Should we medicate?

This is the question that plagues so many of us. Can't the doctor just give us a pill that will make this all go away? The simple answer is no. There are some things that doctors have prescribed, but they don't work well in most children. They also have some serious side effects that may make them just as irritating as bedwetting itself.
Besides, as I hope you are already aware, quite often medications just cover up symptoms instead of dealing with the root problems. In the case of enuresis, pills and sprays are at best a way of avoiding the inconveniences that both child and parents face. They simply do not address the true cause, which is a sleep disorder.
I am very sympathetic toward the family as a unit. I have spent hours every week doing extra laundry ( I have 5 kids...that's 2 loads a day without wet bedsheets!), and I have spent lots of money on pull-ups. My husband and I have lost entire nights of sleep. Our son has faced embarrassment, sleeplessness, frustration. We understand the inconveniences.
But beyond the obvious symptoms of this sleep issue are the hidden yet equally troubling ones. Lack of focus, hyperactivity, diagnoses of ADD or ADHD, groggy mornings, cranky afternoons, poor grades, irrational fears, and more...it's like a bad gift that keeps on giving. And if you medicate the symptom of bedwetting, all of these free bonuses just keep right on coming. In fact, medicating for any of them may be unwise. You may lose the bedwetting and the attention problems, but the free gift is yours to keep: grogginess, bad attitude (how's your when you are sleep deprived?), tooth grinding, night terrors, sleep walking, etc.
Of course, the difficult decision of what's right for your family lies with you, but as for me and my house, we will serve up no pills! Besides, the things that we have been trying are really helping. Hurray for sleep!