Bed Wetting Problem

RA writes, I hope you can help with my son's bedwetting problem. My almost 10 year old boy is a major bedwetter and I mean he wets 3-4 times per night. He has been seeing a urologist and the biofeedback determines he is not an efficient voider during the day- he does not empty his bladder completely. So all this urine builds up all day long and he wets at night.

He is supposed to be doing kegel type exercises. We have tried the alarm for six months and it does not help. He was on medication for nighttime but it made no difference. He is a heavy sleeper and we end up getting up. He double voids before bed and we limit liquids. What else can we do? I am at my wits end! I feel he will be 16 before this ends!

Bedwetting can be so frustrating at times. It sounds like you have explored many avenues to get your son to dryness. Since it sounds like his daytime voiding is inefficient, working on that a little more may help. Did the urologist recommend a timed voiding program in the daytime? The kids wear a vibratory wristwatch that discreetly reminds them to go to the bathroom about every 2 hours, even if they don't feel like it. If he hasn't tried this yet, it may help to empty his bladder more efficiently during the day.

I use the Vibrowatch for my patients because it can be set to precise times. I like to set times that do not require the kids to leave the middle of class, and allow them to start the bus ride home at the end of the day with an empty bladder. Taking a water bottle to school helps to assure that they are adequately hydrated during the day and not thirsty late in the day. Once he's done this for a few months, he could restart the alarm at night.