Nocturia is my problem.
Posted , 8 users are following.
I have moderate BPH and my only problem is urinating at night. "Boy I'd love to sleep 7 hours straight!" Here's my question: I have slight swelling in my ankles by the end of the day. Just slight, but I'm sure it represents a good quantity of fluid pulled down into my legs by gravity. It seems to be gone in the morning. So while I'm peeing 3 or 4 times a night, I figure it's primarily due to the fluid from my legs being drawn into my blood system and eventually into my bladder while I'm horizontal at sleep. So I don't know what's my main problem. Is it ankle swelling or BPH. I take a diuretic every morning which increases my urination somewhat. Anybody have similar symptoms or any thoughts about ankle edema contributing to prostate symptoms? I have an appointment in a couple weeks with a Urologist in my new town.
0 likes, 7 replies
uncklefester JerryR
Posted
Very observant Jerry. I'm like you I pee at night. During the day I pee maybe 4 times. I never gave the swelling in my ankles a second thought. I wonder if compression socks would help.
jimjames JerryR
Posted
Hi Jerry,
Nocturia is a pretty common here as it's somewhat age related. How old are you btw?
Retention (ankle swelling) is one cause of nocturia. Compression stockings worn during the day and/or afternoon naps or lying down (feet raised) can help force more daytime urination.
Diuretics are another strategy, but you're already taking one. Maybe another in the afternoon if it's OK with your doc.
As to bph being the cause, it could be contributing or not. You might want to measure your individual night time voids in one of the plastic measuring cups you can get at the supermarket. The idea is to see if you're getting full voids or small voids. The latter might be associated with BPH. You also might get a bladder scanner at your urologists. These scans measure PVR (post void residual) which is the amount of urine left over in your bladder after you void.
Other causes of nocturia might be your diet, lack of exercise, and sleep apnea. Nocturia is sometimes associated with an hormonal defficiecy as we get older. That can be tested for as well.
-- Jim
JerryR jimjames
Posted
I'm 71. I think I'll get some compression hose and maybe take a second diuretic in the PM. Thanks for the advice.
Supertractorman JerryR
Posted
reg52510 JerryR
Posted
I think when you spend prolonged periods in a prone position (sleep) the daytime fluids accumulated in your body are processed and end up in your bladder as urine. Your body should suppress urined production while you sleep, but I think for some of us, that doesn't work. Perhaps the quality of sleep matters a lot. Any sleep issues? If I'm having a good sleep, I get up twice; otherwise, it's 3 or 4 times.
JerryR reg52510
Posted
I usually get up at night 3 times: ranges from 2 to 4 times. Other than peeing, I'm a pretty average sleeper.
kaydi JerryR
Posted
Ive suffered nocturia for years, have tried several medications without success and it was seriously affecting my quality of life. I only have one kidney and the medication caused my kidney count to drop to 47. Worrying about my kidney caused me to reduce my salt intake further and the difference this has made to my nocturia has been amazing, for years i was up around every 2 hours but now i'm sleeping over 5 hours without needing to pee. I googled this and found theres been a new study that shows reduced salt really does help nocturia and i wanted to tell others about this.