ADHD and bedwetting

[andykat79]

Wondering if any other parents are dealing with bedwetting. I have a 9yr old daughter who has occasional episodes of about 1 week when she wets the bed. She does not have a formal ADHD diagnosis, however has many signs. It runs the family very strongly.

We have tried all the tricks, they work most of the time. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on breaking the cycle or does it just resolve on it's own in time? I know it is an issue for her going to friends houses and staying the night, it's always something she worries about.

Thank you!

[STEM_Dad]

I have four children. One of my older ones had bed wetting issues until the onset of puberty, and then it just stopped. They just slept very deeply. (It wasn't due to any medical or psychological issues, because everything conceivable had been ruled out by doctors.) For my child who had that issue, it was at least 3 nights per week, and more often before age 10.

I know that now there are at least some medications which might help. There is even one particular non-stimulant ADHD medication which is also used to treat enuresis (the medical term used for bed wetting), and that is Strattera (atomoxetine). I know about this, because I take atomoxetine to treat Inattentive ADHD, and researched the medication before I was prescribed it.

• I should mention that atomoxetine doesn't treat as many people with ADHD as stimulant medications do, and it is an SNRI (selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor), and carries similar warnings as SSRI medication does. Side effects can be unpleasant for some (I have no side effects if I take it with food) and withdrawal can be very unpleasant for some people. ~ It's a great medication for me, but some people I've talked to haven't had a good experience with it.

{There's a newer SNRI approved to treat ADHD called Qelbree (Viloxazine). It's supposed to start working faster, works better in more people than Strattera, and most importantly is approved for children. It was previously studied as a possible treatment for enuresis, but wasn't given FDA approval to be listed for that treatment on-label. I'm not sure if it is prescribed for that off-label.}

I'm not aware of other treatments, besides strategies like bed wetting alarms (didn't try that), or waking the child up in the middle of the night (tried that...they were nearly impossible to wake up, and overly tired the next day if we succeeded in waking them).

[Imakecutebabies]

My son JUST started getting himself up to pee at night. He's 8. Until now, we've woken him every night around 10 and shuffled him to the toilet, then back to bed. I've finally stopped doing that just about a month ago, so there is hope!

Try to figure out WHEN during the night she wets the bed, and wake her up to pee. That helps her body get used to waking up to pee at the right time and with the correct feeling (plus prevents her from wetting the bed). This just takes several nights of trial and error (wake her up at different times and see whether she can pee at that time, isn't ready yet, or has already wet the bed.) For sleepovers, you could perhaps have her set herself an alarm at the right time, or ask the friend's parent to wake her.

I know they also make high tech gadgets that you clip to their pants and they start to vibrate or something if they start getting wet. We never tried those though.

[MomOfSuperheroes]

My 10yo son has ADHD and enuresis/encopresis. We still have the occasional issue even before bed, mostly after his meds have worn off. His daytime issue has improved over the years, and I'm told that it (along with nighttime wetting) should resolve itself by around age 14. We do have a toilet routine designed to help and a 504 plan for school. Nighttime wetting does run in the family along with ADHD (and super deep sleeping).I will say, for us, none of the nighttime gadgets or timed bathroom wakings have worked, so far. We have a team of pediatric experts helping us, and all they can say is that we'll go back to attempting the nighttime stuff when he's no longer having any pre-bed accidents.

[Mom-of-a-superhero]

My daughter is 10 and diagnosed with inattentive ADHD (not medicated) and in the last year has started to wet the bed. No daytime accidents. She wears pull ups to bed as I can't wake her up to pee as it is too disruptive for my sleep. We have an appointment for pelvic floor physio to see if there is something that can be done there.

[anirush]

My grandson had episodes until about 10, wore nighttime diapers it happened so frequently. His pediatrician said when his bladder matured it would stop and it did

[Rollersk8er]

my daughter had bedwetting frequently until middle school. We didn't know she had ADHD then. She has always been a deep sleeper and sometimes sleepwalked. The bedwetting resolved one day just like that. I do remember that at a certain point we'd cut off liquids before bedtime and that seemed to help a bit.

[Rollersk8er]

also, yes, it used to terrify me for all the sleepovers! We did find this thing that was like a soft waterproof pad--not noisy or crinkly--that fit inside her sleeping bag. It was only a bit bigger than a pillow. Fortunately it never got tested but it did give her piece of mind. I think I got it on Amazon.

[MomBaller22]

Yes! We are still battling this—currently @ age 9. I will say, we had great results from the bedwetting alarm about two years ago. He made it about 8 month through the night staying dry. (We used this program bedwettingtherapy.com). It was expensive, annoying to wash the pad, and also "one more thing on the long list of things to work on," but I really feel like it had worked! Unfortunately, we had a set back last summer when my son ended up with a kidney injury (from taking Advil) that set him into a transient diabetes insipidus. Because he had to pee so frequently during this time, he started bedwetting again. Afterwards, we tried the program again but the novelty of it had worn off (b/c there were exercises he had to do and star rewards he would earn, but they didn't motivate him the second time around.) So, instead of trying to "treat" it, we now get him up 1.5 hours after he goes to bed to use the bathroom, and he stays dry 98% of the time.

