7 year old nighttime wetting

[Reallyyyyyy]

Hi all

I need some advice as I'm at my wits end. My 7 yo DD has severe night time wetting. It's not a little bit. It is a full bladder and can happen 1 to 2 times a night.

We have been to the GP before. They prescribed the wafers you take 1 hour before bed. They where amazing and did the job. After 3 months we stopped and she was fine. No bed wetting for a further 3 months. However we are now on about 2 months of back to bed wetting.

I'm going back to the GP. But just looking for advice or if anyone else has experienced similar. We have done all the usual, limiting drinks and what she drinks, drinking enough in the day, wet alarms, waking and using the bathroom. She's not got any problems at school or home.

Tia

Following as in similar boat. I haven’t tried as many things as you though, still hoping they’ll just grow out of it 😔

Unfortunately some children are just like this. My cousins children both wet the bed till they were older, the doctor said it was likely due to a hormone they weren't producing enough of that stopped bedwetting and some kids took a bit longer to produce it.

They tried the wafers and they had no effect. They did use the biggest pull ups and then the smallest adult nappies but had to stop with one as they found it embarrassing. With regards to the bed, they would put waterproof mattess cover, sheet, waterproof cover, sheet. Then they could just whip the top two off if they had an accident in the night. You could put another set, if its happening twice.

I know it must be exhausting and difficult but be assured she will grow out it.

Thank you @ThreeMagicNumber I don't suppose you know which water proof sheets? I have bought so many and they just aren't cutting it.

I'm back logged with washing as I'm constantly washing sheets. Scrubbing mattresses. I have to put them on a long hot wash otherwise the smell doesn't go. Then they need to be tumble dried as it's still not sunny over here.

I know she will grow out of it. But she's refusing to use pull ups. I'm going back to the GP tomorrow if I can get an appointment as the wafers did work! It was the first time since my eldest was born I had a good few full nights sleep. (12 years)

Just a bit frustrated. She's embarrassed too so I'm trying to be sensitive to that too obviously.

Had similar with dd3. We used piddle pads (https://tinkaly.com/products/piddlepads?variant=54018485748097). These generally caught most accidents.she took until she was 8 before nighttime bed wetting stopped. She still uses them just in case but finds less embarrassing than using pull ups

I don't have any advice but my DC1 is slightly younger and the same. She wears pull ups still. I spoke to the GP a couple of years ago and they said the only options then were keep trying, and bed wetting alarm. My DC1 hasn't wanted to do either yet. They told me medicine wouldn't be considered until 7 at the very earliest, so I will probably contact the GP again when she hits that age. I feel for my DC as they're now a bit embarrassed about it especially as their younger sibling has been dry overnight since before they turned 3. I just try to reassure that everyone's bodies are different and it will come in time. That being said, I don't know how I'd cope with the amount of laundry you're talking about, I'd definitely be putting pressure on them to wear continence products of some sort.

Go back to gp and ask for more desmopressin if it worked. Also try these pants https://dryandcool.co.uk/shop/incontinence-briefs-for-girls-4c1.html

And I found the Ikea mattress protectors cheap absorbent and washed well. https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/grusnarv-waterproof-mattress-protector-20522150/

It may not resolve until she has been through puberty.

Hi
My DD has only been dry since January and she is 9 - personally I would just return to pull ups and leave it for a bit longer and try again. We just decided we weren't going to make a big deal of it, and were receiving support from the bladder and bowel service. We got an alarm in January when we felt she was progressing (fewer wet pull ups) and it worked very quickly.

I know how you feel but it is far more common than you think, people just don't talk about it as they are embarrassed. She will grow out of it, they always do! All that stress and pressure though when she maybe isn't ready, and getting up night after night changing sheets is hard for all of you. Xx

Thank you everyone!

My daughter was like this until almost 8. Then it just 'clicked' when we tried a bed wetting alarm and she's been dry since. We also didn't make a big deal out of it. I remember her asking why she was the only one who was still in nappies and we looked it up and it's surprisingly common. I guess they wouldn't sell child sizes pull ups otherwise.

