Bed Wetting?

Most medications, especially long-term medications, take a while to take effect. Be patient.

I would suggest going to a counselor or therapist to get to the bottom of this problem all in all.

Don't make him feel like it is his fault, he can't control it. Try and get him some of those Goodnights, if he can still fit them, for when he wants to go to a sleepover. Maybe advise the parents of his problem and make sure they don't hold it over his head but help him if he needs help.

As for trying to stop it. No drinks starting two hours before bed. Go to the bathroom a couple of time before going to sleep.

Well I have a little brother. He is 7 years old and I still consider that too old to be wetting the bed. We used to wake him up in the middle of the night but it came to be too much work. We would make him stop drinking any fluids around 5:30-6. He would be able to have a little bit of something to drink after dinner. Before he goes to bed, we make him go to the bathroom a couple of times. This usually helps. We think it worked tremendously by stopping the fluids after 5:30. Also, if you haven't already, buy a plastic fitted mattress cover. This helped out by SO MUCH. All we do when he pees in the bed is take Clorox Wipes and wipe down the cover. It doesn't leave an odor or anything.Here also take a look at this website...

http://www.goodnites.com/na/bedwettingbasics/Defau...

Well first of all you can e-mail me if you want at clarinet0589@yahoo.com, but you should have him avoid drinking enough fluids before bedtime, and have him go to the bathroom before he goes to bed I did that when I was younger about his age, and I stopped ever since. If that doesn't work there are bed wetting alarms to help wake you up although I didn't need that. You could also have him wear diapers. Finally, you might need to take your child to a pediatric urologist. Hope this info helps.

There are those thingies...we forget what they are called.

They look like boxer shorts, they are used for bed-wetters, that are like 8-13. Give or take a few years. There are blue and pink, lol.

Somehow, they do something to prevent, or decrease the chance of bed wetting

Don't drink a whole lot before he sleeps, and go to the bathroom right before bed.

Unfortunately it's a problem many kids face. Bothy my husband and I has bed wetting problems until we were older (like your grandson). All I can suggest it that he needs to make it a habitat to use the bathroom (even if he doesn't 'feel like he has to') EVERY night RIGHT before bed... not an hour before bed but IMMEDIATELY before he gets under the covers.

Oh... and the 'no drinks after X o'clock' thing... complete crap. I still wet the bed even if I hadn't had a thing to drink for 10 hours before I went to bed.

I wet the bed for awhile until my father forced me to stnad in front of the toilet untill I peed before going to bed. So everynight RIGHT nbefore bed I peed... and I still do as a habit to this day actually..

Some parents do it 30 minutes before bed, but that never works. it need to be literally seconds before bed.. and no drinks for 45 minutes before bed time.

Try making him feel more responsible/in control of it. Having his mother wake him up at 2am re-inforces feelings of "being a baby" that he probably already feels for wetting the bed. I suggest getting him an alarm clock that goes off at 2am everyday. Waking himself up every night might help him get into the habit of actually getting up to pee instead of wetting the bed. The repetition of doing it everyday would be benificial to him.

Good Luck!

He might have overactive bladder control.

I would suggest him not to drink anything before bed.

I have one question for you: was your daughter a bed wetter, or were YOU one, by chance? The reason I ask is because this condition is hereditary. I am a former enuretic ( the medical name for bedwetting is enuresis) myself, and I was just your grandson's age when the condition first struck me. I suffered with it for 5 years, and during that time, I experienced an enormous amount of abuse from both my parents, largely because they didn't and couldn't understand that I had no control over what was going on, and that I had come by the condition honestly. ( In my case, the reason I was an enuretic is because my father was one- he suffered with the condition for years when he was in his early 20's.) You sound as though you do understand what your grandson is experiencing, and because of this, I want to give you some tips on how to help him which are based on my own experiences with this disorder.

First of all, you need to realize that what is happening to your grandson is NO ONE'S FAULT. Enuresis is a genetic condition-one of what are believed to be as many as three genes which cause it was identified by researchers at the University of Michigan in the fall of 1995, shortly before your grandson was born. The hunt is now on to try to find the other two. The reason your grandson is an enuretic is because someone, or several people, passed the gene or genes which cause this disorder on to him at the moment he was conceived. One of his ancestors had the condition, and he inherited the gene for it. You have mentioned that your grandson is being treated for restless leg syndrome, and that he is on medication for that. One of the things I would strongly recommend is that your daughter talk to her son's doctors, and have him evaluated for other medical conditions which may be contributing to his problem, such as sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is associated with enuresis in adults ( yes, that's right, this condition is NOT limited to childhood or adolescence- an estimated 3 to 5 percent of the ADULT population in this country, some 50 to 60 MILLION people, also suffer from it) and left untreated, it can sometimes be fatal. Has your daughter ever considered having a sleep study done on her son, to rule out this problem?. Another thing to look into is the possibility that your grandson could have diabetes ( Is there any history of this in your family? If so, he needs to be tested for the condition, because it can contribute to enuresis because of the increased urination which is a primary symptom of the disorder) or a seizure disorder such as epilepsy. Still another angle which warrants investigation is the possibility of a kidney or bladder infection, or a tumor of some type. Lastly, has it ever occured to you that perhaps the medication he is taking for the RLS is causing or contributing to his problem? If this turns out to be the case, your grandson needs to have his medication dosage adjusted- or he may need to switch meds entirely and take something else.

