I Was a Bedwetter

From an early age until I reached 14 years, I wet the bed. Mama took me to a doctor when I was around seven to see if there was something wrong with me. The doctor ran a lot of tests then came back to say that there was nothing physically or mentally wrong with me. He said, “I think she is sleeping too deeply to feel the urges our bodies give us to get up and go to the bathroom, so she simply releases in the bed.” Mama was disappointed and I was sad. The doctor continued, “I suggest that you limit liquids after eight pm and wake her up in the wee hours and then again in early morning to use the bathroom until her body gets into the rhythm of getting up, then she’ll do it on her own.”

So that’s what Mama did for the next month or two. She woke me until I started doing it myself, actually I started dreaming that I really needed to use the bathroom but couldn’t find one. Each time I thought I did and would start to relax and let go, something would happen to make me hold it until I finally actually waking up to use the bathroom. But it didn’t always work, around the same time, we went to visit Daddy’s sister in VA, she loves it when I sleep with her, I think it reminds her of when her children were small. So, I did…but this time I wet the bed! Mama was mortified! Dad’s sister simply laughed it off saying, “I’m a mother, too, and this is not the first time I’ve been peed on. It’s fine.” I helped her strip the bed, putting the wet linen in the clothes hamper, spread several large towels over the wet spot on the mattress, and remade the bed. We changed into dry gowns and went back to sleep.

I remember watching a TV movie about a kid who also wet the bed well into his teens, his mother was very mean about it. She would hang his wet bed sheet out the window of his room so that everyone on the street and his friends could see his shame. First, he made excuses that his puppy kept wetting his bed because it wasn’t trained yet. But that only worked for a while. The boy’s solution was to run across town in order to reach his house before the school bus did and pull in the wet sheet. He got so good at running, that he took up track in high school and eventually reached the Olympics. This led to a book and the TV movie.

After I started dreaming of needing to use the bathroom and not finding one - whenever my dreams change from theater-like movies to needing to find a bathroom, my brain will wake me up, so I won’t wet the bed! Now, I only wet the bed when I’m really bad sick and too weak to get up when I first feel the urge, and by the time I do, I’ve already wet the bed and myself. Once in the hospital, I was required to remain on my back in bed while waiting to take a special test. After waiting several hours, I had a strong urge to use the bathroom. I asked for permission to get up and was told no, I had to stay prone until after my test. When I stressed how badly I needed to use the bathroom, a nurse offered a bed pan, but when I explained about training my body not to let go in the bed, a doctor was consulted, and a catheter was inserted that allowed me to pee in a bag until after the special test was over.

The methods my Mom and I used might not work for everyone, but it worked for me. So, if your child or one that you know is still wetting the bed, seek the advice of a doctor and try these suggestions as well. But please don’t embarrass your children the way the mean mom did in that movie, wetting the bed it hard enough to deal with, but having it advertised is worse!

The End.