to ask if anyone knows how I can stop needing to get up at 4am for a wee

[ArabellaWhittaker]

I'm in my 50s, fit and in good health. But my sleep is disturbed every night by needing to get up for a wee. I don't drink alcohol or loads of caffeine.

AIBU to ask if anyone knows how I can stop this?

Oh & I forgot, low oestrogen levels in the vagina can irritate the bladder too.

does low oestrogen occur during the perimeno? wouldnt that tie in with a lot of folks ages on here?

yes

Also don't forget tea contains caffeine as well as coffee, also cola, chocolate

Not sure what the science backup on this is, but my GP told me that if I wasn't getting up in the night, then I wasn't drinking enough.

Not sure I agree with that. The kidneys concentrate the urine overnight so the bladder fills more slowly, so you don't need to get up & pee.

p.s. I'm a GP too!

that makes sense to me, I dont remember having this problem when I was a young chickadee, but now I'm 48 its happens quite a lot

oh well!!

the joys....does it go away after the menopause then (hopefully!)

I found the exact opposite of some advice here. Drink extra water up to about 9:30. Allow time for this to go through - have a good big wee before you sleep. If all normal that will take me through.
I am 72 and there are lots of nights I sleep till 8 am.
Some nights though I get up a lot. Even one glass of wine will do this so its obviously an irritant or something.
Try the water it may work for you giving your kidneys a way to clear out unwanted whatevers.

Not necessarily

Treating causes will help though. Low oestrogen "down there" responds well to oestrogen cram - doesn't usually need HRT tablets, though of course these help too

It amazes me how little people drink as a general rule! I have several discussions every month with folk who drink hardly anything that isn't full of caffeine, fizz or fruit, complaining that their bladders are dodgy. Men as well.

Oestrogen Cream not Cram, which sounds bloody awful!

I winced at cram!!
(witchway, do you know any good websites to give info on the perimeno? I was at gp last week and she was explaining how bleeding can become irregular during perimeno and how hormones are affected, but I was a bit confused and now would like to read up on it all...sorry for derail!!)

I don't know any specific ones but you could have a look at patient.co.uk & search for perimenopause - I just had a look & there's a lot of information & links to articles

thanks

Menopause Matters is a good website.

Fwiw, I'm 48, on hrt for 6 years now, and don't usually have to get up to wee in the night. It may be just an individual thing, not particularly related to anything!

Classic sign of diabetes.

Can I join in the night seeing club. I go before bed, then read, the. Go and then always go once but usually twice in the night....42!

I'm the same! Im early 30's and I actually can't remember a night in recent years where I have slept through without getting up to pee!
Have tried the not drinking at all in the evening but doesn't seem to make any difference
I think it may be habit now , where my sleeping pattern is ingrained as interrupted.

There's an obvious answer here - we're all waking each other up with the constant visits to the bathroom. I have the same problem. I understand it's menopause related. Two things coming into play- softening tissues owing to hormonal changes leading to weaker bladder and lighter sleep (ditto hormonal changes). It's the sleeping that's the real problem.

I'm 51 and am determined to tough it out, but some nights I'm up three or four times and I find the broken sleep very hard to cope with.

FelineLou I do the same as you (I'm 70) I drink a pint of water over the latter part of the evening, have a big wee before I go to bed at 10pm and sleep right through 8 hrs. I also make sure I drink plenty of fluids during the day. I'm TT and don't drink coffee either. I've done this all my adult life and have very seldom had to get up in the night.

Whatever you do op don't try restricting your fluid intake. That's not good for your kidneys.

I try to drink loads in the morning, a moderate amount in the afternoon, and just a small amount in the evening.

This works well unless something unexpected comes up (like a once in a blue moon unexpected lay-in).

not sure if this has been mentioned but when you pee make sure you sit back, then there's no pressure on the bladder (or something like that. i'm so not remotely medically trained) but you can empty more than you tinkg. large majority of wimmin pee slightly leaning forwards so the bladder isnt emptied properly (also cd lead to cystitis etc)

I'm not sure that it's always menopause related. I'm 41 and have been a night time pee- er for at least 15/20 years.

Although I do fear I'm getting near - I also wake up dripping with sweat and have done for a year or so - sorry TMI. I keep meaning to read the menopause links on here but am too scared to do so. In my head I'm still in my 20s. I simply can't be about to turn into a middle-aged lady .

I thought there was just some folk who had to get up and some folk who don't (thankfully I'm in the don't camp unless I drink a cup of tea right before bed and even then I'm usually ok).

Either that or hormonal - would evening primrose type supplements maybe help?

I have cut out all caffeine and it has made huge difference. Takes a few weeks to feel the benefit but it is worth it.

I'm 39 tomorrow writing that down has given me a shock. But since having a chest/eye/sinus and ear infection in sept I've habitually woken between 2 and 4 and taken ages to settle back down. Most nights I need to go for a pee out of habit. But i can sleep 8.30 - 7am with waking a without a toilet stop.

Wish I slept that many hours! I'm lucky if I get 2 hours unbroken sleep and 6 hours per night!

If it helps, I had this problem while I was going through the menopause. Once that was over, it vanished entirely.