My son is 11 and still wets the bed! Help!?

Question

He's been checked medically and docs said outside of some constipation from time to time(can play tricks with the bladder) he's just a deep sleeper and theres nothing we can do. Does anyone have any ideas? Been in a similar situation? He doesnt wet a little- he wakes up swimming!

I cut out drinks before bed, he wears goodnights for older kids, and he has a hospital mattress that he can wipe off. He goes to bed at 9 and we wake him at 1 to go again, still wakes up wet. He's been on meds- makes him VERY moody! This is why I dont know what to do!

Answer 1

Hi,
I had the same exact problem with my boy at 11, if you’re like me and found the thrill of changing soaked sheets worn out quick! I need to say that his body is still developing and not to be mad at him, it really isn’t his fault. I highly recommend taking him to a urologist, my doctor gave me a script for this nasal spray, I really didn’t think it would work but was willing to do anything to help him and save him from the humiliation as he grows older, low and behold all we needed was 3 refills and it stopped,"I think about it and get happy giggle inside" he's 13 now and hasn’t had an accident since 11, just remember to take it nightly. I have to admit I had the same issue as a child all the way up to 14years old, and what a humiliating experience to go through, I wished they had this when was a child growing up! My parents purchased an evil product called the wee-alert and what it would do is set off an alarm in addition to sending you an electric charge! NO FUN!

DEFINETLY TRY THIS!
Brand Name- Desmopressin
Chemical Name- DDAVP, Stimate desmopressin acetate

Desmopressin can be taken as a pill or a nasal spray.


How It Works

Desmopressin acts on the kidneys to reduce the amount of urine produced at night. Its effects last between 7 and 12 hours.


Why It Is Used

Desmopressin is used in the treatment of bed-wetting (primary nocturnal enuresis) in children age 6 and older. Desmopressin may be used for some children when other treatments have been unsuccessful; it is usually not used until other treatments have been tried first. It may also be used on a temporary basis, such as when a child has a special overnight event.

How Well It Works

Desmopressin is usually effective when used for a short period of time, such as during times of emotional stress or during overnight trips or camping trips.

Children who wet the bed 4 nights a week or more can expect to have fewer wet nights when they take desmopressin.

Desmopressin appears to be more effective in children older than 9. 1

Children with a family history of bed-wetting seem to have more success with desmopressin than with other treatments.

Desmopressin usually does not cure bed-wetting.

Most children have fewer nights with accidental wetting when taking desmopressin. However, only about 25% stop wetting completely for 14 or more days in a row while taking the drug. 2, 1
Once treatment with desmopressin is stopped, 50% to 90% relapse into their usual pattern of bed-wetting. 2

Side Effects

Side effects of desmopressin are not common but may include:

Headache.
Abdominal pain.
Nausea.
A slight rise in blood pressure and sudden redness (flushing) of the face.
Nasal discomfort or stuffiness and nosebleeds, when taken in the nasal spray form.
A very rare but serious side effect of desmopressin is severe water retention that causes an imbalance of sodium and water in the body (called water intoxication, or hyponatremia). Water intoxication can lead to coma or death. Some signs of water intoxication are drowsiness (lethargy), vomiting, and nausea. To avoid this serious side effect, children taking desmopressin should not drink more than 8 ounces of liquids during the 2 to 3 hours just before bedtime.

See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)


What To Think About

Desmopressin often is used along with behavioral training to treat accidental wetting.

The pill form of desmopressin has been shown to be as effective as the nasal form. 2 The pill form is often easier to give to children.

If the nasal spray form of desmopressin is used, a child with a stuffy or runny nose caused by allergies may need to take an antihistamine along with desmopressin. This will improve absorption of desmopressin. However, most children with stuffy or runny noses can take the pill form instead.

Desmopressin is not recommended for:

Any child younger than 4.
Any child who may be prone to a serious water and sodium imbalance (hyponatremia).
Children with high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, or other conditions that affect the release of urine from the kidneys.
Children who are taking desmopressin need to drink less liquid in the evening to prevent water retention.

Desmopressin is more expensive than other forms of treatment for bed-wetting.

