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Dr Catherine
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Girl
8-15 years

Hello! I'm an 18 y o girl and I've always been a bed wetter. I wet my bed almost daily in winter and in the summer only 2-3 times/ month :/ I am going to uni soon and I have absolutely no idea how I can hide it from my room mates. I've tried everything! I tried setting an alarm clock, trying to stay awake the whole night, pee before sleeping, not drinking before sleeping and such.. I also went to the doctor and he said that my bladder is perfectly fine. Should I see a psychologist?

Hi Sammy - I completely understand your desire to resolve your bedwetting before you commence university. You do not mention in your question whether or not you have given the conditioning alarm a go? The best approach to the treatment of bedwetting is the conditioning alarm, with approximately 75% of children and teenagers achieving continence following treatment. Bedwetting alarms work a little differently to normal alarm clocks in that the alarm sets off when you start to wet, waking you up so that you getup and go to the toilet. Over a period of time this conditions the body into recognizing the signs of a full bladder, you will eventually learn to wake on your own without the need for the alarm. For some people it can take up to 3 cycles of treatment so it is important not to give up if it at first it does not seem to work. The success of the alarm increases when introduced with the support of an experienced continence advisor. You can contact the Continence Foundation of Australia (1800 330 066) who should be able to recommend someone in your area. There are some more alternative methods that have met with different degrees of success. Please keep in mind however that these have not received the same level of research support as conditioning alarms or medications. Hypnotherapy has been successfully used to help individuals either hold their urine overnight or wake up and go to the toilet. This can be used on its own or in combination with the conditioning alarm. Your best point of contact for hypnotherapy is the Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association http://www.ahahypnotherapy.org.au/, which has branches in each state. They also have a free advisory line: 1800 067 557. All the best! Regards, Dr Cathrine