Machoman121

I'm 57 and male - healthy with no chronic aches and pains. For a few years now i haven't been able to have a continuous sleep. The body wakes me up to take a pee frequently- recently i've resorted to not drinking any liquids (so hard to do) in the evenings. It did help a bit - i was previously waking up 5 -8 times a night but with minimising liquid intake in the evening i'm down to waking up 3 - 4 times a night. Sometimes i wake up just to pee a few drops. I've got my prostrate scanned and have been told i have an enlarged prostrate. From what i gather it's typical for this age ?

The only medicine i'm taking regularly is Telmisartan for my high blood pressure. I was given Duodart (Tamsulosin) for my prostrate but i stopped taking it as it gave me a very bad stuck nose in the evenings when i'm sleeping.

Has anyone resolved their frequent getting up to pee issue and getting a nice continuous sleep tips?

TCollen

Seriously, I had that issue until I cut back drinking tea/water at night. Now I find that the frequent urination goes away if I drink nothing within 2 hrs of going to sleep. And don't bother with those saw palmetto pills, they did nothing for me.

Joke here: I can't party hard like I used to, but if I take a nap, I can stay up 'til dark.

BobbyG

Machoman121 WARNING!...Possibly Too Much Info:

By my early 50s I had developed the frequent urge to urinate which would wake me up at night, make driving long distances difficult, and it even began interrupting my 40-minute bike commute. But unlike you, I would usually produce a fair amount of urine with a moderately healthy stream.

I tried Tamsulosin. It worked, but it seemed to act on the "delivery system" close to the end, so that there was often "dribbling", even outside of the immediate act of urination.

I did a little research and it seemed that Tadalafil (Cialis) might help...and it did.

I take 2.5mg of Tadalafil daily...a very low dose. I now sleep uninterrupted by the need to pee. I can drive/bike for a couple/three of hours without stopping to relieve myself, I can usually sit through a whole movie. It seems like the extra pee control happens "further up the line" which feels more natural and prevents dribbling.

As for the "usual" reason men take Tadalafil, 2.5mg daily has added a little extra "vim" without turning me into an "out of control" teenager again.

YMMV

debade

You apparently have been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate. The Tamulosin is designed to help with your urination problems. I am not a doctor but I have an enlarged prostate. I would suggest you speak to your doctor and see if there is an alternative for Tamulosin. There are alternatives.

Tamulosin worked for me for several years but eventually I needed to remove part (perhaps all) of my prostate. There are various procedures some that change sexual performance. Some that do not. Your diagnoses will inform which procedures will work for you. Since my operation, I am almost back to my 'younger' urination schedule and do not need medication.

I suggest you start with the doctor who prescribed tamulosin and have a conversation with that doctor. You might be able to control urination a bit with less fluids but I expect your prostate will continue to enlarge and less liquids will be less effective.

fooferdoggie 

Here was complaining when I wake two for three times. but I don't have an enlarged prostate. but I have to drink about 32oz of water I the evening to keep the leg cramps in somewhat control.

Bald Paul

terrymorse 

I believe the medical folks call this frequent nighttime urination nocturia.

If you have a full bladder and are producing a large quantity of urine only at night, that's called nocturnal polyuria: "when urine is overproduced at night while 24-hour urine production volume remains normal".

According to the medical literature, there are several possible causes for nocturnal polyuria:

• sleep apnia
• peripheral edema (swelling in your legs, for example)
• congestive heart failure

A couple of years ago, after I had ramped up my cycling volume quickly, I got edema (swelling) in my lower legs, and I was getting up several times in the night with a full bladder. After I eased up on the cycling volume, the swelling went away, as did the nighttime urination.

There's a caution flag about nocturia in older men (≥60 ) in this article:

So that's an increased health risk of 48% -- fairly significant. If I had chronic nocturia, I'd be sure to get regular cardiac health checkups.