Apart from all this, you and your daughter need to take a good look at your grandson's overall lifestyle, AND your own. One of the major triggers which turns the genes which cause enuresis on is emotional stress, and your grandson sounds as though he is really suffering from a lot of this. You need to ask yourself some questions, and take some time to find the answers. One of these would be about school- is your grandson doing well there, or is he having problems? Does he have friends his own age to play with, and what is his relationship with them like? Is there any possibility that your grandson could be experiencing abuse of any sort, whether physical or sexual ( yes, I know that's an uncomfortable thought, but you need to find out if there is a chance this could be the case, for everyone's benefit.) or perhaps emotional? Is your grandson being bullied, teased, or picked on at school? What's his relationship with his dad like- are they close to one another, or are there problems? Is your daughter's marriage in good shape, or are there problems there? Kids will often respond to problems with their parents' marriage by becoming enuretics, just because of the stress they feel. Has your grandson experienced a loss of any kind recently, such as the death of a loved one or a pet? If so, then grief counseling may be in order. All of these questions will take time to answer, but it will be well worth the effort if you can help your grandson with any of these issues. The next thing to think about is practical steps you can take. One of the most obvious has to do with your grandson's diet and fluid intake. Is he a soda drinker, by chance? If so, you and your daughter need to be aware that many sodas contain large amounts of caffiene, which is a stimulant. Caffiene can irritate the nerves of the bladder and cause bedwetting all by itself, so one step would be to get your grandson to cut down or eliminate his caffiene consumption entirely. He can switch to caffiene free sodas- there are lots of those around. Another thing to do would be to set REASONABLE limits on the amount of liquid he consumes- say, no liquids after 8 pm, for example. Having him use the toilet before he goes to bed is a good idea as well. Lastly, you need to do two other things. One of these is that you need to have your daughter get him some underwear which is designed for kids with this problem, and there are numerous brands available. One that I would recommend is the "Goodnites" brand, which is made by the company that makes Kleenex. These products do not rattle, and are not rubber lined, and they look like ordinary underwear, which should save your grandson from at least some of his embarrassment. If your grandson wears these and takes them along, he can go to sleepovers and to summer camp without worrying about whether or not his bunkmates will know about his condition. I used to work at a Y camp and Outdoor Education center, and I know from having done this that virtually ALL camps allow the use of such garments. Indeed, many of them actually have policies which require the use of such garments when a child is known to be an enuretic, and they also have policies which PROHIBIT staff from discussing the problem with anyone other than the child and the health officer, or the child's parents. The purpose for these rules is to keep situations like your grandson's confidential and private, which is as it should be.

The other major thing your daughter needs to do is take some steps to protect the mattress on her son's bed, unless she wants buy a new mattress every year or two. I would suggest that she get a couple of the newer mattress covers which are available. These days, the new ones are designed to fit the mattress snuggly, and they do not rattle or move when sat upon or lain upon, which is an important plus for your grandson. These covers are moisture proof, and most are quilted on top for warmth and comfort. There are some which are also thermo ( or heat) retentive as well- another big consideration for comfort, especially now, when we are in the middle of the winter. Thermo retentive mattress covers may help prevent your grandson from getting chilled and sick, so the extra money spent on one may be worth it to your daughter.

I'm going to end by offering a few other thoughts. First, take heart. Your grandson will eventually outgrow this problem- it won't last forever, provided that there is no underlying medical condition which is causing it. Another thing- stay close to him, and encourage him to talk to you about what's happening. You may need to reassure him that this is not his fault, and that he is NOT alone- there are MILLIONS of kids who have this problem, and it is one of the most common things doctors deal with today. I used to think I was the only kid with this condition, and I can well imagine that he must feel the same way. Finally, you can ask his doctor ( or have his mother do this) about medications which will stop this problem. The most common of these is a nasal spray which is taken at least once or twice a day, and which will stop the condition. I don't know the name of the drug, or I would relate it here- but I do know that it works. Good luck to you, and I hope I have helped.

PS: Even if he is on medication for the enuresis, I would still get him evaluated for other medical problems, especially sleep apnea. This is a dangerous condition which can kill if it isn't treated, and the only way to know for sure if your grandson doesn't have it is to have a sleep study done on him. Likewise, he also needs to be tested for diabetes and for a possible seizure disorder. Also, what in blazes is he wearing "Pull ups" for? "Pull ups" are for toddlers and babies who are being toilet trained. I'm not surprised that he is refusing them now- he's WAY TOO OLD for them. Get him some "Goodnites" and see if that doesn't help.