Trying out a night alarm to get DS out of night nappies. But need to know the instructions that go with it. Can anyone help?

[worriermum]

I've posted before about DS (now 7.4) not being dry, even for one night. We're now trying a night alarm in desperation. A friend has lent us a good one - Malem. But all the success stories on the Net emphasise the need to 'follow the instructions to the letter'. But as we have borrowed the alarm from a friend, we dont have the instructions. CAn anyone help? What is the night time regime recommended by the manufacturers?

Any other experience or advice around a night alarm will also be greatly welcome.

Thanks in advance.

this one?

Crispy I cant open the link. It's a PDF. Can you tell me the website address? It's the Malem with noise and vibration

It is for models M03, 4, 5 and 6. Which is yours?

Not sure but my 10 yr old had was referred to the eurnsis (sp?) nurses & had 2 alarms - 1 with a sensor pad = nightmare for him as even a drop of sweat set it off so we had to return it & got a different type where he had to wear 2 pair of pants & slip a sensor in between them. This was better & less sensitive to sweat. The alarm bit then clipped on to his pjs. The rules were 2 wees before bed, no drinking an hour before bed etc. In fact the main rules were drink the majority of fluids before 4pm with only 1 200ml drink of milk/water with dinner.

Not sure if this is what you meant but HTH, he has been dry for a while now & it is a huge relief!!!

Oh lord I dont know and I cant check as DS is asleep, with the alarm tucked into his pj's. THanks so much for having a look for me. But it's not that I dont know how to use the actual alarm. It's more that apparently there is some sort of system to go with it all - do I lift or not lift in the beginning; when do I wake him, can I use pull ups with the alarm - those sorts of questions.

Thanks again for your help

There are 20 pages of instructions dependent on the model!! I have C&P the main bit

Instructions for the MO3, MO4, MO5 & MO6 alarms.
For Bed-Mat alarms see page 10

1. Insert sensor plug into alarm socket making

sure the Easy-Clip© Sensor lever is lifted up (see diagram). Do not unplug unless for cleaning or replacement.

1. Carefully attach the alarm to pyjama jacket

or night dress close to the shoulder and thread cord inside top as shown. For small children, loop and tie cord to shorten length. Attach to material before wearing garment if preferable. Optional shoulder clips are available for clinics on request if you do not wish to use the safety pin (These clips are universal to all the body alarms, see diagram on page 12). Clip to near shoulder clothing.

1. For Vibrating alarms, attach on the inside of close fitting top or

T-shirt close to the collar bone.

1. For VCA (Light Emitting), attach in a position on client?s or child?s

clothing where it can readily be seen by carer or nursing staff. Alternatively, attach alarm to the end of the bed where it can be seen by nursing staff and secure sensor/mat under bed sheet.

1. For Easy-Clip© Sensor:

Lift sensor clip lever, attach to the outside of close fitting underwear, at the location most likely to get wet first, by inserting material inside sensor jaws at the front and closing lever (Dispose of insulating tag if present). 3 Secure the Easy-Clip onto the material by pressing down the lever. IMPORTANT Regularly CLEAN Easy-Clip Sensor in soapy water, rinse & shake dry. IMPORTANT DO NOT PLACE ANY MATERIAL UNDER THE SECURING LEVER. Place underwear material into mouth (jaws) at the of the Easy-Clip . 4

1. For Standard Sensor: Cut

off one end of the absorbent pad and insert the sensor in between the layers. Anchor with the crocodile clip to prevent sensor from being pulled out. Uncover the backing strip and stick the pad inside a pair of close fitting pants, insuring the sensor is located where it will come in contact with the flow of urine. Boys who prefer not to use pads can sandwich the sensor between TWO PAIRS of cotton briefs (not boxer shorts) or place within fold of Y-Front, and anchor by locating the crocodile clip on the outside below the waistband of the pants. Sellotape may also be used to fasten the sensor plate correctly in the area of urine flow. The sensor plate and crocodile clip must not be in direct contact with the skin.Avoid nylon/polyester underwear.

