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Pollakiuria - any tips

7 replies

BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah · 14/05/2023 20:59

DD7 appears to be suffering from pollakiuria. Frequent urination with no medical cause.

We've had her to the GP etc and she's had cultures done, all clear.

She seems to hyper focus on her bladder when out and about and at bedtime, leading to her then wanting to go every 15 minutes or so. At bedtime she's become distressed, because it's keeping her awake. During the day it's becoming an issue because it's quite restrictive when you have to be near a toilet all the time.

She's generally fine when at home in the day (going at far more normal intervals) and at school she tells me she goes during the break times and that's it, so I definitely think there's a psychological aspect to it all.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and how you managed it? At the moment I'm trying not to respond and just be matter of fact "ok let's go find a toilet then".

I'm not sure what triggered it. We went on holiday a couple of months ago to somewhere where public toilets were few and far between so I'm wondering if that set it all off in her mind.

She's generally quite focused on other body sensations. She will frequently say things like "if I bend my thumb this way it hurts" etc so I think this is part of a wider anxiety thing, but that the moment it's causing issues as it's making her sleep later and later and making day trips tricky.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
YukoandHiro · 14/05/2023 21:01

If there isn't a toilet near does she lose bladder control? Or does she feel significant pain? Or does she just seem anxious to find one?

BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah · 14/05/2023 21:11

YukoandHiro · 14/05/2023 21:01

If there isn't a toilet near does she lose bladder control? Or does she feel significant pain? Or does she just seem anxious to find one?

She can hold it just fine. We went on a motorway trip last weekend and she was fine waiting for the next services which took about 20 minutes etc. No pain. I don't think she actually needs to "go" as such a lot of the time, I think she's just very aware of her bladder.

OP posts:
zapeze · 15/05/2023 15:22

Check out ERIC and also Google interoception - the awareness we have of our bodily sensations. There are various exercises that can be done to reduce hyper focusing on bodily sensations, and much of it is to do with redirecting focus towards the breath and allowing sensations to pass without acting on them. There's lots of resources out there (been through it with my DC).

BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah · 16/05/2023 10:10

zapeze · 15/05/2023 15:22

Check out ERIC and also Google interoception - the awareness we have of our bodily sensations. There are various exercises that can be done to reduce hyper focusing on bodily sensations, and much of it is to do with redirecting focus towards the breath and allowing sensations to pass without acting on them. There's lots of resources out there (been through it with my DC).

Thanks!

OP posts:
HelloMist · 30/09/2023 12:01

Hi @BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah , just wondering if you've made any progress with your DD? Mine has something similar right now. She is on laxatives for chronic constipation (which can push on the bladder) but I don't think it's that this time. Seems more of an anxiety thing, was happening out of the house but now sometimes at home as well. We had tests to make sure it wasn't diabetes or a UTI last time around (a few months ago). Thanks.

BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah · 30/09/2023 12:08

HelloMist · 30/09/2023 12:01

Hi @BreehyHinnyBrinnyHoohyHah , just wondering if you've made any progress with your DD? Mine has something similar right now. She is on laxatives for chronic constipation (which can push on the bladder) but I don't think it's that this time. Seems more of an anxiety thing, was happening out of the house but now sometimes at home as well. We had tests to make sure it wasn't diabetes or a UTI last time around (a few months ago). Thanks.

Hi, yes it seems to have resolved. We just kept giving her reassurance, letting her go to the loo as often as she liked without making a big deal about it.

OP posts:
HelloMist · 30/09/2023 12:21

Thank you for replying! That's good to hear. I'm quite worried about her but will try to do as you say and make less of a deal about it.

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