Bedwetting Still at Age 11 - Cambridge,OH

Hi C.,
My 11 year old son also has the same problem. He requires wearing a goodnite or under-jams every night but still manages to hide it when going to a sleep-over. (Bless his little heart)
He does not have ADHD and has been seen by a specialist at Children's Hospital. What the Dr. told me is that #1, it's hereditary and #2 sodium (salt) intake is a HUGE factor. It will pass as they grow when the bladder and the body are 'in-sync', if you will. There are devices out there to wake your child when urine is detected, but I chose not to resort to using anything because of the high costs and no guarantee that it works. There is also medication, but I hated how negatively it altered his mood. (depressed)
Just let your daughter know that when her bladder is ready it will stop and that it's NOT his fault and most of all that she's NOT the only child going thru it.

Oh~ One last thing...My son had a very high bilirubin when he was born (24). Although it wasn't ever mentioned in our Dr.'s visit, I often wonder if that played a role in his inability to control his urine during sleep.

My brother did this until he was about 12. The dr. said it is a matter of his bladder size catching up with the rest of him, and that the bladder wasn't emptying at night. His daughters also had the same problem, and grew out of it as he did. We tried everything out there, too, including the alarms. Only time cured it. Meanwhile, there was a mattress protector on his bed, and he learned to do his own laundry by throwing it in the washer in the morning. This gave him a measure of control and matter-of-factness about it. (Don't make the kid feel ashamed, please, because it is not a behavior issue.) You can purchase some underwear (like Depends) for overnighters.

I'm sure you are already limiting water or liquids before bedtime, but you really should check with her doctor just to rule out something like a kidney, bladder or urethra infection. It could also be a symptom of a food allergy. I would definitely get it checked out. Although it could be nothing, it could also be a physical problem. Good Luck, I'm sure your daughter would like it to stop as well!

Have you tried an enuresis alarm? I am getting ready to buy one for my 6 year old. He has never had a dry night and is starting to want sleep overs. I have also tried to google bed wetting. I found a clinic in Rochester MN that states it is covered by insurance and can be done long distance after the first initial consult. I'm sorry but I can't remember the name of it. They also state they have around a 75% success rate within 6 months without meds. The meds only work when they are taking them. You may want to check in to her having them just for sleep overs. I have been told that they usually grow out of it by the time they are teenagers. Not very comforting seeing as how I still have 7 years till then. Good Luck!!

Dear C.,

Believe it or not, your daughter's enuresis (bedwetting) is most likely related to her ADHD. Check out www.feingold.org. Feingold is a 30yr old non-profit organization whose purpose is to inform the public about petroleum-based (yes, gasoline!) artificial colors, flavors and preservatives in our foods that cause a wide range of side effects including ADHD and Enuresis! Feingold has helped hudreds of thousands of families with these problems, ours included. It was a Godsend for our family and my 15yr old daughter with ADHD. We've never used drugs, and my daughter is now a junior on the honor roll. Best of luck to your daughter.

L. B.

Have I got a solution for you! My daughter is also ADHD and had a bed wetting problem. I purchased the potty alarm and within 5 weeks she had almost stopped completely, by 6 months she had no more accidents at night.

The reason they pee at night is because they go into a deep REM sleep and their bodies don't recognize the signs that they need to go potty and wake them up. Don't be surprised if your daughter actually sleeps through the 80 decible alarm for a while and no it's not an act so they don;t have to get up.

Once my daughter was trained she only had accidents if she was overly tired and they didn't happen very often. She is now 11 and doesn't have accidents at all. She does still get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Every night at 12am.

After a medical check-up and if she does not have a medical issue- I would try a bed wetting alarm (you will need to help her for a short time)-- try looking up the Bedwetting Store online-- it's worth the try!

Mel

you say that you can cover for her when she is at home, but you should not. she is old enough to change her own sheets, put the soiled ones in the wash, and remake her bed. also, at 11, still wetting is a sign of a problem. she needs to see the doctor, to make sure that there is not something physically wrong with her bladder. if she is fine physically, you may want to consider some counseling, to find out why she is still wetting the bed. it could be a control issue, or even that she wants the attention that you give when she has an accident.

Talk to your doctor. This condition is called enuresis and is not something that can be helped by the child - this is not a control issue on their part, or a matter of drinking too much before bed, etc.... Visit your pediatrician and rule out any other possible medical reasons and then speak with your doctor about what to do and what to expect. Please disregard all of the ridiculous suggestions you've received about making her clean it up and waking her up earlier and earlier in the morning - how would you like to be 'punished' for something that you had no control over? Enuresis is a very real issue and you should be speaking with your doctor and becoming well informed about it.

