Back to diapers or Medication for a 6 yr old. HELO (LONG)

[SmilesDisco]

I am new to this group and I am just at a loss on what to do with my 6yr old son who just does not seam to care about using the bathroom at night and sometimes during the day. Here is our issue, he is a bed wetter. I mean EVERYNIGHT not once or even 5 times a week I mean every night. I understand that he is a VERY heavy sleeper and can sleep right thru the night. Here is everything we have tried. Now before you read all of this, this was over a course of 2 yrs. We have recently not been making a big deal out of it, and if by chance he would have a dry night we praise him greatly.

 

1. Pull ups, uses them as a toilet if he puts them on before he goes to bed. Now he only puts them on after he uses the bathroom and right when is going to bed. But now he pees so much that the pull can't hold the amount.

2. No pull ups; hopping that the wetness would wake him (had a pad under him so it would not in the mattress, no good)

3. Alarm- he sleeps right thru it, but wakes up me upstairs and his brother that he shares a room with. And it was going off 4-6 times a night because that is how many times he goes a night.

4. Brought him to a doc and they said not a thing is wrong with him and that he will grow out of it.

5. Reward Chart for dry nights

6. (I know bad, but he told me he was doing it because he did not want get out of bed to go) punishments

7. with holding liquids (kind of hard since his bed time is 8 and we eat at 6:30, so I give him milk at dinner and that is all)

8. Kept him up late just to see if we could "empty" him out. (Did not work at all)

9. Woke him up every 2 hours (believe it or not, when I went to wake him up he would be wet every time.)

 

He all so bring his wet pulls ups out to the garbage in the morning after he get's dressed. If his bed is wet and/or his clothes he strips them off and puts them in the washer. If he is really wet, he takes a shower.

 

With all of this done, nothing has changed. About 2 moths ago he started getting up to use the bathroom and had dry night for almost 2 weeks and then stopped for no reason. I asked him and he said that it was because he was too tired to get out of bed. So we changed his bed time to earlier, but all that did was have him pee earlier. Since he goes 4-6 times a night it really did not make a difference. So here is where we are now. He goes to the bathroom and then a pull up and bed at 8pm. When my SO goes to be around 11 he wakes him up to use the bathroom. (The 6 yr old is never fully awake and never remembers doing it). We do it because if we don't then he fills the pull up and is soaking wet along with his PJ's and bed.

 

So here is my dilemma, I have to wash the sheets, the pad, and PJ's everyday. The pull up just can't hold that much liquid. I can't wake him up every hour to go because I will be exhausted and so will he and we have work and school. What do I do, am I missing something. SO and I are thinking about putting him back into diapers since they are made for that kind of use. I know it sound mean, but we have tried every type of overnight protection we can and nothing can hold the amount. I have all so thought about putting him on medication. I know that it is temporary and 30 out of 100 kids start to bed wet after they stop taking the med. But I was hopping it would show him what it would be like to not have to take his sheets off, or go outside to throw away a pull up, or take a shower in the AM because he smells like pee.

 

Every once in a while he will pee his pants while he is awake, really for no reason. Playing or doing nothing. He said he just can't feel it. When he does he does not even seam to be bothered and we have to go tell him to change or he would just stay in wet pants all day. Does not happen often, maybe 2 a month, But if he puts a pull up on before bed time he will use it as a toilet. For example we were playing a board game and he leaned back and tapped on his crotch and I asked him what he was doing and he said going to the bathroom. I was floored; he was awake and knew he was doing it. Now since he cant put them on till bed time, when we ask him if he has one on he will say yes, and we find out the next day he is lying. So now we have to check to make sure it is on. I AM LOSSING MY MIND ABOUT THIS.......

 

Have anyone gone back to diapers after pull ups for a kids this age?

Have you tried the medication, did it work?

 

HELP!!!!!!

[Andrewsmom70]

I'd start putting him into a COLD shower every single time he soils himself.  Even in the middle of then night.  Make it miserable.  If he has gotten up for two weeks at a time and had no messes at night during that time, he is totally capable of doing it.  He's just being lazy.  It's not mean to use that sort of deterrent.  He's old enough to understand that it's HIS choice to get up or not and if he decides to be lazy and not get up, he has to deal with the cold shower whatever time of day or night it is.

 

[lvtim]

This may be a little too extreme for you and I've never encountered this problem before but here's my suggestion -- ever seen those large potty chairs meant for the elderly or the mobility-challenged people? Maybe get one and put it in his bedroom so that he won't have to go to the loo too often at night. However, make it a point that he'll have to clean it up EVERY MORNING once he's awake. I don't know if it's a good idea, but it's a start.

[jj4475]

I know exactly what you are going through w/the wetting at night my 5 yr old daughter is still doing it. We too have took her to the Dr. and she sd that she will grow out of it. She wets through the pull-ups and the sheet washing is an everyday thing b/c she wets through them. My suggestion is keep praising him when he doesn't wet the bed, that is the only thing that seems to work w/my child. Now when she doesn't have an accident she will call her uncle and tell him that she didn't. I know it's hard but just keep your patients w/him and eventually it will happen, b/c I've been dealing w/it for 3 years and yes it does get btr but it also gets worse when I scold her for it, so I just use positive reinforcement w/her. Oh and a friend of mine did try to use the medication w/her little boy and he started having accidents at school while he was on it....a total reverse affect and he is in the first grade.......