Nocturnal Urination (Nocturia) Remedies

As a male in my mid-50's I usually have to get up to use the bathroom once per night. However, one night several weeks ago I massaged my feet with a hemp moisturizer before getting into bed. I slept all the way through the night, without interruption. I tried it again. Same thing, every night. I then went a night without it and had to get up to use the bathroom. I have no idea what this is doing and why, but it works....go figure.

I thought it was too good to be true - grapefruit juice?! I had been getting up every two hours or less to pee for the past year or so. I decided to give it a shot. It worked on the 1st night! And then again on the 2nd night! I only get up once now. So grateful to finally have a good night's sleep! Thank you, thank you!

Art, melatonin has not worked for me, but grapefruit juice has, almost immediately.

Turns out that a serving (1/2 cup) of brown rice about 1/2 hr before going to sleep may reduce nocturia. The theory is that the rice absorbs water (from the vascular system) by bringing it into your gut instead of excretion via your kidneys/bladder. I used to awake every 2-3 hrs. Now I am up to 6 hrs of blissful, uninterrupted sleep.

I used to make my own rice but discovered Minute rice - and others - had a microwaveable single-serving package that took only 1 minute to heat and serve. No mess, no fuss.

I am curious if this works for others.

Hi Slim CS,

Thank you for the feedback! I'm sorry that the melatonin was not effective for the purpose. Not everything works for every person and some people respond faster that others. I am glad the grapefruit juice/fruit is effective for you, as it is a good feeling when you are able to alleviate a long standing health issue!

Art

I have MS and the most I've been up is 18 times one night to piddle. I ate a marijuana gummy one night and slept through the night. Like you, I tested that one...didn't eat one again, up 10 times...the next night, up 12. Then I ate a gummy again, and slept through the ENTIRE night again~ I will never not eat one at bedtime again~

I am in my forties and used to visit the toilet 2-4 times a night until I started to take 11-14 dried raisins each day.

From that very day I started taking raisins in early June 2019 (I do skip some days), my condition improves. Now, I visit the toilet 0, 1 or 2 times at night. Hopefully, that will continue to improve.

Nutmeg helps me during the day to keep down the number of trips to the loo. Have not tried this at night...but perhaps it would help you. 1/4 teaspoon is all it takes.

Nettle root is another herb that is helpful to older men who have prostrate issues, which can include frequent nighttime urination. It comes in capsules.

Holly

I tried this for the first time and I really did sleep better. Will try it again tonight and hopefully I'll have better results.

Be very careful with grapefruit juice. There are several RX medicines that have serious side affects with grapefruit juice. Lisinipril is one of them.

Hi Hollyhock,

Thank you for the positive feedback on the use of grapefruit seed extract (GSE) for nocturia. Please keep us updated with your further use of GSE for nocturia.

Regarding melatonin, I have only heard of it being effective for nocturia at the low dose used in the human study using just 2 mg of melatonin each night. Many people have told me that higher dosing has not helped them with nocturia.

Art

I have struggled with nocturia for about 20 years. It got even worse recently after surgery for endometriosis. Finally, I discovered that when I sleep on my back it seems to take the pressure off my bladder and pelvic area in general. I've been getting up less before falling asleep and staying asleep until about 6-7am. I place a bunched up shirt on my pillow next to my neck for neck support. Hopefully over time my bladder will get used to going less frequently.

Slim CS,

Low dose melatonin will also reduce nocturia as outlined here :

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC403853/

Art

I tried this and it worked; however, I'm reluctant to do this every night...just too much bicarb for the body and the risk of serious consequences...just my feelings.

pH strips are very unreliable. The kidneys compensate quickly. Urine pH does not measure blood pH and too much bicarbonate can produce a dangerous situation.

Does it have to be "brown" rice?

I get up as many as 6 times a night. I started to take pickle juice just before bedtime for leg cramps (about 1 1/2 oz), but found that it also reduced my nightly visits to the loo. I think it is the salt, vinegar and herbs in the pickles that makes it work. Not scientific, but it is worth a try.

Re: frequent urination... It appears salt works. I have managed to reduce night frequency to one and I am continuing to carry out more tests.

