Bedwetting Pills Did Not Work-What Next?

"My son, age 11, has had bedwetting his whole life. Our pediatrician gave him a prescription for desmopressin pills. We were hoping these would solve his bedwetting, but even 3 pills have not enabled him to have a dry night. We're at our wits end. What should we do now?

Bedwetting pills, namely desmospressin, do not work for everyone. Their method of action is to decrease the amount of urine produced in the 10-12 hours after the pills are taken. The urine is more concentrated and has less volume. Less volume means that the bladder has less to hold and in many children, enables them to have a dry night that night.

This is a temporary solution because the nights that the medication is not taken, the body returns to making more dilute urine. Special occasion sleepovers are possible in the children who stay dry with these pills.

There is another solution to your son's bedwetting, however. Using a bedwetting alarm provides a permanent cure. Once your son learns how to wake up to the feeling of a full bladder, he will no longer wet.

Older boys are happy to use the Rodger wireless alarm, which senses wetness and then alerts them using a loud sound. The receiver that sounds is plugged into a wall outlet and requires that your son get out of bed to turn it off. The moisture sensing underwear is like regular cotton underwear, and is comfortable and easy to use.

Over time, as your son gets used to getting up when he is wetting, his body will begin to wake him before he wets. Many older children have become dry when using an alarm. There is no reason to wait any longer for him to "outgrow his problem when you have a permanent solution. Don't be discouraged just because the pills did not work for him.