New Member Urinating every 90 minutes every night- HELP

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For some time my partner Jake has been getting up like clockwork every hour and a half every night to urinate. So we never sleep longer than an hour and a half at a time. We are always exhausted.

Lately it's gotten worse because when Jake gets up to urinate he is wet because he also urinated during that hour and a half he was asleep. So each hour and a half we have to change his underwear, Depends, and sweat pants he sleeps in.

We are spending a fortune on Depends because he uses so many each night. Also, even with the Depends urine often leaks down his legs.
He sleeps on his side and I see that this may be part of the problem from reading your posts. I noticed some people suggest using plastic pants in addition to a diaper or pull ons like Depends. What do you mean by plastic pants? Where do you buy them?

Jake's situation is much better when he is awake. He doesn't have to urinate as often, and he only has some leakage after he urinates.

I saw a post by Pamela where she seems to have a similar problem. So I tried to email her but I'm not sure I did that right. But if Pamela or anyone else has this kind of problem, we would really appreciate any feed back you can give us. Jake is so desperate to get a good night's sleep.

A urologist prescribed some pills but Jake found out he can't take them due to his kidney transplant. In addition to having had two kidney transplants, he has had open heart surgery, two hip replacements, and needs a knee and shoulder replacement. He also has some dementia. he is 76 years old.

Karen

 

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Hi there and welcome.
Since you’ve already been to the doctor I would say just get a good adult diaper like the Northshore has called MegaMax. Should keep him dry all night and you won’t have to get up all the time. I absolutely love them. So far the best brief I’ve ever used...so far ( and after a lifetime of this I’ve used plenty of different brands)
They are wonderful folks on the phone and Adam is also on our chat boards I give them

 

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Deoends are absolute garbage. As JP said, quality protection goes a looooong way. Your partner needs to get to a urologist right away.

 

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Hi Kac, was wondering if you and Jake have tried using an external catheter?

I've been using them for about a month now and they're working great for me.

 

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Don't think my first post explained Jake's situation clearly enough, so let me try again.

Jake's problem is twofold. First problem is him waking up every hour and a half with a strong urge to urinate. At those times he gets out of bed and goes to the toilet to urinate. I am hoping to connect with members like Pamela who said she has to get up every hour and twenty minutes to urinate. I would like to know if Pamela and others like her have been diagnosed and helped by a urologist. These cases are unusual because the time between toilet visits is virtually identical every night -- in Jake's case every hour and a half, in Pamela's case every hour and twenty minutes. This type of problem is serious because, as in Jake's case, he never gets to sleep more than an hour and a half at a time. Pamela never gets to sleep more than an hour and twenty minutes at a time. So they are always exhausted.

Second problem with Jake is that he also urinates during the hour and a half he is sleeping. So when he gets out of bed and goes to the toilet to urinate, his regular underwear, the Depends, and sometimes the legs of his sweat pants are wet with urine. So every hour and a half when he urinates in the toilet, we have to change his underwear, Depends, and sweatpants(if wet)before he goes back to bed. Doing this multiple times throughout the night makes this whole situation even more exhausting.

So we need to fix Jake's urge to urinate every hour and a half, then deal with his incontinence while he is sleeping.
As I said, I guess first we need to find out why he has the urge to urinate at night every hour and a half. Hoping people like Pamela can give us some insight into that problem. If that could be cured, then your MegaMax suggestion might help his incontinence while sleeping problem.

Thanks for listening and for your comments.

Karen

 

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I get up even more often than every hour all night long. I have found nothing that helps, and believe me, I’ve tried many. I do not go in between my getting up so I don’t have any cleanup to deal with, but I am always tired.

 

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There was one suggestion of external catheters. They are pricey but can be covered, at least in part. by medicare. They take a little getting used to as you feel don't want to "just let it go" (after all you've been running your whole life}. But they do work. Hope you can adjust

 

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I understand your problem,I wake up every morning with a wet diaper. I use North shore diapers and my sheets, clothes are dry aspect for my diapers. There are subprime diapers from North shore diapers they also have there own brand of diapers that works great for me.just go to there website and I hope you find what you're looking for.

