@Amber, Hoping your vacation went well. Were you able to work out a method of protection to help out with your travels?

@momplus...Hi :) our vacation was awesome, thank you! Nathan took one look at the diapers I ordered from HDIS and gave me a look that said "HELL NO", LOL. They were all tab diapers, not breifs, and he was not even going to think about having to put one on. We did, however, find the new Real-Fit Depends, and those worked out great. He felt (somewhat) comfortable in them, they were discreet, and the living arrangements at the beach house made iteasy for him to access the bathroom first thing in the morning to change and shower. Now, having said that, he has not worn them since coming home! He only wore them during the vacation because he had to, despite my gentle urging that he should continue wearing them because they worked out so well for him.
I asked him one day if there was anything else he wanted to do to try and manage this. The only thing he wanted to do was try the medical route again. So, after a lot of searching, and a couple of calls to "friends in high places" , his Grandpa is taking him to see another pediatric urology specialist. The doctor was very highly recommended by another doctor who is a well-respected, nationally ranked doctor. nathan wants to give meds another try. He said no to chiropractics, any alarms, diapers....so, he's going to travel 3 1/2 hours to go see this doctor, and will likely undergo a sleep study as well.

I know it sounds farfetched, but I am actually encouraged to hear about the sleep study... sometimes if the bladder and everything else are determined to be normal, sleep apnea can turn out to be the culprit, and MANY people have that without realizing it. And, it sounds like you have achieved a pretty good balance on the protection issue - at least he is willing to do something for traveling when washing the sheets is impractical, and you're not waging a constant battle by forcing him into something he's not comfortable with at home. If anything, rather than pushing protection I'd suggest shifting your focus to encouraging him to take a more active role in doing his own laundry, etc., which will give him a greater measure of control and make less work for you. Keep hanging in there, you're doing well! :)

@Amber, Having been there, I can understand Nathan's reluctance some. It's tough for an older bedwetter to wear something to bed. Totally not cool! The one look at the diapers you ordered and the hell no expression, I can see that. I guess i find it hard to understand why something that worked well on vacation and even with your urging and he won't keep it up at home? It seems to me that the comfort he felt on vacation he would want to continue to feel at home?
At any rate I really hope for your sake and his that this issue can be put to rest for once and for all. You've certainly tried you best. Interesting. please follow up.

Nate left for Michigan this morning with his grandpa to see the pediatric urologist I mentioned earlier. I am hoping for the best. I am also interested in their findings if they do a sleep study...just letting u guys know. I'll keep u updated on how it goes. This is the one thing Nate has wanted to do about his wetting, so I hope they can help somehow. I know there's probably quite a few of u who have seen a doctor, been on meds, etc....and who may not be supportive of this measure, but thats ok, I still appreciate your input!

I hope that some good comes out of all this as you've been through a lot. He seems to want to take charge of it and is willing to give it a go. Ours did outgrow it and we tried all kinds of things too! Yes please keep us posted. A friend of mine is dealing with tis now and is wondering about what kinds of help there is available.

Hi everyone :) Just wanted to update on the doctor visit. Wel, it was a long ways to drive to basiccally be told the same thing....he is a healthy young man who will eventually grow out of it, just no idea when, lol....But, he did prescribe Desmopressin 0.2mg (2-3 before bed) to manage it for now. So, we're going to give them a try. Even though we tried it a few years ago, the doctor seemed to think the dosage was wrong...so we'll see. He will start taking them tonight. I hope they work....I know, I know...i know they say that meds only work while you are taking them and as soon as you stop the problem comes back, but we dont care...lol, if it works, it works :)

Hope that this works and brings everyone a peacful nights sleep pure and simple.

hi, just to update...the medication Nate was prescribed is working :) and he's happy! I can see the shift in his attitude about it. He started 7th grade today. Woke up early (to a nice dry bed), showered had breakfast and loked and sounded like a confident, happy kid

Great news! Obviously, keep in touch with the prescribing doctor about how the medicine is going. If it loses effectiveness over time (which can happen), the doc may or may not recommend changing the dosage, or taking a "break" from it for a little while before trying to resume it again. It's common, though, for a particular treatment (medicine, alarm, etc.) not to work at a younger age, and then to work much better when tried again after some time has passed. The reason is simply that his body is now more mature and ready to "cooperate" with the medicine than was the case in the previous attempts - which also means that he is that much closer to becoming able to stay dry at night on his own!

