NIGHTTIME URINATION

Getting up at night to urinate is common. If it just occurs once, or sometimes twice, and then you can immediately fall back asleep, it really may not be a problem. Most people who wake during the night feel fine.

If this nocturia occurs several times, then it can be disturbing sleep and causing daytime fatigue. That is not normal and may cause or worsen health problems. These can include high blood pressure, cognitive issues, cardiac arrhythmias, and other chronic illnesses.

As we get older, waking at night to urinate often becomes more frequent. Drinking too much fluid for 4-6 hours before going to bed may be the culprit, and this practice can be easily addressed. Diuretics, including certain medicines or caffeine or alcohol, do cause the kidneys to produce more urine. Your doctor may be able to adjust your medications. Do not take the other drugs at least 6 hours before bedtime. Maybe not at all.

Nighttime urination can be related to urinary bladder or sphincter malfunction in anybody. In men, prostate problems are a common cause of this malady. There are other medical causes, too. So this symptom should first be evaluated by your physician. Consultation with a urologist is usually necessary to find the cause and manage the problem.

Some people just make too much urine while recumbent. This could be due to a medical problem, so evaluation by a licensed M.D. is the first step.

But if all the evaluation is normal, extreme levels of urine production is still possible. One answer for this is to prevent the body from doing this by taking a pharmaceutical called Anti-Diuretic Hormone, or ADH. It is also known as desmopressin. Usually, 0.2 mg. taken up to 1 hour before going to bed,  does the trick. 0.2 mg. is a very small dose. One can reduce nocturia from 6 times to 0-1 the first night. Adverse side effects are rare, but a blood test called a Basic Metabolic Profile, or BMP. Should be checked every 2-3 months, as long as you are taking this medicine..

Sometimes, the medicine loses its efficacy. When this happens, increasing the dose to 0.4 mg. or 0.6 mg. at bedtime for 3-5 days resolves the issue You can then reduce back to the smaller dose again.