I was a bed-wetter until about 12, and my husband was about 11 when he finally stopped. I remember getting in trouble, and never knowing how to fix it. I think she will grow out of it, I know it's difficult, but it does happen to a lot of kids. my suggestion would be: put the blue leak catcher pads on the mattress (like what they use in hospitals) and then a fitted sheet. THEN, put another layer of the blue pads and another fitted sheet. It can be done in layers so when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she can pull off the first layer and put it in the laundry, and get back to bed. It will be a solution for both of you to cope with the situation and help her to be a part of the solution. For sleepovers, let her have a "pull-up" (they do make them in her size, I'm sure) and tell her to be discreet about wearing it, but that it will save her the trouble of cleaning up after an accident at someone else's house. I know you'll get through this, I'm not so sure ADHD has anything to do with it; just a slow-developing bladder. good luck!

C.,

Do not hesistate, go to the doctor with her. My cousin wetted the bed while we were growing up and had to wear rubber panties to bed every night, which was embarassing for her when I would sleep over there. It turned out she had weak muscles in her lower abdomen, I don't remember the terminology right now, but they ended up giving her some pills and a lot of excersizing to strengthen the muscles. I don't know what kind they were. However, my mother lost her ability to hold it all night during her later years and they recommended Kegel excersizing to help re-strengthen her muscles. It did help. Good luck with your daughter.

E.

Good Morning, I am the mother of a 14 year that still wets the bed. We have tried medication and it works, however it is almost as if he dies once he hits the bed. I don't know where you are located but we are in Rocky Mount NC. Our pediatrian is Dr. Alison Ramsey, he has been great. Bedwetting has been an on going problem for us for years but according to the pediatrian he will eventually grow out of it. But I know it takes a lot of patience on the parents part and is not very good for the kids self esteem issue. I hope this helps. If you would like to know the name of the medication please email me back at ____@____.com I will be happy to get it for you.

I don't know much about ADHD. My brother has wet the bed for years. He is now a thirty-something adult. From what I know, he hasn't had that problem for 10 years now. He did go through alot of emotional pain from the hands of our mother. I didn't understand how that had anything to do with bed-wetting until I was in my twenties and starting wetting the bed. I was going through a rare medical situation and had to rely on my mother for care. Being as she was, I was put through a series of emotional grief. After I was able to remove myself from that situation, I did well. I'm not trying to say that you are anything like my mother, but maybe you should check into other emotional issues that your daughter may not have told you about yet. It's worth the try to explore. I hope everything works out for you both. God Bless!

First... take her to the doctor! It may seem to be just simple bedwetting, but it could be something much more serious! My daughter was having daytime accidents and it wasn't until we had her tested (because my second child had kidney relux) that we found out that she had a duplicate system on one of her kidneys and that her bladder was oversized because she would hold her urine too long.
Then when she was tested one day at a doctors office for a well checkup, they found protien in her urine which led to many other long tests and came to find out she had an infection for months that went untreated (these tests lasted a year!).

My point is that with a simple test they can see if your child has any "medical" issues before you go makiing her clean her bedding or waking her up at all hours of the night.... she could have an infection or kidney disease... which requires IMMEDIATE attention! So, rule out the medical first before you do anything else.

I certainly hope that your case isn't medical but I do want you to get all of your questions answered... I wish you luck in helping your daughter get where she needs to be so that she doesn't have to feel embarrased into her teen years, that will be very hard for her.

Let us know what happens!

My son wet the bed until he was 12 yr. I was talking to a chiropractor about this issue and he said chiropractic treatment would help. So we tried it out. It worked great!! I went to "Back to Health Chiropractic". Make sure you find a good chiropractor not just one that gets you in and out with a few quick adjustments. Someone that spends time on muscle therapy and adjustments.

I have a cousin who did this well up in to his teens. He will be turning 40 this month! His was actually (his parents were told at the time)that his bladder was not keeping up with his growth spurts, so he could not hold very much. The best thing I can think of is take her to the doctor, let them rule out anything medical and then go from there.

I know it's frustrating, for both you and her, but for now I think you should just gently encourage her and hold your breath. My two youngest were both bedwetters, and one of them didn't stop until he was 12. I was also a bedwetter, though I can't remember when I stopped. One thing I do remember is that I used to dream I was in the bathroom. I learned to feel around me before "letting loose." After a few close calls when I realized I was still in bed, I was able to force myself to get up and go to the bathroom.