If the medicine keeps working for several months with no ill effects, talk with the doc about gradually reducing it or "weaning" him off from it to see if he will continue to remain dry on his own. Worst thing that can happen in that scenario is that he's not ready to be dry on his own yet, and you just re-start the medicine for a few more months and then try again. Sometimes, though, the medicine just gives a little "nudge" his body needs to become accustomed to staying dry at night, and it may be that in 3-6 months or so he'll be ready to stay dry on his own without it. Sometimes that happens, sometimes not - either way you're making progress though! Well done for continuing to support him and stay the course! :)

Great news Amber & Nate - and great teamwork hanging-in there to get towards a solution! Research seems to show best results from combining meds + alarm - but how much pleasanter for you both if meds alone achieve success. Hope all goes well. It's like an Olympic marathon final - we are all behind you - good luck!

Hi Amber, Wondering/hoping that the medication has been a help to your son. Has there been any change?

Hey Amber and Nate,
I am really glad to hear that you are having success with the whole bedwetting thing. I used the DDVAP spray also and it worked well for me in short periods. I found that when I used it for more than a couple weeks at a time, it stopped working as well. So I used it mainly if I was sleeping over and on trips. Amber your a cool mom to listen to Nate and be be understanding about his feelings towards this and not forcing things on him. And Nate, I'm glad you have found somthing that works. I know how embarrassing it is to have to talk to anyone about it and you were a real trooper going for help!!!
Jeremy.

My 12 year old son Mason suffers from total 100% bladder and bowel incontinence due to a disorder called peripheral neuropathy. He was born about a month premature and we didn't find out until we started trying to potty train him when he was 3. The disorder results in the nerves to his bladder and bowels being virtually non-existent, which keeps him from being able to know when he needs to pee or poop. Besides this problem, Mason is a very active and athletic kid who has lots of friends and does very well in school. He has no mental or emotional issues and actually doesn't have a problem with still having to wear diapers...probably because he's never worn anything but traditional tape-up style disposable diapers.

My other son Declan is 15 years old and though he's not totally incontinent like his younger brother, he does suffer with nightly bedwetting. Since he was 7 or so, we've bought him Pull-Ups Goodnites for him to wear every night to bed. Fortunately his urologist has said that Declan should eventually stop wetting the bed and be able to wear his regular boys white briefs at night.

I'm now 35 years old and I also suffered from nightly bedwetting until I was in my late teens. When I was Declan's age though, they didn't have Goodnites or special bedwetting underwear for boys, so like Mason I just wore a plain old disposable diaper at night to keep from soaking my bed.

The problem that we currently have with Mason is his forgetting to change his diaper. Until about 3 months ago, either me or my wife still changed Mason's diapers for him because he flat refused to learn how to change himself. Also until recently, when he was at school he would go to the nurse whenever he needed a diaper change. At home, we've established a routine where we change his diapers once in the mornings before school, once as soon as he gets home from school, and once before going to bed. In his bedroom, we have set aside a corner on the floor next to his dresser with a special absorbent pad, baby wipes and powder which is where we change his diapers. If he's downstairs and wets or messes in his diaper, then we will sometimes just change his diaper on the floor of the living room instead of going all the way upstairs. Thankfully Mason wears diapers that fit him snugly so we rarely if ever have any issue with leakage or foul smells. However, because he doesn't know when he wets or poops, he rarely remembers to check his diaper. So either me or my wife end up having to make him lie down on the floor so we can check his diaper and see if he needs a change.

I guess the most important thing I've learned is PATIENCE and understanding. While Declan is of course able to put on his Pull-Ups and change them when he's wet, Mason is still having a difficult time remembering to check and change his own diapers without one of us having to change him. We are hopeful that he'll learn soon...especially since he's getting too old to still be having his diapers changed by someone else.

I was a chronic bedwetter at that age and wasn't reliably dry until my early 20's. I saw Doctors had tests tried an alarmand eventually was put back in nappies at 15 which I wore every night until I stopped wetting when I was around 20/21. No one ever found out why I wet back then and I was always told I would grow out of it which I eventually did. I am back to nightly wetting again now due to diabetic related problems. I have discussed various aspects of my childhood bedwetting with the continence nurse. She says even now it is often virtually impossible to cure some cases of bedwetting and there are some kids like me wet in to adulthood. Some people unfortunately wet all their lives. I'm sure your son will become dry in his own time as I did.