nine and has the same problem. I have him wear goodnites and wake him up and I still have to change the bed sometimes. My husband had this problem aqnd finally outgrew it at 13. My nephew had this problem and he just stopped he was 14.

My sons doctor says that until his body grows there is nothing I can do.

My husband says that no matter what we do that punishing him and making him feel guilty about this will not fix the problem and just cause additional problems.

I know it is hard dealing with this night after night but you just need to be patient. Eventually this to shall pass.

Good luck.

WE have had the same thing since my daughter was 2, she is now 10. We have been to specialist after specialist with little help from them, but I do recommend seeing one as there could be a medical issue, we tested for several of them. Hereditary issues are a big factor and some children continue into their teens with a sudden stop for no apparent reason. There are several other factors that could cause it as well. We were told by someone else to watch her dairy intake. We did and it has helped tremendously.She would drink 2-6 glasses of milk a day. Also watch the salt intake as salt is a natural water retentioner and will hold the fluid in and then it builds up til the evening. We also had her on a strict hourly schedule per the specialist, it didn't seem to have much effect though. We limit her fluid intake 2-3 hrs before bed. My daughter is also a very heavy sleeper. We checked out the bed alarms and there are extremely loud. I also found the more tired she is the less likely she is to wake up. So be sure she gets good sleep. What has helped the most though is her father made a "secret" pact with her that everytime she makes it "x" amount of days she gets something, a day with just dad, an ice cream, etc. Not bribing her, but giving her that extra umph to try.We try hard to not make her feel it's her fault. Her siblings don't pick on her or anything, but I know she gets embarrased and that will cause self-esteem issues.So when she makes it her "x" amount of days I see the pride in herself rise up and that makes it worth all that extra laundry and waking up in the middle of the night. Hope any of this helps.

J.

I feel your pain! My now 13 year old son was in the same situation at 9 1/2 and my 7 year old, the same thing. GET THE BEDWETTING ALARM!!!!!! In less than 2 weeks, both of my boys completely stopped wetting. And don't go to a medical supply store...I've gotten 2 on eBay for around $14 and they are wonderful!!! I couldn't recommend them more! Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions...I'd be happy to help if I can.

I have 3 daughters 6,3,1 My six year old had an occasional bedwetting but we now make sure she doesnt drink liquids a few hours before bed and always goes to the bathroom even if she doesnt have to go before bed. I dont think punishment or things taken away can help. Im a former bedwetter my self. So hang in there and see what happens.

Im not sure what time a 10 year old goes to bed so to say nothing to drink after dinner maybe 5 hours so that could be the cure. Hope this helped sum.

i would get another opinion from a specialist sounds to me as if her baldder hasnt fully developed yet..i would think it is a medical issue..

I use to have the same problem as your daughter. I am now 34 years old. It just took time to out grow the problem. When I got older I found out lots of my friends had the same problem. My cousins did too. I think bed wetting can be family genetics. I remember in 4th grade I still had accidents. By 6th 7th grade I hardly ever had any accidents. By high school none. My mom tried everything with me, went to doctors, specialist, waking me up in the night to go, stopping my liquids after supper, putting me in dipers ( back then they did not had good nights) I was a deep sleeper as well. To be honest with you the best thing to do is make things seem as normal as possible. Get the good nights and let her go to friends for sleep overs. No one has to know. I still remeber the sadness I felt when my mom would not let me have that piece of watermelon on a hot summer night. Bed wetting can leave scares and hurt self esteam. My friends talk about it now and all the embassing nights we had. As I got older I remember taking baths in the morning so I wouldn't smell. Talk to her about kegals. Have her work on strengthening those muscles. Have her eat healthy meals and drink plenty of water and milk.

I know how you feel! My daughter is now 13 and has just stopped bed wetting. I know that doesn't help much but sometimes their blatters are just not mature enough yet to stop. I have been told this by doctors and I must say I do believe it. They will stop when they are ready to stop. You can't do anything about it. My daughter is also a very sound sleeper. She can't even get to school on time in the mornings. Hang in there. It will stop when her body is ready.
Good Luck M. from Mchele

M., I know what you're going through with my 9 year old son. He too is a heavy sleeper, and much too heavy to be lifting up to go to the bathroom--plus how do I know if he won't pee the bed after a bathroom trip anyway? Not only that, but sometimes both of them want water right at bedtime right while they're in bed! I don't want to deny them, because I too get thirsty right before I get into bed!! i just keep putting the overnights (pullups type) on him and try to get them cheap anywhere I can. One thing that's different though, is unlike others I'm reading about, I wash all things in cold water. No problems with that for me.
As far as the child still doing it though, if they are active alot during the day, yes, they may be a sound sleeper. But another thing is it may be an issue with the size of their bladder. Maybe it hasn't grown enough yet.

Hope this helps.

I'd say shopping for the pullups is like shopping for gas these days-who has it cheaper. It is a little challenge though. I've read about washable diapers, and other special kinds, but they all seem to be for smaller babies! That's annoying. Somebody needs to design washable pullups for much bigger older kids!!