Iride01 

I've had an enlarged prostate for a long time. I don't take anything for it other than some Saw Palmetto which there is very conflicting anecdotal info out there and probably no scientific evidence. I started taking it by itself at my doctors suggestion back when first poked with that finger. It didn't really do anything the year or so I did. Then I started taking it at the same time as I take my vitamin C and D3 at night.

It did seem to help. But there are still times it doesn't. Much of the Saw Palmetto out there is nasty smelling and awful tasting if you don't immediately get those gel caps down. I have found that Puritan's Pride in the standardized dose is not as nasty.

Saw Palmetto never really helped the feeling like I was trying to pee through a teeny tiny straw, like one of those plastic coffee stirrers, but I did notice when I ate a lot of watermelon that I seemed to have a normal flow of urine. There are certain chemicals in watermelon that are supposed to help with blood circulation so maybe there is something to that. Regardless, it seems to work for me. I'll eat a watermelon every week during the summer. It's very refreshing after a ride in 95°F plus heat.

However realize that YMMV. I do consider these two things very unproven and all is just anecdotal. But for me it seems to help.

deacon mark

OK I am not a doctor but know a lot about this situation. I have an enlarged prostate and have for years. I am 59 started taking tamsulosin at 50 to help me go. It got so bad that I was peeing 15-20 times a day going hourly not able to empty my bladder. I could go on a 50 mile bike ride and have to stop and pee 4 times worse in the early morning after coffee. Finally I had GREEN LIGHT LASER surgery and they do the rooter-router of going in and opening up the urea so you can go. It can be out patient no more than 1 day in hospital and it is pretty safe

In my case is was a miracle once it healed. I had to stay off the bike for about 3 weeks and I did get clearance to ride but had some pretty good bloody urine after a 30 mile ride I tried. Not a great idea and I backed off. In my case I am a runner too and I could go back to walking within a few days and was running at least slow off and on in maybe a week. The great news is now I can ride 50-60 miles and not have to stop and pee. I still get up an night to go at least once many times twice but drink a lot in evening. That does not bother in particular I am a light sleeper waking up all the time at night. The great thing is I am pretty normal now with going and can empty the bladder. The first time I went to see the doctor my bladder was holding 80% of it capacity after I went and I thought I was pretty much empty. The side effects are minimal but some nothing drastic. I am a celibate by sacred vows but no side effects that would bother someone married.

If I were you I would be looking into this right away. ask your urologist. They traditional way is the do a TRUP but the laser now has pretty much ended that way of doing it. This is much quicker healing and less risk. I know your question concerned sleep that was not an issued for me but if I avoid drinking things late in evening I assume I could be at only 1 trip nightly. For me it was ruining my life I would go places and scope out bathrooms ahead of time. Also I would have trouble getting through a long Mass. No way could I deacon a long mass unless I dehydrated myself before the liturgy. I tell you it was the best thing i did.

canklecat

I get up to pee every 2-3 hours, all night. Doesn't bother me because I drink plenty of water all day and it has to go somewhere. I take a bunch of nighttime meds and supplements, so that's another 12 oz or so of water just before bedtime. I'd worry if I didn't need to pee at least once at night.

Also I have chronic joint and muscle pain, worse at night, so I'd be up every couplafew of hours anyway. Helps to move around and get the blood circulating, then I can fall asleep again. Hazards of life with an autoimmune disorder.

It bothers my cats more than it bothers me. Some nights all three cats are using me as their personal heat pack (or maybe I'm using them as my personal heat pack ) and they get grumpy when I move.

I'm not disregarding possible health issues -- I have plenty. But I get regular checkups by my primary and specialists. Congestive heart failure and COPD *seems* to run in my family, but mostly with family who were obese, smoked for decades, or were around age 80-90. In previous generations their deaths would have been described as "old age," not congestive heart failure or COPD.

