Experiences of Teenage Bedwetting

[chuzzlewitthechipmunk]

3 DC, all toilet trained normally but night dryness has been difficult. Referral to continence nurse (but the answer to that is desmopressin and wait), I know all the medical stuff about it, and we are using desmopressin, but as I spend yet another day doing washing created by a 13, 9 and 6 year old (6 year old usually wears pull-ups) I’m looking for good news stories of children who still wet the bed at 13 but eventually dried up. Whilst I appreciate as medical conditions go it could be much worse, rhe constant washing gets in the way of work, holiday planning, fun stuff…

(there is an inherited factor here, but that relative was dry by 12)

My DS was nearly 16 when finally dry. We used desmopressin and from time to time would come off to see whether the natural hormone had kicked in. Would even get excited by a few dry nights only for it to start again.

Hang on in there it will happen - eventually!!

My eldest DD was around 13 when fully dry, we tried everything but in the end the conclusion was very weak bladder and exercises during the daytime to improve it.

I found it very stressful, having to change her bed most days, we even resorted to pull ups, particularly when on holiday, so you have my sympathies.

She's now 21 and has no issues with her bladder.

Good luck.

This is odd.

My DD was almost 14 when she became dry.Unusual though as it was a coeliac diagnosis that got her dry. Literally stopped flooding the bed the night she stopped eating gluten when we got the diagnosis. Not suggestion any of your children have coeliac disease.

Thank you @Spirallingdownwards@BerolDryWipe@growinguptobreakingdownthese are all the stories of hope I needed this morning! Most of the time (and always in front of the kids) I’m relentlessly positive and upbeat but today the washing is vast, the weather is rainy, and my mood is low.

interesting about the celiac diagnosis. None have other health symptoms that im worried about, but it makes you wonder about the complexity of our bodies…

Yes it is unpleasant for the teen/child whose body does not produce the hormone that prevents nocturnal bedwetting but fortunately it usually kicks in at some point and fortunately there is medication to assist in the meantime.
It is unfortunate however that there are judgmental people who feel the need to make comments such as yours on a athread asking for genuine advice.

so DFOD

Yes it is unpleasant for the teen/child whose body does not produce the hormone that prevents nocturnal bedwetting but fortunately it usually kicks in at some point and fortunately there is medication to assist in the meantime.
It is unfortunate however that there are judgmental people who feel the need to make comments such as yours on a thread asking for genuine advice.

so DFOD

The poster is not being judgemental. We have had many weirdo trolls looking for stories about this sort of thing here on MN for nasty reasons. It's reasonable to be cautious.

You don't think it's odd that all 3 of her children are affected by this?

No I don't. I think it must be bloody hard work. You do realise this can indeed be hereditary and is more likely to run in families than not

in which case she could have just reported to MN which is what you are supposed to do if you suspect a troll.

No, I didn't. I've never heard of that before. It must be a huge amount of work and stress for the OP.

Yes but with themes like this I would challenge on the thread too since many people might answer without realising. Many oldtimers here will be cautious but others might not see an issue.

@chuzzlewitthechipmunk no offence intended but I'm sure you will be understanding if you don't get many people willing to comment on this on a public forum! I can't help you except to say i can imagine it's a long hard slog. It'll happen I'm sure and in the meantime I wish you strength in the drudgery!

I wet the bed until I was 13 but not reliably dry until 14 years. My DF wet until 10 years and my DS has just become dry as soon as he turned 10. There is absolutely a proven genetic link.

The alarm was what worked for DS as DesmoMelt’s did nothing and the Enresis Clinic nurse did say that medication is not as effective as the alarm.

I slept through the alarm and was never offered medication (in the 80s though so I don’t know if it existed then), so I just became naturally dry gradually.

Have you spoken to the ERIC charity? They are very helpful.

My 15yo DD is on desmopressin & even that doesn't always work. Was hoping that starting her period would stop it, but almost 4 years on from that. Can be a nightmare if holidaying somewhere without washing machine access.

Ironically she was dry in the day before her 2nd birthday.

Following - same issue here with 12yo. Hope it stops soon :(

DH had this problem, so it wasn't a huge surprise when DD1 did too. She was dry at about 14.

And it's not odd. It's mortifyingly embarrassing for a teen to not be dry at night despite trying alarms and medication and fluid intake charts for the clinic she attended. Made worse, too, by the fact that her younger sister didn't have the same issue and was magically dry at night the same day she was dry in the day. It affected school residentials, prevented her from feeling comfortable going on sleepovers (ever!) and caused many tears.

Thanks everyone. Really nice to know we’re not alone and although equally rubbish for all of us and our DC in this. Still it’s rhe summer holidays now, tkme to crack on with the alarms again.

for those troll hunting - I did name change for this thread as I know people who have spotted me on mumsnet and they may know about this but I don’t want to be linked to other things but I’m real and am a mumsnet user for all of DC13’s life (at least it’s moved on from breastfeeding woes). I’ve asked mumsnet to change the title which on reflection sounds more nosy than I wanted it to, I really just wanted to vent about the difficulties of keeping on with everything…

On happier thoughts, at least this afternoon the washing dried.

sadly the three in a family occurrences are real; its not uncommon as a thing if there’s a genetic link although mine are affected to different degrees.

I totally understand @chuzzlewitthechipmunk I'm sure I would look for solidarity too. And I didn't actually get that sense from the thread anyway so I'm not hunting! But I do think it's prudent to mention it on threads as unfortunately a lot of people are quite naive.

I hope it sorts itself soon, for both your sakes!

We also have this problem with DS14. He is mortified. Have had some success with Oxybutynin but not tried an alarm yet. Can anyone recommend one? He’s such a deep sleeper!

I have an incontinent disabled son so I don’t want to appear unkind but is there any reason your children can’t use incontinence pads so at least you haven’t got the washing each day?

Me, until I was maybe 14? And my little brother to a similar age. It’s strongly heritable and our dad also wet into his teenage years. No real words of wisdom other than it’s really grim as someone it’s happening to and you really have no control over it. It did sort itself out in the end and the relief was incredible!

I used to have repeated UTIs when I was little, wet the bed until early teens. Cue aged 30 just before I fell pregnant with my second child I had another UTI this time went for scans discovered I had a duplex kidney system. Mine is quite extreme I have the equivalent of 2.5 kidneys with extra tubes etc. back in the 80s they wouldn’t routinely scan children it was calpol and a cuddle. This condition is hereditary and I genuinely believe was the reason I bed wet until so late in life. It may not be the answer for you but two out of my 3 daughters also have it. It’s really common and not necessarily picked up without an internal scan. It may be worth looking at. Nevertheless bed wetting is nothing to be ashamed of and happens more frequently than people admit.

@BeMellowAquaSquidboth of mine who have been referred to continence scans have had kidney and bladder scans, but I get the feeling weve got better paediatric continence care here than in some places (it doesn’t go through GP face to face, you get referred to the continence team directly).

@Anewuserwe have various layers of sheets/continence protection in bed but the advice is not to wear pull-ups and for my DCs it’s rarely just in one place/just one item to wash. Thank you for the idea though, I’ve noticed different things on the market in the years I’ve been doing this.