Success Story - Dry at last!

Initial Email Enquiry from our website:

Master 12 is a chronic bed wetter and always has been.
We have never made an issue of his bed wetting, certainly praise him lots if he has a fairly dry night and great celebrations if he is dry. In the last 6 months he would have had 2 dry nights by himself.
When he was 8, we saw a paediatrician, and he wasn’t at all concerned as children grow out of this and I know they can, but he doesn’t appear to be doing so now that he is 12 and off to secondary school within 6 months. We were referred to the hospital sister who worked with us using a bell and pad. We did this and I was very thorough. We had the alarm pad for about 3 months and not once did the noise of it wake him, although I was getting up an average of 3 times a night to the alarm. In the end, it clearly wasn’t working.
At various times over the years, we have used reward systems – stickers, special times, Beanie Kids etc. Master 12 is always excited about these, but it doesn’t make a difference.
We have also tried Minirin. It works quite well the first night, the second night has limited success (usually wets but a little less) and from then on has no effect. We use Minirin as an emergency if a friend stays or if on a camp, or if he is at his friends house.
Currently he wears pull ups to bed and 19/20 days has wet right through these in the morning.
He is a great kid and loves to be dry! He really does try, but this is something that’s just incredibly difficult for him. As he’s getting older it is becoming a bigger problem and unfortunately one which is getting in the way for him socially. He begins Secondary School next year and has a 4 day camp which all children attend within the first few weeks– as things are, he cannot possibly go as the ramifications of bed wetting socially would be a disaster.
Please help us!

Master 12 joined our Boss of the Bladder program and at first consultation presented as a quiet and reserved boy who was very embarrassed about his condition, but also very motivated about beginning the program and wanting to be dry at night.
Treatment involved being placed on our “Boss Of The Bladder” program which incorporates the use of a bell and pad alarm system, rewards, phone and one-to-one consultations and encouraged responsibility to manage the night wetting. He was also encouraged to drink more fluids during the day and before bed.
After only three consultations and over a period of three months, he had been dry for one whole month and was extremely pleased with his success. Both he and his mother were extremely happy with this outcome and he was given a certificate and bookmark to celebrate his wonderful achievement. There was a significant change in his demeanour from the initial consultation. He appeared much more confident, talkative and excited about beginning secondary school. He phoned three weeks later upon returning from his year seven camp to inform me that he was dry throughout the camp, had had a fantastic time and had been dry at night since.

CASE STUDY: REFUSAL TO USE THE TOILET TO POO!

Master 4 first presented to our clinic as a delightful, quiet and co-operative boy, who was toilet trained for wees, but refused to sit on the toilet when needing to poo. When his parents tried to encourage him to sit on the toilet, he would become increasing agitated and anxious and would hold on for as long as he could, before hiding behind the couch and pooing in his pants.

As part of therapy to overcome his anxiety, a behavioural modification program was established in the first session. Master 4 was required to sit on the toilet to do “practice poos”. The emphasis to him and his family was practice, so that there was no implication of pressure to pass a bowel motion as that would only increase his anxiety. He was also set up with a reward system for complying with the practices and a reward system for achieving his goal.

After only two consultations over a period of six weeks, he was pooing in the toilet routinely with no distress. His mother was extremely pleased with his success, but still concerned that he would only pass a bowel motion in her presence and in his own toilet. After introducing incentives to try other toilets and gradually exposing Master 4 to many other toilets, he began pooing in other toilets and without the presence of his mother. It was recommended to continue using rewards and incentives until he was confidently using toilets for one month and then to gradually phase them out.

Upon follow up, his mother reported that he continued to use the toilet successfully with no accidents and had “not looked back”. She felt that there had been a significant improvement in other areas of his life as well, including eating better, being less anxious and more settled. His mother emailed me this final correspondence;

“Rebecca, thanks again for all your help. It was a pleasure meeting you and watching Master 4 form such a strong (and immediate) bond with you. Thanks for not only helping him, but for allowing me to see some of the 'mistakes' I was making with him as he was growing up (overall - not only in relation to his toilet training issues). I have highly recommended you to all my friends. And we may be in touch again as he and his sister both grow up....”