Hello everyone and thank you so much for all these helpful replies.
The kindness of strangers on here- one nappyvalley netter even gave me an alarm - what a lifesaver this forum is.
As to the above poster who asked me about the GP, yes I have absolutely been to my GP and asked for help. However so far the advice has been that he should grow out of it and that there are ‘drugs’ that might help if he doesn’t. We have been at the end of our tethers with this and I feel that I needed support from other parents, which can sometimes be more helpful when one hears from others and their advice. Which it most definitely has! So thank you to all the help, I really appreciate it and feel we are already some way to combatting this problem xx

My daughter is younger (6.5) but she’d had x1 dry night a month if that! She was starting to get embarrassed and her friends were talking about sleepovers and she didn’t feel she’d ever be able to go.

We got a hypnosis CD by Lynda Hudson called ‘I’m Dry at Night’. My gut was she could hold on (she was still dry at 3.45am when we got up for an early flight last may) but wasn’t able to wake up when she needed to go - and was used to weeing into a pull-up. Anyway, my husband was really sceptical but we started seeing results almost instantly. This was x6 weeks ago and we are now x3 weeks dry. When we thought it had stopped working after 2.5 weeks, I emailed Lynda and not only did she reply but she made my daughter a customised certificate and she was so chuffed. So pleased we didn’t go down the alarm/drugs route as for her, it was a behavioural issue.

Honestly, it’s been a game changer. She also does a version for older kids.

There's an excellent charity called ERIC www.eric.org.uk.  My daughter has found their helpline really helpful with her son's bedwetting problems.  You can talk to a specialist nurse on it.

@mummyonthego - Pam Vaill Carter, she used to be in Wandsworth Bridge Road and also worked for the Childrens Osteopathy Centre. She is now based in Richmond known as vaillofhealth. It won’t let me post the link.

There are also some specialist physios who focus on this area and help them strengthen the relevant muscles to help them with their bladde control.

Someone I know went to Lisa Few at Bodyfix near Epsom

www.lisafewphysiotherapy.co.uk

So upsetting for your son.

As others have said get support from your GP and ask for referral to urology dept.

I had same with one of my children who is just dry now aged 10. The medication we use is ‘desmomelts’ and we still use it now. It suppresses the production of urine.

I have to say that a real focus on volume drinking during the day was a game changer for us. Focus on big glasses of water to stretch the bladder. We realised that our daughter was drinking a lot during the day,but sipping and not getting much volume in.

We used an alarm too, which we didn’t need because we focussed on the volume.

Very happy to chat further

Ooh which cranial osteopath did you use?

Hi there,
We had a similar problem with our daughter. There is a solution. His bed wetting is probably due to the fact that the hormone which limits the production of urine at night and wakes you up when you need a wee hasn’t kicked in yet. However there is a drug that can help produce it. My daughter went on it for 6 months and hasn’t had a problem since. Sorry I can’t remember the name of the drug but it was a game changer. Get a GP to refer you so you can get help. I wouldn’t bother with an alarm because it doesn’t fix the problem. Hope that helps.

There are some brilliant pills that he can take before bed after last drink / pee etc. I’m away from home and can’t remember their name as it was a while ago. They are perfect for sleep overs/ overnight school camping trips 😬. One of my boys was the same and didn’t grow out of it until about 12 with odd accident after. He’s now Upper sixth and fine! It’s horrid for them. You can get them on prescription from doctor. It’s more common than you think but obviously people don’t talk very openly. I feel for you because it’s upsetting for them but these pills were a game changer. I think they were first invented for fighter pilots!! Good luck x

Agree with others to try to see a urologist. A friend of mine’s son had this issue til around the same age and there was an underlying bladder problem that they were then able to get resolved.

Your poor son. This didn't happen to my kids but two of my kids' friends used to wear pull-ups for sleepovers until they were really quite old. I managed it very carefully so that my kids never knew - they still don't to this day. For school trips you need to talk to the school staff - I think it's a surprisingly common problem and your son won't be the only one in his class. They will know how to handle it. In the meantime get him some thick and baggy pyjama bottoms so the pull-ups don't show.

Hi Catboo,

it's called 'nocturnal enuresis' and it is often hereditary, as you suspect.

If a child hasn't grown out of it by ~8yrs old, they're less likely to do so without some help. Since it is distressing your child and impacting on their normal activities, I'd suggest seeing your GP sooner rather than later and following their advice which may include urology referral, as others on here have alluded to. There are simple measures which can really help. It's also useful for a doctor to rule out other issues which may be contributing to the problem.

Try a osteopath who also does cranial. Mine was 5 so a bit younger and I tried everything, even picking him up out of bed at 10.30pm before I went to bed and putting him on the toilet. One session and I was stunned as he did not wet the bed that night. We had a follow up session and he never wet the bed again. She explained that it’s quite common in long and lean boys that their ligaments do not stretch as much and put pressure on the bladder.

Try a osteopath who also does cranial. Mine was 5 so a bit younger and I tried everything, even picking him up out of bed at 10.30pm before I went to bed and putting him on the toilet. One session and I was stunned as he did not wet the bed that night. We had a follow up session and he never wet the bed again. She explained that it’s quite common in long and lean boys that their ligaments do not stretch as much and put pressure on the bladder.