Dr Catherine
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Girl
8-15 years

I wear drynites to bed and I have waterproof bed sheet that goes on my mattress and Sometime when I wake up in the morning it can be a small amount to a full bladder load and that when I got to wash every thing, is that normal?

Hi W.S., While nighttime wetting is not particularly common among adults, it is not unheard of. Secondary bedwetting or secondary nocturnal enuresis, which is the form of bedwetting you describe in your question, results from both psychological and physical causes. While physical causes are less common it is always important to have these ruled out first. Bullying and peer relationship difficulties are among the most common causes of stress among children and adolescents and can lead to bedwetting. The treatment of secondary bedwetting is similar to primary nocturnal enuresis. The most successful form of treatment for bedwetting is a conditioning alarm. The time it takes to achieve dryness when using conditioning alarms can be anything from a few weeks to a few months with about 10-15% of people experiencing some relapse – when this happens you need to reintroduce the alarm treatment although you will find that you will become dry much quicker the second time around. For some individuals it can take up to 3 cycles of treatment. It may be helpful to practice setting the alarm off during the day (with a drop of water) so that way you will become familiar to the sound of the alarm. Some alarms have different settings that allow you to vary the sound – sometimes a louder alarm will raise a particularly deep sleeper. It would also be worthwhile speaking with a continence advisor before introducing the alarm as the more support and guidance you receive the greater the chance of a successful outcome. There are some more alternative methods that have met with different degrees of success. Please keep in mind however that these have not received the same level of research support as conditioning alarms or medications. Hypnotherapy has been successfully used to help individuals either hold their urine overnight or wake up and go to the toilet. This can be used on its own or in combination with the conditioning alarm. Your best point of contact for hypnotherapy is the Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association http://www.ahahypnotherapy.org.au/, which has branches in each state and territory. All the best! Regards, Dr Cathrine