To ride the piss tsunami?

[Curiousaboutchoices]

My 6 year old was a very late toilet trainer, on meds for chronic constipation and still leaves it too late for the loo in the day and often has wet pants. Poor child has to drink shitloads (2l) of water a day for the poo issues so there’s a lot to come out.

Day 3 of no pull ups at night. Pull ups weren’t dry in the morning but she had got up a few times to wee in the night over the last few weeks so we jumped on the easter holidays to give it a try. I was a bedwetter, if it doesn’t work we’ll pop her back in and no matter. We are being only very positive.

Night 1- little dribble that woke her in night at 1230am and rest on loo (in bed at 7 so we were impressed she lasted that long!)

Night 2 - big dribble at same time as previous night and less in loo

Night 3 - piss tsunami that she’d obviously slept in for hours but which eventually woke her up at 4am requiring nuclear safety suits and a full hose down to sort her out.

They’ve been in childcare while I work this week so are way more tired than at school (it’s a sports based club). She’s had a quieter day today at home and I’m off now for a few days so hoping it improves if she’s not too tired.

My question is how long do I keep this going for? I’m happy to ride it for as long as she’s happy, which she is as she feels a big girl and only one wee per night so far. Partner feels she’s not ready and we should put her back in pull ups. Eric (continence charity) says a week or more before you backtrack - longer if poss. Any practical experience or ideas from your own bedwetters? How long did you let them wee wee wee before you decided they weren’t ready or, conversely, they got a dry night after being wet?

Would love some reassurance, I’m terrible with night disturbances and can’t continue the current rate of Cadbury’s cream egg consumption for much longer without becoming a Cadbury’s style supersize me experiment. Please reassure me I’m doing the right thing?

DS was nearly 7.5 before he was dry at night.

I spoke to the doctor when he was nearly 5, and he said that before 8 he wouldn't consider it an issue, and that as many as half of the boys in DSs class wouldn't have been dry at night at that age. We did the following and it worked for us....

• No pull ups. He said they'd do more harm than good as DS would feel he was wearing nappies, and could cause confidence issues.

• No limiting drinks. Let him drink what he wants.

• Pop him to bed just in pjs.

• Work out what time he was wetting the bed at. DS used to go to bed at 7.30, and would wee around 9.30, 11.30 and 2.30am.

• Set alarm for half an hour before each of the times DS would wee, and walk him out to the bathroom. We weren't to carry him, but guide him out and back. It was only if he got upset and cried we should carry him back.

The waking in the middle of the night wasn't great, but better than dealing with a flood in the middle of the night.

Our GP was also very big on what we shouldn't do:

• Make a big deal out of anything. There was to be no commenting on wetting the bed, but equally there was to be no commenting on being dry. That last bit was hard, as when he was dry all night, we wanted to celebrate, but the whole idea was bedwetting was no big deal, so not bedwetting wasn't a big deal either.

• DS was to never help clean up after wetting the bed. We were to help change him. Again, it was all about not making it a big deal.

Within about 4 months, DS dropped the 2.30am wee. We reckon because he'd properly emptied his bladder earlier in the night that that helped.

It took years, but once we worked out the wee schedule and helped him to the toilet, the incidents of bedwetting really dropped off, and it became much less of an ordeal. We got there in the end, and the way the GP suggested was very not-stressful for us all.

Good luck with it all.

Wax my daughter seems currently very happy to sleep in a warm bed full of warm piss so that theory works here!

Just checked on the Eric and see a doctor from 5 theory I picked up - it’s in the FAQs and it’s the NICE guidelines that say this rather than Eric, but they do quote it. I think that’s what made me have a slight parenting wobble, because I’d been so utterly relaxed. I was dry around 8 with some accidents thereafter.

Perhaps she just has poor connections full stop?

You will probably never know but if she can't tell day time cues, why would it be different at night? Just pondering this or is just her poos that she misses the cue for?

One of mine was an incredibly deep sleeper so at least once a fortnight until she was 7/8 her pull up would be saturated but she just grew out of it, I think she got less knackered with day to day sleep and her hormone levels increased - she was very tall for her age so I kind of think parts of her were always playing catch up!

We have been in the same situation as you but ours was day time wetting, we have worked really hard with a lot of help from a specialist. When we started on trying to get our daughter dry during the day we had to cut out red drinks, tea etc, advised to increase intake to around 2lt daily which really isn't easy, reduce fluid intake towards the end of the day to ensure we didn't turn the issue into a night time issue, timed toilet breaks with the help of an alarm watch. Daily dose of movicol and then on to lyrinel. It has been a very long journey but after 2 years we have almost cracked it, had days where we felt it just wouldn't be possibly but then one day it just all clicked into place and she is now 99% dry. Although night time has never been an issue, waking in the morning and then wetting used to happen quite often. We also had a course of bio feedback, this is where they help with pelvic floor exercises and I feel that has also really helped.

Put the duvet inside a large bin/rubble bag before putting it in the cover. Or safety pin/use ironing board clips to attach a brolly mat to the downward side of the duvet inside the cover. Then you at least won't be having to wash it all the time.

Another mum to a late bed wetter here, rode the yellow tidal wave!

