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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To try a bed wetting alarm

122 replies

ChipsCheeseAndBeans · 20/02/2021 10:29

My 7 year old is still not dry at night. Wears a pull up to bed which is very heavy in the morning. If he goes to bed in pants he wets the bed but doesn’t even wake up when wet.

Spoke to the doctor who is going to refer him for a scan to see if there is a problem with him not emptying his bladder fully. He is reluctant to try him on medication until he is 9.

He can’t go for sleepovers with his friends or on overnight school trips. Although that us not a problem at the moment because of covid.

Just wondering if anyone had success with alarms and if so which ones, as there are so many out there.

OP posts:
WoolieLiberal · 21/02/2021 09:26

@Mumofone29

I’m glad I’m not the only one who had the giant nappies. I’m amazed the technology didn’t exist to make them less baby nappy like 😝

That’s incredible that you had the confidence to take them on a school residential though. I just didn’t go. What happened when they were found?

That was literally my biggest fear that prevented me going.

Thank goodness schools, kids and products are a bit more enlightened today.

JM10 · 21/02/2021 09:29

We used one for DD when she was around 7 and it made aassive difference. She still had phases of going back to bed wetting (normally when she was anxious or upset about something) and still very occasionally does now, but for us it was so worth it.

Mumofone29 · 21/02/2021 09:39

@WoolieLiberal

Said they were sanitary towels (mum had told me to say that) then my friends thought I was grown up because I was the first one to start my periods! Haha (didn’t actually start till I was 14yo).

Our primary was very small (around 14 in a class and so we were all friends) and it would have taken more explaining why I wasn’t going, plus it’s what we all looked forward to going on so no way I would have missed it.

Saz12 · 21/02/2021 11:08

On night 2 on Malem alarm here.

The thing that helped DC with feelings about wetting was seeing that pull-ups come in teenager-sizes, even in our fairly local supermarket, made her feel much more “normal”.

Blobby10 · 21/02/2021 11:18

Used one for DD when she was 9 and we had tried everything else including hypnosis ! The first two nights she was the only household member not to wake up and then something seemed to click and a week later she was dry at night.

WoolieLiberal · 21/02/2021 11:30

@Mumofone29

That’s amazing! I wish I’d thought of that at the time... 😂

Mif4 · 21/02/2021 14:42

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

WoolieLiberal · 21/02/2021 16:57

@Mif4

I’m glad this works for some! I’m a bit evangelical about the cutting out the cordials thing (esp black current) as it worked so quickly with my DD’s who had both never been dry at night since ether were born (eldest was 11 when I tried this and it really was like being given a miracle cure).

No wet beds since, no more spending nearly £10 a week on DryNites for the two of them. I never made a big deal of it for either DD but they were both really pleased when they finally no longer had to wear them.

That’s why I post this advice on just about any relevant late bed wetting thread that pops up here.

Given I was mad on Ribena as a kid, I only wonder whether I would have been spared the years and years of giant nappies if I’d only had water and milk...

Original poster
ChipsCheeseAndBeans · 21/02/2021 17:21

I’ve cut down the squash today. I have ordered a malem alarm. Might be here before bedtime or maybe not. Amazon Prime estimated delivery between 7-9. Bedtime is at 7.30-8.

Wish me luck. He is excited at trying it but also nervous. I might just be that I am a zombie at work tomorrow.

OP posts:
GnarlyOldGoatDude · 21/02/2021 17:53

@ChipsCheeseAndBeans good luck!

Get him to do a sit down wee just before goes to sleep too. Helps squeeze out more.

Let us know how you get on!

vjg13 · 21/02/2021 18:15

Good luck! I made a chart showing progress and it was unbelievable how well it worked. The first few nights are absolutely brutal though but it was amazing how quickly she went from waking wet, to waking having a slight accident, to waking before she needed to go.

VickyEadieofThigh · 21/02/2021 18:20

I'm going back five decades but children are children - my younger brother was a persistent bedwetter until my mum was given one of these alarms. Cured him in a week, forever.

Original poster
ChipsCheeseAndBeans · 21/02/2021 19:02

Alarm has turned up. He is wearing it now to get used to it before bed. Fingers crossed.

OP posts:
GnarlyOldGoatDude · 21/02/2021 19:35

If and when it goes off in the night, make sure you turn the lights on, wake him up, make him help you change pants/ finish his wee. You don’t tell him off, but you need to make the whole thing bright/ brisk / irritating, so that his body/ brain associates it as an unwanted thing to happen.

You don’t want him to effectively sleep through the disturbance, IYSWIM? I used to go in, turn the main light on, jolly him along to stand up and change pants and complete the wee

Original poster
ChipsCheeseAndBeans · 22/02/2021 06:57

Three times last night. 9, 12 and 5. Pants were just a tiny bit damp each time. He stopped peeing when the alarm went off and went to toilet. Will keep trying tonight and see how he gets on.

OP posts:
mrsmalcolmreynolds · 22/02/2021 07:43

That sounds like an excellent start! How does he feel about it? As PP suggested, keeping a chart is a really good idea.

RamblingFar · 22/02/2021 07:52

Hope the alarm works.

If not, as prior posters have said, it shouldn't be a problem for any school or Beaver/Scout sleepovers. I've taken children on both and it's not been an issue. The teachers and leaders should be used to it.

vjg13 · 22/02/2021 08:05

That sounds like a great start! SmilePlease keep us updated.

nicknamehelp · 22/02/2021 08:10

Ask for a referral to school nurse. We did and after making sure his bladder had capacity we were lent an alarm. It worked within a week and no accidents since.

Thirtyrock39 · 22/02/2021 08:13

As well as avoiding blackcurrant avoid fizzy drinks and caffeine as they can all irritate the bladder.
Also rule out constipation as a full bowel reduces bladder capacity
The only thing I would disagree with is restricting drinks at night. It's more important to drink well through the day and drink lots through the day- there isn't a cut off time for drinks although obviously you don't want to be drinking loads right before bed. As long as you double void you don't need to stop drinks at a certain time.
Alarms have about a 50:50 success rate. If it's a hormonal cause - common up to about the age of 7/8- then the alarm is less likely to be effective and medication is a better solution.

WoolieLiberal · 22/02/2021 12:15

Keep it up. Just because it didn’t work for us doesn’t mean it won’t work for you.

Always worth trying multiple things. Keep off the squash! And good luck x

Original poster
ChipsCheeseAndBeans · 23/02/2021 06:34

Night 2 not as successful as night 1. Up twice but alarm did not wake him and he had already emptied his bladder by the time we got to him.

OP posts:
GraciousPiglet · 23/02/2021 06:37

@GraciousPiglet that is what our second night was like. Hang in there!

Wiredforsound · 23/02/2021 06:49

We got the EasyDry for my DS when he was 8. Your experience of it sounds similar to mine. My DS slept with me for the first few nights so I could get to him immediately. The noise is terrifying! But he was dry in a week.

SmednotaSmoo · 23/02/2021 06:58

Following with interest. DS is 8, has never had a dry night, and frequently floods his nappies (as in, there’s too much wee for a nappy to hold). We’ve tried an alarm but though it would wake us on a different floor, he was oblivious. We tend to lift him now at around 10 because if we don’t, he will have flooded his nappy (the 8-15 ones) by 2am. On the waiting list for the child continence clinic.