Nocturia: Getting Up To Go

"I regularly see patients with mild to major anxiety and a list of possible ailments they are worried they may have after spending a night searching their symptoms on the Internet."
"So, I always tell my patients that nocturia is, at a minimum, an annoyance that sometimes points to something more serious, which requires closer treatment and follow-up."
"Nocturia is a symptom that should not be taken lightly, but fearing the worst is a terrible reason not to see a doctor."
"The physical, mental and emotional toll taken on us when we don't know what is going on with our bodies is much worse than a trip to the doctor's office to find out what's happening and what we can do about it."
Marcos del Rosario-Santiago, urologist, The Washington Post

"Nocturia is a condition in which you wake up during the night because you have to urinate. Causes include high fluid intake, sleep disorders, and bladder obstruction."

"Treatment includes certain activities, such as restricting fluids. There are also medications that reduce symptoms of overactive bladder."

Cleveland Clinic 

urologyhealth.org

The word nocturia stems from the Latin "nox" meaning night, combined with the Greek word for urine: "ouria". There are some symptomatic conditions of diseases with multiple symptoms and nocturia, awaking at night out of a sound sleep generally more frequently than once, to empty a too-full bladder can be one of them. 

urologyhealth.org

The condition known as nocturia becomes more common as people age, affecting both men and women. With women, nocturia can begin to occur by age thirty. More commonly starting in their 50s and 60s, both men and women  tend to experience nocturia at the same rate. An average of one in three people during their lifetime experiences nocturia. It is normal to awaken during the night to urinate, once. Any more frequently and the diagnosis is usually nocturia.

Quality of life, however, can be affected when the need to urinate frequently during the night means a disturbed sleep pattern resulting in a less-rested feeling on morning awakening. That feeling will track through the day, with less energy and a feeling of general tiredness. And then there is always the potential that this change in sleep patterns through the need to arise from bed and visit the bathroom, hints at an underlying, more serious health problem.

Nocturia is not symptomatic of waking up because of thirst, anxiety, or experiencing pain for some reason, and then as an afterthought, going to the bathroom. Nocturia is characterized as the need to wake up multiple times during the night to urinate, a situation that takes place over a prolonged period of time. Despite which it is more complicated to reach a diagnostic understanding of why it is that an individual feels the need to urinate frequently through the night.

urogologyhealth.org

 

What causes nocturia includes a large number of underlying conditions, from caffeine and alcohol intake, to medications, sleep conditions, a urinary tract infection or more seriously a complication related to diabetes. Nocturia can also be indicative of concerning conditions such as congestive heart failure, kidney failure, or a bladder, urethra or a prostate tumour. On the other hand, men in their older years often develop an enlarged prostate and that too can result in nocturia.

Specialists in urology  find patients frequently unwilling to speak about a subject such as frequent night time urination, finding it embarrassing or fearing the diagnosis of a serious, underlying cause. As medical specialists, doctors always have to have in mind the potential causes of nocturia including cancer or congestive heart failure. 

 

Yet the cause could also be relatively benign and treatable, including being a symptom of a sleep condition. There are a number of treatments to handle an enlarged prostate with the use of medication and on some occasions, surgery. Dietary changes and medication can be prescribed for urinary tract infections. In all such cases, the underlying cause of nocturia should be determined to ensure ongoing quality of life for those experiencing it.