Dear Alice,
When I was a child, I used to wet the bed. This finally cleared up when I was about twelve. In the last month or so, it has come back — except it's even more embarrassing now because I'm twenty-eight and share my bed with my husband! It started when I had a bad cold, so I thought perhaps it was just stress incontinence caused by coughing while asleep. I do suffer somewhat from stress incontinence, but I learned to deal with it when awake by clamping my legs together whenever I cough or sneeze. I talked to my doctor about this, and he also thought it was due to coughing while asleep. He treated my cough and assured me that once the cough was gone, the bedwetting would be, too. Well, my cough has cleared up, but I am still wetting the bed almost every night! It's mortifying, and I feel like my husband finds me disgusting (not that I really blame him). He says it doesn't matter to him, but I feel like I ought to be put in a nursing home. Is there anything I can do to stop this?
Dear Reader,
Yes, there are things you can do to help dry up your recent bedwetting condition. You're already on the right track by having gone to your doctor and asking Alice! Since the bedwetting did not stop when the cough did, the next best step is to see a health care provider who has experience with treating incontinence patients. A gynecologist, urologist, or urogynecologist (if you are able to find one) who specializes in women's urinary problems can determine the cause and appropriate treatment(s).
Since you have a history of stress incontinence as a child (leaking urine when pressure is placed on the bladder such as through coughing or sneezing), your provider will probably recommend Kegel exercises to strengthen and train the muscles in your pelvic floor that control urine flow. S/he can also prescribe medication(s) and discuss lifestyle modifications that can put a damper on your P.M. pee problem. Ninety percent of people who have incontinence (the majority are women) can be successfully treated. Hopefully you (and your husband) will find relief soon.
- Alice
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Help for adult bedwetting