Hi,

I was just going threw this with my one son. We had to go see a spelicast, they did test, all came back neg. Dose she suffer form headaces? Some of the test was maybe a small bladder or there was a issue where something was pressing down on the bladder. If the peds will not do anyhting, Then push to go see an speliclast.

Hello - my son went through the same thing, and I tried all the same things you tried, then I found out it isn't anything that she is doing purposefully. I took him to the urologist and they gave him medicine to help him. It stems from their body not creating enough of the correct hormone to control their bladder. The medicine doesn't have harmful side effects and it helped him. Hope this helps.

My 11 year old step son has the same problem. Please do not punish your daughter it is not her fault. I would consult with her family doctor, there is medicine available. We do not allow him to drink ANYTHING past 6pm and we get him up at least once a night to use the bathroom.

We had a BIG urinary tract problem with our daughter who is now dry, and 12. But we spent YEARS fighting the battle, thinking it was volitional -- only to discover the poor kid had chronic bladder infections. If she hasn't been tested for a UTI, I would do that before you contemplate anything. Go to a pediatric urologist, because they can help a whole lot more than a family doc. Another tool the urologist gave us, which didn't work, cuz our daughter didn't want to be singled out and different from her big sister: go to the bathroom 1/2 hour before bedtime, then go again at bedtime, 30 minutes later. Sometimes the problem is that the bladder doesn't fully empty as it should, so shortly thereafter, oopsie ! Out it comes. If the bladder doesn't fully empty as it should, the chance of having bladder infections increases.

Our daughter was small, so we used pull-ups at night FOREVER, esp at friends homes, and she simply pulled them off WITH the pj's, and stuffed it all (wet or dry) into her sleepover bag. It sounds kind of gross, but it kept her from being embarrassed.

Our daughter was on low grade antibiotics for a couple of years, to keep her infection free, and it REALLY helped in the long run.

Drinking soda can also be problematic. Drinking water, and drinking more rather than less, can actually be helpful. (somehow, you think you should withhold water, esp in the evening, but with our child, the more she drank, the better her bladder cleaned itself out, and in the end, the dryer she became.) If you can push the water earlier in the day, when she is awake and can get to the bathroom, that would probably work best. Cranberry juice is also good for urinary tracts, if you can get your daughter to drink it. We used a shot glass at supper time for a while, and called it her whiskey just to be funny (my husband and I don't drink at all - so it really WAS funny, and she was old enough by then to know that.)

Good luck with it. Given the number of years this has been going on, I would really make a point to see the urologist, because kids can develop a whole host of social issues when the problem may be physical, and may be solvable for both her and you guys. :-)

Barb
____@____.com

Dear M.

Have you tried approaching the issue on a psychological and emotional basis. My brother was a bed wetter and my folks were are the end of their tether when they finally consulted with a child psychologist. It turned out that my brother's issue was the fact that he loved eating potatoes and my mom would not let him eat as many as he wanted at dinner time issisting that he have a balanced meal which included a little of all the food groups and not just potatoes. So you never know what could be bothering her subconsiously. Very often bedwetting is associated with an emotional issues. Give it a bash. Good luck.

Hi M.-

I would also encourage Chiropractic care as a first course of action. I think it's also very important to rule out any other physiological problems too.

I know that Hypnosis and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) can resolve this issue and is especially beneficial for children. They are both excellent techniques that teach lifelong skills for many emotional and physical problems.

Love, encouragement, and patience are also necessary components of your daughter's health and wellbeing.

L. Leavy, CD, HCHI, CHt.
www.MotheringandMore.org
www.MySpace.com/Hypnosis4Childbirth

M.
I was a bedwetter too, nothing worked. I grew out of it by growing a very large bladder which has it's own problems. I am a chiropractor in Monroeville and I see this every year. The nerves to the valves which control the flow of urine to the bladder are not working right. One of these sphincters is under voluntary control, which means you go whenever you want. The other is on autopilot or automatic, the child has no voluntary control over this particular valve. But the function of both are controlled by the nervous system. I see children get adjusted and get the problem fixed. The chiropractor who used to own this office started at the chiropractor at the age of 4 and he stopped nocturnal enureis.

M.,
She probably can't help it. Keep waking her up at the same time to go. Even though you will have to be up too, it will still be easier than the wet bedding/laundry. I would not make her to her own laundry and re-make her bed--it seems like a punishment for something she obviously can't control. She can wear the Good Nights until she can make it through the night. She can even use them at sleep-overs/camp, etc.
I'm sure it's frustrating but she needs understanding and patience.

Hi, my now 20 year old son wet the bed unitl he was about 12. We tried the alarm that you are speaking of....it was uncomfortable and embarassing for him and didn't work at all. As you said, he didn't wake up until it was too late. What DID work for us was a nose spray prescribed by his pediatrician....I can't remember the name of it. They wanted him to use it mainly for sleepovers or camp situations but we used it often....miraculously he would be dry. This really helped him through those rough pre-teen years. The doctor kept saying he would grow out of it and HE DID! I just bought a waterproof pad and tried to stay as non reactive as I could...figuring it is hard enough for them as it is! Hope this helps.

