Bed-wetting, 7.5 yo DS

[WindUpBird]

Hi, as title says my DS wets the bed most nights though has had a few periods of being dry. Sometimes this can last up to a week but then goes back to wetting most nights.

If you have experience of this, would you recommend seeking advice from GP, buying the alarm from the ERIC website? Waiting until he 'grows out of it'? I feel we need to do something about it now as there will soon be school residential trips etc which he is already saying he doesn't want to go on due to this issue.

Any other advice?
Thanks!

Hi Wind, I can feel your pain as my Dniece used to do that up until 14 years old. Although she was dry day and night by 3 years old once she started nursery(I'm from abroad, we have different school system) she started to wetting herself. Was he dry at night before? Have you seen a doctor with it. Most of the time is psychological.My sister took her some places but in the end she just grown out of it. She never went to school trips!!

I experienced this as a child, as did my partner (early 00's). He is of an age where a GP would refer to an enuresis clinic, but to save the GP hassle you can do this through your school nurse, she can give you the number. However they may have some work that they would like you to do with him first. So school nurse should be your port of call. As I said Ieexperienced this, an i remember the process vividly. My daughter is experiencing the same. First step I have taken is to go back to night time pants/nappy type things. Just to relieve that nightly burden. It won't set him back, it will just relax him until he knows the support is in place. Good luck, it is torturous for them and my heart goes out to him. But what I reinforce with mine is that everybody does it but how many grown ups do thy know who wear pull ups? None? That's because eventually it does stop.

Thanks for your responses. I will contact the school nurse and go from there. I was kind of hoping that an alarm would cure it but I suspect it may not and it's a lot of money... Alas he refuses to wear the night time pull ups as he finds them too hot and uncomfortable. So most nights we need to wash sheets, duvet, sometimes even the pillow...

I had this issue as a child and both dc's still wee at night. Eldest is 8. Apparently it can be hereditary. Most people produce a hormone (desmopressin sp?) which limits the amount of urine your body produces when you sleep. Most children produce this hormone at around 3-5 years. For a few, it doesn't happen til much later. As a child, I had alarms etc and nothing worked. I finally stopped in my mid teens

I've seen the GP about my dd and he explained the hormone situation. He has prescribed desmopressin which dd can take for 'special occasions' (I.e residentials and sleep overs). They are not for constant/long term use but are useful for those occasions.

As pp mentioned, if your dc has been dry at night and the wetting is a new thing, then the cause is more likely to be psychological rather than medical

There are alternatives to pull-ups which will save washing. They come both in the form of very absorbent underwear and also specially made absoremt and waterproof pyjamas - I think called Pjama. We have never tried them but a nephew aged 9 came to sat with us and they seemed to be very good, although of course they do need washing there was much less to wash than if a whole bed is wet. It might be worth googling bedwetter pants and Pjama. Our DS1 felt the same way about disposables when he got older and we tried them on holiday for him, in place of his then usual terries. He too said they were hot and sticky and there was too much plastic in contact with his skin so they weren't comfy - they also leaked because he slept on his side. HTH a bit - it does end as other posters have said and there may well be a hereditary element - DH suffered as a child and all our 5 have been later than many becoming dry at night. DS3, 4 tomorrow, still wets every night and only one of the others was dry before they were much older so we know what you are going through and I and my washing machine both sympathise.

Thanks, he has always been wet at night bar a few nights at a time when he has had dry nights, so I don't think it's psychological. I'd come across the pjama on a previous Google, so it's good to hear they are recommended, I think we'll invest in those. And the desmopressin would be great for sleepovers etc.