Do you have a teenage girl who has nocturnal enuresis?

[ContinueWithTikTok]

My 13 YO DD is not dry at night. She wet the bed until she was about 7 or 8, then was totally dry for a couple of years, and then it started again. We have tried alarms and dermopressin with mixed results. We have been to the urologist who's scanned her bladder and confirmed it's working normally. This is causing such devastation to her self esteem, I don't know if there's anything else I can do, or is it really a case of waiting?

It may well be a case of waiting. DS had this problem until he was about 11.

It helps to make sure she drinks loads during the day and then stops around 6pm. Doctors told us it was because DS's bladder was too strong. He could hold it in all day then only when fully relaxed in sleep at night, he'd go.

And avoid blackcurrant or caffeinated, fizzy drinks etc as these all are diuretics.But I bet you and she know this already.

We used to put a waterproof under sheet, then an absorbent pad, then a sheet, another absorbent pad and another sheet, a duvet cover, absorbent pad on it facing down towards his middle then another duvet cover on top. That way in the night, you just strip off the top layer and pad and there's already clean dry bedding underneath.

Make zero fuss about it (I bet you know this already too) and encourage a quick morning shower as a normal thing everyone does to wake up, so she doesn't feel it's because of any accidents.

There's a famous female comedian, Sarah Silverman, who had this problem until very late in her teens. She's very honest about it in her stand up routine and in a book she wrote called The Bedwetter. Might help to show her this. She is a lovely, successful, self confident woman now so a good role model.

Has she taken Imipramine as well? DS is on this and desmopressin it doesn't "cure" it as he wets himself if he forgets to take them but it's stopping him doing it while we wait for him to grow out of it!

We had exactly the same but with my son. Then aged 14 it only happened a handful of times the whole year and maybe twice when 15. It might just be a matter of time.
They're all different and it is a worry because it's difficult not to compare to other children but it should just resolve itself. I found getting a good nights sleep also helped so that he wasn't too tired to wake in the middle of the night when he felt the urge.

Oh yes and we made no fuss about it
Made the bed with multiple layers and had extra duvets ready and never ever told him he was doing something wrong

Thank you. It sounds like we're doing everything we can. She's not on Imipramine, that sounds a bit 'hard core' to be honest.

Why is it hard core? Because it's an antidepressant? A lot of antidepressants are used for alternative conditions due to their overlapping benefits, they can be used in a multitude of ways. I wouldn't put my child on something that isn't safe, not appropriate or without appropriate medical supervision, it's a very standard step for a child struggling with bed wetting, I was only offering my experience to help no need for judgment in return!

Nope my dd is on medication that seems to be working

@user86386427 sorry it honestly wasn't meant as judgement of you or anyone, honestly, not at all. Just (badly) expressing my feelings ignorance I guess but it wasn't meant as a dig, honestly.

I was that teenager. I kept imipramine for if I was staying anywhere other than home. And incontinence pads and pants (which must be vastly better now than in the 60s/early 70s) for day to day use.

I had hypnosis when I was 19. Much to my amazement, as I'm very anti-woo, things improved from then, and I was dry by 20.

I hope that time scale doesn't worry you. I think it's very unusual for it to go in for that long. But I'd never had a dry phase, so...

@ContinueWithTikTok no worries, sorry for pouncing, I'm a bit sensitive apparently!

I think we are going to try CBT (unfortunately online), and after that, we'll consider hypnotherapy and whatever else, I don't know, acupuncture? Honestly the bedwetting doesn't bother me, as in the constant washing and drying sheets; it's the hit that her self-esteem is taking that bothers me.

Totally understand

For DD it was definitely a matter of the time being right.
She'd been referred to the clinic at 8 or 9. Tried medication (hit and miss), alarms (slept too heavily to hear them even when they woke the rest of the household), charts (pointless) and following all the advice (no late drinks, after 6pm no dark drinks, milk, acidic drinks, fizzy drinks) and it did nothing.

She got very good at just changing the bed in a morning when needed. We used pj pants and mats. It was a constant cause of shame for her despite us never making an issue of it or telling her off etc.

Then at about 14 or 15 it just stopped.

I have heard that constipation can cause issues in children around this issue. don't know whether that needs looking into?