DS 10 STILL not dry at night

[Abedchangaday]

DS has never been dry at night. Until he was 9 he was wetting 2 or 3 times a night.
Now he’s 10, he’s wetting 1 or 2 times a night.

He has a PGDL trip coming up and is desperate to get dry. He is refusing to wear pull ups any longer, and is using an alarm. However he is still having a small accident before the alarm goes off. So I am changing his bed and PJs twice a night. Washing is crazy. Not to mention the broken sleep; we are all like zombies!

We are careful to limit drinks after 4pm and he goes to the loo before bed. Can anyone help with some advice? He was prescribed tablets from the dr but DS is a keen swimmer and after reading about risks of ingesting water, I want to avoid that if we can.

Haven't you been referred or asked to be referred to a specialist? There is a medication that can be taken if the hormone that controls night time wetting hasn't kicked in. I doubt very much you can get it in time on the NHS though (unless of course you go private - I would if you could afford it at this point).

DS (now 25) was 11 before he was dry at night. We had support from the enuresis clinic and tablets he took for sleepovers. Ultimately it just needed time for the relevant hormone to kick in, but I did wonder if he was ever going to be dry. I would discuss with GP

I assume the pills were prescribed for this specific issue? As I understand it, bed wetting that continues is the result of a hormone imbalance. So just stopping because you have "read about" ingesting water is, to be quite honest, ridiculous.

Go speak to your doctor or specialist again. Raise your concerns re potential side effects of this medicine. Discuss options.

@Abedchangaday can you explain the DS is a keen swimmer and after reading about risks of ingesting water, I want to avoid that if we can

Are you talking about Desmopressin? They take it at night before bed so they just make sure their last drink is at least 1 hour before they take it and then no drinks for 8 hours which is completely normal as they are asleep. They can still sip water to wet their mouth if they wake and feel thirsty.

Ds took this for school trips which started at aged 7 where I am. Because this was incredibly successful we knew and the GP knew that it was a hormone issue. He only took it for school trips and holidays with us. He was dry by the end of year 5 I think. We did it all, alarms, everything. Time was what he needed.

I found support for this to be non-existent to be honest.

The alarm was the only thing that worked and it took about 3 weeks. I slept in DDs room as she was often not waking with the alarm and would physically fight me to avoid getting out of bed and going for a wee. She sleeps like the dead.

I would say we had many failed attempts over the years before she decided she absolutely wanted to do it and so we stuck with it. Nearly finished me off as work was crazy at the time.

We were told no dark drinks before bed I.e. blackcurrant, vimto, think it’s something to do with an ingredient that makes it harder for them to avoid accidents.
also agree with getting referred, my ds had the same problem but eventually it stopped, think he had the tablets for a while too

I should add the desmopressin did bugger all for her.

Just to be clear: The risks re ingesting water from swimming were specifically listed in the ‘side effects’ section of the instruction leaflet that came with the tablets. So not at all ‘ridiculous’.

I think it's only a risk if you ingest water after taking the tablet @Abedchangaday so should be ok if he takes it before bed.

But why haven't you discussed this with your doctor? I don't understand that. The leaflet highlights a possible risk. You then discuss that with doctor, including what to look out for and how to mitigate that risk. You don't just stop taking the medicine?

Thank you for sharing, can I ask which alarm your DD used? DS is using Wetstop but I’m at the stage where I’d invest in a more expensive one if it was more sensitive.

Think it was called Dry Easy. Cost about £60 I think so not cheap! Worth it though we had years of night wetting and DD was v miserable about it.

Surely he's not gulping down huge quantities of water at the pool?

Desmopressin got my child completely dry in a couple of months.

Can you give the name of the medication? I don't think competent swimmers are likely to inhale water so I would be more seriously considering giving them a try. If it's a hormonal imbalance that needs resolving I don't think you'll succeed with anything but medication but obviously that depends what he was prescribed.

If it were that simple! There’s at least a 5 week wait to see a dr for non emergency appointments at the moment here.

I did not give the medicine to DS at all as it specially warns about the risks of taking it if swimming. DS swims every morning for an hour.

But this is a digression. I am hoping to find advice here on none medicated solutions.

Why on earth haven't you followed up doctor, or mentioned he was a swimmer to doctor before.

But your fears are unfounded.

This is what it says:

Your child should avoid swallowing large amounts of water while swimming, as this could lead to fluid retention.

www.medicinesforchildren.org.uk/medicines/desmopressin-for-bedwetting/

It doesn't say you can't swim with it. My child swam every day while he was on it for one week and then weekly swimming for the rest of the time.

Please speak to your GP and get some reassurance.

Without knowing the medication and the exact wording of the leaflet I suppose I can't advise but I still think you are being way too passive and/or irrational. How much water does a swimmer ingest? Is it really a problem if he is swimming in the morning - 12 hours after he takes the medicine and how likely is this risk and under what conditions? Have you researched this side effect further or talked to a pharmacist or requested a follow up appointment?

I think a 9 year old who isn't dry needs all the help he can get and abandoning an effective medicine without fully understanding is a mistake.

If you won't even try and speak to a doctor, then what do you expect the people of Mumsnet to do?

Let's be clear on what it actually says: it says to limit water for 8 hours after taking it, and it's to be taken at bedtime. 10 year olds need 8-10 hours of sleep, so if he swims at 6:30am you could give him the medicine at 8:30pm and it would be out of the time where liquids needed limiting.

It also specifically warns against "swallowing large amounts of water while swimming". Any swimmer good enough to swim for an hour any morning won't be doing this.

Your doctor has given you a potential solution - why not take it instead of allowing your son to suffer something he clearly dislikes without trying the medication available?

Clear plain English guidance:

https://www.medicinesforchildren.org.uk/medicines/desmopressin-for-bedwetting/#other-information

BNF guidelines (not in as plain English):

https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/desmopressin/

And a snip attached for good measure.

Actually reading my OP would be a start! You’ll find I did take him to the drs 😁

We used Dry easy alarm. Also cut out all drinks with sweeteners (which is most squashes). Good luck.

He’s not swimming before bed though, and I assume irs been more than 5 weeks. Give him the medication as prescribed or make a doctors appr to deal,with your fears.

Alarm was only thing that helped my ds. That and making him help change bed/washing as even though not doing it on purpose worked on a subconscious level.

My 10yo has never had a dry night. He's currently on desmopressin (2 melts per night) and it's reduced, but not totally stopped, the problem. We've spent well over a year trying everything the continence team told us to try before finally being prescribed this.

Try the medication, don't worry about the swimming thing. Our Dr says it works wonders for most children (just a shame mine isn't one of them!).