Bedwetting

[zeropoint]

Hope this is the right place, as this is sleep related.

I have been having severe PTSD responses for a while after a lot of different kinds of trauma. But things have taken an unpleasant turn now: on Sunday morning, a fire broke out in my apartment and I had to escape. My cat and I are both okay physically (well, minor smoke inhalation) and I am doing a great job of taking care of everything that needs to be done.

I'm still in the hotel the Red Cross got for me, and though I'd been congratulating myself on how well I was coping, I am now thinking maybe not since I apparently wet the bed overnight. I don't know how common this is in adults and trauma survivors in particular, though it seems like it'd be a normal trauma response.

It's a little embarrassing and also inconvenient because I only have one article of clothing now, the dress I was wearing when I fled the fire, and now the dress is urine-soaked in addition to all the filth from wearing it nonstop for days. (The hospital doesn't have laundry facilities or a robe I could wear.)

I am curious if others have experienced bedwetting as trauma response and if it's often a one-time thing or lasts a while during the acute phase.

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

I don't have any advice on the whether the bed-wetting is a trauma reaction, but I would imagine it could be. Try not to freak out about a one time occurrence of bed-wetting yet though. It could be as simple as your body was so exhausted from all that's been happening, it just forgot to wake you up to tell you to go to the bathroom. Can you wash the dress in the hotel sink and hang dry it while you wrap up in a blanket? Do you have a friend or relative nearby that could get you another set of clothes? If you have a contact for someone at the Red Cross, they may be able to bring you some clothing as well. I feel horrible that you are already dealing with PTSD and now have this added to your difficulties. It sounds like you've been taking it one step at a time in dealing with it so that is good.

 

[desiderata310]

It's something I experienced recently. No idea what to make of it.
So at least you aren't the only one?

 

[radicalgratitude]

I'd say it's pretty common.

Could you buy Woolite or an off brand to wash in the sink? A dollar store may have this.

 

[Lucycat]

@zeropoint I am so sorry that you are going through this. How horrid and embarrassing. However I can reassure you that bedwetting is not uncommon as a trauma reaction. Fortunately, just because it happened once does not mean it will happen again. I think the advice given by JEKBreatheandBelieve to ask for further assistance from the Red Cross is a very good one. I am sure they will be very familiar with such a crisis, will certainly not be judgmental and they will understand your embarrassment.

Do you have any idea how long you will need to be out of the apartment? Will you feel OK about going back there or will you need to find somewhere new?

 

[desiderata310]

I don't know where you are located but sometimes if you can call one of the local churches they can lend support as well with clothes and other things as well.
I'm sorry this happened to you.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

Bed wetting is a response both to extreme stress, shock and also common with both sexual and childhood traumas - obviously the shock and ongoing stress of the fire is enough to cause this, but you also mention that you have other traumas, so I wanted to point this out to you. I'm not just talking from experience, trauma and bedwetting are linked in many ways and I've been told so by various people within the medical and mental health fields. Though personally I have encountered bed-wetting and waking wetting, mildly and fully both during traumatic stages and after, including at a time when a large proportion of my traumatic memories had been repressed (I can elaborate further if you want me to, I just don't want to distract from your issues with my own here unless you would appreciate this). It has always been a temporary problem never lasting for more than a months but usually less than a week and it was not always every night for me. Though some of the waking wetting was caused by my own behaviours made worse by physical problems and intense anxiety, these lasted for longer overall (several years), though happened far more periodically.

I think the best things to do are to avoid caffeine and other dieuretics and largely treat yourself kindly and like a child in a similar position. You're clearly going through a hell of a lot and being harsh on yourself won't help a damn thing, as embarrassing as this might be, it will pass in time, it's ok and understandable. Try not to drink or to drink as little as possible 1-2 hours before your bed time and drink the majority of your liquids in the morning/early afternoon. If you're taking sleeping medication and certain others, especially be aware that this may interfere with your ability to wake up to urinate. For me a large number of the incidents I had were caused during nightmares, that were so intense I couldn't escape them, in this case an anti-anxiety treatment could be helpful, be this medication, natural remedies or just trying to de-stress in whatever soothes you as much as you can.