Here is the problem we have a son that is 15 and still wets the bed, even worse he will get up at night and pee in the corner of his room. The bath room is less that two feet from his room. His room smells so bad that you can smell it all over the house. He has been seen by his doctor and had an extensive workup. There was nothing found wrong. We have tried to limit fluids at night but he will sneak in to the bathroom and drink his fill or swipe something to drink from downstairs. We have tried meds but is he is drinking lots of fluids after the meds it could be dangerous. If we put plastic blankets on the bed he shreds them within a week. If we wake him in the middle of the night he will remain up the rest of the night. We have tried to punish his late night drinking and that only made matters worse. We have tried to reward dry nights but that failed also. We he goes to a friend house we have to tell the parents, because he has wet a friends new couch. We are at wits end.

All combined, you've described some very unusual behavior. I would definitely seek another doctor's opinion - and preferably a specialist. I'm surprised that your doctor would not refer you to someone else after describing this behavior to him.

Do some reading at these links to familiarize yourself with some terminology and general info, then shop around for a doctor to get a 2nd opinion from.

I've known someone who was that age and still wetting the bed... I'm no expert, but I think maybe some counseling or therapy should take place here... He could be experiencing (or he could have experienced) some type of trauma (as was the case with the boy I knew) which causes him to not control himself. Yes I agree with RickJ... A specialist would be appropriate.

Has he been seen by a urologist? If not, this may be in order.

Could he have a sleep disorder? May be time for a sleep study.

I agree that punishment will only make this worse. I am also wondering if he has been tested for Diabetes. Frequent nocturnal urination is a major symptom.

I believe it is time to change doctors.

If your doctor has ruled out any physical cause then that leaves only one avenue. A visit to a psychologist is in order. How was he with toilet training as a toddler? Not to play devil's advocate but it is possible that the two of you are overbearing parents? Not just when it comes to the bedwetting and steps taken to control it but other things as well? These and other issues need to be examined by a psychologist.

Have you thought about getting some kind of (for better lack of words) getting him somekind of diaper or pullup to where at night. I know my daughter would pee on the floor as a way of her having the last say. She hasn't done it in along time. But when I would send her to her room she would pee on the floor or in the trash can and she said well you told me not to leave my room. Have you tried counseling for him-maybe it's a psychological problem.

Aww j_L great minds think alike.. I would have him rechecked for diabetics. As some one else said I would also get some counseling or therapy.
It sounds like these posters have covered every angle.
I don't think punishment is the answer. He needs support. I can't begin to understand how bad he feels about all this, but he must feel just awful.
Good luck and let us know what happens.

I agree with Isabelle. Punishment could only make this worse. He is probably ashamed and embarrassed. There is a disorder called nocturemia (bed wetting at night) it is a medical disorder and can be helped with medicaiton and counseling.

Diabetic testing and a urologist are in order.

I will agree, punishment is not the answer, since I doubt he wants to be doing this.


I do believe I would still wake him up at night to make him go, getting back to sleep may be an issue but that could also be addressed by the doctor.

This may well be more of a sleeping disorder than anything else, he is not truly waking up, so he is sleep walking and things he is going in the toilet, or just not able to properly wake up. Since if you wake him up and he can't go back to sleep this make me think in that area.

There are other doctors who specialise in sleep disorders.

I think that psycholgical avenues need to be explored? Does he have any other strange behaviors? In my line of work we see this as a common sign of sexual abuse. Definitely ask for a referral to a urologist and an endrocrinologist.

Another thing I have learned today is that people who drink caffinated carbonated beverages like Pepsi, Coke, Mt. Dew and the like tend to have this problem. It could be linked to a weak bladder caused by caffiene and carbonation.

You may have to cut these drinks out if he does indeed drink them.

The only help I can give in lew of these wonderful answers you have already gotten is that for the smell you can use a white vinagar and water mix 50/50 and spray the heck out of his room. It will reek for a couple of hours but after that you should notice a significant drop in the odor. Also there is a product called " L.A. is Awesome" at least I think that's the name. I get it at the dollar store near home and it works for everything. It's also safe to use in carpet cleaners too. Put it this way it got the spray paint off the carpet that my hubbies ex roommate left there a year afterward. I did use a bit of elbow grease but not as much as you would think and it saved the carpet too. Ok so this was totally off subject, but hey it might help...

I know this is an old post but I just found it. I can relate to the 15 yr. old guy. I was almost identical in behavior patters at that age. I wet the bed every day until age 15, well honestly almost every day of my 20 yrs. And counting. Well anyway I did not want to talk to a doctor, or anyone else about my problem and I stubbornly refused to wear any "baby" diapers to bed. I did not have the choice however in that I had to have a plastic covering over my matress and pillow. Most nights I wet more than once so even when I'd leave myy wet bed at night I would often wet the floor next to my bed. I was also known to get up and wet in corners of my room. I'm not sure how to encourage a 15 year iold, even now, but if you are a parent in a similar situation maybe show your son my post. When I turned 17 I also turned my thinking because I was tired of the whole mess and decided it was silly not to go to a "urology specialist" to try and cure the bedwetting. Well two important things happened, one was I discovered why I wet my bed, a major relief, and secondly discovered why I resisted going to the doctor in the first place. This may or may not help a bedwetter, but it's the ONLY way to KNOW what is going on. The doctor must perform a eurodynamic test, which of course means running a tube inside your bladder, which kind of sucks, but as I said it's the only way! Well I have a neurogenic bladder, which simply means due to NOTHING under my control my bladder reacts "like a babies". This explaines why I go to the bathroom 20 times a day when the average person goes 4 or 5 and especially explaines why I have no control at night. The doctor connot explain why this condition exists, but it is very real and not something alarms, medicine, or conditioning will magically cure. Well once I knew this my attitude completely changed, and I know this won't excite the bedwetter, BUT, I started wearing cloth diapers with plastic pants at night after finding out disposable diapers were absolutely not going to handle my "volume". Anyway for over 2 years now I sleep completely through the night and even go to sleep no longer concerned or stressed about trying to foce myself to not wet. Once I found out the bedwetting was just a "physical reality" I quit hating myself for doing it. Knowing it's not something I can just "get control of" took tremendous weight off my shoulders. I cannot say I like keeping up with the washing of diapers BUT it's mucho better than the soaking wet sheets, sweats, pj's, pillows, blankets, floor, corners, and on and on. After all that I might simply suggest you let the doctor check it out... funny thing is this is exactly what they do every day and it was only a big deal to me.

Good luck

OK I totally understand where your son is coming from.. he's angry, ashamed and doesn't understand.
There are some AMAZING meds out there that arnt dangerous but life savers. One if called minirin, it comes in tablet and nasel form. This site will explain everything http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcmed.nsf/pages/fpcminit/$File/fpcminit.pdf
And I'm guessing if he stops the bed wetting his attuitde will change.