This has been going on since I went keto. Anyone know of anything that may help? I have tried a lot of thing like upping my intake of sodium, ensuring I take enough of the recommended potassium and mag. I also avoid fluids after 5pm. So what gives?
Remedies for frequent nightime urination?
you are normal. So many experience this.
I just dealt with it til it passed. I got up 2-3 times a night and it drove me a bit batty but yea, it changes down the line.
just don’t drink a ton before bed, you might get away better that way LOL
it truly is your body changing, your body letting loose and getting toxins and more out of you and your thirst might increase while changing over into your new healthy eating lifestyle…I just went with the flow of it all.
But for everyone it all gets better but you have to put in your time thru adaption like everyone kinda. Hang in there
One suggestion might be to only drink to thirst, not to some target amount of liquid. The sports drink manufacturers are the ones pushing a really high volume of liquid, as you might guess.
Another thing is that after several months on keto, I started to find that my bladder capacity had increased significantly, and I could go much longer without needing to urinate. I can now sleep through the night, instead of having to get up several times.
Many years ago, I had outdoor jobs where no bathroom was handy. I always had to pee in the mornings, even though I made a point of drinking no liquids until noon. So I figured my body decided to urinate at certain times no matter what I did.
Since then, I’ve found that exercise helps somewhat (mostly the lower ab exercises I guess). A friend swears that Vitamin K worked for her. I read that Vitamin D can also help. Good luck.
Are you diabetic? I was. I had to pee 4 or 5 times a night before Keto. Now, about 1 year later, I only need 1 visit to bathroom during the night.
I’ve not been able to solve this, nor have I been able to figure out what causes me to sleep through the night sometimes or get up multiple times. Certainly, drinking too much before bed is a detriment, but that’s only MOST times. Sometimes, if I’m thirsty, I can drink a lot and get up not at all or only once.
On one podcast, they theorized that higher electrolyte (salt, magnesium, maybe potassium) intake right before bed might lessen the number of times you get up. I have not tried this, though.
How much sodium? You realize now being low carb your body will flush out any extra right? Which means you’re peeing more. As long as you like salt, just salt your food man, it’s all it takes for most people.
That’s not what many have found. For instance, check out Dave Feldman’s posts about this. He adds a TON of salt to everything.
If you want to check out the reasoning behind taking electrolytes at night (or even in the morning), check this out:
I have not tried this yet, so can’t comment.
But I don’t think taking in more salt means you automatically pee more. Furthermore, I find if I’m fasting or the like I have to eat just salt. Otherwise, I can cramp.
Salt is highly regulated; I go by appetite. If I feel the need for salt, I have some; if it stops tasting good, I stop putting it on things. If I get out of range, I feel it in my digestion the next day. Constipation, if not enough salt; loose stool, if too much.
@Troy001 How long have you been eating keto? I don’t recall the exact timing, but near as I can recon, it took at least six month, probably a few more, before I was sleeping through the night.
For me it’s primarily timing. If I don’t drink much liquid within a couple hours of going to bed, I’m good for the night. Otherwise, I’m likely to awaken at 3 am from a dream in which I am desperately seeking a urinal.
Hey Paul, been on keto for 4 years…LOL. The nightime urination has not left me!!
I don’t think it does either, but given that keto can cause a “diuretic” effect (which I disagree with, I say it’s the body working as intended) If you give it more than it needs it’s going to excrete it. I supplement my electrolytes pretty heavily especially around workouts but if my salt (specifcally) is cranked up at night I’m getting up a couple times for sure. Magnesium / Potassium won’t do that to me.
Sorry to hear that. Guess I’m out of suggestions, then, sorry!
Another thing to consider is habit. If your body is used to waking up when the bladder is half full, this pattern tends to continue. Especially if reinforced by the need to get up and empty in order to put yourself back to sleep. Depending on how much volume you are needing to excrete, some determined (and a little uncomfortable) retraining may help.
This is not a suggestion to overfill snd overstretch the bladder, caution is needed. But I think many people have what is called a Just In Case Bladder, with some habitual urination tied to activities
You are so right, Helen. When I wake up and my bladder is half full, I find I should empty it just in case to get back to sleep!!
I know right? Years ago I heard a radio science thing on how we develop the Just in Case bladder in modern society because we can’t just find the nearest tree like a dog. Then I began to experiment and realised “this is me!”. If I’m busy gardening I can keep working until it’s full. If I’m about to leave the house I always need to go.
At the moment I get up once per night and I’m ok with that. If the number creeps up it means I’m not sleeping well so attending to that and a night of being stern with myself helps to reset.
Can you point me to Dave Feldman’s posts? I love Dave’s talks on the Low Carb Down Under YouTube channel.