11 year old with OAB

[LjBrady]

Up until 8 weeks ago my 11 year old daughter never had any problems with wetting herself.

We went to the Dr and they diagnosed overactive bladder. She has been on oxybutynin for 5 weeks. There is some improvement. We have been getting her to go to toilet more regularly and drink more (water in particular). She has always been dry at night. She has also been on laxido for constipation.

The thing that is puzzling is that everything is fine up until early evening. At about 6pm she gets, what we call "the feeling" it is sudden and intense. She dances about crossing her legs, she starts to scream. I've asked continually is she in pain but no. She says that her heart is racing and this last about 60 seconds then she is left a bit shaky and then is completely fine. I've tried to get her to calm down or breathe through it but she is completely taken over by it.

This is when she would wet herself but she now can be dry after it hence the improvement.

I'm really worried about what this feeling is and it is distressing to see her like that. She will then have the feeling 3 more times throughout the evening. She has had blood tests for diabetes, kidney function, infection...all normal. I'm starting to feel we can't go anywhere in the evenings.

Any advice gratefully received.

[Helen36]

Hiya, I have a five year old with an OAB so not sure I can really offer you much help but a few questions first just to help me understand a bit more ...

- was she diagnosed with an overactive bladder by the GP straightaway?? Or did they try the laxido first? The clinical pathway for treating day wetting in children (I don’t know what the age cut off is) is to treat for constipation first. The bowel can have a blockage in it that is pressing on the bladder causing it to twitch (be overactive) even if the child is going comfortably and regularly. A bit of laxido won’t help, a full disimpaction is typically needed to shift something like that which is why I ask.

- With ‘the feeling’ - was that happening before the oxybutynin? It could be the bowel pressing/an impaction trying to move or it could be the tablets. My daughter had something very similar when we upped her dosage, and only evenings and night. I always thought it was a side effect and from what she could tell me (age 4 as she was then) it sounded like shooting pains in her urethra. Given the heart racing point it sounds like a side effect to me.

I suggest calling the ERIC helpline for some more specialist advice as I am a bit surprised you seem to have got to oxybutynin so quickly (most of us have battled for ages to get it!) and Eric will best advise you for her age. You can also ask them about oxybutynin side effects.

In the meantime, some tips:

- use Tena lady to help manage the wetting

- try drinking full cups of water at set intervals rather than sipping through the day to allow the bladder to fill and empty

- get her to sit on the loo and try for a poo with her knees raised up on a step 20 minutes after each meal

- avoid anything acidic, caffeinated orfizzy.

Best of luck x

[LjBrady in reply to Helen36]

Thank you for taking the time to reply...this is all a bit of a shock. The oxybutynin and laxido were prescribed both together. Thank you for your advice. Back to Dr next week, hopefully she can explain this heart racing feeling because it seems more distressing than actually wetting herself which now is damp at most. I like your cup advice, my daughter has never been a big drinker and finds it a bit of a chore but is getting better 😣 hopefully things will improve soon x

[Helen36]

I can imagine the heart racing is more distressing for her, poor thing. We reduced my daughter’s dose down when we had her pain, just didn’t seem worth it.

Small wet patches are typical for over active bladder, but I’d suggest getting the GP to help try and work out why it’s started now. With the recent hot weather and not being a big drinker, constipation is a real possibility. The sitting on the loo thing will seem like a really bizarre act but there’s a reflex we all after after eating that encourages us to have the urge to poo which is why we all try to get our kids to do that.

In lots of areas, there is paediatric continence service. You could ask your GP for a referral if you have one. (To find out, try googling your area name and ‘paediatric continence’ and it should come up). The waiting times can be long but worth it for specialist advice. GPs can be great but often don’t have the specialist understanding of children and continence issues.

Good luck xx