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Children's health

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Original poster

Those with older bedwetters- when did it eventually stop?

26 replies

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 17/04/2019 20:51

Ds is 12 almost 13 and still wetting what I would call regularly. We’re not stressed at all by it and he has lovely friends and school that are supportive when needed but I’m just looking for a little light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve been reassured it will stop soon enough but even friends that were late getting dry are sorted now and we’re starting to feel quite lonely!

Give me hope please!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

AtSea1979 · 17/04/2019 20:54

Ah I came to say around 10 or 11 but I see your DS is older than that.
My DS was worse when he was tired so had strict bedtime routine. No drinks after 6pm, bed by 8pm etc. Couldn’t always do it though and that’s when he seemed to be worse.

Sunshine1239 · 17/04/2019 21:01

Dd was about 9. In the end we realised it was laziness in part. When we got tougher it stopped instantly, proving that in her case she just couldn’t be bothered.

Original poster

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 17/04/2019 21:03

Thank you. Yes sleep length and depth is a huge contributor! He regularly sleeps 12 hours still and almost never wakes for a wee or because he’s wet, he just finds out in the morning poor lad.

OP posts:

grannycab · 17/04/2019 21:08

try a buzzer alarm.

Exhausted18 · 17/04/2019 21:09

I had a family member who was a late bedwetter. He had a neurological condition that made it harder for him to wake up when he needed to go. He was in pull-ups until age 12. He had been wetting every other day or so and then suddenly he had gone a week without wetting the bed so he got rid of the pull-ups and that was that. He had an odd accident here and there after this but it was rare.

Just want to give you hope that it could all fall into place very quickly for your son in the end, OP
His mother did get into a habit for a while of waking him at midnight just before she went to bed and getting him to go to the toilet. Appreciate that might not suit every child but it helped avoid accidents which has a negative effect on him (If he had an accident he would be more likely to have one the next night if that makes sense).

Original poster

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 17/04/2019 21:10

We have granny ! Honestly I can’t think of anything we haven’t tried and this is probably a matter of waiting for him to grow out of it. I just wonder when that might be....

OP posts:

Original poster

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 17/04/2019 21:15

Thank you exhausted interesting about the link with not waking again.

OP posts:

AuditAngel · 17/04/2019 21:25

Have you been to the enuresis clinic? DS went when he was 8. We were told he wasn’t drinking enough through the day, so too much in the evening, which then hadn’t cleared his system by bedtime.

Summary of our advice received was:

6 glasses of water through the day (we did 5, breakfast, school break, school lunch, after school and with dinner)

No dark drinks (cola, blackcurrant) as the6 irritate bladder

No milk in the evening (fat content makes them more likely to wet -I can’t remember the science)

2 weeks at bedtime. One as you start getting ready, then another last thing before turning out the light.

Exhausted18 · 17/04/2019 21:28

@Georgie Yep, he could still sleep through a tornado and he's nearly 19 now. Thankfully, wetting the bed is a far distant memory though. Sometimes it's just a waiting game unfortunately.

SauvignonBlanche · 17/04/2019 21:36

The enuresis clinic warned me that it could take until puberty and they were right, DS was 14/15 years before he stopped but it just happened one day.

As adults relapses can happen especially when alcohol is involved so I’ve always made sure he has a mattress cover.

Original poster

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 17/04/2019 21:40

That’s exactly DS- he’s been up and had whole conversations with us until we suddenly realise he’s actually still asleep! He would have no recollection of it in the morning. Has form for being able to sleep anyway and for extraordinary lengths of time.

Yes we were referred to the enuresis clinic at 7, they were ok but as he got older they seemed to give up a bit! He’s medicated and currently under a wonderful GP with a specialism in paediatrics.

OP posts:

Original poster

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 17/04/2019 21:42

Yes puberty is what the GP has alluded to, I have an older son so we have a rough idea of when that could be.

OP posts:

SharesinClarks · 17/04/2019 21:42

Both my boys are under the enuresis clinic. I have been told that they are not producing the hormone that reduces the amount of urine produced at night. They take desmopressin which keeps them dry. Neither of them wake up during the night so would wake up wet in the morning. Speak to your gp about being referred.

Titsywoo · 17/04/2019 21:47

Well mine is 12 and still wetting so no idea! He goes through days of nothing then it starts again. Usually when he forgets to go to the loo before sleep. I hope the puberty thing is true! We have done the enuresis clinic many times but nothing worked and I don't want to give him the drugs they use.

cakeallday · 17/04/2019 21:49

Interesting that he is a heavy sleeper and doesn't notice he's wet. My son was the same but it only went on till he was 9. I know that is no use to you! People who didn't understand seemed to think I wasn't bothering to train him or something

Medication didn't work on DS. It wasn't a hormone problem. I think it was a combination of a small bladder capacity (which he still has!) and very deep sleeping. In the end we had the school nurse advise 2 litres of water a day without fail, ensuring he is not constipated and a bed wetting alarm. He seemed to hate the thought of the alarm going off so much, it did the trick.

