To use a bed wetting alarm?

[FusionChefGeoff]

I've tried in Parenting but no replies so heading here for some advice.

My nearly 7 year old DS is starting to feel embarrassed that he's not yet dry at night. We've tried a couple of times for a few nights but with no pressure (and no improvement) so have just kept 'nighttime pants' hoping that one day he'd wake up dry.

However, as he's now keen to try again, we used a bed wetting alarm for the first time last night.

It was very effective and he was very good so woke quickly and headed straight to the loo etc. But there were 5 wees!! And at that point (3.30am) the poor boy was exhausted and asked to put his nighttime pants back on.

AIBU to persevere with 'training' or should I go back to my previous wait it out approach??

I would begin with stretching his bladder by increasing his daytime drinking first. Also, if needed a wee five times it might mean his body probably isn't yet producing enough ADH (the hormone that suppresses urine production while sleeping).

My youngest was referred to a bladder specialist and she told us:

-increase daytime drinking
-avoid fizzy drinks
-avoid blackcurrant squash/flavour
-drink lots through the day but taper off after 5pm

Tbh it sounds like he wakes easily (for us, the problem is/was my child is a deep sleeper) but his bladder needs help preparing, either through age or more daytime drinking.

I am not a doctor so obviously take all this with a grain of salt.

Has you been to the doctor's about this?
I know it would be embarrassing for him but there may be something going on with the bladder, or at the very least a doctor may be able to give some advice.

@rizkhanjr the OP literally says she used an alarm in the post. Maybe read first?

My son was the same age and still wetting the bed at night. When I asked around I found that it is not uncommon - happens more than you think . My son’s uncle was the same . I used an alarm and it worked for us. It took a while and it used to wake me up before it woke him , but after a few weeks of using it, he was dry during the night.

We used an alarm with our son who was similarly aged, but he was a very deep sleeper so I agree with the previous poster about drinking more during the day and tapering off after 5pm.

Plus, I’d see a doctor to be sure you’ve ticked everything off as we also dealt with a previously undiagnosed constipation issue. Although resolving that didn’t solve the night wetting (as it does for some children - there are strong links between the two apparently) it did reduce the wetting and generally needed to be resolved anyway, obviously.

Good luck. It can be frustrating for them.

Thanks all - I have read that most GPs won't do anything until they're much older ie 8 but I will get an appointment and see if there's anything g they can do.

Will also try to boost daytime drinks.

I'm not sure either of us has the motivation to stick this out for weeks though! It's 3 sheets and 2 bed mats per night so far which is going to cost a fortune!

You can get washable bed mats on Amazon.

My DS is 7, and he's with a specialist so yours is definitely not too young. Doctors will tell you to through the motions before they refer so do it now because it could take a while.

He's on the tablets but it's so awkward to make his last drink an hour before he goes to bed, and I don't think he's drinking enough during the day at school. So his pull ups are lighter but not empty.

How does the alarm work? What's the benefit in it?

I'm not 100% sure but a lot of people had recommended it so I thought it was worth a try! I guess the idea is to train you to wake when your bladder is full but it doesn't solve the problem that that appears to happen 5 times a night!!

He's dry so far tonight but had managed to roll out of bed! So went for a wee before he got back in so hopefully there will be a stint now before the alarm goes.

I'm booking GP tomorrow too,

Definitely see the GP, my DS is also 7 and turns out he produces too much wee at night, he’s on pills now which helps him not wetting so much throughout the night. See the ERIC website too, it’s got some really useful info.

The trouble is with night dryness that it’s hormone dependent. He’s not on any medication is he? Some meds prevent night dryness.

The alarm worked for 1 of my twins but not the other. I think one was probably nearer in terms of hormone production anyway, but the alarm just made his brother cross so he pulled the wire out In the night ! Hes getting there but In the end we have compromised on pull ups for holidays, and accepting a wet bed 1-2 nights a week it is definately improving though. They are 7.

I know people will disagree with this but I felt mine needed to be wet to know there was a problem so I took off the pull ups and put on a plastic sheet under the sheet.

I also lifted him, but made him talk to me so he was awake enough remember.

He also helped change the sheets if he wet ( that was advised by the clinic)

And he was encouraged to drink a lot during the day. Once we started all this it took about 10 days to be dry

We had success putting the alarm into pull ups for DC. He was a big 6 year old. No wet beds to change so the wakings were a bit more bareable. Went from 4 times a night to 1 quite quickly. We cheated slightly and didn't switch the alarm on again after first accident on school nights as DC was tired (plus us!). Good luck!

We used an alarm on ds when he was 7 and showing no signs whatsoever of starting to be dry at night. After about 10 days of waking up 3 times a night it was as if someone had waved a magic wand - he's been completely dry now every night for the past 3 years. I'd give it some more time - we had a week of all being really tired through broken sleep but it was definitely worth it in the end. Good luck!

He's not on any meds, no.

But we will persevere - he's in our room on his mattress at the moment as the booklet advised it so we are awake straight away to help him.

It's like having a newborn again as I look at the clock every time we wake up to see how long it's been since the last one!!

He's really motivated so have managed to seriously increase daytime drinking today so will keep that going.

Thanks so much - it really helps to hear your stories / advice.

My DD wet the bed for years, we tried various things & went to go/clinic. She was a deep sleeper & nothing seemed to work. My DBro was also a bedwetter (sorry, awful term)for years but the alarm (we called it the buzzer) worked for him. We talked about this with DD - really talked it up to her and when we finally got it it worked v quickly with her. She was approx 11 by then. It also worked for my nephew, again we talked it up quite a lot. I feel that helped as they were older. Not sure this makes sense but i hope it helps

I am on the next stage to you and my son is also 7 - we have been to the dr about it and referred to the hospital clinic. They checked his flow rate and asked a lot of questions about his day time habits and were happy that he drank enough and his bladder capacity wasn't a problem, so it came down to a question of could we sort it ourselves before trying medication.

They basically gave me a massive print out that recommended a few things with lifting being fairly near the top (my son is a REALLY heavy sleeper, and trying to wake him ourselves hasn't worked as he was SO hard to wake up) and a bedwetting alarm was quite high on the list too.

I have been quite surprised with the results to be honest - he wakes up pretty easily with the alarm (we have one which goes around his arm and vibrates rather than making a noise), which I thought might be a struggle, and he's gone from soaking through his duvet, towel and sheet to only really getting his pyjama trousers wet, depending on how he's lying over the course of a couple of weeks (bearing in mind he was wearing large nappies and often leaking before without waking up until two weeks ago). I have been noting down the intervals and keeping track of how often it happens.

Last night was the 15th night and he was dry all night - went for a wee last thing and woke up this morning without the alarm having gone off! I never thought it would be this quick, although we are by no means out of the woods yet, but this was literally unthinkable before we started with the alarm. So it is definitely having some effect - he had NEVER had a dry nappy in the morning before, so this is pretty dramatic as far as results go.

I would say persevere - the first night was pretty rough for us too because it was all so new and the interruptions were a shock but it did settle down really quickly. We did buy some waterproof sheets, and layered them with normal sheets so that we could just whip off one layer in the night and have a fresh set underneath. I also used incontinence bed pads underneath him because he tends to lie in the same position most nights, so it was pretty easy to guess where the wetness was likely to be, so sticking one under a towel in his 'spot' made it even easier, as did having a fresh pile of pjs ready to go in the bathroom or by the bed so there wasn't as much rummaging around in the night. But it really seems to be working and that's the main thing!