bed wetting 11yr old

[lexie68]

i have an 11yr old boy who wets his bed almost every night. my husband takes him to the bathroom at around 11:30pm or 12am mostly that works,( tho sometimes he has already wet by then) but sometimes he will still wet. we limit fluids and all that.  i think he sleeps so soundly that he just can't wake up. when my husband takes him to the bathroom he is totally a sleep. this has been from the day he was out of diapers. he used to wear pull ups but now refuses to, i can't blame him, besides the fact that i used cloth daipers for the environmentle reason,  it killed me to use them  i can't really understand this he can go for hours like a camel during the day, but once he is in bed.............. i feel so badly for him. i just wonder about sleep overs i wonder if his friends know? he mostly takes a sleeping bag and it mostly comes home wet. i have him wear a rubberband around his wrist to remind him to use the bathroom knowing he will be up late and perhaps this will work. it does sometimes but not always.  i guess i should talk to the dr but he is opposed to this as needless to say it is embarrassing. he was a snap to potty train at just around 3yrs old never, i mean never had an accident. so whats up with this? anyone out there have this problem? did anything work for you please help if you can. thanks  

[mom@homenow]

There's a website called "the bedwetting store" and they have lots of products and information. My understanding has been that bed wetting alarms can help a good percentage of older kids, especially if the child wants to stop. I bought one for my son several months ago because he said at the time that he wanted to stop wetting the bed. But he changed his mind (he is still young, just turned 7) and says he doesn't care, so we haven't really given it a chance yet. If you want to try one, research the features of each brand before you buy. Some are too easy to turn off and just go back to sleep...

[widowedmomof2]

Hi there, I know my nephew always wet the bed at night, it was inherited by his father who had same problem when he was young. I know he dosent want to wear a pull up at night but maybe when he goes to sleep overs he should bring one so his friends dont make fun of him, & he wont feel bad about his problem. How long as he been doing this? Also does he have any other problems? Good Luck & GOD Bless

[SillyGirl111]

I too have a 9-year old that wets the bed at night.  Conversely, his little brother (5) has never wet the bed no matter what he drinks before bedtime or if he goes to the bathroom before bed.  The difference between them is that the oldest is a very, very heavy sleeper--much like a teenager; the younger a light sleeper that wakes up almost every night.  We've found that limiting caffine and sugar content in drinks anytime after lunch helps, as well as, an earlier bed time.  He will go months without wetting at night, then suddenly will wet four out of seven nights.  I think that it has something to do with activity-level so we've instuted an even earlier bedtime during high-activity times like spring sports, vacations, holidays.  We've been through a sleep study and that doesn't appear to be the culprit.  He has never had an infection, but we stopped pull-ups because the urine burns the skin and causes painful irritation.  Tried meds for three months to see if it would produce behaviour changes -- worked, but not after he was off the meds (also meds cannot be used for a long period of time).  Tried paying him $ for each night he didn't (Drs idea; not mine).  Tried making him take his sheets off, wash them, put them back on. He has never had an accident at a friends house but does at family member's houses occassionally. Basically, tried everything.  We've been told hormones, complicated biological system, maturity, sleep levels, hereditary, blah, blah, blah.

We've finally stopped looking for WHY??  Some kids just do it.  Since we've all accepted that we've been much happier.  I do belive that it is hereditary, and they will grow out of it once all the systems that it takes to control it kick in full time.  Until then, we buy him extra pajamas and warmer pjs so that he can go without a big comforter (a pain to wash and dry!), make sure that there are two of all bed linens clean at all times, and love and comfort him when he feels down about it.  Dr. explains every year TO HIM that he is not the only one.

P.S.  Found an absolutely great waterproom mattress at Walmart.  Dries in the dryer.  

[musicmama]

You are not alone.  I have 2 adopted boys who wet the bed.  My oldest was cured at 9.  There is a bedwetting program (sorry I can't remember the name) that was quite expensive.  They explained to us that this is a sleep disorder.  These kids (and some adults) don't go through 3 levels of REM sleep, but crash to the bottom level, and can't wake themselves up when the urge arises.  The therepy included drinking a large glass of water at bedtime, laying (bottomless) on a screen that was sensitive to moisture.  When the alarm went off, he had to go through a process of cleaning and replacing it.  There were sheets to fill out, and people that checked on his progress, encouraging him.

My 11 year old on the other hand is a restless sleeper.  We cannot wake him to get up and go.  He wiggles in his sleep, so this therapy won't work.

He has gone to few sleepovers.  He has only gone to spend the night with people who love and care for him.  The mom knows he wets the bed, and washes his linens for us if he wets them.  

He has gone to camp, and curiously, has not wet the bed.  We were told that he didn't wet the bed because you don't sleep as hard in a different environment.
I hope this help.  Good luck and God Bless.