1. For Bed-Mat Sensor: See instruction on page 10.

PLEASE NOTE THAT SENSOR & CLIPARE GOLD PLATED. Please make sure the sensor plate and the crocodile clip are attached between the two pairs of pants and do not come in contact with the skin. Outer Pants Inner Pant

1. When the alarm is activated, try and stop any more urine from

being released from the bladder. Remove the Standard sensor and wipe dry with a cloth. Remove the Easy-Clip sensor and keep the lever open. Do NOT unplug the cable from the body of the alarm. Stop the sound or vibration by pressing the small reset button, use the lavatory to completely empty the bladder, replace the sensor into a fresh pad or clip to a dry pair of pants as before. Always test alarm by wetting sensor or closing the Easy-Clip lever before use. Parental help in waking up children when the alarm sounds is reassuring and helpful especially during the first few nights. Vibrating ?PCT?- Personal Continence Trainer a. The vibration signals the start of urination - retrain the bladder by tensioning the pelvic floor muscles with practice. It is possible to stop urination until the toilet is reached. b. Note down the times of urination as they occur. Gradually, over a period of time, a pattern will be apparent and the bladder can be emptied before wetting. Light Emitting ?VCA? - Visual Continence Alarm a. Can be used to give visual indication of urination so that the client is changed to prevent prolonged exposure of skin to urine with associated risk and complications. b. Can be used to develop a toileting regime by tabulating the client?s urination times. A pattern can be established and the need for a bedpan or use of toilet anticipated. This can result in a significant reduction in management cost as well as an improvement in client?s moral. MO4 & MO4S Ultimate 1 Alarm The choice of Sound/s Only, Sound/s and Vibration or Vibration Only is selectable by sliding the lever inside the battery compartment to setting 1, 2, or 3 accordingly. See diagram on page 13 & 14. MO5 Ultimate 1 + Record Alarm For choice selection of sound, vibration and recording see diagram on page 15. 5 Important l Rapid wakening on hearing or feeling the alarm is vital for success. Most children including bedwetters tend to sleep soundly and heavily at home. Better results are obtained if Parents/Guardians help to wake the child up on hearing the alarm. The child must wake up sufficently to be able to recall the event in the morning. l Use the progress chart. Great encouragement is derived by seeing steady improvement. l Always praise the user for a dry night; never scold or chastise for a wet night. Encouragement is the key to success. You can not help a child who does not want to help him or her self. Try and find out why they do not want to be helped, it could be some other problem. l To avoid relapse use the alarm for a minimum of two weeks after dryness has been achieved. At the same time, increase fluid intake before sleep to achieve over learning and avoid possibility of relapsing at a later stage. Avoid fizzy drinks, tea, coffee & milk. Hints l The Rest Button will stop the alarm from sounding only if the Standard Sensor plate is dry or the Easy-Clip© lever is lifted open and removed from the underwear. l Do not unplug the sensor from the Alarm. l There is no on/off switch that could allow the alarm to be switched off and ignored. Current drain on the batteries is minute except when the alarm is sounding. l The sensor is positively locked to the alarm to prevent accidental disconnection. However, the sensor can be unlocked and detached for cleaning or replacement. Do not unplug the sensor from the alarm during normal use. l It is intentional that one of the sounds of the Eight Tone Alarm (8T) does not stop immediately upon pressing the reset button. l Regularly clean the Easy-Clip© sensor in soapy water, rinse and shake dry to prevent ?fluff? and urine accumulation inside the jaws. 6

From briefly reading the user manuals they do not seem to give any guidance at all re lifting etc. Sorry!

We used an alarm with DS1 - with success after about 5 weeks of very wakeful nights. (We were getting the alarm triggered at least twice a night at first.) We were told not to lift because the alarm depends on conditioning the child to wake when she/he needs to go and if you lift him/her you bypass the normal weeing cycle and it may take longer to achieve the Pavlovian response!!

Thank you both so much. Crispy, that is SO useful - I really appreciate you finding and then providing all that information. It seems the answer to everything is to be found on MN.

DS actually refused to reattach the alarm last night, after waking at 11.30pm. Tonight I managed to persuade him to give it another go. I read himn all the positive reviews on Amazon to persuade him to give it a go. I PRAY it starts to work soon...

Cat, was your DS happy to use the alarm? My DS just hates it, and hates the exhaustion that goes with being woken a few times a night from a deep sleep.

Hold thumbs for me for tonight !

