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frequent urination at night/back in flare

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/23/2010 9:56 AM (GMT -5)
i was recently in some type of remission for about two months right after i got my colonscopy....anyone think there is any corolation betwenn cleansng out for the colonscopy and remission? ok so the real story is every night before i go to bed i do my steriod enamas and pee and now i wake up at 4am to urinate every night and this was never the case before...dont have much of a peeing problem during the day...just at night? any ideas?
Posted 10/23/2010 10:14 AM (GMT -5)
The culprit could be the steroid from the enema. Typically, systemically absorbed steroid will cause a conservation of salt in the kidneys and will excrete more fluid in the process (ie, pee a lot). Though you are using a "topical" steroid, some of this will be absorbed into your system and would account for increased urination. It is probably not a big deal if it gets you out of this flare. If the frequency of urination increases and if you have other symptoms of increased thirst, blurred vision, then you should see your doctor right away.
Posted 10/23/2010 11:30 AM (GMT -5)

turnpkegates said...
i was recently in some type of remission for about two months right after i got my colonscopy....anyone think there is any corolation betwenn cleansng out for the colonscopy and remission? ok so the real story is every night before i go to bed i do my steriod enamas and pee and now i wake up at 4am to urinate every night and this was never the case before...dont have much of a peeing problem during the day...just at night? any ideas?

yes for both of your questions.

there are several posts regarding people feeling better after a colonoscopy - i count myself in too.

regarding night peeing... I started 1 year ago to correlate my night visit to the bathroom with my flare up leveles - when i am in a flare - i go around 1-3 times/night. When things settle down - no more visits. I even kept a journal of those, because it helped m see how long a flare lasts.
Posted 10/23/2010 5:18 PM (GMT -5)
A couple years before and during my bad flare last year I was up numerous times every night to pee. I was on no medication of any type as I hadn't been diagnosed. I got so bad before the colonscopy that I had not eaten anything but low residue and sometimes liquid only. I started getting better right before the colonscopy and after before going on meds.

I started the meds and withing a month I was sleeping through the night and UC symptoms were gone. I drink a lot more water before going to bed also. Maybe inflammation is pressing on the bladder?
Posted 10/23/2010 7:22 PM (GMT -5)
I've wondered about the inflammation pressing some on the bladded, AZ! I've also noticed that when I'm flaring, if I don't go and pee when I first have the urge, I'm more likely to have an additional BM, too.... I figured somehow it was the colon inflammation affecting nearby systems.
I've noticed peeing at night when using steroid enemas also. Thanks for explaining, napacabs!
Posted 10/23/2010 8:26 PM (GMT -5)
I've been on 40mg prednisone for almost 3-weeks (after being on 60mg for a week) due to a flare, and I too have noticed that I can't make it through the night without having to pee at least once, often two of three times. I thought perhaps I was just drinking more because of the flare, but after reading your post I think the steroids probably have something to do with it too. I hate having to get out of bed in the middle of the night! It's better than having D all the time, but it's still annoying.
Posted 10/24/2010 6:58 PM (GMT -5)
UC meds, when they reduce inflammation of the tissues, enable the colon to absorb more fluid, which then goes to the urinary tract for processing/storage/elimination. So-- a UCer can experience a fuller bladder during nighttime than was usual in the past; this happens to me from mesalamine, too. My experience has been that gastros don't usually discuss this-- maybe because they fear we would go off the meds in hopes of getting an uninterrupted night of sleep. It may help somewhat to drink only small amounts of liquid for a couple hours before bedtime. When one gets past age 50, though, it becomes common for even healthy people to need an overnight bathroom trip to make peepee-- the bladder loses elasticity. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
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