We all need a good night´s sleep to feel refreshed and rested in the morning. However, constantly getting up during the middle of the night because you need to visit the bathroom can lead to sleep deprivation and impair your quality of life.
Nighttime urination or nocturia is only really a concern if you have to get up more than twice a night to pee.
According to the American Urological Association, about 1 in 3 adults over the age of 30 experience nocturia. And it´s one of the most annoying urinary symptoms for mennwith an enlarged prostate.
In this article, we´ll look at the symptoms, causes and treatments for frequent nighttime urination.
Some of the signs that you may be suffering from nocturia are:
Nocturia has several possible causes, from drinking too much fluid before going to bed to having an enlarged prostate (benign prostate hyperplasia - BPH).
The following are known to cause the condition:
Underlying health conditions may also cause frequent urination during the night. For example:
To diagnose nocturia, your doctor will evaluate your symptoms, perform a physical examination and ask you a handful of questions. For example:
The doctor may also perform tests such as a blood test, bladder scan or cystoscopy, which allows them to examine the lining of the bladder.
The type of treatment you will receive will depend on the cause of your nocturia.
Among the options are:
Lifestyle changes - limiting the amount of fluids you take two to four hours before you go to sleep.
Medications - a class of drugs called anticholinergics can help reduce the need to urinate more frequently. These medicines only alleviate symptoms, they don’t cure nocturia. Once you stop taking the medications, the problem will reoccur.
Also, some doctors may prescribe taking a diuretic to provoke urination during the day.
Medications to shrink the prostate - medications known as 5-alpha reductase inhibitors can shrink the prostate, so there is less pressure on the bladder.
Antibiotics - if an infection causes the problem, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics to clear up symptoms.
Avoiding foods that can irritate the bladder - these include chocolate, tomato-based foods, spicy foods and acidic fruits such as limes, lemons, grapefruits and oranges.
Performing Kegel exercises - these are exercises that strengthen pelvic floor muscles, the muscles that play a role in bladder control, among other functions.
Home remedy - about an hour before bedtime, raise your legs to allow any accumulated fluid to work its way toward your bladder.
Surgery - if medications and lifestyle changes don’t bring symptom relief, surgical options exist. These include:
Non-surgical techniques - prostate artery embolization (PAE) is a minimally invasive procedure that targets the blood supply to the prostate. A doctor will insert a catheter into an artery in your wrist or groin and guide it to the blood vessels that supply blood to the gland.
Once in place, tiny microspheres or particles are injected through the catheter and into the vessels. This will reduce the blood supply to the gland. Starved of its usual blood supply, the prostate will begin to shrink, which improves symptoms.
As a non-surgical procedure, patients undergoing PAE can have fewer side effects, a lower risk of complications and reduced recovery time.
If you have been diagnosed with BPH and want relief from symptoms such as nocturia, we can help. At the Midwest Institute for Non-surgical Therapy (MINT), we perform PAE on an outpatient basis. We are the first and only outpatient center to offer PAE treatment for BPH in St. Louis. You can have your treatment and return home on the same day.
Contact us today for more information and to schedule a consultation at pne of our 5 convenient locations, including Chicago, IL.