He was quite happy in nappies until he discovered that DD1 was no longer wearing a nappy to bed and a slightly younger cousin said that nappies were for babies. Then he became really keen to be dry at night so last summer (he was 9 in October), we got an alarm and by the end of the school holidays, he was dry at least 5 nights a week and almost completely dry by his birthday. He was overjoyed with the result even if he had not appreciated being woken up (nor did we, though DH who'd had a miserable time as a bed-wetter at a boarding prep-school with an unsympathetic, if not downright sadistic, matron, was wonderfully supportive of him and did a lot of the middle of the night changing. He said how much he wished such a thing had been available to him and how much bullying and unkindness he would have been spared.) At first we put the alarm in his (DS's!!) nappy, then moved to underpants under plastic pants, which cut down the bedding washing, than after a fortnight or so we found he was beginning to wake without being more than a bit damp, we moved to the two pairs of underpants sandwiching the alarm sensor. We got an alarm that was wireless and had a repeater sound box in our room. Funnily enough DS was completely dry when we stayed with my parents at Christmas and his cousin who had been rude to him had two accidents. I was quite proud of him when he said quietly to me but not to cousin, "it's not me who needs nappies now is it, Mummy?"

Last night went well!! I cant believe it. DS was so resistant, and I persuaded him to give it a go. He woke at 1230am and then not again until 6am, and for the first time with the 6am wake up, he finished his wee in the bathroom.

I am ecstatic. Despite all my motivational speeches, I was secretly convinced that it could never, ever work. Now I am praying that DS agrees to teh night alarm again tonight, and that the progress continues.

Thanks again for the support and shared experience.

Good luck to you all - perhaps if it is working you could tell him how much more comfy it is to wake up in a dry bed and how the alarm will help that happen quite soon? Although he was keen to try anything I do remember that DS1 did not understand how it could help him by going off after he had woken up already wet and we had to explain that eventually his body would begin to recognize the signals sooner and sooner.

Hi worriermum - it does take a while for children to get into a good routine of using the alarm so sounds as though you are on the right track - it can take up to about 3-4 mths of continued use for it to work - the aim being to have 14 consecutive dry nights before you stop using it. I work for a charity that gives out free advice and info re bedwetting and other childhood continence problems - feel free to give us a ring if you need any extra advice 0161 834 2001 and good luck :-)

PS meant to give the website address of the Charity PromoCon www.promocon.co.uk there is a nice little booklet 'Talk about bedwetting' which you can download for free :-)

Oh Potty that is brilliant, thank you. I am not in the UK but I see that I can even skype that number. I am really thrilled to have that. DP is away (again :( ! ) and I have no family or old friends near. And I am a bit reluctant to talk to mums at the school about this as my DS is very private about it all, and would be so humiliated if his friends heard about this. So its really good to know there is some place I can call on if it all goes wrong. Parenting can be so isolating: I love MN.

And Cat, thank you, that IS a useful line to use (about the dry bed). I'll try it tonight if things flag.

The main problem I am having is that wretched alarm just will not switch off, even after it has been removed from any source of moisture.

Hi - there should be a little button on the side to press - failing that the sensor wire connects to the sound box with a little jack clip (like on a telephone socket) just disconnect it (dont pull) and the sound will stop :-)

Potty I do all that and it doesnt work!!!! Either me or DS hold the button down for ages - as in 5 full minutes -but when we release the button the fecking things starts buzzing again. This after we have reclipped to dry undies. So then i take out the cable at the telephone jack place and all is quiet, but as soon as I reinsert it so that DS and I can go back to sleep with the alarm in place, the buzzing starts up again. It makes what is already a challenging wake up in the night into a marathon!

We are using a malem alarm, if that makes any difference

Hi Worriermum - it should stop just by pressing the button -may be the alarm is faulty or that you need a new sensor ?? I can understand your frustration!!- why dont you email the company [email protected] and see what they suggest :-)

Thank you, that is a VERY useful email address to have. I certainly will email them. I also looked on the web until the wee hours (oh groan, I swear that was unintended) and eventually found some advice to wash the the sensor with warm soapy water. Thanks again for the address.

I'm going to follow this thread as my son is 8 1/2 and still wet, we tried desmomelt 6 months ago with no success and were recommended to leave it and try again later, you have to wait until the natural drug in the body that stops children producing urine at night builds to a high enough level for the demomelt to work.
We've just tried again and we have had our first EVER dry night, the look on my sons face was amazing, bless. In the last 10 days we've had 4 dry nights so definately making progress.