Although nighttime urinary frequency is more commonly discussed as a man/prostate issue, I am learning that as we age (I am 62), women also have issues. I can remember a time when I could sleep through the night and not visit the bathroom! But that is but a memory now…
There are some nights (like last night) that I wake up more than normal to pee. What I am trying to suss-out is, am I waking up a lot then thinking about it or am I waking up because I have to use the bathroom? Sometimes I think it is the former.
I already front load my water and limit liquids in the evening. It does not feel like a UTI although I may pop into my doctor anyway. I do use vaginal estrogen and have read it supposedly helps with this issue. But, I did find an article in the Harvard Health Publishing that said this:
“Factors that increased the likelihood that a woman woke at night to urinate included older age, having had a hysterectomy, having hot flashes, and using vaginal estrogen. The results were published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.”
Obviously, I will check-in with my doctor but curious if others have dealt with this/have some insight.
I almost never sleep through the night/always have to get up and go, at least once, often 3 or more times. One thing I will suggest, is it becomes habitual. IF I spend time thinking about it and don’t go, after several days it seems like I go less often. Another thing is I think they say doing Keegle (sp?) exercises may help
For me, cutting off any caffeine or dark chocolate after mid-morning helps, along with very acidic foods that make my bladder more twitchy. I do get up once a night, but if I don’t follow that rule, it is more often than that!
I strongly recommend seeing a pelvic health physical therapist. Your primary care physician or gynecologist can refer you. The PT can work with you to correct any pelvic floor issues and give you an exercise program ( it’s not just Kegels).
If the problem is severe, longstanding or a worsening of previous symptoms, then a visit with an uro-gynecologist is the next step. The uro-gyn can refer you for pelvic floor PT or can do any number of studies to determine a reason. Depending on the cause, there are solutions, including oral medications, botox injections, filler injections and corrective surgery.
A uro-gynecologist is double boarded in both urology and Ob/GYN and works exclusively with women.
I had my first video visit with a uro-gyn in late December and will be going in for a 3 hour urodynamics assessment in February. She seemed very proactive and very sympathetic.
D2, who is a ob/gyn, said that generalist ob/gyns get very little training in bladder issues.
Yes! I definitely recommend seeing a urogynecologist . I have an excellent one here. The only issue was that it took me 6 months to get my first appointment with her.
I get up many times most nights. I find that often it is I am awake in the middle of the night for whatever reason and so I just go use the bathroom while I am up (not that having to go wakes me). It varies from night to night. The nights I feel I sleep really soundly, I don’t get up as often.
I always pick the bed closest to the bathroom when I am not at home.
I’m sorry it took you so long to get an appointment.
I called and got a video visit scheduled in less than 10 days. I was triaged on the phone when I called to make an appointment by her NP who decided my case was serious enough to warrant a quick (but non-emergent) response.
I will likely have corrective surgery in the spring. (Personally that can’t come soon enough…..)
I am 95% caffeine free (I get anxious and get heart palpitations) and I do not have to get up in the middle of the night usually. I do have to go when I get up in the early morning to feed the cats, but I can often go back to sleep. Consider reducing your caffeine intake if you haven’t already.
Same here. And on the advice of my urologist, I gladly use the bathroom when I am awake. I had a kidney stone that had to be removed … I do not want a repeat … and voiding often is helpful in keeping the stones away.
Like @kiddie and @kelsom I just wake up and most times do end up going to the bathroom before I go back to sleep. I often wake at 3 or 4. Ugh. I am almost 75. A full night sleep is elusive but I believe this is unfortunately quite normal for this age. If you are having pressure to pee overnight you might want to talk to your doctor.
Not to derail the thread, but I always get the side of the bed closest to the bathroom when we are traveling. So, it’s never an argument “who gets the better side” - we just know who gets what :).
I’m 77. I go to sleep around 10:00 PM. Every night, without fail, I wake up between 1:00 AM and 2:00 AM to go pee. After that I almost always sleep until 6:30 AM or so. I have no caffeine after noon-ish, for what it’s worth.
Hearing about the kidney stones, reminded me that I do have a kidney cyst which I have been told not to worry about. It does cause trace blood in my urine, and maybe contributes to my frequent urination?
Thank you all for the helpful replies. I will definitely talk to my doctor about the uro-gyn route.
Interestingly, we were in Europe after Christmas for 10 days and I didn’t notice this at all and I think I was sleeping better. Who knows! As someone above mentioned, I can see how it can become a “habit”.
When I sleep in my own bed & room (not with H), I don’t wake during the night and can go from 11 or midnight when I go to sleep until 7 or later in the morning before I have to get up and pee. When I’m in same bed as him, he wakes multiple times during the night, so I do and we both end up going to pee. Since he often wakes up to 6x/night, I do better when I sleep alone in a different room (which I have been doing when kids aren’t visiting). I wake up much more rested & alert.
