How to Use Medication to Treat Bedwetting

Several treatments are available to treat bedwetting, also known as nocturnal enuresis. In severe cases, you can use medication to treat bedwetting. Prescription medication should be used as a last resort, since all medications have possible side effects.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Use Desmopressin to Reduce Urine Production

1. Take your child to the doctor. Explain the nature and frequency of your child's bedwetting. Your doctor may test your child's kidney function.

2. Administer desmopressin about 1 hour before bedtime to treat bedwetting. Desmopressin lasts about 7 to 12 hours, so you will need to administer it again before the next bedtime.

3. Give your child a dose of desmopressin before a special occasion, such as a sleepover or camping trip. Desmopressin reduces the kidney's ability to create urine, which makes it especially effective for short-term use.

4. Use desmopressin in conjunction with behavioral bedwetting treatments or alarms to achieve long-term results. Studies have shown that long-term use of desmopressin may lead to water-retention problems. Also, most children will relapse when they stop taking desmopressin if they have not had other treatments.

Try Imipramine Antidepressants

5. Start with a low dose of imipramine to reduce the risk of side effects. Doctors typically recommend that you start the dosage at 10 mg per day.

6. Administer the dose of imipramine at night, just prior to bedtime.

7. Watch for side effects from imipramine. Common side effects include a racing heartbeat, dry mouth, constipation and blurred vision.

Give Ditropan a Try

8. Ask your doctor if ditropan may be helpful for your child. Ditropan is a prescription medication that is usually prescribed to treat bladder infections. It works by relaxing the bladder muscles, which decreases the urgent need to urinate.

9. Administer ditropan at the same time every day to enhance its effectiveness. You can choose either pill or syrup formulations.

10. Avoid ditropan for children under 5 years old.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the nasal form of desmopressin if your child is finicky about swallowing pills.
• If your child does not show improvement after 1 week of taking 10 mg of imipramine, ask your doctor about increasing the dosage. Dosages up to 25 mg are commonly used to treat bedwetting.
• Try therapy as well. Bedwetting medication is most effective when used in conjunction with behavioral therapy.
• Use gum or ice chips to relieve the dry mouth that can accompany some bedwetting medications.
• Beware of high medication costs. Desmopressin can be more expensive than other bedwetting medications.
• Don't use imipramine for children under 6 years of age, unless a doctor recommends it.

[drldanuloff]

on 4/2/2009 I came across your article and would like to advise that drugs cannot get to the core of the bedwetting problem, the inherited sleep disorder. If you are finding drugs to be at all effective, consider that once the drugs are discontinued, the bedwetting will likely resume. Drugs may serve as a temporary fix for a complicated problem, and drugs clearly produce side effects, some as yet unknown.For 34 years, The Enuresis Treatment Center has successfully treated thousands of people from around the world who thought there was no hope for their child’s bedwetting. Our skilled treatment counselors have extensive knowledge and experience to properly change the inadequate arousal disorder of the brain to end the nighttime wetting, all without the use of drugs, as well as creating a restorative night’s sleep. It is also interesting to note that quite often physicians bring their own child

[drldanuloff]

on 4/2/2009 I came across your article and would like to advise that drugs cannot get to the core of the bedwetting problem, the inherited sleep disorder. If you are finding drugs to be at all effective, consider that once the drugs are discontinued, the bedwetting will likely resume. Drugs may serve as a temporary fix for a complicated problem, and drugs clearly produce side effects, some as yet unknown.For 34 years, The Enuresis Treatment Center has successfully treated thousands of people from around the world who thought there was no hope for their child’s bedwetting. Our skilled treatment counselors have extensive knowledge and experience to properly change the inadequate arousal disorder of the brain to end the nighttime wetting, all without the use of drugs, as well as creating a restorative night’s sleep. It is also interesting to note that quite often physicians bring their own child