Urination - excessive at night

Nocturia

Keep a diary of how much fluid you drink, how often you urinate, and urine output. Record your body weight at the same times and on the same scale daily.

• Excessive nighttime urination continues over several days, and is not explained by medications or increase of fluids before bedtime.
• You are bothered by the number of times you must urinate during the night.

Your health care provider will perform a physical examination and ask questions about your nighttime urination, such as:

• When did it start?
• How many times does this occur each night?
• Has there been a change in the volume of urine produced?
• Do you ever have "accidents" or bed wetting?
• How much urine is voided each time?
• What makes the problem worse? Better?
• How much fluid do you drink before bedtime? Have you tried restricting fluids before bedtime?
• What other symptoms are also present? Do you have increased thirst, pain or burning on urination, fever, abdominal pain, or back pain?
• What medications are being taken?
• How much caffeine do you consume each day?
• Have you had any bladder infections in the past?
• Is there a family history of diabetes?
• Does nighttime urination interfere with adequate sleep and rest?
• Do you drink alcoholic beverages and, if so, how much each day?
• Have you changed your diet recently?

Electrolytes and fluids will be monitored over a period of time.

Diagnostic tests that may be performed include:

• Blood urea nitrogen
• Serum creatinine or creatinine clearance
• Fluid deprivation
• Osmolality
• Serum electrolytes
• Urinalysis
• Urine concentration
• Urine culture

TREATMENT

Treatment depends on the cause. If excessive nighttime urination is due to diuretic medications, you may be told to take your medication earlier in the day.