Peeing at night

My DH has this problem, he takes Mircobegran too his GP said to check his BP everyday for a week to make sure it was ok if it hadn’t risen by then he would be ok.
Also to avoid caffeine as that’s a known stimulant, he was drinking Ribena every day which we didn’t realise contained caffeine, other soft drinks may too.

2 or 3 a night for me too, it’s a real bind. Growing old gets me down 👎

Don't cut down on drinking water, or the urine will be more concentrated and more likely to irritate your bladder and make you feel you must go. In fact, you probably need to drink more! You could concentrate your drinking into the earlier part of the day so that your weeing is also happening earlier.

Avoid having more than one or two cups of coffee during the day (morning or midday) , and experiment to find out if anything else is best avoided. Keep a food/drink diary fot a fortnight (at least) and look for a pattern.

Do you sleep well? If you lie awake, you will be more aware of needing the loo than if you are sleeping soundly.

Thanks everyone. Some very good suggestions for me to look at. X

beachcomber76

I wouldn't cut back on fluid/water intake as it's vital to the body's physiology and your well being.

24 years ago through drinking less during the day due to a stressful situation [although always drinking tea/coffee at breaktimes] - I was suddenly rushed into hospital in agony with a kidney stone/s due to being dehydrated. I wasn't aware I was.

I was advised to drink 1.5 - 2ltrs of water [as well as tea/coffee] throughout the day which I have done since then. [No kidney stone since].I need the loo in the daytime no more than I did before and just once in the night - but always have done.

I wouldn't wish kidney stone agony on anyone. It's awful.

My husband had one of those. He was on his knees in agony. The ambulance was literally at the door in ten minutes. They gave him morphine.
12hr at A & E.
That night I looked down the loo each time he went, I could see a tiny stone one time.
I fished it out & when I looked under magnifier it was shaped a multi sided bead with very sharp edges.
No wonder he was in agony, all that pain for a piece of grit!
Funny thing it was the same colour as the vitamin C tablets he was taking. Read later, they are a well known cause of stones.

I'm 61, not diabetic and am post menopausal, but for reasons I don't understand, I'm forever having to get up in the night for weeing.

A couple of weeks ago, from about 10 pm to about 3 am, I was up a whopping 9 times! Just as I'd snuggled back into my big squishy pillow and fat duvet, all cosy, I was back to the bog again!

I wouldn't cut back on fluid/water intake as it's vital to the body's physiology and your well being.

24 years ago through drinking less during the day due to a stressful situation [although always drinking tea/coffee at breaktimes] - I was suddenly rushed into hospital in agony with a kidney stone/s due to being dehydrated. I wasn't aware I was.

I was advised to drink 1.5 - 2ltrs of water [as well as tea/coffee] throughout the day which I have done since then. [No kidney stone since].I need the loo in the daytime no more than I did before and just once in the night - but always have done.

I wouldn't wish kidney stone agony on anyone. It's awful.

MT62

Hi HVDY2. Oh yes please do ask about the Botox, or interstim therapy (bit like acupuncture in the nerve or the ankle).
My Gp phoned me up at home, told me to stop the microbegron? As it can affect the bp. They checked mine & it was sky high- never had a problem before.
Also, I’ve heard those type of drugs can contribute to getting dementia.
I have Botox once a year & it’s changed my life.
You can have it done under general, spinal, or no local.

I must stress I have been having all sorts of treatments since my early twenties.
I think what started it was working on a cold, stone floor in a diy store as a student.
I needed to wee more & more. I think the bladder just gets use to going.

Sago

I had exactly this, I cut out all bladder irritants which were for me; caffeine, pineapples, strawberries, raw tomatoes and all citrus fruits.

It changed my life.

I was also told blackcurrants/ juice etc.

I find it's more about what I eat than what I drink. We eat dinner at about six o'clock and there are always lots of vegetables on my plate. I also sometimes snack on fruit during the evening. Cauliflower and broccoli in particular seem to make me need to go more during the night.

Unfortunately, the only time I ever go through the night without having to go to the loo is the rare occasion when we have pizza or Chinese food for dinner 🤷

Hi HVDY2. Oh yes please do ask about the Botox, or interstim therapy (bit like acupuncture in the nerve or the ankle).
My Gp phoned me up at home, told me to stop the microbegron? As it can affect the bp. They checked mine & it was sky high- never had a problem before.
Also, I’ve heard those type of drugs can contribute to getting dementia.
I have Botox once a year & it’s changed my life.
You can have it done under general, spinal, or no local.