WORKED TEMPORARILY

I've been having to get up every hour for a couple of years. A book suggested that salt + carbohydrate would alter the interstitial fluid. I made a salt brine of Himalayan salt in filtered water (try youtube). A little experimentation showed that if I take 14 drops salt brine + 2 teaspoons maple syrup (or raw honey) with a water chaser on an empty stomach --- my bladder will fill at half the rate and gradually increase in speed again. It provides me temporary relief.

Some people use nutmeg during the day to cut the urge but you would have to read up on it and not overdo it.

I use charcoal capsules at bedtime for many health issues and it really helps my body calm down and rest. I have pain coming from many different directions and it can be hard to stay asleep. Charcoal is in the digestion isle of pharamacy, if you are interested.

Hi Hollyhock,

I have only seed grapefruit juice help nocturia, but if you try the GSPE tonight, please come back and let us know if it also helps nocturia.

On a related note, the following study suggests that very low dose melatonin (2 mg per night) may also help with nocturia :

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35596803/

Here is a relevant quote :

' Melatonin can be considered a safe and effective treatment for nocturia in elderly women.'

I have also seen a similar study in men with similar results.

Art

Hi Art, I take 20mg melatonin each night, sometimes 30mg. I tried the GFSE last night, 10 drops, in half glass of water. I only got up once for the bathroom! I will continue and see if that was just a coincidence. But I will also buy some grapefruit juice this week.

Tried several days in a row, no effect whatsoever. Are grapefruits in the US from a different planet?

I tried both the Ruby Red grapefruit juice and drinking the juice from fresh grapefruit. In both cases, there was no relief for me and I tried it 2 days in a row. I'm happy for all those folks who've had success but sad to say, the grapefruit juice "cure" did not work for me at all.

Had Nocturia really bad.I was having to get up 4 plus times a night to relieve myself. Did all the normal stuff- no caffeine (coffee or tea), no chocolate, no fluids at night, etc, etc. with no effect. I had to keep my fluids up as I am on a high fiber diet. I was drinking up to 2 liters a day of caffeine-free diet root-beer. Cutting back on this intake did not work. This diet soda contains Aspartame sweetner- which I later read was implicated in bladder irritation that can cause Nocturia. Quitting that soda entirely and substituting water did not work. I tried fruit juices as a substitute but it didn't work either, and I was consuming much too much sugar. Two weeks ago I switched to plain old regular BEER - 4 cups (1 liter) over the course of the day and evening, and I made up the rest with with the diet root beer. It worked. Immediately. The nocturia ceased utterly. Go figure.

Kristi,

Thank you for your feedback and kind comment!

Art

What is a carb blocker, please?

I am going to try this tonight and see what happens. Can the body become too alkaline if one does this every night? Will let you know what happens.

You can get pH test strips and check your urine to make sure what you are doing isn't making you too alkaline. Check any pharmacy.

Art, do you suppose grapefruit seed extract might do the same? I might try tonight but not sure how many drops in say a half glass of water.

How much grapefruit juice do you drink after dinner?

thank you

Could you please let us know, what moisturizer did you use? Thank you.

Could you please let us know, what moisturizer did you use? Thank you.

Long term use of carb blockers, will it cause diabetes?

The carbs are turning in to sugar and changing your sugar levels. That's why the carb blocker works.

I just looked up the interactions with grapefruit juice and Lisinopril. This medicine is not affected by drinking grapefruit juice.

Now foods version is packed on pumpkin seed oil. Recent studies show that for men doing strength training, Saw palmetto may be a DHT blocker which would be a bad thing. I may try it if I can get some sleep though.

Hi Elisabeth,

You said you took 1,000 mg a day of PSO, but then said you went "down" to 4 mg a day and then 2 mg a day. I'm confused. I read it several times.

Thank you,

Pamela

Francis, how much salt are you using?

I am 80 and bothered by frequent nocturnal urination (as often as every hour). After taking 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, the frequency is 2-3 hours.

Any info on rice vinegar usage?

That is so weird because I have been trying to cut back on beer and that is when my nocturia really got bad! I am happy to hear about the grapefruit juice and rice vinegar, I will see if that helps!