My 13 year old daughter still wets the bed....

[mom77]

Where do I start? I guess I should say that we have took her to 4 different doctors. 3 of the doctors said she would grow out of it and 1 of the doctors put her on some medication (which didn't help at all...just made her thirsty)

We've done rubber sheets, pads under the sheets, night time pull ups. I don't let her drink after 6 and I even wake her up in the middle of the night so she can go to the bathroom.

She's afraid to spend the night with anyone (which I totally understand). She is missing out on so much because of this problem. I've sat down and talk to her about her accidents and asked her if she knows she is doing it when it happens. She says she doesn't know and realizes whats she did when she gets up in the mornings.

Any advice you have to give please give. Thanks so much!

 

[Xero]

It could be an overlooked medical issue? Has she been tested for UTI's and such? Also, my cousin used to wet the bed frequently and it turned out she had some kind of issue with her urethra (narrow or something like that) that was quickly resolved with surgery. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and if you make a big stink at the doctor they will do more tests and find out what is REALLY wrong. Just keep telling them, I know something is wrong and I want to know what it is. She's 13, and she should have outgrown it by now.

I can't say that its definitely medical though, as I'm not in your shoes and I don't know your daughter. I do have to share one other experience as well, my younger brother wet the bed until he was 12 or 13 and they thought it was some problem or whatever, he was on medicine too and everything else. Finally my mom decided he needed to stop and every time he would wet the bed she would make him get up, take all his bedding off himself and wash it all himself and scrub his mattress. He hated it. And you know what? He stopped wetting the bed. Didn't take long either! He also had/has a lot of other serious behavioral issues though and I imagine that was part of all of it.

It can be hard to tell with kids, what is really the problem. But rule out anything medical first! Good luck, I hope the issue gets resolved so the poor thing can have sleepovers.

 

[mom77]

I'll definitely keep on about it. Might have to go to another doctor (doctor number 5 lol).

I'll definitely try the bedding and scrubbing mattress routine with her. I can't tell you how many times we've had to buy new mattress for her. After while steam cleaning don't even help.

Thanks so much for your advice. It really was helpful. I really do appreciate it very much.

 

[Carmenellie]

My little sister is 13 and she still wets the bed as well. After many doctor's visits, they haven't determined a medical cause for it. However- she doesn't wet the bed at friend's houses, or when she's staying anywhere, or when she sleeps on the couch or the floor- which makes us think it is a mental thing. I would definitely try making her wash her own bedding, as taking that tactic with my little sister has decreased her accidents by quite a lot- now its just an occasional thing.

 

[mom77]

Yeah I'm definitely going to make her start washing her own bedding. Definitely taking her to another doc though. Thanks so much!

 

[hannah31]

It might not be her fault at all. If the GP wont help, it might be a psychological issue.

 

[Captain Belly]

I wet the bed until I was 10. it sucks. no staying the night with friends...etc....
keep holding fluids a couple hours before bed time, and void before going to bed. put a night light in the bathroom, and let your kid know that you are available to wake up in order to assist her to the bathroom.

 

[Mom2all]

I hope this helps. My son wet the bed every night until he was six. He tried, we tried, nothing worked. I was at the chiropractor one day and my son wanted a "turn" too. The chiropractor was going to just feel his back and give him a turn but felt his lower back was out of place. He adjusted it saying it was the area that affected the bladder/kidney portions of his nerves. Seriously.. from that day forward HE NEVER WET THE BED AGAIN! It may not help her but it'd be worth a try.

 

[Andrea Brown]

My eldest wet the bed into their teens. It is nothing short of horrible for the poor child. We tried all the waking, plastic sheets and what-not.

Sadly, none of it 'cured' the problem. We finally stuck with the plastic mattress protector, and the sheets were replaced and the plastic protector was disinfected every morning. We just started treating the morning sheet change as normal and didn't make a deal about it anymore.

Guess what? He grew out of it. Yes, indeed. And nothing we did or seemed to do made one bit of difference. Unless by actually downplaying it and making the sheet change normal, that did the trick. Who knows?

 

[apochimongitus]

I reckon you'd do well to look at diet. My son seemed to have more frequent bed wetting episodes when we weren't careful about the kinds of food and drink that he had. Sometimes a food chemical elimination diet can identify foods to avoid for these kinds of things. Kids seem to grow out of these things but adolescent bet wetting is quite common.

 

[robin480az]

at age 11 my daughter did too..we found out she had a thyroid problem

 

[Mountain9Mom]

I would not blame her. Pressure will make it much worse.

 

[momtoallkids]

demand an ultrasound from the doctor. if nothing turns up after that, it may be phsycological. my sister wet the bed until she was 16. personally i have my suspicitions about molestation as an underlying cause for her but it could be anything. my daughter sometimes will wet the bed(7yo) and i ask her what happened. she told me that sometimes she dreams about being on the toilet and just goes.

 

[LucidKitty]

demand an ultrasound from the doctor. if nothing turns up after that, it may be phsycological. my sister wet the bed until she was 16. personally i have my suspicitions about molestation as an underlying cause for her but it could be anything. my daughter sometimes will wet the bed(7yo) and i ask her what happened. she told me that sometimes she dreams about being on the toilet and just goes.

Coming from a sister who is a doctor that's not really going to work. Doctors are barred by performing procedures by insurance companies when they don't view them as a necessity.

 

[Mumzworld]

Gently wake her up in the night or before you go to bed and walk her to the toilet then pop her back in bed so you know shes empty.

 

[LorroVan]

My eldest wet the bed into their teens. It is nothing short of horrible for the poor child. We tried all the waking, plastic sheets and what-not.

Sadly, none of it 'cured' the problem. We finally stuck with the plastic mattress protector, and the sheets were replaced and the plastic protector was disinfected every morning. We just started treating the morning sheet change as normal and didn't make a deal about it anymore.

Guess what? He grew out of it. Yes, indeed. And nothing we did or seemed to do made one bit of difference. Unless by actually downplaying it and making the sheet change normal, that did the trick. Who knows?

We are going through this, albeit at a slightly younger age. We are investigating all possibilities about changing my littles one habits but myself and my partner recognise this is going to be a gradual change with no quick fix. Could you tell me what you put on your bed? If I buy mattress topper online which I can wash daily to save her embarrassment, does it matter what kind? I want to stop this but not have her feel like shes being punished

 

[akmom]

Over a year of posts on this topic, and no one has mentioned a bedwetting alarm? We had great success with it. It typically takes 3 months of consistent use to train the brain to recognize the urge to go, but I believe it's something like 80% effective.