I'm 63, pretty fit all things considered -- 5'11", 150 lbs, ride and run several times a week, good diet, etc. -- so I'm less concerned about congestive heart failure. My dad died of prostate cancer that metastasized after about 10 years of battling it. But so far my checkups show no problems. Cancer isn't too prevalent in my family -- my dad and great-aunt -- but I had thyroid cancer a few years ago, resolved for now with surgery, and annual checkups to be sure it hasn't returned. So there's some risk but I'm not too worried about it.

Carbonfiberboy 

I'm 75 and have to pee fairly regularly every 2-3 hours, day, night, riding, resting, no real difference, so not nocturia. Enlarged prostate of course, but my PCP says that's normal, don't worry. I take 320mg of Saw Palmetto twice a day, which helps a little bit, maybe 20%-30% longer between pees at night, but no side effects. Basically, I just put up with it. I'm certainly not going to cut down on hydration.

My advice is firstly, try kegels. Look it up if you don't know about it. Say 1 set of 10 X 10" X 10", maybe 2 times a day. I'd do it more but I tend to forget to do it, like I forget a lot of things. Other than that, ask your doctor or a gerontologist. There a many medications which help, but of course they all have some sort of side effect(s). I try to keep my medications which actually do something to a minimum.

OldTryGuy

1st -- an enlarged PROSTATE is not something to dismiss!!! You mention " ...got my prostrate scanned... " and just wondering if the scan performed was a 3TmpMRI ????

2nd -- wondering if PSA tracking has been done?

3rd -- AND ONLY BECAUSE I HAVE PCa (Prostate Cancer) my suggestion is that you do not take this event too lightly as something "THAT JUST HAPPENS WITH AGE." There very well can be more to it than inflammation.

zjrog

A few years ago I thought I had this issue. I just couldn't get a full night's sleep without getting up frequently to pee. I was always tired, exhausted... I was 55 and my doc and I were about to try a few things. BUT, my cardiologist sent me for a sleep study. And they PROVED to me I needed CPAP...

Funny thing. After 2 weeks I was sleeping through the night. Rarely tired in the morning. I thought I was waking up to urinate. In reality, I was awake and felt like I had to urinate... So I would get up, hit the toilet and lay back down. I couldn't stay asleep because I was gasping for air, stopping breathing over 100 times an hour! My cardiologist probably saved my life. I am a "true believer" in CPAP, they will need to prove to me I DON'T need before I stop using it. I should have a new sleep study this summer...

Machoman121

My PSA levels are 0.12 L from blood tests. Doctor said no issue there.

I tried taking Duodart (dutasteride/tamsulosin hydrochloride) again and boy it was like putting a plastic bag over my head - my nose was totally congested. It's a definite no-go for me.

10 Wheels

Two sips of Tonic Water w Quinine will stop the cramping.

fooferdoggie 

I wish but carbonated water is too acidic for me it tears up my esophagus I cant even handle a electrolyte supplement. though I can take a bunch of magnesium in the evening I still have to drink the weater too.

canklecat

Soft drinks containing quinine have such a tiny amount of quinine (less than 100 mg/liter) that it's unlikely to offer any of the benefits attributed to the usual therapeutic dose of 500-1,000 mg/.

Any relief might be due to the water in tonic water and quinine. Or -- a more interesting theory -- even the tiny amount of quinine might somehow tweak the vagus nerve response in a way that eases muscle spasms. There's a preliminary study that suggests this possibility.

But most studies show quinine water is unlikely to offer reliable relief from cramping, and might be harmful for some folks depending on their age and other medical conditions.

That wouldn't keep me from drinking tonic water occasionally because I like the flavor as a mixer. I doubt the small amount in one or two drinks will do any harm.

On the other hand, studies indicate gabapentin and magnesium are unlikely to consistently offer relief from muscle cramps, but GABA (an over the counter amino acid that's chemically related to gabapentin) and magnesium lactate do seem to work consistently for me. But that might be a quirk of my autoimmune disorder, screwed up metabolism and need to take large doses of supplements of vitamin D, calcium, etc.