I feel for you and hope it resolves soon.

Lulutheboss · 17/04/2019 21:50

My son stopped wetting every night at age 11. He has an accident approximately once a fortnight now.
We went through the whole referral, desmo tablets, etc with no luck. He was wearing pull ups throughout this time.
I eventually removed the pull ups and prepared myself more mountains of washing.
After a couple of weeks of tired nights and alarms set for all kinds of ungodly hours, we cracked it.
It’s worth noting that this problem is often hereditary. My son’s dad was 14 when he finally stopped wetting.
Good luck!

Diangled · 17/04/2019 21:58

For DS it was 14/15 & definitely tied in with puberty. DS had delayed puberty so needed a series of testosterone injections. He stopped bedwetting very quickly after that. He used to wet several times a week & we had also tried everything. He is quite deaf so the alarm woke up the rest of the house whilst he snored on! He has some SN so we attributed it to that but actually he just needed the correct hormones I think.

It’s been about 8 months now & I finally got rid of the pull ups last weekend .

You sound so lovely & calm about it . Good luck!

Myusernameismud · 17/04/2019 22:08

DS is 10 and still in pull ups. He is a very heavy sleeper (once fell out of bed and didn't even notice, he remained asleep on the floor until I woke DH to lift him back into bed)
We've been to enuresis clinic, who recommended an alarm or desmo. DS was sharing a room with DD at that point, who is a very light sleeper so we tried desmo first. One tablet had minimal effect, 2 tablets had a really bizarre effect on his temperament and he started having full on toddler style tantrums at the age of 8 (he was otherwise a fairly placid child)
GP said it definitely wasn't due to the desmo, but after a quick chat with the pharmacist, we found out it's a very rare, but definitely real side effect of desmo.

Anyway, that was a bit off topic, but it's reassuring to know it does go away eventually. DS isn't hugely bothered by it, although he hasn't ever had a sleepover at a friends house. Possibly connected also, but he's been referred for an ASD assessment so could be connected to that, but equally could be just one of those things.

Myusernameismud · 17/04/2019 22:10

Oh meant to say we stopped the desmo after the tantrum incidents and he was back to his normal self within a day.
All the time it doesn't bother DS, it doesn't bother us. But if a time comes when he starts to get upset or embarrassed about it, we'll probably go back to the enuresis clinic and maybe try an alarm now. Although he'll probably sleep through that, if he's gone to bed without pull ups on he won't wake in the night if he's wet.

PickwickThePlockingDodo · 17/04/2019 22:32

My DS was quite old and still bed wetting, what worked for us was keeping a food diary.

I don't know why but certain foods definitely irritated him, in his case it was tomatoes. Might be worth a try if you haven't already?

Original poster

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 18/04/2019 06:53

We were advised by the clinic to ditch the pull ups at 7 and he hasn’t been keen to go back to them so that’s fine. We have a tumble dryer so it’s no bother to get bedding washed and dried quickly. He’s very competent at making up a bed now!

The food diary isn’t something we’ve done actually, I’ve not heard of a possible link before so that is definitely worth looking in to.

OP posts:

bakebakebake · 19/04/2019 11:11

I was a bed wetter until around 13 and it just randomly stopped.

I'd been to the docs and had sprays etc but nothing worked.

Molly357 · 19/04/2019 20:39

I’d be really interested as to any information that the clinics gave. My son is 7 and Desmo melts are working but he wets the bed the moment the pull ups are removed. Dry in pull ups with medication.

Wincher · 19/04/2019 20:48

My son is coming up for 9 and still soaking every morning - at the mo the 4-7 pull ups are a bit too small and so leak, and the 8-15 ones are too big and also leak! So having to change the bed every morning anyway despite the pull up. He saw a paediatrician just before Christmas for chronic stomach pain diagnosed as constipation, and the bed wetting can obviously tie in with that (though he has never been dry at night, unlike his younger brother who was dry at night by his third birthday, which at least reassured me I hadn't done anything wrong). DH took him to the appointment and apparently the doctor suggested getting an alarm, which we have totally failed to do, and he has a follow up appointment in a few weeks. We did try a cheap alarm a couple of years ago, but he is such a deep sleeper he slept through it, and we seem to have lost the alarm. Can anyone recommend an alarm we can buy now? I suspect the doctor will just put him on to desmopressin at the next appointment, but we should try the alarm again first.

Every summer we do try without pull ups while the weather is good, as we can dry washing outside, and I suppose we might as well start that agin now since he is leaking every night too.

Charismac · 20/04/2019 09:48

My DS has just turned 13 and still wets most nights. He sleeps heavily and has no clue. We've tried an alarm which woke me but not him. I tried sleeping in his room for a couple of weeks to wake him when the alarm went off in the hope of training him but that was ineffective. Desmopressin didn't work either. He's been seen by an incontinence nurse but discharged now. The only thing that impacts is routine. Plenty to drink am, nothing after 6pm generally keeps him dry but in warmer weather this is hard to stick to!

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