getting dry at night... seven year old still wet every night

[wonderwoo]

My seven year is still wet at night. He has only ever had a handful of dry nights in his life. He wears pj pants (like pull ups) and they are soaking in the morning.

We have looked at the Eric website, but I am not sure where to go from here. He has two wees before bed. I try to get him to drink a good amount in the day (less from about 4pm). He doesn't have any problem at all in the daytime. I have tried keeping him out of pull ups at night, but he gets so distressed and as there is so much wee, it goes everywhere. I don't think he can wake up when he needs to go.

The doctor a while ago suggested medication or an alarm. I opted to wait and see, thinking neither might be necessary. But I am concerned that nothing has changed yet. I don't know what is normal.

I wonder if people can tell me what they tried and what worked for them? What age did your child eventually get dry and did it happen by itself or with intervention?

[PigeonPie]

My DS1 was the same as yours and still when he turned 7 was in washable pullups which were always hugely soggy in the morning. However, fairly shortly after he turned 7 his hormones finally kicked in and he either woke when he needed a wee in the night or he lasted until morning.

I do think that it is mostly about the hormones and different children develop them at different times (DS2 was dry at night at 3 1/2!).

Not much practical help I'm afraid, but there was light at the end of the tunnel for us and when it did come, it came very quickly.

[Shakey15000]

DS was also 7 and in pull ups. I used to (silently) despair each morning. Then one day it did just happen. I'm convinced he had the rush of hormone. He went from wet every morning to completely dry

[CharleyDavidson]

We tried lots. DD was still wet every night at seven. The gp told us to come back when she was nine.

When she was nine, we tried an alarm that we bought online while we waited for an appt. It was loud enough to wake the whole household.... but she slept on.

We were referred to the aneuresis clinic at the local hospital. They gave lots of advice. Told her to tell herself that she'd wake up if she needed to. Ordered: no drinks after 6pm, no dark drinks, no fizzy drinks, no milk in the afternoons. Reminded her to go to the toilet in the day. And gave a star chart.

When that failed, they prescribed medication. That made her be slightly more reliably dry, so was good for her peace of mind when there were school residentials or sleepovers, but she was still wet frequently.

We gave in. Pared it right back to the idea that her bladder would mature when it was ready. Stuck to the straightforward advice and invested in pull ups and later, bed mats. She was old enough to clean herself up and strip and remake her bed when necessary. It was hard not to comment, but it wasn't her fault so no blame was ever placed for her having had another wet night.

And it did resolve itself. (But not before we'd had her suffer wet nights and ruined sheets at the wrong time of the month and everything - poor thing).

She was finally dry, overnight, at the age of 13. It was such a relief for her.

[Wellhellothere1]

Hi. Our 5 year old (now 6 year old) was the same and I think it is because he is such a deep sleeper. We bought a bedwetting alarm as recommended on the ERIC website which clips into his pants at night and sounds a really loud alarm if the pants become wet. I'm on my phone so can't link but think we got it from Amazon and it cost around £20. It was absolutely amazing. It woke our DS up the first couple of nights when he wet the bed but he then has been dry every night since. This was around 6 months ago. He still wears It every night as we think why not? It also comes with a sticker chart. Would really recommend. Hope you get it sorted-it's stressful isn't it?

[AnecdotallyChallenged]

My DTs are just eight. One of them wasn't dry until a few months ago: but it happened from one day to the next with both of them. I wouldn't worry or bring it up - Huggies Dry Nites and wait until he tells you he's going to be dry

[trixymalixy]

Did the Gp check for any urine infection? My DD has been dry since having a course of antibiotics. Think she had had a utine infection for months .

[3boys3dogshelp]

Contact your school nurse and ask for a consultation - we saw them then the enuresis clinic and Ds is now pretty reliably dry aged just 8. Things we were told to do
No black currant/fresh juice/fizzy drinks
Drink 2l/day, nothing after 6.30
Alarm (horribly stressful for ds resulting in him trying to stay awake).
Measure all fluid in/out to check bladder capacity
Poo chart to rule out constipation
Desmopressin before bed to replace hormone he isn't producing
Also given washable bed mats on prescription which are excellent.
Nothing was working for us - he was definitely better with meds but still wet about twice a week. About to be referred for further investigation with dr (due to congenital kidney problems) when he became dry overnight!! Still only dry with a double dose of desmomelts. But that's good enough for us!

[wonderwoo]

Really helpful replies thank you. I think what I was hoping to hear is that hormones kick in eventually, and it's simply a case of sitting tight until then. And that does seem to be the case for most of you.

I will file away the alarm from amazon recommendation, and maybe give it another year and try that then if needed (hopefully not!). I had considered it but was concerned about the stress of it on him (and me), and wasnt convinced it would be very successful. But to hear it was so helpful is good to know.

I have had a nurse appointment and tried all the advice such as no fizzy drinks or juice etc but it has made no difference. I don't think he has a urine infection because he has never been dry and there are no other symptoms.

Thanks again everybody, it is reassuring to hear your experiences.

[LugsTheDog]

Still waiting here but she has day time issues too.

Alarms have a good track record or they can be prescribed desmopressin. School nurse can be a good route to clinic. It's fine to sit tight and wait, but equally it's nice for the child to know there are options to try if THEY want to. In junior school we've found sleepovers happening more and more, and even though we have never pushed night time dryness, it is very important to DD so she had desmo. She also really really hates pullups these days (she's nearly 10) which adds a whole extra level of complication to brownie camp!

[Ineedmorelemonpledge]

It might be worth getting an ultrasound for urethral valves in a boy OP.

This was the cause of my poor DS accidents.

[Whereisthesnow]

So glad I've come across this. 6.5 year old ds no where near being dry at night. Have talked to gp who referred me to Eric website - he certainly doesn't drink enough according to that so we will try training him to drink more for a bit