u/Icy-Flow398

I've had a bedwetting problem for as long as I can remember. This wasn't a "little accident" type of issue; it was a waking up covered in pee from my belly button to my feet. I still recall being little and waking up, lifting those heavy, urine-soaked sheets off my wet, cold body.

​I tried all kinds of things to make it stop. My grandparents even had me try home remedies, like taking a spoonful of honey before going to bed, but nothing worked. ​

Last night, I decided to stay up since I had nowhere to go today, and boy, was I in shock. To give you some background, earlier that day I had drunk a total of six bottles of water. I drank them between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., and during the day, I went to the bathroom regularly (about 6 to 7 times). ​Because I pulled an all-nighter, I got to see what actually happens, and I was stunned.

I went to the bathroom a total of 9 times between midnight and 6 a.m., and these weren't little tinkles. Each time I went, it was a full bladder release. It came out fast, hard and heavy, and I was really stumped by how this was possible, knowing I had already been going throughout the day. I mean, I was peeing like I had chugged two gallons of water right before bed. It didn't feel like a gradual buildup either; it was an instant, urgent need to use the bathroom, like I’d been holding it in for hours even though I hadn’t. It’s like my body gave me no warning or heads-up; it just demanded that I empty my bladder instantly. ​

I live with my family—there are 4 of us—and I was taken back by the fact that I took 9 bathroom trips in 6 hours, while they all only took one trip during that entire time. As I was sitting on the toilet, I kept thinking, there's no way this is normal.

​My bedwetting isn't quite as bad now as it was when I was a child, but I'm just sitting here lost in thought. If I had peacefully gone to sleep last night, I would've woken up having had 9 full on accidents on myself. I can't afford expensive name-brand diapers, so I've invested about $200 in waterproof bed protection liners from Amazon over the years instead. I double-layered them on my mattress, but I'm still surprised at how much fluid my body emptied during bedtime, especially since I had been going regularly throughout the entire day. Luckily, I weighed myself right before my last water bottle, and when I stepped on the scale at 6 a.m., I was 5 lbs lighter.