Bedwetting Support Group
Bedwetting (or nocturnal enuresis or sleepwetting) is involuntary urination while asleep. It is the normal state of affairs in infancy, but can be a source of embarrassment when it persists into school age or the teen or adult years. Find others who are coping with a bedwetting problem and share your experiences and questions.
Hi all, I'm new to the group here but unfortunately not new to bedwetting... I recently turned 30 years old and still have problems with it every so often, especially when I'm really tired, stressed, or have too much to drink. When I was younger (until about the age of 12) I used to do it every single night, and the doctors always told me that my bladder was small for my age and I would "outgrow" it one day.
Well, when I was 12 I learned to wake up when I needed to go to the bathroom during the night (most of the time anyway!) but I'm not sure I ever outgrew the small bladder. I mean, I'm sure it's larger now than when I was a kid, but I still have to use the bathroom about every hour during the day (even more if I have a lot to drink) and can't hold very much at a time. If I can't get to a bathroom right away I can hold it if I absolutely HAVE to (now as an adult, that is -- as a kid was a different story!) but it very quickly gets VERY uncomfortable and even painful if I have to hold it for very long. Meanwhile, it's frustrating having to go to the bathroom so much when all my friends, co-workers, etc. seem to hardly ever have to go at all.
Anyone else here have this experience? Is there any way to enlarge a small bladder at age 30? I'm starting to think I'm just going to have to deal with what I have (as this has been a lifelong thing, and 30 is a bit old to be "outgrowing"...) but I'd love to hope that things could be different... and obviously, that I could somehow find a way to completely stop bedwetting also! Anybody else relate to this?
Well, when I was 12 I learned to wake up when I needed to go to the bathroom during the night (most of the time anyway!) but I'm not sure I ever outgrew the small bladder. I mean, I'm sure it's larger now than when I was a kid, but I still have to use the bathroom about every hour during the day (even more if I have a lot to drink) and can't hold very much at a time. If I can't get to a bathroom right away I can hold it if I absolutely HAVE to (now as an adult, that is -- as a kid was a different story!) but it very quickly gets VERY uncomfortable and even painful if I have to hold it for very long. Meanwhile, it's frustrating having to go to the bathroom so much when all my friends, co-workers, etc. seem to hardly ever have to go at all.
Anyone else here have this experience? Is there any way to enlarge a small bladder at age 30? I'm starting to think I'm just going to have to deal with what I have (as this has been a lifelong thing, and 30 is a bit old to be "outgrowing"...) but I'd love to hope that things could be different... and obviously, that I could somehow find a way to completely stop bedwetting also! Anybody else relate to this?
At times I feel as if my bladder doesn't hold as much as it does other times. It translates into bedwetting problems also. Last night I wet three times, which is really unusual. Usually it's once in the first two or three hours of sleep, but I can usually sleep without worries after that time. I'm sure it was fueled by some sinus medication I'm taking. But it isn't just sinus medication, it's everything. Allergy meds, one or two cocktails (seriously, one or two!), or sometimes nothing of any apparent significance. Everything seems to affect it. Stress seems to have nothing to do with it in my case.
What frustrates me even more, is that it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I've always had to go to the bathroom once or twice during the night, but I never felt as if my bladder was having spasms. Now that's not uncommon, and by the time I wake up and realize what is happening, I'm wet. It drives me crazy and in my mid thirties, you'd think I could do better, but no luck.
Also I'm not overweight and don't have any other health problems. I'm a small guy and I'm in great shape, but there is clearly something up. No red flags in terms of health, though. It's frustrating.
33north, I've often felt really awkward in social situations because of my rapidly filling bladder. At times I've even forced myself to hold it to about the last minute -- even though it was really uncomfortable and painful -- just because I was embarrassed to have to go again so soon! I gave up coffee altogether when I was in grad school, and that has helped me a lot with this problem -- or rather, I should say, coffee made it a lot worse! -- but I still notice it from time to time.
Paxton, wow, 1.25 oz sounds really small! Haven't had mine measured in awhile but I think as an adult I'm somewhere in the 8 to 10 ounce range ("normal", I've read, can be anywhere from 16 to 24 ounces). I remember once as a kid (about 9 or 10 years old) I was supposed to fill up a sample cup to a certain line, I think it was 4 ounces, and even though my bladder was full to the bursting point I couldn't quite fill it all the way. They had me do stretching exercises for awhile as a kid and it might have helped a little bit, but when I've tried them as an adult it hasn't seemed to do as much. I wonder if as an adult the bladder just doesn't stretch as well as it does when you're a kid?
I'm scared to death of seeing a urologist (read my journal for a little bit of why) but I have thought about it off and on over the years. Have either of you guys seen one as an adult, and if so, any success?
I have seen too many urologists over the years. Most of them were stumped, and did nothing but collect my money. Only the last, a medical school professor, knew what to do, did it, and cured a long-standing problem.
Never tried cloth. When I'm having problems, I use disposable ones with a cloth type backing for reasons of comfort. Plastic backing is just too hot and noisy. As long as I sleep on my front, I'm fine. Once in a while I roll onto my side which is a problem.
I wear cloth diapers almost exclusively when I'm at home. I use disposables only when I travel or something at home makes cloth inconvenient. Most of my accidents have happened when I was wearing disposables, so I dehydrate when I'm not wearing cloth. Especially at night, a heavy cloth diaper is the best guarantee of a good night's sleep for me.
But I don't think it is from all the fluid intake or Caffin I take in because I have always drank the same and the same type of fluids.
I can stop drinking long before I go to sleep and still wet the bed.
An inventory of cloth diapers is expensive; however, it will last many years, and soon pays for itself. Check online for cloth diaper suppliers. You can contact llmedico, AngelFluff, Comco, and Loving Comfort, among others. Good luck.
Sounds like small bladders (or bladders that can't hold it for very long) are common among those of us with night accidents -- although some people who have normal-sized bladders wet the bed for different reasons, it seems like the old "you'll grow out of it" line we were given as kids just doesn't hold up for a significant part of the population.