I'm back logged with washing as I'm constantly washing sheets. Scrubbing mattresses. I have to put them on a long hot wash otherwise the smell doesn't go. Then they need to be tumble dried as it's still not sunny over here

Ds2 was a bedwetter for years - he's nearly 15 and it seems to have resolved in the last 3 months.

Practical advice - link below is the mattress cover you need. Bloody life changing. It's an entire mattress envelope so you never remove it, just spray it down with flash and wipe. Nothing gets through it, you'll never need to scrub a mattress again. And then no removable protectors so the 'only' thing you need to wash is the normal bedding.

For that awful lingering pee smell on sheets and quilts. Bung them in on a half load only. NO washing powder, 30 minute cycle on cool. Use about a quarter of a bottle of white vinegar, squirted in the drawer AND the conditioner compartment. Wash and put to one side. Then do the other half load, the same. Then put the full load on normally, with standard washing powder/conditioner - no more than 30 degrees.

This is the best/only method after experimenting for years, to get rid of pee smells entirely. Hot water is your enemy when it comes to urine soaked sheets - the temptation is to chuck them on a hot wash but it's the worst thing you can do and will, over time, bake the smell in.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eva-Dry-Waterproof-Wipeable-Matress-Single/dp/B06Y5P54NV/ref=mpsa15?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.U8GzjnhdHDTlzmY5qM3XeUrmi9fTxv5Rt5Sd-VDDVMrIWkfc91WJGbnjjb-qBOBajVpNHNbt6MoXGCA8VkTvNHr7IW0e8LI9gU7PEYzXvX6bkmK5Edzi2f6l5AW3Ld2r6vksEOCeXbrUI-paoXxzdIy2BTHgvVIvbBL7Eislf7Ovyc8BB93NSetIzZyvyzrwtltbSgEpvfQ.CGXwP4BccXTa9UcF4aSOEptvzfNWxaV4Y-i9-LXjI&dibtag=se&mltasin=B004CVHW90&qid=1742281704&refinements=p78%3AB0D5DNYPLF%7CB07DCYSB6G%7CB09LMDD611%7CB08SL8K1CR%7CB0D73DV49P%7CB06Y5P54NV%7CB00BZ78J7I%7CB07CLM58JC%7CB0BS16Y4NT%7CB09K5H3F14%7CB07DCZQ1VK%7CB09W67MDD5%7CB06Y6BCYX9%7CB07TFJ5XNW%7CB094H6GWL8%7CB013I4H9ZI%7CB0DTK7MS1J%7CB0CTD2TGD2%7CB01MXF9OQL%7CB07T9MDZBG%7CB09S3SHL5N%7CB09CF46NSP%7CB00FEHYNM0%7CB01N3S2AGH%7CB076X4461C%7CB01C5ZB6VO%7CB09GKTHJZR%7CB08KXSZLGB%7CB0B2BKHXQX%7CB01MT0B9Q7&searchMethod=MLTSearch&sr=8-5

Try an alarm. You’ll have a couple of disturbed nights when it goes off but it worked very quickly as a permanent fix for us.

Thank you everyone.

@BlumminFreezin thank you! Will oder one of these and have taken your washing advice!!

We have this problem with DS (recently turned 8). It helps if we take him for a wee when we go to bed. He wakes up just enough to wee and then goes back to sleep. Doesn't stop all the bed wetting incidents but definitely reduces them.

Can I ask what the Wafers ate please? DS almost 8 and we're in same position

My nephew (aged 6.5) had his adanoids out a few months ago. And no bed wetting at all since. The dr said it’s possible the adanoids where half waking him up, he’d go back to sleep but his body got the I need a wee message you get first thing in the morning but he was already back asleep and would wet the bed!

totally unexpected bonus of getting grommits / adanoids removed !

