Night training in older child frightened of alarming noises any help?

[magso]

I am wondering about buying a ?vibrating bedwetting alarm to try and get ds dry. I have heard tales of alarms being useless due to sweating, or movement. I am worried how he will tolerate the wires (sensory issues+++)The enurisis clinic are not used to dcs like ds and only have very loud alarms to borrow ( and a long waiting list).
Ds is 9. He has LD and ASD (verbal but like a young child)and uses medication at night (desmopressin) to reduce night time frequency (he obviously doesnt produce his own hormone yet!). The medication has reduced the night wetting to mostly once/twice nightly - a huge improvement on all our quality of life as nappy leakage is our fact of life!!
He has never been dry at night,(about 5 times in the last 9 years) and it has been a long haul to get him half way reliable by day at last. We now see a paed ( for constipation control) who felt we should shame him for daytime wetting (not call it an accident for instance) so that he learns social norms. I think this approach is helping.
What do you think? Has any one with a child who is petrified of fire arlarms found a solution? Any brands to recommend? I've given up lifting him - he is too heavy for even dh now - both of us have serious back troubles!!
Thanks in advance!

My daughter has SLD and had never had a dry night. We used demo melts when she was about 7.5 and this reduced her urine output overnight but I bought the alarm type bed wetting alarm and then reduced her desmo melts by 60mg each night. She had dry nights within a week or so with no desmopressin. It was like a miracle at the time and the best money I have ever spent.

I waited for a referral to the bed wetting clinic but didn't find them very good so I just looked on the internet at alarms. I bought 2 sensors as you have to fit it into a panty liner and it helped to have a spare ready but they are very sensitive to a few drops of urine. I put velcro on the ouside of her PJs for the alarm and threaded the wire through the button up.

She is now 10 and will always get up to use the loo in the night but it seems like her brain has been retrained. She will have a very rare accident especially if ill.

Hi, I think thats great VJG. My daughter is 11, not learning disability or disabled at all and is still bedwetting. We have uased desmotabs, alarms etc to no avail. Son whos 8 is down syndrome, SLD and other probs doubly incontinent day and night. Well done.
Magso son also has severe sensory processing disorder. From what I remember of my daughters alarm it wasn't that loud. You could let him play with it to get used to the sound. HTH.

Thankyou vjg and enigma. vjg it is brilliant that the arlarm worked so quickly for dd. Well done dd! Did she have trouble with loud noises? It gives me hope! I had wondered wether to buy a pj clip or a bedmat sensor. It sound like a clip should work if i fit it into the nappy pants or pad. Thankyou for the tip about buying 2 sensors.

Magso, the alarm was loud. For the first few nights I would wake up with my heart racing thinking it was the smoke alarm! It needed to go off a few times for her to know what it meant. It worked progressively, at first normal wet bed, then just wet bottoms, then she would be sat on the loo having been woken as the first few drops of urine touched it.

I think the bed mat sensor will be a lot less sensitive. Hope you can find a flashing/vibrating clip one.

Thanks for your advice vjd, I have ordered a flashing/vibrating clip on alarm (malem) on its way. Wish us luck

Good Luck Magso.They do seem to have a good success rate.

It may help to co sleep at first with the alarm being silent and then you can help him wake up too just for the first night or so. The first 3 or 4 nights were very disturbed and if I did it again I would take time off work, it was like having a newborn.

I did a chart too, (more for me!) to see progress and put times wet or on toilet etc

it is actually the fear of the alarm going off that subconsciously alters the wetting behaviour - so unless your ds is likely to panic and hurt himself, then the fear will actually help the behaviour faster.
we've been through desmotabs, oxybutinin and an alarm for dd1, and just had to buy a new one for ds1.
it is a malem medical ultimate 1 which i have to say is absolutely brilliant. 8 different (and extremely hideous) alarm noises (which can be set) as well as a flashing light and vibrate function. all can be used independently, so if you wanted to try without the noise initially you could...

i swear by alarms tbh - if you think that once the noise was switched off that ds would calm down enough to pee lol, i'd say the fear would be a big help.

(i've got one whose noise sensitive and suffers from panic attackes at night as well lol, so only you know if it would be doable )

good luck