adult bed wetting?

rabialiones

my aunt, is really worried, she bedwet as a child, but eventually grew out of it about the age of 7/8.
now she is in her 50's, and much to her dismay is having the same problem again. and thinks it may be something psychological, as she has a dream and although the dream is different each time, one similarity is that she sees in her dream that she is sitting on the toilet and passes wee as though she has not been all day and is releived that she is now able to wee and feels very releived, as soon as she has wet the bed, she wakes up and realises that she is in bed and not on the toilet. also the amount of wee she passes is alot more than she would normally, if she was to get up and go to the toilet.
she goes to the toilet last thing before going to bed, and hardly has anything to drink in the evening.
she would like to know if anyone else has this problem and how to deal with it. she dares not to talk to anyone as she feels very ashamed.
there is nothing in particular that triggers this, it just happens to her occasionally.

Justie

it's normal that as we get older we need to get up and wee more often during the night (well anecdotally anyway if you listen to any of my relatives) dreams about weeing are just the mix of the conscious and unconscious (I had loads for several weeks when I was in my first trimester) we would normally wake up before we actually start to wee though. It's possible that there is a medical cause so she should go and see her GP, there really is no shame and if there are underlying problems then it's better to be a bit embarrassed then to let them carry on. In the mean time Boots and other chemists sell incontinence pants and pads, not attractive but effective and they'd at least save her the clearing up.

alba37

It could be the symptom of something else e.g. Diabetes so I would say it's worth mentioning to her GP. Just to rule it out.

oops_a_daisy

Definately try to get her to see her GP and he/she may need to refer her to see a Continence Advisor - they are lovely people and she will not be made to feel ashamed. In the meantime ask her not to cut out fluids but to cut out caffiene ( sorry about the spelling ). It could have an underlying cause but cutting out fluids is rarely the answer and can lead to dehydration especially if caffiene is present. As well as being able to get hold of pads in Boots she could also look into getting a mattress protector which covers the bed so it doesnt get ruined ( you can get non plasticky ones which have material on the top ). If she doesnt want to purchase the pads in boots she can get them direct from companies who do mail order. I believe that you can order via the internet for Tena products and some other companies do internet ordering too ( I do not work for Tena by the way ).
As she feels ashamed it may be making her even more nervous about it and it may be making the problem worse - Im sure her GP will be the best help for her.
All the best and good luck

inkie

Needs to see GP - could be a sx of many things - one of them being Diabetes Insipidus (lack of anti-diruretic hormone). Get advice from the professionals, and tell her not to be embarrased they will have had heard it all before - trust me, i'm a nurse.

Crazychik

(((hugs))) to your aunt.

As suggested, get it checked out, could be diabetes! My nan had the same thing!

Good luck, and hope she comes through this

Mother_Hub

Big Huges to your aunt. She needs to see the Dr there's no shame.

rabialiones

thanks to all for help and advice which she welcomes and has put her mind at ease.

Savvy_Sue

There is a sign in the toilets at my GP's surgery about an incontinence clinic, maybe her GP has access to a local one too?

While she should not feel embarrassed about telling her GP I can understand why she might, if she'd feel better talking to the practice nurse first then that's another option.

llh189

I completely understand how your aunt must feel, I went through a period of really bad bladder infections about 18 months ago, which did on several occasions mean that during the day I didn't quite make it to the loo in time - latch key syndrome my doctor called it, not very attractive, my OH at the time was very understanding but lord I was 31, no kids and then on a couple of really bad attacks I wet the bed - I was mortified, embarassed and really freaked out.

My advice - like so many others is for your aunt to visit her GP and rule out any underlying medical problems - if this turns out to be OK, I would seek via her GP some counselling to discuss any other issues that might exist.

Very luckily (SP) my bladder problem has cleared up now but then again I am now hopelessly single ( which really helps) and I drink 2 ltr of water a day to keep infections at bay but I do remember with some horror how awful I felt at the time so big hugs to your aunt

HTH - Lisa

tanith

Seriously a GP will treat your Aunts problem just like any other illness, please reassure your Aunt . There really is no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed... GP's have seen it all before and it could be something quite simple like an infection that could be cleared up with anti-biotics......