Best of luck to you and yours!
-Charlie

Answer 2

do a little research on bedwetting and look for alarm products. My parents bought a device that was essentially 2 metal screens attached to an alarm. You put a pillowcase over the top screen and when the pillowcase gets wet, the screens contact setting off the alarm. I think the rules were I had to wake someone up, go into the bathroom and splash water on my face and then use the toilet. The idea is to train your son to wake when he needs to go. It worked for me in less than a month and I was about 12 when my mom found it.Just make sure your son doesn't feel like an outcast or that something is wrong with him. He's the kind of kid that could easily sleep through an earthquake, that can be considered a good thing!

Answer 3

I was a bed wetter until I was about 8. It was so horrible. It really helped a lot to do exercises while I was urinating (example: when he goes to the bathroom have him start to pee and then stop the stream...do this several times each time he goes to the bathroom). It really helped me strengthen my bladder. I did this for a few months and after that I just stopped peeing in bed. He can even do those kegel exercises when he's not urinating...it will help! I used to think there was no hope also...it was so frustrating. I never had to go on medication, but I did have those beepers that wake you up (waste of money, I was such a heavy sleeper I didn't even hear it).

He'll grow out of it! Try not to stress.

Answer 4

I have a cousin whho had the exact same situation. They didn't stop until they were 14 years old. It is usually just something you can grow out of it. When they were young the doctor gave them a special little "beeper" so that everytime their pants/pull-ups got wet, the beeper would sense it and start beeping really loudly to wake up the child.It helps a lot because it gets the child used to waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. It also helps to set an alarm clock for around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. Good luck!

Answer 5

We are experiencing the same issue with our 10 year-old.
We have tried medication, 2 different types of alarms, setting an alarm clock, cutting out drinks - the works. We were told basically the same thing by a pediatric urologist. We use the GoodNites pull ups, which help contain the mess, most of the time. We do have leaks, from time to time (usually the night I have washed all the bedding :) Be sure your son knows there are other kids out there with the same problem, and be as supportive as you can. It is really traumatic for kids this age to be dealing with this issue, and can cause huge self-esteem issues. If he is reluctant to do over nights with friends, offer to do them at your house, or talk to a trusted parent who can help him get in and out of his pull up if he goes to a friend's house. If you haven't tried the bed alarms, it is worth a try. The first one we tried was the size of a pager, and it drove the kid crazy. We did find one that was worn on the wrist with leads that attached to the underpants, but it didn't work for us. My son felt a lot better after hearing his teacher experienced the same problem, but it she outgrew it when she was 12. Hang in there - best of luck to you both.

Answer 6

my son just quit wetting the bed at 12. It seemed as though stress during the school week was contributing to the problem. Once we switched him into another school, the problem was solved. Perhaps there are stressors causing your son to wet the bed. I know my son didn't let us know just how stressed he was until after we had switched schools, and the bed-wetting stopped! Does your son wet the bed every night, or only sometimes? Perhaps keeping a diary of what happens during his day may proove useful. Also, we tried a medication for our son, to slow the production of urine down, It didn't work. Good Luck!

Answer 7

Cut all liquids a couple of hours before bedtime, make sure he goes before he goes to bed and then you may need to wake him up after 4-5 hours and have him go in the middle of the night. Over time he will get used to getting up and do it on his own.
My husband wet the bed until he was 12.

Answer 8

the first, and most simple action you can take is having him wear those underwear for older bed wetters. i know, at the age of 11 he probably won't be a huge fan of them, but it's better than waking up wet each morning!

also, i think you may want to have him see someone (a child therapist perhaps). sometimes bed wetting is due to anxiety (which could just be part of his personality, i am surely not saying you have anything to do with it), and stress.

I used to work at kindergarden (and although these kids were younger) we always looked at issues that were happening at home or what type of interactions they had with other kids when they had spouts of time that they were "mat" wetting.

good luck.

Answer 9

no idea, my brother use to wet the bed probably around that age, but i take it he had stopped, and then it just started again? But then he ended up sleepwalking to the toilet.
Don't let him drink before bed and make sure he goes to the toilet before he goes to bed, not sure if you have already tried.
Or put one of those plastic sheets on the bed if you're lucky he'll get so annoyed by it that he'll just get up and go to the toilet :)

Answer 10

One of my children wet the bed occaisionally on up through his teenage years. So did my siblings and I. The doctor said our bladders were still maturing. We use to take pills for ours. I later found out that the pill was similar to Benedryl. He will outgrow this.