Is the 2l of water sipped or drunk as glassfuls through the day?
We had to stretch the bladder to increase capacity so ds2 had to 'down in one' about 350ml at regular intervals.
Also used alarm which worked really well, occasional wet beds but not every night like before.

My son slept in pull ups until he was 7 or 8 and then just suddenly went dry.
Our doctor said his son was ten before he was dry at night.
It something to do with how their brains mature. Don't worry about it.

DS1 just became dry by himself at about 6 and a half. DS2 needed the alarm but was pretty quick with it. I remember my brothers being wet into their teens and that was in the days of no pull ups and woolen blankets and flannelette sheets. DM had big sheets of plastic that she put over the mattress. We had a single tub washing machine with a mangle and a separate spin dryer. There were 4 of them wetting and 9 of us to one bathroom with no shower. Dm worked days and Dad worked nights. The woman was a saint!

In terms of duvets, when mine were small we just used very lightweight, cheap synthetic duvets and just put them through the wash every week with the cover. Sometimes didn't bother taking them out the cover as they were very thin and light. they had a couple each so just swapped them about. A fleece blanket/throw on top for colder nights and was plenty warm enough. We live in a well insulated new build.

Wax your mum is a goddess. I’m moaning with a washing machine and a tumbler. My mum had plastic sheets, blankets and a twin tub. No dryer. And she was so serene about it too. We are so comparatively lucky aren’t we.

I think I need to see the doc about this. If they put non constipatedvkids on stool softeners before alarming them then there’s possibly more joined up issues here than I thought.

So informative guys, thanks so much.

DS was in pull ups until last October, he was 7.5. I had to start buying age 8-15 pull ups and was beginning to despair. He was never dry, not even for one night. We tried periods without pull-ups, lifting him, everything. Tried an alarm, and after 2 weeks of being woken every night I was thinking that that wasn’t going to work either, but amazingly about week 3 we had a dry night, and I don’t think he’s been wet since week 6! It’s nto that he wakes and goes to the toilet, he just holds it all night now. I’ve no idea how it works, or the psychology/ physiology behind it but it worked for us and I am so thankful.

Yes we are lucky. I had a conversation with her once about dealing with the inevitable toy mess I seemed to struggle to manage and said I had no idea how she coped and she said that we actually had very little and spend most of the day outside regardless of the weather so didn't make much mess! She also sewed/knitted all our clothes and I mean everything except pants and socks. She was a seamstress to trade so made shorts and trousers and dresses etc.so bought very little. She would make outfits for other people on the side and got to keep the offcuts which she would turn into clothes for us. Had some lovely dresses made from curtain material!

She made her outfit and the all the girls outfits and the boys shorts and kilt and top. Just my dad and the boys shirts and underwear/socks were bought. I digress.... :o

From a constipation perspective, we were told by our GP that just water wasn’t enough to help as it doesn’t go through the bowel unless it’s mixed with something, tiny bit of fruit juice or something. We were given movicol, which did help with the “need” to go, but not the “ease” of going, IYKWIM. We’ve recently discovered the fruit based digestive syrup (£13 in Tesco) which has made a huge difference
www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295530105
After the first couple of weeks, we have been able to give her less and she prob has a couple of times a week now.

Why pengwyn?

Irony last night was that as I was typing my husband was changing the piss tsunami - he’d checked her before bed and she was sleeping in wee. He washed her and changed her and she remembers nothing this morning!

She then went through til 830 without a wee - that’s a good sign surely? Only one wee in 13 hrs on day 4?? With a 2l water intake in the day I think that’s good?

Do I plough on.....?

Pengwyn genuinely bemused. What’s your issue?

Hi OP. Our DD1 is a poo withholder and had similar issues with nighttime wetting until she was 8. I so feel your pain.

2l is such a lot. It's hard to get them to drink that much - we manage about 1.5l on a good day.

Our DD1 also has an overactive bladder which didn't help either. Ironically she's now dry at night but still wets during the day.

The big breakthrough was getting her to do a poo every morning. She takes dulcolax (sodium picosulfate) and movicol. We found lactose didn't help at all.

Good luck.

Pengggwn I have just come across this thread this morning, more and more horrified as I'm reading on. So so glad I saw your message at the end as I started to doubt myself. Anyway I'm going to report too.

Pengggwn I've no idea what your issue is with this thread. Without support and advice on MN I'd have found dealing with bed wetting even more difficult than it was. I suggest you take your elsewhere.

Ignoring the weirdos.

Soup I have wondered about overactive bladder as I go to the loo an awful lot in the day, just like her, and wonder if that makes it trickier too. I know you can take drugs for this too but I’m loathe to use drugs if not absolutely necessary and if it doesn’t create a ‘cure’ as such. I manage my needing to go to the loo 20 times a day (rather than the 4-7 wees that are apparently normal) by going when I need to and reducing liquid intake at key times.

Is there a ‘cure’ for an overactive bladder?

I'd speak to the consultant your DD is under the care off about it all again and try and tackle one thing at a time. We did daytime soiling, followed by daytime wetting, followed by nighttime wetting. Try and get a hold of this book it really helped me understand what was going on.

Thanks soup, I’ll download it. Glad your dc is doing well.