Nocturnal Enuresis: Boy age 11

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Hello,

My son, age 11, wets his bed almost every night or early morning. We have tried medication and the bedwetting alarm. At the end of the last school year, I started waking him about 2 hours after he went to bed, around 11pm, to take him to the bathroom. He would go pee and then back to bed, waking at 7am with a dry bed. So he could sleep for almost 8 hours and not wet the bed. However, since school started and his schedule changed, he has been wetting the bed again in the early morning hours. We started the alarm again, but he does not wake up at all when we use it. I have read many websites for ideas and info, i.e. WebMD, Mayo Clinic, etc. Any ideas would be very much appreciated. Best, Liz.

 

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Hi Liz-Have you taken him to the doctor? There may be a medical issue going on that you're not aware of. The doctor can suggest behavioral, diet, etc. changes that could help. They can also diagnose medication if needed. Good luck!

 

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@liz , Agree with @risas , but also, school can be very stressful too. Then having this condition. It sounds like you are very understanding. I think there are times when nothing works. But just protection. I know my Mother supported me completely, as my father didn't understand, even thou he also bedwetted. If this has you at your wits end, your son might help you by a little visit with him mentioning that together will figure out the best way. I'm sad for him,,,,, but also hopeful as I feel you are there for him.
One thing my PCP told me this summer when I was having trouble sorting through what was going on,, she said I'm on this journey with you. I will support you, and grow old with you!. I felt so good in her words. It still brings tears to my eyes.

 

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Amen to that Boomer,
Kids and adults both need the reassurance of a loving and supportive person or family. You are doubly blessed with that. Sounds like a very special person nice to be loved and cared for like that.

 

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What good words Boomer. Good to have that wonderful pcp relationship

 

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well said bedwetting can be very tough to deal with especially as a pre-teen when they are exploring many of the normal things like sleepovers and camping definitely have him checked by a doctor to rule out more serious conditions and a good quality diaper or pull-up can add comfort and less lost sleep

@liz , Agree with @risas , but also, school can be very stressful too. Then having this condition. It sounds like you are very understanding. I think there are times when nothing works. But just protection. I know my Mother supported me completely, as my father didn't understand, even thou he also bedwetted. If this has you at your wits end, your son might help you by a little visit with him mentioning that together will figure out the best way. I'm sad for him,,,,, but also hopeful as I feel you are there for him.
One thing my PCP told me this summer when I was having trouble sorting through what was going on,, she said I'm on this journey with you. I will support you, and grow old with you!. I felt so good in her words. It still brings tears to my eyes.

 

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If there is a pattern of worsening with increased stress his dr is probably going to do the regular labs, urine. If nothing shows you may want to try antidepressants and/or ddavp nasal spray first. What are you using to manage the situation?

 

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@liz Starting of school can trigger wet nights due to stress. If it continues than I would talk with his doctor about it and the pattern. I remember that during finals week in college I would tend to wet my bed once or twice during the week (if not more if the classes were really hard). This was a very unusual pattern from my normal 1-2 wet nights a month and definitely caused due to extra stress from finals week.

 

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I agree the answer stress could be a factor but in my case a diabetic is the big problem.

 

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I was wetting nightly at age 11 and speak from first hand experience. It was 1967 and dealing with bedwetting inconspicuously was almost impossible. I truly empathize with you and your son. In retrospect, it came down to two thing...not giving up while looking for dignified and effective solutions and respect and support within the household. My dad did everything he could to ignore the reality and my mom was very loving and understanding as she dealt with the extra work and expense of the condition. Doctors were quick to prescribe ineffective medication, which had effects that were far worse than the wetting. Patience, compassion and love were all I ever wanted as I went through it. As the problem lingered, it was up to me to grapple with it emotionally as I entered puberty. This too will (most likely) pass and you will have bonded even more because of it. Good luck.

 

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A couple of questions for you. First, does his pediatrician know? If so, what have they said about it? Second, has he ever had a long pattern of not wetting the bed? Third, how does he sleep?.. i.e. does he sleep well? Not waking up at an alarm could indicate an unhealthy sleep cycle.. it persists you may want to try a sleep study. There is a correlation between bedwetting and sleep apnea... At least it is something to look into, especially if there are no neurological or physical issues which may be causing it.

 

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@liz

If your son had NO occurrence of bed-wetting ALL summer and then the bed-wetting started when school resumed then it is Neuropsych stress induced and he will outgrow it but if he had any occurrence during the summer prior to school resuming then he needs to have blood and urine test to rule out Endocrine issues (like diabetes, etc..)

 

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This started for me at 35 years old. It's never stopped and I'm just living with it and managing it with absorbent products. Having to go back in diapers for an 11 year old would probably be pretty difficult psychologically....so I'd strongly advise making that a very last resort.....for me at 38 now I honestly don't care about the diapers but I'd bet a boy about to hit puberty would have a tough time with it.

I went to the doctor almost immediately after a few episodes...it's obviously medical and the only path is to see a doctor.

Ended up not being curable for me, but could be for many other people...you need to take your kid to the doc and go from there. Try again and again and try different doctors if you're not seeing results.

Stress totally can be a factor.....any recent trauma? divorce? big move? new school? etc etc?