 

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@kac My heart goes out to you and Jake. Not getting more than an hour sleep at a time is exhausting. If I had to guess I would say it's definitely kidney related not from being a side sleeper. If it was from side sleeping he would have had the problem his whole life. Have urologist check hormone levels as well as kidney function. And potassium will make the problem worse. If he does not have congestive heart failure and he does not have to take a diuretic then stay away from potassium. When I take potassium it makes me have to urinate every 2 hours. If he does have to take a diuretic for a heart condition or other health condition then tell the urologist urinating every hour is not going to cut it. I hope I have helped shed some light.

 

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I used to wake up every 2 hours to a wet bed. I tried all kinds of protection and bed pads,but still woke up wet. Now I use mega max from north shore sleep through the night in a dry bed.

 

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Wow, thank you all so much for reaching out and sharing your situations and your suggestions!

Kathy, your situation is even worse than Jake's. Knowing what we are going through, I really feel bad for you. Have you ever seen a urologist?

Jake's only had one appt so far with a urologist who prescribed some pills that Jake couldn't take do his kidney transplant. I haven't been able to get him back to the urologist. With his dementia, lack of sleep, and constant severe joint pain it's difficult for him to handle getting ready for and making it to a doctor. If he does make it to an appointment, he suffers even more after getting home.

I think that if Jake could get just a few pain pills a month and he would take one before I start to get him ready for the doctor, that might really make a difference. Pain pills allowed my Mother (now passed) to be able to make her doctor's appts, do her shopping at Walmart with me, enjoy a day outing with other seniors.

In past years Jake has always refused to take pain pills. Now that he agrees that he needs a few per month for when he has to leave the house, and on really bad days when he falls, etc., there is such a hassle getting pain pills he is even reluctant to try. The current restrictions on pain medications are really ruining the quality of life of chronic pain sufferers.

Kathy, when I can get Jake back to the urologist, if he has any success with the problem you both share, I will certainly let you know. Just hang in there.

David, I have been reading some posts about catheters. Need to research more on that remedy. Thanks for reaching out.

MRjw48, Jake has been wearing Depends, which I can tell from this website is definitely not a good choice. If we can get Jake to sleep through the night, I will check out your recommendations. Thanks.

Huey, thanks for your empathy. Our situation is certainly exhausting. Jake's kidney doctor said his kidney transplant is doing good, that it's not the problem. But he also said that getting up every hour and a half is not normal. He is he one who referred Jake to the urologist. I have to get Jake back to the urologist to see if he can test further to diagnose and hopefully help Jake's problem.

As far as hormones, when Jake's testosterone was tested a few months ago it was less than 10, which is virtually nil. So he is scheduled to have some testosterone seed pellets implanted in a couple of weeks. We do watch his potassium levels, those are normal.

Also, Jake can't limit his liquid intake, which might help his nighttime problem, because drinking less might damage his kidney.

Jake had open heart surgery back in 2006 to replace a heart valve. His cardiologist said his heart is doing pretty good, but we are not sure how much longer that valve will last. One of his feet is always very swollen. Heart doctor says it's caused by a vascular problem, vascular doctor says it's caused by a heart problem. Jake can't take diuretics to help the swelling because again that might dehydrate him and kill his kidney transplant. The only thing that helps the swelling are those special socks.

It was very helpful hearing from you. Thanks.

Clay, seems like many people are suggesting mega max, so we will definitely try those if we can get Jake to sleep through he night instead of getting up every hour and a half. Thank you for your input.

Again, thanks to all of you for taking the time to try and help Jake.

Karen

 

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I’ve worn thick layers of pin on cloth diapers with plastic pants at night. I know you are looking for a solution however in the mean time I think you’ll find this will at least control the wetting situation. I have always wet numerous times a night and thick cloth diapers have been the best solution. I have a plastic mattress cover however because leaks still happen every few nights.