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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how many times you get up in the night (to pee)

169 replies

IconicKitty · 24/03/2023 07:45

I never get a full night's sleep (7-8 hours) without getting up at least once. On a bad night it can be 5-6 times.

GP not interested and I've dealt with this for years. Is this normal for some people?

I've tried cutting out caffeine completely and not drinking liquids for hours before bed. It doesn't help.

OP posts:
GordonShakespearedoesChristmas · 24/03/2023 09:52

No once and I'm 60 with 4 kids.
Insist with the GP.

CattySam · 24/03/2023 09:55

If I sleep well then not at all, if I sleep poorly then I need to go every time I wake, which can be a lot!

I think it’s psychological a lot of the time, my first thought on waking is that I need a wee, then I can’t ignore it as I’m desperate to get back to sleep.

40s with 2 kids.

gogohmm · 24/03/2023 10:05

Once or not at all unless I've been at the pub!

UB40andaglassofwine · 24/03/2023 10:10

Around 4 or 5 times I've always been the same even as a child.

kimchifix · 24/03/2023 10:18

Barely ever but that's because I only get about 6 hrs. So go before sleep and on waking. Sometimes I will get up once if I've drunk a lot of fluid before bed. (I often forget to drink water so to avoid a dehydration headache I sometimes have to have a pint of water before bed. Bit stupid, but there we go). If you aren't in a deep sleep maybe this is why - as in perhaps it's a sleep issue not a bladder issue.

WeeOrcadian · 24/03/2023 10:33

Never, unless pregnant / drunk / ill. Having to get up to pee Pisses. Me. Off. because I have trouble sleeping anyway, without having to get up as well.

megletthesecond · 24/03/2023 10:36

Never. I'm 48 and drink lots of water.

Limetreee · 24/03/2023 10:51

Non never have even when pregnant. Now 66

nub · 24/03/2023 11:12

I was getting up 4 or 5 times nightly. GP prescribed Solifenacin which works well. Get up once now.

Hopedun · 24/03/2023 11:17

Somewhere between 2 and 5 times. If I've had a few alcoholic drinks then it will be one as I'm dehydrated. I've always been like this since a teenager. I did actually go for a test to see how my bladder worked and they found I have a bladder about a third of the normal size.

The doctor gave me tolteradine to take but it gives you a really dry mouth and you wake up thirsty which then defeats the object so I just put up with it.

shakeitoffsis · 24/03/2023 11:18

Never or once. I'm 6 months pp with my second child.

bluetongue · 24/03/2023 11:24

I usually go at least a couple of times a night but have done so since I was a child. My mum used to tell me I’d have to get it checked out. After that I would sneak to the toilet and not flush.

I do have an anxiety disorder and I’m convinced there’s a link there. During the day I can go for hours and hours without a wee.

SaltanVinegar · 24/03/2023 11:25

Usually once. The only time it’s been multiple times is either when I’ve had a few glasses of wine, or I have the beginnings of a UTI. 5-6 times nightly would feel like an awful lot to me, you must be tired with such broken sleep.

bluetongue · 24/03/2023 11:25

CattySam · 24/03/2023 09:55

If I sleep well then not at all, if I sleep poorly then I need to go every time I wake, which can be a lot!

I think it’s psychological a lot of the time, my first thought on waking is that I need a wee, then I can’t ignore it as I’m desperate to get back to sleep.

40s with 2 kids.

I can relate. I’m a bad sleeper too.

Would love to sleep through and not need the loo!

timetorefresh · 24/03/2023 11:36

Do you wee a lot in the day too? My son has bladder and kidney issues and he was told he needed to go at regular intervals but not too frequently or your bladder looses it ability to know when it's full

BarbaraofSeville · 24/03/2023 12:19

Talkingtomyhouseplants · 24/03/2023 08:37

I am a similar age to you and a few years ago would regularly get up 3 times a night to pee. It’s not normal.

I have largely managed to break the habit and no usually only get up once and have a few nights a week now where I don’t pee at all. It’s honestly been a bit life changing.

I know you say you need to go, and I know what that feels like but barring something like diabetes causing you to make too much wee, you simply cannot need to go 5 times in 8 hours when you aren’t drinking anything.

In my experience it was a case of short term pain for long term gain. Cutting out caffeine helps as it is a diuretic but largely it is about bladder training and breaking the habit of waking up to wee. Things that helped me were:

  • not drinking anything after 8pm and always having a final wee before bed. That way you KNOW you simply cannot need to pee.
  • not checking the time when you wake up. Checking the time conditions your brain into thinking that time is the time to be awake and you will begin to find yourself regularly waking up around 3:05am as a habit. This is the easy one to break.
  • make yourself wait. Next time you wake up, tell yourself you are not going to pee straight away. It will be uncomfortable at first and you will probably have a few crap nights sleep but this is about breaking the habit.
  • try not to pee habitually during the day time either and only go when you really need to. This will strengthen your pelvic floor.

I also have this problem and have tried most of these things. I'm 49, perimenopausal and have been on HRT about 6 months, but this has always been my life.

I've been tested for diabetes a couple of times and that's not the reason. I've not had children.

I agree with you @Talkingtomyhouseplants that it shouldn't be possible to wee multiple times a night when nothing has been drunk, but I've avoided all fluids after about 8 pm, had a last wee and still woken twice and then wake up bursting at about 6 am. I'm almost like clockwork at 1, 3 and 5/6 am and it's a big wee every time, not a trickle. I often don't go back to sleep because I'm very thirsty and always weigh about 3 pounds less in the morning due to overnight fluid loss.

I've tried holding multiple times it and just lay awake for hours trying not to wet the bed.

Now I'm settled with HRT I need to try again with the doctors. I tried before and was dismissed but the GP was especially crap, didn't take anyone seriously for anything. When I decided it was probably time to go onto HRT I deliberately sought out the new female, late 50s GP as I figured she would likely have gone through menopause herself so would take me more seriously. So now I've built a relationship with her, I need to get on with this again.

Onahillagain · 24/03/2023 12:30

Once is considered normal and many people do. It often increases as people get older. But 5 times isn’t right I agree get a second opinion.

Our body normally reduces the amount of urine being produced at night. Look up nocturia adults.

suzyscat · 24/03/2023 12:47

0-2 atm but if have mint tea anywhere in the PM it's a bare minimum of 5 times

shumway · 24/03/2023 12:47

Mostly once a night. Sometimes twice.

suzyscat · 24/03/2023 12:47

Ooh it can be a sign of diabetes though so worth seeing your GP

twilightcafe · 24/03/2023 20:26

Once. Maximum.

MintGreenLife · 24/03/2023 20:30

Five times is a lot! I usually get up once, and have done all my life x

Sleepyquest · 24/03/2023 20:31

I'm the same as you @IconicKitty . I sleep through maybe once a year 😂 I'm used to it so I'm not that bothered anymore. The day times are more of a problem

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 24/03/2023 20:38

Usually once - annoyingly I tend to wake up around six, need a wee, then know I need to be up for work in an hour. I drink a lot, this house runs on cups of tea!

TheClash2023 · 24/03/2023 20:41

Twice. I drink loads of water. Always wake up really thirsty in the night, always have done. If I don't drink enough water I get migraines so no choice but to drink water anyway