I have a 15yr old step son that lives with me and has ADHD as well and till this day still wets the bed... I have talk to the doc and she told us it will pass but it still happens we dont let him drink after 7 at night and it still happens it seems like i am buyin him a new bed every time we turn around i have been tryin covers you put on the bed but it's not doin to good.. I am goin to take him back to the doc this coming week and see what i can find out so i'll stay in touch and let you know what we need to do.. Good luck

I too wet the bed, until age 15. My parents tried everything! Including those alarms, etc. but I never woke up! The alarm woke up everyone else but me!! My doctor said EXACTLY what one of your other responders said: The reason people wet the bed is because they go into a deep REM sleep and their bodies don't recognize the signs that they need to go potty and wake them up. They're in too deep of a sleep. Like I said, a noise that would 'wake the dead' wouldn't even wake me up! I also would dream that I was using the potty pretty much every night....and then finally one day my dream changed....I would still be standing in the bathroom, needing to go, but I wouldn't go....at that point I would wake up and then go to the bathroom. I tried very hard to concentrate before going to bed, thinking about that dream and to GET UP once the dream came along and not to finish it!! After doing this for a while, it worked every night. The strange thing is, I STILL HAVE THE SAME DREAM!! And I am 32 now....of course I don't have to concentrate on getting up when the dream starts anymore, I automatically get up....but that dream is still my mind's way of telling my body to get up!!
I hope this helps!!

Hey,

My oldest of four kids was a bed wetter until about the age of 10. He wet the bed almost every night. We tried everything. We had him checked out medically and they could find nothing wrong. I bought several different type "alarms" and none of them worked. He wet the bed anyway and then slept through the loud and vibrating alarms! I finally tried chiropractic care. That worked! It took a few months of taking him regularly to get there.
The waterproof mattress pads from Lands End are great.
Also, if he went on a sleepover I talked to the mom ahead of time and alerted her. We worked it out so that that mom would somehow make sure that my son got his pj's on without anyone else seeing. He would pull one of those large size Goodnight pull-ups on. Then I would send him a plastic grocery bag with wipes and a pair of underwear inside. The next morning he would take it with him to the bathroom and put the wet pull up in the plastic bag. I had him tie it up really good. Then we threw it away when he got home.

My son (almost 11) has had the same problem (he also has ADHD). I went so far as to take him to the urologist, who found nothing wrong with him physically. He did recommend an alarm- the Malem(http://www.bedwettingstore.com/Bedwetting_Alarms/malem_ul..., which we got and it worked very well. I got the one that has both vibration and sound and that has eight different alarm sounds so that he could not get used to it (he is a very sound sleeper). Hope this helps!

I wet the bed until I was 15 years old. When I went to spend the night at one of my friends and I would have to stay awake so that I did not wet their bed. It was not a good time in my life. Anyway I became very sick at 15. The doctors found out that I had been born with kidney disease. I almost died. That was back in the 60's and 70's. So you should take her to the Dr. soon to have her checked out. You never know if it is physical or mental. But you should not take chances. And you did the right thing for not giving her grief for her problem. As some parents do. It will not help the problem.

I'd make it a point to have your daughter do the clean up of the bed sheets and all the linens. She needs to know the amount of work that goes into it all. It may be that she's not actually wetting in the middle of the night, but just about an hour (or even less) before she's to get out of bed. The trick may be to get her up early instead of in the middle of the night. Get her up an hour earlier each morning to start. Tell her that as long as she keeps wetting she'll be getting up an extra 30 mins earlier each day. (You can always let her nap later on if needed.)
There are also meds available to help out. Your pediatrician would know about them. And be persistant! Dr's can be hard to convince that you have actually tried everything else.
I'd start with the clean up and getting up extra early first though.
good luck!
L.

When you say "tried everthing"-I relate fully. Even when I knew it didn't seem right, I tried it. Of course, all failed except for the one I discovered by looking into my daughters personality and behavior. I suggest you try this....my daughter was not emptying her bladder when she used the restroom right before bed. This became a habit that she was totally unaware of. To retrain her, she was asked to use the bathroom at 9pm and then after reading in bed for 1/2-1hr asked to use the bathroom again-suggesting to her that she is not emptying her bladder and that even a small amount is success. It worked! Beginning older, she understood the concept and made it work. Another step which we did not have to go to but have heard success stories from is using a slight laxative to empty colon allowing the bladder to empty also. I am not comfortable with use of laxatives, although a spoon of Malox could do it. Please know that your daughters problem is not rare, just hidden well by many.