Night Time Urinating

Hi Everyone   Since my surgery I have had good continence control, only leaking a few drops occasionally when I sneeze, or fart.   My lower abdominal muscle control is also good and thus during my conscious hours I have virtually no problems. However, when asleep at night I occasionally (about once a month) leak a small amount. My bladders is full or near full because I subsequently empty the rest after getting up. I would estimate the volume I leak to be between a teaspoonful and an egg cupful.   Not enough to ruin the mattress, but it is causing me some anxiety.   I was prompted to write this post because I have had two episodes within the last 3 days and I’m wondering if my condition is beginning to worsen.   My fear is that one night I will flood the bed.   When I do leak, it is when I am dreaming about urinating.   For example, the last episode was the result of me dreaming that I was at a Beach Boys Concert (they recently toured here) and I needed to go to the bathroom.   During the dream I went to the bathroom and was relieving myself and woke up to find that I was indeed leaking!   This happens to me all the time. I find myself dreaming about urinating and wake up to find that I am.   Does anyone else have this problem and if so, have you any advice for me?   Because these incidents happen during my “unconscious” dreaming state and I don’t experience any major problems during my conscious hours, I am wondering if this is a psychological problem, rather than a physical one. Anybody got any ideas?

Funny you should bring this up. I am over 3 years out from surgery and still get this night time leak on occasion. Usually It is in the early hours and I have been dreaming about going for a pee or having a sexual dream, and it is a very small amount just enough to create a small damp patch in my pyjamas. I usually go through the night without wanting to pee and I am fully continent during the day, with no leaks even when sneezing or lifting heavy weights, and I still do kegal exercises two or three times per week.
I have found that drinking or not in the evenings does not make a big difference to the urge for a pee at night. I did mention this night time leak to the nurse who deals with my psa checks but she could not provide an answer.

All the best from England.

Ozbob
You are not the only one with this issue. We've all had those dreams. It is your body telling you, you need to pee.

I'm a data driven guy so let's talk numbers. (I'll use my numbers. Your mileage may vary)

My bladder will hold 510 ml when I feel like I am about to explode. 480 ml is about the maximum reasonable amount I can take.
When well hydrated, the average person will produce about 1 ml of urine per kg of body weight per hour. Since I weigh 70 kg, I produce about 70 ml/hour. I measured this under many conditions and find that this can go to zero if I am dehydrated and up to about 100 if I am saturated. Doing the math, 480ml/70 ml/hr = ~ 7 hours. Just about enough capacity to sleep through the night.
I stop drinking anything about 2 hours before bed and empty out as much as possible before getting between the sheets. It makes a huge difference.

We all agree we should know our PSA. But I think it is just as important to know your bladder capacity. I measure it every time I pee into a cup. You want to make sure you are fully emptying and are stretching your bladder to its working capacity.
The goal is to get your bladder capacity large enough to handle 8 hours of urine production.

Now, if only I could figure out a way to stop the sex dreams. I often dream of having an erection and always wake up disappointed.

Jeff

I had my bladder removed (Bladder Cancer) but also tested for Prostate Cancer so I watch the blogs for that and for my AUS that I have installed for urinary incontinance..

The night time dream was of interest to me because when I had my bladder, I would get the bathroom dream and over time (when I was a kid anyway) I learned to wake up and go to the bathroom or I would would pee in bed.

Though, as I got older, the dream was less frequent but it was still a call to wake up and empty out the bladder.

Now, I have no bladder, no urge to urinate at all. I also do not get the dream at all..interesting.. I use my Timex to remind me to "Void"

I am glad, however, that I was not the only other person to get the bathroom dream.

One other dream I got.. (nothing about our issues here), was a dream like when I was in college and I would procrastinate to go to class and keep up with my lectures and homework.. then at the last minute crash the lecture notes and homework before the final exam.

Now.. I alway thought that to be a weakness in my character to have that dream.. a fear of failure.. then I was talking to a couple that both had their PHD's and were very successful and nice family friends with our children.. I was relating the dream and she stood up and said "I get that same dream!"!! She had no reason to.. but anyway, finally found a place to share the story!! ha ha!!

NEO

Hi Guys

Thanks for all reponses. As usual, You all make me feel a bit better about my problem and it's reassuring to know that "I'm not alone" with this small problem. I'll mention it to my Uro the next time I see him. By the way, it doesn't seem to make any difference what volume I drink (even a few Fosters Terry!) before going to bed. I can, on rare occasions get through the night without a pee, but usually it's one "get up" every night. It was this dreaming thing that was bothering me, anyway, a few of you seem to experience it, so I'm not going crazy.

Your minor leaking and the other guys' responses about dreams etc sound just like what I've had too.
First thing proptect the matress as I think most of us would agree that at some time you're going to have a bigger leak, and it'd be a shame to wreck the mattress. I also protect the floor beside the bed.
Avoid the wrong drinks, eg beer, in the hours before bedtime, and avoid drinking anything at all late in the evening (I take no fluids after 8pm)
And, while it may not sound like a great future, I think you will have to be prepared to get up every night to have a pee. (And if your bathroom is a long way away maybe get hold of a hospital bottle to keep by the bed.)
If you have to go to the bathroom don't turn on the lights as your brain will find it easier to get back to sleep afterwards if it has not been exposed to light stimulus.

And I'm not going to complain about waking up with the need to pee when it's after having a dream of a sexual nature, as I am often mightily pleased to find I've also woken with an erection.