Bedwetting problems can be solved

This column was originally published in 2014.

Dear Annie: This is in response to “Bedwetter,” who is afraid to move in with his girlfriend for fear she’ll find out he still wets the bed.

My oldest son had a problem with bedwetting and was unable to attend sleepovers because he didn’t want his friends to know he wore Pull-ups at night. My husband and I decided to take him to a urologist, and it was the best decision we ever made. His doctor explained that most people’s brains produce a chemical at night that stops or slows urine production. My son’s body wasn’t producing this chemical on its own. The doctor prescribed a drug that worked immediately, and my son had no accidents as long as he took the medicine before bed. It changed his life.

I strongly urge “Bedwetter” to make an appointment with a urologist as soon as possible. Happy Mother of an Ex-bedwetter

Dear Mother: Thank you. We also recommend that readers check the National Kidney Foundation for additional information. We heard from a great many readers on this subject and appreciate their desire to help. Here is another suggestion:

From New York: My brothers and I were bedwetters into elementary school. It made life both difficult and shameful. When my children had the same problem, I took them to the homeopathic doctor who had been helping me with my allergies. She said research shows this can be an inherited problem. She said it was handed down by some distant ancestor who had syphilis. I have no idea whether this is true, and it doesn’t matter. Her remedies took care of the problem for my kids. This young man has a real problem. No woman wants to sleep with someone wearing diapers. He needs help. Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column.