My 10 yr old has always had wetting issues at night and some during the day. SHe handles this completely on her own and receives little or no attention for it. We have recently put her back in pull ups at night in hopes she would sleep through it and or catch the stuff. This isn't the case at all. She can make it to the bathroom almost every time, day or night, then releases prematurely and makes a mess everywhere and causing her to change her clothes yet again. It is like she can't hold it at the last second and just goes. I think, no I know, she uses this sometimes to avoid chores or classwork but not every time. She is required to keep a set of clothes in her book bag and in the van, along with an extra trash bag to sit on in case it happens twice in an outing. Like I said, most of the time most would never know it has happened b/c she deals with it. She is not ashamed or uncomfortable about people knowing b/c she doesn't really feel that yet and we do not punish her for it.
Today she did not have clothes at school (after many reminders last night and this morning b/c she had an accident yesterday and I knew it needed to be replaced) when it happened. She claims she heard the rain and tried to make it but didn't. She was proud of herself for cleaning it up and waited in the nurse's office for me b/c they won't let her back in class or on the bus. I told her when we got in the car that she had a consequence for having me drive up there to give her clothes but not for wetting. This makes me wonder though if there is something wrong with her. We have talked to the pediatrician her first year home and no one seems to think that it is physical but nothing was really checked out. Anyone have any suggestions? I can't seem to find a pattern other than it is always in the bathroom (which is kinda weird except she usually is dancing around holding herself prior to going in there). If this is a physical thing, how do you know for sure and what kinds of meds or treatments are there?
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7 comments:
No real suggestions except to ask if it is possible the bathroom was a site of previous abuse, and this is connected to her always wetting when she gets there? As a way of protecting herself?
There used to be a nasal spray for night-time wetting called Desmopressin that one of my kids used, but when I was just looking up the name of it, I found that the FDA won't allow it any more b/c it can cause seizures and death.
That's too bad, because it worked like a charm for my kid.
When I was a kid and a teenager I would sometimes have the same problem. For me it seemed to be physical. It only happened if my bladder was very full, but I couldn't seem to "clench" and relax my legs enough to get my panties off at the same time.
I forget who told me to exercise my "clenching muscles" by stopping the urine flow over and over while I was sitting on the toilet. It really wasn't easy, but I did strenthen those muscles eventually.
I also developed the habit of going to the bathroom before my bladder was full, a habit that remains to this day.
I used to have the same problem and Yondalla's description seems to be pretty apt. It was as if I didn't realize I had to go until it was EXTREMELY URGENT. I would have to go so badly that by the time I got to the restroom I couldn't hold my urine long enough to get my undies off and sit down. Eventually I grew out of the extreme urgency by "training" myself to go to the bathroom at regular intervals.
Oh, and for what it's worth I was diagnosed at the age of 24 with interstitial cystitis. No doctor has ever said that it is related to my bladder issues as a child (bed-wetter into my early teens, not being able to tell when I had to go, frequent urinary tract infections and courses of antibiotics) but it seems obvious to me that they were related in some unknown way.
Desmopresson is sold in pill form but would not be a good idea as she does not just wet the bed.
I would definitely work on those kegel muscles.
She may not care that she does it but the kids will catch on and treat her differently.
I would get the opinion of a doctor that you trust.
My son did this the first 6mos-1year with us and he seemed to not care. He would come home wet from school. He did not want to take the time to pee. I had another son who did this and the teacher gave scheduled reminders to use the bathroom whether he felt he needed it or not. He had sensory issues. She may not be able to tell when she has to go.
~jen
Lindsay, I hadn't thought of that so I asked her where she had been abused. IN THE BATHROOM EVERY TIME. I am willing to bet it is a combination of the muscles, small bladder like her siblings, and the abuse. She perked right up at the thought of dealing with this in therapy and taking the control away from her abuser. I hope this is it. Thank you all for such wonderful responses!
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