13 year old and bet wetting

Ellen - posted on 02/19/2010

My daughter wet for years during the day I am still not sure why she is now turning 18 I always chalked it up to laziness but when the doctor prescribed medicine she started wetting at night which she had never done before. They also put her thru many tests and a young girl being checked in the private area is not something I was comfortable with but they did. Anyway my son is a heavy sleeper and wet at night and last year I ordered the alarm from the bedwetting store that has I think 6 different alarms and vibration it worked great and after 2 months has been dry for over 1 yr. he is now 9. I would be leary of the meds due to side effects. I don't think they do enough follow up on patients after prescribing. Will they check the meds in the blood levels? He also didn't wake to alarm clocks set for 2 different times during the night the only one who woke up was the rest of the house. my daughter also had counselling so Good Luck

Coty - posted on 02/18/2010

I had dealt with this too and the Dr gave my daughter a nasal spray and combined with that and stopping drinking at 7 and going to the bathroom at least 2xs has made it stop. Eliminating caffiene if given to them also has been mentioned. The spray is a prescription spray its called desmopressin. Good luck.

Tina - posted on 02/17/2010

Hi Jennifer, Have you had the doctor run tests it could be her bladder maybe .. Has she always wet the bed or is this a new thing???

Traci - posted on 02/16/2010

My daughter was younger when she was wetting the bed, but I found this wonderful thing in a catalog, which is a variation on the bed alarm, which my brother had and it only woke me up, not him. Anyway, I don't remember what catalog it was in, but I would imagine you could find it on-line. It's simply a little thing you put in your undies, kind of like a pad, and it has a battery pack that you fasten to your night shirt. With the slightest dampness the siren goes off. My daughter was about 6-1/2, and after just shy of two weeks of using this devise, she no longer wet the bet. It was not cheap. It was around $80, but I didn't have to buy anymore pull-ups and she was happy as can be. It was the best money ever spent as far as I'm concerned. My sister-in-law used it for her daughter and it took a little longer for her, but it worked. Good luck!

Janelle - posted on 02/14/2010

Hi there my son is 11yrs and sometimes bedwets prob 0-1 per week. Right now he is on his way to school camp... even though I went through with him what to do if... and I spoke to his teacher regarding the 4am wake up... still crossing my fingers for him. Its not a nice thing to watch your child have to deal with. My boy was never really able to experience the whole "sleep-over" thing at friends when he was younger, but then we did use to have alot of family around who all knew so he would just go stay with cousins, he was very comfortable with it.

We have tried stopping drinks after 6pm - that didn't make much of a difference at all.

My son had his tonsils and adenoids out a couple of years back as he was a bit of a snorer and sometimes stopped breathing, then gasping for air at night due to obstructions... considering the amount of times this was waking him up at night (he went to a sleep clinic thats how we found this out) after the op we did notice a considerable improvement, but not completely

I set his alarm clock at 4am but he was sleeping through..
I then set my alarm clock at 4am and take him to the toilet myself - which also made a noticeable improvement

The one thing that made the most difference for my son was that he needed a firm bedtime everynight, he was just getting overtired and wasn't able to wake himself up during the night. Now that he is older sometimes he chooses to watch a movie on a Saturday night which runs past his bedtime, but if he wets, he knows why and its ok as he's at home and he usually will have an earlier bedtime if he wet the night before..

I've found there is no sure cure for bet wetting out there, its all about management until they grow out of it. I also have found that the cause is usually a mixture of things, so its about covering all angles. Good luck to you and your step daughter I really hope you can all find the answer among one of these posts on here!!

Eve - posted on 02/13/2010

Just relax and help her learn to deal with it. Heavy sleepers have that problem especially if they aren't getting enough rest. Youl'd be surprised how much rest a growing teen needs. She will eventually out grow it. There are occasional other factors that can have an effect. A low grade fever can cause bed wetting but the doctors won't tell you that. My DS would wet as a teen when he was starting to catch a cold. I agree that she should be taught to clean it up herself thus giving her some more privacy on the issue.

Jen - posted on 02/13/2010

Once you've ruled out all physical reasons, the best thing to do is manage it and hope she grows out of it. It runs in my family. I wet till I was 12, my brother till he was 14. My mother till about that age. My grandmother's brother never grew out of it and had to sleep in a chair. Just remember, she is not doing it on purpose. Anyone who thinks that has never woke up in a wet bed. It is not something to punish her over. Just make sure she (because she is old enough to do it now) knows to get up and change the bedding and that she cleans herself up. She can do the laundry for her bed too. In my family because we knew it was just one of those things, that's what we did.

If your doctor does suggest medication, be aware of the side effects. I was on oxybutynin after my son was born because I developed a slight bladder incontinence. It can dehydrate you very quickly without realizing it. I drink a LOT of water everyday and I still got dehydrated and had to be hospitalized. The dosage can always be adjusted. I am NOT saying anything against medication - i firmly believe that medications are a blessing to humanity but we just need to monitor it.

Good luck.

Monica - posted on 02/13/2010

I second the imipramine. It worked well for my son.

Jeanetta - posted on 02/12/2010

My son wet the bed until he was 15. We tried the bed alarm. He slept right through it. We tried the no drinking after 6, and all the other things people have mentioned here. His dr. said he would just eventually outgrow it. That is actually what happened. He just started not wetting the bed and never has since he was 15. It was very frustrating for him and heartbreaking for me. Unfortunately, we had to go through it. Hang in there, if there is nothing physically wrong then time is on your side at this point.

Andrea - posted on 02/11/2010

If the doctor tests her and says everything is okay with her, ask for a prescription of imipramine. It helps them stop.

Michelle Maire - posted on 02/11/2010

i wet the bed until i was 14yrs so did my two friends theres not really any thing you can do my sister also wet the bed and she had an alarm fitted to her bed that the doctors gave her but it didnt wake her up either i am a insulin dependent diabetic and that didnt help depending on my blood sugars she will grow out of it eventually does she stop at friend house on occasions and is she dry there i used to be but thats because i was too scared of going to sleep in case i did wet just time and encouragement but im sure she will stop by the time shes 14

Tanya - posted on 02/09/2010

She could have a medical reason for her issue. I suggest talking with her doctor and maybe having them run some tests to make sure everything is normal. Have you tried a bed alarm? I have heard that they have bed alarms for bed-wetting that sound when it detects moist. It basically conditions them to get up at night and use the bathroom. However, you doctor would be the best person to talk to in this situation.