Attention Deficit Disorder and Bedwetting

By Lyle D. Danuloff, Ph.D.

Bed wetting is caused by an inherited deep-sleep disorder, causing the bed wetter to spend most of the night in Stage 4 sleep, which is an oxygen-deprived sleep. Thus, when a person is deprived of oxygen for extended periods of time at night--affecting the brain, bloodstream, muscles and all other organs--the resulting symptoms can be identical to those of ADD/ADHD, (the inability to concentrate or pay attention, forgetfulness, failure to complete tasks, distractibility, etc.). To end bed wetting, you must remove the cause...a serious sleep disorder. We have discovered that, in most cases, once the sleep disorder is corrected and the bed wetting stops, the symptoms associated with ADD/ADHD also disappear. In some cases where there is a legitimate ADD/ADHD disability, the symptoms improve enough that medications for ADD/ADHD can most likely be discontinued.

Inexplicably, the most widely used criteria for ADD/ADHD diagnosis, (the American Psychiatric Association’s ‘DSM IV’), does not include sleep disorders as part of the symptomatology. However, research does suggest that (out of 1822 cases) 48% of those diagnosed with ADD/ADHD had been or still were bed wetters.

Interesting statistic...there are three times more male bed wetters than female, and three times more males diagnosed with ADD/ADHD than females!

Prematurely labeling children as ADD/ADHD and prescribing a drug may be quick, easy and inexpensive, but may not be the responsible thing to do. Most ADD/ADHD labeled children are medicated by doctors on a teacher’s recommendation. A study in the “Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine” reports pediatricians and child psychiatrists are turning more and more to prescription drugs to treat their young patients. The study says, “Little research exists to indicate whether drugs are being prescribed responsibly or whether they are over-prescribed, in part because health insurers are reluctant to pay for non-medication treatments.” Since the overlap of symptoms for ADD/ADHD and enuresis is so extensive, any child manifesting those symptoms should, in the initial ADD/ADHD testing situation, be examined regarding bedwetting. While it is certainly possible that a child may be suffering from both disorders, the likelihood of such a duel diagnosis is low. The immediate use of medication to treat the ADD-like symptoms therefore will not address the real issue, the deep sleep disorder itself. In addition, if the enuretic were to outgrow the bedwetting, not only will the sleep disorder remain and continue to produce symptoms, but there is no way to treat the sleep disorder.

At the Enuresis Treatment Center, it has been our experience over the years that addressing the bed wetting problem is the most productive method to providing relief of both the sleep disorder and the ADD/ADHD symptoms. Remember, symptoms almost always disappear when the bed wetting and the sleep disorder are addressed and ended. If the symptoms persist after successful treatment of the bed wetting, possible ADD/ADHD should be further examined and treated accordingly.

Our success rate in correcting the deep-sleep pattern and ending the bedwetting problem is at least 97%.