I have a 10 year old son (just turned 10 last Tuesday) who also wets the bed. He was difficult to potty train too - he didn't want to have anything to do with it until his sister was ready to potty train at about 18 months (he would have been almost 4). My cousin had a small bladder and wet the bed until she was 12 (she wore goodnights every night). My son also wore good nights up until about a month ago. He isn't allowed to have anything to drink after about 7 and I make him go to the bathroom right before he gets into bed (he's a heavy sleeper too). Most of the time, that is enough. He has some emotional issues and our doctor put him on Zoloft (25 mg at first, now he's on 50 mg) - the Zoloft seemed to give him the confidence to try to go to bed without the goodnights. I am not suggesting that you put your child on Zoloft, but I do know that there are medications that can help with night time bed wetting if you are truly worried about it. We also put a rubber matress pad on his bed...doesn't stop having to wash the sheets, but it saves the mattress!

Wow I don't envy you. Sorry to be frank, but I am going through enough trouble getting my twins to potty train. lol. But we do what we can, huh?
Though I have heard this is a problem with some families, with what you are faced with, here are some things you could do, or so I have heard. No drinks three hours prior to bed time. Make sure she goes before bed. Third, while this is costly--please I do understand the cost of diapers! How about inserting the section of the feel and learn pampers size 6 inside of the Goodnites? Instead of waiting.....which of course you wouldn't, but----better to nip this once and for all.
Reason I reccommend the feel and learn, is due to the coldness that is felt, once the child starts to urinate. This allows the child to wake up and realize they have to go. I would use use glue, tape, anything to make it adhere. Sounds crazy but I think an alarm would drive anyone nuts.

Best of luck!!!
Truly,
Mom of 4.

Hi M.,
I would take your daughter to see a Urologist. There may be a medical reason as to why this is happening. Your e-mail stated that she has never had a dry night in her life. I would absolutely get her to a specialist.
Best of luck,
L.

Tried the sensor thing with one of my children, who was a bed wetter. My child slept so deeply that the buzzer (it was so LOUD, even with my child's door shut) would wake the whole household, until we woke my child up. Sometimes, my child would wet so much that it would flood everything getting into the sensor and then give my child an electrical shock. Well that got my child up! I was concerned, but the ped. said it was not enough voltage to harm. Then came the night that my child flooded so much that it made the whole thing quit working. Next we tried pills the ped. prescribed. Only that backfired, the pills made my child sleep even deeper and have more 'accidents' as well as bigger messes to clean up.
What I have found to work is to talk with and acknowledge what my child has to say. Listening very carefully to my child. #1 Is your child waking up at any point, but drifting off back to sleep? #2 Is your child thinking she is actually getting up and going to the bathroom...only to flood herself, realizing it was just a dream? (this happens quite often with deep sleepers)I am sure you can think of more questions ask your daughter. I found out my child was just being lazy. Was waking up to go to the bathroom and was making the choice to go back to sleep..because was too tired to get up. I penalized heavily for that, and removed privilages (like tv, etc). Sometimes, you have to make a judgment call, like if they where dreaming of going to bathroom, but actually did not wake up. Setting the alarm clock, seemed to solve that issue. Also, watch your reaction to the bedwetting. Your child will reflect your frustration (if you let it show) and the bedwetting will be worse. Hope this helps!

Oh I so know what your going thru, my oldest who is now 9, has been the same way, and my oldest brother did it til he was 13 years old. I have tried everything but the drugs they give for it and the alarms, and I didn't have to resort to them thankfully! Here are some tips my dr gave me that I tried and she has not wet to bed for a few months now!! No liquids after 7pm... I can't stress that enough!! If sometime she has to take meds or something, then maybe give her one sip but THAT'S it!! I always make her go before bed, always!! Cut out any and all caffiene that she may be geting from somthing during the day, like chocolate milk at school, or candy or pop or tea, anything that has caffiene... cut it off. At first if you have too, set your alarm clock to get her up, wake her up and have her go on a schedule throughout the night. Then she will be on that schedule herself. My dr alos said that they usually urinate sometime before or around midnight first... so watch for that. I bought a few sets of sheets so that if my daughter went thru the night, we could change them ect while the others were in the wash. I used a plastic or vynil sheet too. Another thing you need to STOP doing, is talking bad about it, or making her change the stuff by herself, she cannot help it, it isn't because she is lazy it is a disorder! Talking bad about it, is just going to increase it. Make a big deal when she makes it a night without wetting, then when it turns into days or weeks, treat her, make a huge deal and get her involved with the support and before you know it, she will be done!! I hope these tips help you as much as they helped me, I would hate for anyone to resort to meds, or the alarm. One mroe thing, my mother had my brother in adult diapers when he was that way, and I NEVER let my daughter think for one minute that she was going to wear a diaper, I honestly think that sends a mixed message to them, thinking that they already have a daiper on and they can just go, no big deal just change it. Good Luck to you and if you try the tips stick with them, you will be suprised!