My DS was the same. I think it just takes some kids a bit longer to produce the hormone that concentrates their urine at night time. You can’t train it out of them-it’s purely physical. My DS was referred to our hospital’s enuresis clinic and they prescribed the ‘wafers’ you describe-DesmoMelts (contain desmopressin which is the hormone that concentrates the urine). He took these every night for about 6 months and they worked a treat. The clinic then provided us with a very slow reduction plan and advised him not to stop suddenly. He had some accidents when he was reducing the dose so they advised him to continue at every night. I think he stayed on them nightly with trialling stopping every now and again until he was about 10 or 11. Can’t remember. He was totally dry every night when he took them. We gradually stopped again at this point and he only took them at sleepovers and when he maybe drank fizzy drinks close to bedtime. He never needs them at all now at 14.
What I’m trying to say is don’t hurry your DD to get off the meds. It can affect them psychologically I think if they wet the bed and it’s also exhausting as a parent washing their bedding all the time. If the meds work-keep taking them!
i would also advise you speak to an advisor at the enuresis charity ERIC. They were great too.

Thank you all. I had a chat with her this morning and she would like to try the wafers again. She really doesn't want the pull ups as her sister 2 years younger is dry at night. So I understand her upset wholeheartedly.

The only thing that confused me was that she has had quite a break from the wafers and she was still dry up until a few months ago. So I'm not sure what's happened in that time

@Reallyyyyyy my DS did the same. I’m not an expert but I think as it’s a hormonal issue your DD probably has dips and peaks in the hormone that concentrates her urine. I would ask the GP for a referral to an enuresis clinic if possible. My son’s GP was a bit concerned when I explained that he was dry for a while then wet again (think it can indicate other more concerning health issues) but all was fine.
I wouldn’t push the pull ups. My DS found these totally humiliating.

I feel for you with the washing, particularly in winter. I have a similar problem, but with an elderly relative. I bought a washable bed protector which tucks in at the sides, which is brilliant but takes for ever to dry after washing. I now use this directly on the mattress, then a fitted sheet and then a disposable 60cm x 90cm disposable bed pad, with adhesive strips down the sides. These bed pads have been a game changer. They take about two minutes to fold up, dispose of and replace with a new one. Because of the adhesive strips they do not move. Since using them nothing has leaked through to the sheet or mattress protector. I buy them from Amazon. They are very absorbant.

Also reading back the thread-ERIC don’t recommend getting kids up at night to wee.
I think they recommend checking if there’s any constipation as the bowel can press on the bladder and cause accidents and also ensure they are drinking lots during the day to strengthen the bladder muscles. My DS was terrible for drinking water.

Do you know why ERIC don't recommend it?
It helps us.

My memory is hazy as this was all so long ago but I think it’s because it stops your child recognising the feeling of needing to wee in the night and waking them. So it helps in the short term by making sure they are dry but stops their bladder being able to hold wee for 12 hours and stops the mechanism to wake them up from sleep when the sensation to wee occurs. (I think-their website is very informative so perhaps there’s a better explanation there).

Thank you. Our problem is that he wets the bed when anxious and I think I read something about anxiety affecting hormone levels and the natural ability to wake up with the urge to wee. So in our case since it's a problem that fluctuates depending on anxiety levels it might be ok to take him to wee in the night during the worst times, as we don't do it all the time. Hopefully!

@NameChange30 I’m sure the odd night won’t do any harm. With my DS he was such a deep sleeper I think he slept through the sensation of needing the toilet and it just didn’t wake him. I also think that’s why ERIC don’t recommend pull ups as kids need to feel the sensation of damp pants so they wake up from a sleep to go to the toilet. God this thread is bringing back memories of such a stressful time! It was bloody exhausting dealing with wet sheets every morning when we trialled stopping the medication!

I don’t understand what you mean with wafers. My DD was a bed wetter until 8 and had a prescription for it - it’s called Desmopressin. The GP was clear that some
children need it for 3 months, others continue for 3-4 years. We had a break after 3 months and then didn’t need to continue. Sounds like you need to continue with medication.