Thursday, April 08, 2010

New Meds

So this is something I've not talked about on my blog before because it is a little private. But I am deciding to share it today just in case any of you may benefit from it.

Our little Kate has never, I repeat, NEVER, had a dry day in her life. She has consistent dry nights, but never dry days. She doesn't have full blown wet your pants accidents, but she is NEVER dry either. And she has to go the bathroom all of the time. I'm not exaggerating when I say she has to go every 30 minutes and sometimes more often. You can imagine all our frustrations. Trips are a nightmare, play dates are a no go, dance classes are impossible, going to the park a horror, not to mention the embarrassment involved for her and I, and the laundry....ay-yi-yi.

She potty trained quite early, a little before she was 2, and I've just always chalked the wet problem up to her not being quite developed in the muscle area. It wasn't a battle of wills to get her to the potty, she just absolutely could not hold it in. But now she is 4 1/2 and should NOT still be having accidents. Not just accidents, but no control period.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I took her to the doctor, he ran a couple of tests and did an x-ray, all which came out normal. But THANK GOODNESS he listened to me and understood that I wasn't dealing with an age issue. (I did have to press just a little, but he listened.) I've potty trained 4 kids now and the difference between frequent learning accidents and Kate's issue was pretty severe. It was something more serious. We decided to put her on some bladder relaxants (Oxybutynin) and can I just say HALLELUJAH!!!

I have a different child. She wore the same pair of pants two days in a row for the first time EVER in her life. I can go to the grocery store and actually finish without wet panties or tears, I can go for longer drives without worrying about my truck seat, and she is so excited to feel like a big girl. Now, she can actually wait until her bladder is full to empty it. Where before, she was tinkling little bits ALL. THE. TIME. I think she held it 3 hours yesterday with zero problems. This is a life changing thing for us and I couldn't be more happy.

15 comments:

Jewelle said...

I sympathize with you. Lily has a similar problem, though not as bad. We've never gone to the Dr for it though. That is something to think about. Because of it, I know every potty in every store, library, gas station, playground, etc. within our city. We always have a spare set of clothes with us. I'm glad to hear this has helped Kate out. I'm sure this has made your life less stressful all around :D

Camille said...

So, is this something that will fix the problem? Or will she always be dependent on the bladder relaxant? I ask because Katie's little girl is starting to show these same symptoms...

Elena said...

Camille, good question. We are not sure at this point, but we're hoping that with a little help from the meds and a little time for maturity the combo will be able to fix itself.

Camille said...

I hope so, too, the poor thing. That is a big trial for such a little girl! Good luck!

Wendy said...

Yay! It's wonderful when the burdens we deal with day in and day out are lightened...or in this case, solved!

From one mom to another, YAY!!!

Lee Ann said...

What that is AWESOME!!! - that you have something to help, not that she has the problem :( But what a relief that must be!

LouandAngela said...

Funny--I was going to ask the exact same thing Camille did, so I read the rest of the comments. Anyway. . .I'm soooo glad this is working! Man, what a trial! Poor thing--and even more so, poor MOM!

CB said...

That is obviously wonderful for you (Oh I am thinking about the amount of laundry you must have had!) but SO SO Nice for her. Imagine how it must have stressed her out and weighed on her self esteem. Poor little thing - holding your pee, it should come naturally, but since it did not I am so glad you found something that could help her. That is excellent!

hoLLy said...

thanks for sharing this-i'm sure there are lots of kids going through the same problem whose moms might just happen upon this post and get the help they need! i'm so glad you found something that helps, definitely life changing. i have a bro that had a problem similar to that, but his problem was at night(till he was VERY old, i'm talkin middle school, poor kid) he ended up having to take meds of some kind and eventually it went away. different situation, but similar type of thing. embarassing pee is not cool for anyone!

Tonya said...

WOW.. Poor Kate. I am so excited for her and you all. Isn't modern medicine incrediable? May I repeat. Hallelujah!

Amanda Rigby said...

I'm so happy for kate, and you!Poor kate that had to be aweful. Thank goodness you got the doctor to listen to you, there not usually very good at that.

Jennifer said...

I want to talk to you about this sometime. If you see me online on FB can we chat?

I'm happy for her success!

Crystal Escobar said...

oh, wow! That is great! My niece is 7 and still wets the bed at night. We can't figure out what to do, maybe putting her on those meds would be necessary.

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

I am so glad that you found a solution - I bet it makes her less anxious - which can help with the problem, too.

Tamara said...

Hi - wanted to say thanks for posting on this topic - LeeAnne directed me to your post. I have been dealing with this with my early-potty-trained almost 5 year old daughter since the beginning of April. We have been treating her with antibiotics for UTI though the cultures really didn't show anything significant and the problem of frequency (like you said - at least every 30 minutes with extreme urgency) isn't improving. I have not had any further testing done after I google searched the issue and found that some kids have this and it usually goes away in 3 months on its own - 3 months sounds like an eternity at this point for the poor girl. She starts kindergarten in the fall so we will need to get a solution... appreciate your encouragement!