I see a pelvic physio for this. I have tablets which are inserted via a thin tube to the vagina. '
"Estrogen loss (often from menopause) thins the tissue between the vagina and the bladder. These tablets restore the tissue. This stops sudden urges to pee and prevents urinary tract infections"
I also avoid citrus juice of all kinds and have found changing to decaf coffee has helped. I've managed to hold on to cooked tomatoes!! I'm also trying to 'retrain' my bladder with the help of my physio, so that I can hold longer.
Lots of good advice above, also if you have a bit of prolapse going on. Good luck!

Not taking in enough fluid is more likely to cause night time problems with urine. So many older folk do not drink enough and this can and often does cause very many problems, including un-diagnosed UTI's which can lead to confusion and dementia like problems. Amazing how many older people being taken via A&E into hospital get put onto intravenious drips and very quickly appear to have cognitive improvement.
Bad sleep also causes night=time urinary problems. It is a known good aspect of people (of all ages) who are put onto CPAP report that their night-time trips to the loo reduces dramatically. This is due to the fact that the hormone which makes you feel you have a full bladder is controlled when in a proper deep sleep.
Under no circumstances cut back on the amount of fluid you are taking in.

I had exactly this, I cut out all bladder irritants which were for me; caffeine, pineapples, strawberries, raw tomatoes and all citrus fruits.

It changed my life.

Shinamae

I had this problem until a few weeks ago when I was told that I was not drinking enough. (I knew this)
Apparently, if you do not drink enough, your urine becomes concentrated and irritates the bladder so I was advised to drink more which I have done and it’s turned out to be true. I hardly get up at night at all now…
I know it doesn’t seem to make sense, but it’s works for me..

I believe that’s true. My mum is in her late nineties and immobile. She doesn’t drink very much at all because she struggles to get up to use the commode, and it’s a vicious circle because although she doesn’t have an infection, she feels like she wants to go all the time.

MT62

HowVeryDareYou2

I have to wee 2 or 3 times during the night - I've got an overactive bladder and for years have been weeing 20-25 times in 24 hours! (the norm is 8 times). I've been on Solifenacin tablets for 3 weeks now, and "only" wee 14 times in 24 hours now.

You could always try Botox injections.
Found all those type of bladder drugs affect my eyes.

I'm waiting for a Urology appointment, so I'll ask. Thanks. I've put up with it for many years because the Urologist I saw 6 years ago was dismissive and said there's "no such thing as an overactive bladder"!

Georgesgran

Goodness, yes MayBee70. Let’s just be thankful we wake up to go!

😳

HowVeryDareYou2

I have to wee 2 or 3 times during the night - I've got an overactive bladder and for years have been weeing 20-25 times in 24 hours! (the norm is 8 times). I've been on Solifenacin tablets for 3 weeks now, and "only" wee 14 times in 24 hours now.

You could always try Botox injections.
Found all those type of bladder drugs affect my eyes.

I had this problem until a few weeks ago when I was told that I was not drinking enough. (I knew this)
Apparently, if you do not drink enough, your urine becomes concentrated and irritates the bladder so I was advised to drink more which I have done and it’s turned out to be true. I hardly get up at night at all now…
I know it doesn’t seem to make sense, but it’s works for me..

Do you really need to go?
What happens if you don't?

DH has Parkinsons and gets up frequently to go to the loo. I have to get up as well to help him back into bed. Most nights we see every hour on the clock throughout the night. I think other things, tremor, pain etc. wake him so he goes for a wee when he maybe doesn't need to. I think his bladder is training to be overactive.

My GP prescribed Oxybutynin to help me with a similar problem and it has reduced my nighttime comfort stops to one!

For the last few years I was also up at least 3 times a night but no more. I can now sleep for 7 hours without a trip. I have lymphedema both legs and have wounds. I was started on " last resort antibiotics, Lenezolid and no longer do I traipse to the loo. I must have had a urinary tract infection without realising it.

Perhaps get that checked out?

Goodness, yes MayBee70. Let’s just be thankful we wake up to go!

I’ve been taking pumpkin and soya for months because they are the main ingredients in Jude but they don’t seem to have helped. I, too, can go for hours during the day but at night I’m up every two or so hours and it’s exhausting. I don’t think it’s always the amount of water that you drink but the way your liver processes food when you’re sleeping. What is weird ( and I wish I could remember them afterwards) is the way I incorporate my need for a wee in whatever dream I’m having, usually finding myself in a really embarrassing situation but then, thankfully, waking up.