Puff The Magic Spray That Makes Your Night Time Urination Go Away

Sleep is so important for good health. Nothing destroys a good night’s sleep than getting up multiple times a night to urinate. Nocturia is the medical term for excessive urination during the night. Most people don’t need to wake up during the night to urinate and can sleep uninterrupted for six to eight hours. 1 in 3 adults over the age of 30 make at least two trips to the bathroom every night. And while the majority of those who are significantly affected with nocturia are usually over the age of 60, it can happen at any age.

Women generally experience nocturia as a consequence of childbirth, menopause, and/or pelvic organ prolapse. In men, nocturia can be directly attributed to an enlarged prostate gland.

Additional factors that can contribute to nocturia in both sexes include: Diuretic medications, caffeine, alcohol, overactive bladder, excessive fluids before bedtime, or fluid redistribution as may occur in men and women with heart disease.

Sometimes nocturia may be a symptom of a greater problem. Certain conditions can cause urine to be passed in the evening and during sleep. Such conditions include diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, heart disease, vascular disease, restless leg syndrome and insomnia.

The treatment of nocturia may be as simple as a few lifestyle changes.

Naturally, limiting the intake of fluids in the evening results in a decreased amount of urine produced at night.

After noon naps of 20-30 minutes help reduce fluid build up by allowing liquid to be absorbed in the bloodstream. When awakening from a nap, you can use the bathroom and eliminate excess urine.

Elevating your legs like naps, helps redistribute fluids so it can be reabsorbed into the blood stream.

Compression stockings create an effect similar to elevating your legs. Elastic stockings exert pressure against the leg while decreasing pressure on the veins. This allows fluids to be redistributed and reabsorbed into the bloodstream.

Medications to treat nocturia

Different medicinal options exist to alleviate and even treat nocturia. These may be used alone or combined with some of the behavioral modifications listed above, which has been proven to be more effective. A word of caution about medications: Used alone, studies have confirmed that the medication works only as long as it is taken. Once off the medication, relapses are quite common.

Anticholinergic medications (Vesicare, Ditropan, Enablex) are prescription medications that are effective for treating nocturia associated with bladder over activity. The main side effects with anticholinergic medications are dry mouth, dizziness, and blurred vision.

Another drug, Mybetriq, is helpful as it relaxes the bladder at night and allows the bladder to hold more urine.

If this first line drug therapy is considered ineffective, one or more of the following may be prescribed.

Desmopressin or  vasopressin, is a nasal spray that works on the kidneys to reduce urine production at night. Noctiva is taken daily, approximately 30 minutes before going to bed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Noctiva (desmopressin acetate) nasal spray for adults who awaken at least two times per night to urinate. Noctiva is the first FDA-approved treatment for this condition.

Bottom Line: Nocturia can be a debilitating problem for many people as it creates chronic sleep impairment. However, with proper management, motivation, and dedication this condition can be overcome for a better quality of life.

Urinating at Night? Don’t Suffer Incontinence In Silence

Getting up at night to urinate, i.e., nocturia, more than you would like? If so, this article will help you control that problem and provide you with a good nights sleep. Nocturnal polyuria (NP) has a high prevalence among older adults and is commonly encountered in nursing homes. The condition can cause nocturia or nocturnal incontinence (ie, involuntary discharge of urine at night), both of which are highly bothersome problems. Although these conditions are prevalent in nursing homes, little research has focused on how they may impact quality of life among nursing home residents.
The prevalence of NP within the study population of nursing home patients was 84%. Of the individuals with NP, 17 (37%) reported nocturnal incontinence.
Based on these findings, the investigators surmised that nocturnal hormonal imbalances might contribute to the increased urine volume in these residents.

Bottom Line: Nursing hone patients have an increased incidence of incontinence and can significantly increase the residents of the nursing home quality of life. Many of these patients can be helped with medication or with behavior therapy

Getting Up At Night To Pee Doesn’t Have To Be

NEW YORK(Reuters Health) – A new study finds that one in five U.S. men have to get up at least twice a night to empty their bladders — which for some could signal an underlying medical problem or even contribute to poorer health.

Known as nocturia, those frequent overnight trips to the bathroom can be a sign of a health condition, ranging from a urinary tract infection to diabetes to chronic heart failure. In men, a benign enlargement of the prostate can also be a cause.

For some people, the constant sleep disruptions can themselves cause problems — contributing to depression symptoms or, particularly in older adults, falls.

On the other hand, getting up during the night to urinate can also be normal. If you drink a lot of fluids close to bedtime, for example, don’t be surprised if your bladder wakes you up at night.

Nocturia also becomes more common with age. Part of that is related to older adults’ higher rate of medical conditions. But it could also result from a decrease in bladder capacity that comes with age.

The researchers found that  men age 20 and up, 21 percent said they had gotten up at least twice per night to urinate.

Nocturia was more common among African-American men (30 percent) than those of other races and ethnicities (20 percent). Not surprisingly, it also increased with age: Just 8 percent of men ages 20 to 34 reported it, compared with 56 percent of men age 75 or older.

Other factors linked to an increased risk of nocturia included prostate enlargement, a history of prostate cancer, high blood pressure and depression.

Nocturia can also be a side effect of some medications, such as diuretics used to treat high blood pressure. This study did not have information on men’s medication use.

Avoiding caffeine and a large fluid intake at night may help as may other lifestyle tactics, like adjusting your sleep habits.

One recent study of 56 older adults with nocturia found that lifestyle changes — including fluid restriction, limiting any excess hours in bed, moderate daily exercise, and keeping warm while sleeping — helped more than half of the patients significantly cut down their overnight trips to the bathroom.

There are also medications available specifically for overactive bladder and nocturia. Those include a synthetic version of a hormone, anti-diuretic hormone,  that keeps the body from making urine at night, a drug that blocks the ability of the bladder muscles to contract, and antidepressants that make it harder to urinate by increasing tension at the bladder neck.

The bottom line for men is that bothersome nocturia is something they should bring up to their doctor.

SOURCE: bit.ly/fGZKNN Journal of Urology, online January 19, 2011

Getting Up At Night to Pee May be Hazardous to Your Health

Nocturia or getting up at night to urinate is associated with an increased risk of death.  Both men and women who get up at night to urinate are at increased risk of dying compared to men and women who don’t have to get up at night to urinate.  Also, it has been shown that the more a man or women gets up at night to urinate, the greater the risk or dying.  Although the exact mechanism is not known, it may be related to sleep deprivation, which may have an adverse effect on metabolic function leading to obesity and diabetes both of which are known risk factors for mortality or dying.

Bottom Line: If you are getting up at night to urinate, see your doctor as testing can identify the cause and treatment can be started to cure or to certainly decrease the number of times you get up to go to the bathroom.