Nightime bedwetting - any experiences?

[SeasiderDad]

My son was diagnosed Type 1 at age 1, now on a pump. We moved him out of daytime nappies quite easily but night time nappies stayed on the agenda for years after. He's now out of them but we usually get him up for the loo at 11pm so he makes it through the night. We still have some accidents and rarely risk letting him go right through without a loo break.

Night time BG levels are still not quite on target and when he's ill and BG levels are higher, we usually play safe and use drynites.

We'd love to be able to put him to bed for the whole night with only the outside chance of an accident.

Any thoughts?

 

[Hanmillmum]

Hi, you don't say how old your son is.

I kept my daughter in those pyjama pants til she was able to have a good spell of dry nights though she was 4yo, so a little later than probably the norm? It was about 9 months ago I put a "drynight sheet" under her usual bedsheets to save the mattress if any accidents, has only been one incident though. She goes to the loo before bed around 7.30pm. Last drink is taken by 6.30pm although she like some water by her bed it is usually not touched or just sips, unless unwell.

I'm not sure what the average age for dry nights is for boys and girls, diabetes aside.

 

[SeasiderDad]

He is 8. Very active and sporty so Summer evenings were tough as it meant lots of water being drunk just to rehydrate.

 

[LeeLee]

My brother was still wetting the bed age 7, and my parents got an Astric Dry-Bed. It's a pad that goes under the sheet, that sets off an alarm at the first hint of wee. Trains the brain to wake up when the bladder is full. It worked within a week. You can still get them, cost about ?100.

 

[Redkite]

Hi, my son was 4 when he was diagnosed, and had previously been dry at night but had to go back into pull-ups for a while. Even after he stopped using them he would have accidents at night, especially after he'd had high levels during the preceding day or was more tired than usual. We had waterproof mattress protectors. The incidents of bed wetting did decrease, but he might have months with no accidents and then 3 or 4 nights in the same week. I used to wake him to go to the toilet when I went to bed myself, and/or if his level was high. It had nothing to do with drinking too much fluids in the evening. I reckon it didn't stop completely until he was 9, although it was a rare event by then.

 

[KateR]

Although my son doesn't have D he was still regularly wetting the bed right up to about 8 or 9 years old and then it tailed off. He's been fine for the last 23 years.

 

[zuludog]

My son was still wetting the bed aged 8. We went through the whole shebang of mattress protectors, nappies for older children, visits from the health visitor, special alarms under the sheets and so on. We were both naturally concerned but also becoming really fed up with the constant bed changing and washing; as I left for work at 07 30 most of this was done by my wife

We tried limiting the number of drinks in the evening, but it's funny how he managed to get up for a drink of water from the bathroom, but couldn't get up for a pee. It dawned on me that he was just plain lazy, and while he could get away with it, he would.

So I decided no more 'there, there, what a shame' and when we were alone I gave him a severe telling off, pointing out that he was upsetting his Mother and it was about time he grew up and stopped behaving like a baby, and stopped being an idle little toad; and I wasn't too polite or gentle about it either. I also pointed out that he obviously wasn't yet old enough for a PlayStation ( or whatever the gizmo was, I lose track of them)

Do you know what? Next morning the sheets were dry, and they've been dry ever since. Everyone was surprised and impressed by the dramatic improvement!

Doesn't seem to have done him much harm. He's 27 now, with a degree in Sports Science and a top grade in kickboxing; and he still sends me Father's Day cards