There are few things more frustrating than being woken throughout the night by a bladder that needs emptying. Not only is this nighttime urination robbing you of much-needed sleep, it can be downright hazardous groping around sleepily in the dark to use the bathroom.
Called nocturia, nighttime urination is a common side effect of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a condition that affects more than half of men over the age of 60 and up to 90% of men over the age of 70.
In fact, BPH-related nocturia is a common reason why people pay a visit to Dr. Robert J. Cornell and our team, and the good news is that we do have solutions. Let’s take a look.
Your prostate is a small gland (about the size of a walnut) that produces fluid to carry semen down through your urethra. The gland is located just below your bladder and in front of your rectum and encircles the area where urine exits your bladder into your urethra.
When you pass through puberty, this gland has a growth spurt and doubles in size. In your mid-20s, your prostate has another growth period, albeit a much slower one, that continues for the rest of your life.
As prostate tissues grow, the gland gets bigger and can press on your urethra from the outside, narrowing the passageway for urine. When this happens, urine doesn’t pass as easily from your bladder, which can cause that organ to thicken and weaken. As a result, you might experience these classic symptoms of BPH, which include:
While getting up to pee during the night isn’t cause for alarm, especially if you had something to drink before bed, nocturia is defined as getting up at least twice during most nights.
And nighttime urination and other symptoms don’t get better on their own. In fact, they get worse, as BPH is a progressive issue — unless you seek treatment.
If you’re not getting good 4-hour chunks of sleep or you’re worried about falling at night, there are treatments for BPH and nighttime urination.
First, we want to make sure your nocturia is tied to BPH and not something else. Getting up to urinate throughout the night can stem from other issues, such as medications or an overactive bladder.
If we confirm that the issue is related to BPH, we might suggest one or more of the following:
Prostiva and PlasmaButton are minimally invasive procedures that Dr. Cornell performs here in our offices. After either procedure, you’re free to return home afterward.
If you want to regain your ability to sleep through the night without stumbling around in the dark to get to the bathroom, please contact our office in Houston, Texas, to learn more about our nocturia and BPH treatments.
