Nearly 10, still bedwetting – tried everything (dyspraxia + enuresis)

[Chemisett]

Hi,
I’m posting here as my son (nearly 10) has dyspraxia and still wets the bed every night. He has primary enuresis, he’s never been dry at night. He’s under the continence nurse and we’ve tried everything that’s been suggested: fluid intake changes, alarm therapy (which didn’t work at all), and medication.

He’s been on desmopressin for over a year now and is on the higher dose, but it only works some nights. There’s no pattern. Some nights he stays dry, others he wets the bed, sometimes several nights in a row. We’ve gone back to using nappies at night because I couldn’t keep up with washing sheets every day.

He was also prescribed laxatives due to suspected constipation, but even on a reduced dose, he started soiling himself in the day. It really knocked his confidence and he was begging me to stop, so I did.

I know there’s no magic answer, but I just wondered if anyone else has been through this with a child with additional needs? When (if ever) did it stop? Was there anything that helped that we might not have tried?

Feeling pretty worn down and just looking for advice or solidarity. Thank you.

Are you sure the soiling in the daytime wasn’t overflow?

If things like fluid management, resolving constipation, alarms, and desmopressin haven’t worked, there are other medications that can be tried. Sometimes they are taken as well as desmopressin and sometimes instead of. For example, sometimes anticholinergics or tricyclic antidepressants (these types of antidepressants are actually used for lots of other things) are used. But they may want you to retry ruling out constipation first.