His neurologist says he just needs time.... and that he wouldn't even feel concerned about the bedwetting until he were doing it past age 14 (which feels like a lifetime away, but I know will sadly be here before I can blink!) We are reallllly hoping it doesn't take that long... sleepovers are the stressful part (for him and us). I hate to see him feeling so self-conscience about it.

Good luck with everything!

[Sebastian1234]

My 16-year-old daughter will occasionally bedwet to this day. And I can't believe I'm admitting this on a public forum, but I also wet the bed at times. And I'm 45! But I have ADHD as well and I'm sure there's a connection. It's usually very occasional but there are times like when I'm sick or under a lot of stress that it can happen for several nights or even several weeks, every single night. I think my wife would personally diaper me if I didn't voluntarily wear a diaper during those times LOL.

Sorry I don't have a better answer but the truth is for some of us, it never completely goes away. We just give love and support to our daughter, and I might add, my wife gives the same to me. Good luck.

[5dollarSparkle]

Our 10 year old son has ADD and anxiety. Kids with ADD or ADHD sleep so heavy and don't wake up in the middle of the night to pee, because there brain is on overload as it is. We're fairly new with out diagnoses so I've been reading and researching as much as I can when I get the chance. I did ask my son's doctor about bedwetting as I did'nt realize that ADD and bedwetting go together. Now it makes sense. I just figured it was because my son didn't wake up and such a heavy sleeper that is why he wets the bed. He's a heavy sleeper due to his brain due to his ADD. So his doctor said to try a bedwetting device and that 50% of the people say it works and some say it didn't work for them. So I went to Amazon and searched for the best one by reviews and bought a device. Check with your insurance company as pull ups and bedwetting supplies are covered so your insurance will pay a portion or the whole amount. So on a weekend we gave this device a try. We cut a small slit in the front of his pull up (the front for boys only) and add a small layer of toilet paper over the device so it's closer to his private area. Any drop of urine will sound the alarm to wake him and one of us to get him to the bathroom. That said, I'm a night owl, but my husband isn't, so if the alarm goes off when I'm awake I take our son to the bathroom, let him pee, and put another pull up back on. Usually after he wakes up just once he won't pee again so no need to plug the device back in. We've been doing this for several weeks now. It states once the child has 14 days straight of no bedwetting then you no longer need the device. The point of the device bedwetting system is to train the brain to react to the bladder to state when it's full to wake the child to go pee. For a few days the alarm would go off 3 hours, give or take a few minutes, after he went to bed/sleep. Then after that it wouldn't go off while I was up and by morning my husband told me the alarm didn't go off at all and he was dry. That meant to us then he didn't get enough fluids during the day. Now, we won't stop his fluids so many hours beforehand, because he doesn't get enough fluids during the time at school as it is and if we cut him off more fluids before bed or too close to bed then he's constipated from not enough liquids. You can try to cut back on their intake before bedtime if you choose. You have to do what is best for YOUR child. So for us we're still using the bedwetting system as he still needs it every night. He hasn't stayed over at a friend's house yet and would love too. But we want him to be fully potty trained so he doesn't have an accident. We're more worried about it than I think our son is. But his doctor said that our son WILL grow out of it, but if our son wanted to have a sleep over that a pill can be prescribed for nights like that till he grows out of it. But we haven't looked or wanted to look at that option yet since he would need to see a specialist and have more testing done to make sure its not phyisical reasons why. It sounds like it's very common for a child with ADD or ADHD to have bedwetting even at high school age. So it's good that our son will grow out of it, but with the bedwetting system we're all hoping it will stop the bedwetting sooner so he can have sleep overs with family or friends and not worry about being made fun of. Our son isn't on medication for ADD, only for anxiety and this has only been for a month now. He doesn't wear pull ups during the day time, just at night when it's time for him to go to bed. But I suggest trying the bedwetting system. Our system is with a cord, but you can get without a cord, but the cost is much more. And by the reviews whether the device is wireless or not there was the same amount of negatives as positives. Our device cost $69.00 on Amazon and called Dri Sleeper Excel Bedwetting System. Like I've said, it can take weeks and even months for any device to work, so please be patient and don't give up. Trust me, I know this system will work for us and the end result will be so worth it! Good luck and above all remind your daughter that having ADD or ADHD is her superpower. She's got this and so do you mama.

[MetsMama]

I know one person mentioned medication, but I will second that. My son is 9 and has basically always wet the bed. When he was 7 or so we saw a pediatric urologist, who ruled out potential issues. When there were no underlying concerns she gave us a prescription for desmopressin. It doesn't need to be taken every day, it works immediately on the night it's given so you can use it just for sleepovers, etc. You also have to restrict water intake 2 hours before bed, otherwise the meds can cause complications.

My son took it nightly for many months and then the pediatrician recommended we see what happens if he stops taking it. We still restrict water for 2 hours before bed, but he doesn't take the medication except for the occasional sleepover and stays dry 95% of the time now. Good luck.

[Klmamma]

Is she taking any medications? Zyrtec made one of mine wet the bed.