Peeing Before bed a zillion times. and OCD.

[Jalapeñomel]

I have to empty my bladder completely before I can fall asleep.  It has to be the absolutely last thing I do before I go to bed, otherwise, I have to start the ritual all over. 

I attribute to some weird OCD that manifested itself in the last couple of years, but in the last couple of months, it's really become unbearable.  I don't know if it's time I go back on medicine, because I just cannot stop it no matter what I do.  Google tells me that this happens to more than just me (really, I'm not a special snowflake?).

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what have you done to control it?

[TrickyBob]

I do it too. If i pee and come back to bed and am still up in 30 minutes, I feel like I must pee again before I actually sleep. For me, it is an anxiety thing

[jenny1980]

It definitely sounds OCD-y if you can't control the compulsion. What would happen if you decided that tonight you weren't going to do it?

[Captain Catnip]

I'm that way. If I am going to bed I'll go, but then even if I read literally 3 pages, I need to get up and pee again before going to sleep. I cannot go to sleep without emptying.

[Captain Catnip]

Oct 25, 2017 18:25:46 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

It definitely sounds OCD-y if you can't control the compulsion. What would happen if you decided that tonight you weren't going to do it?

I know this wasn't to me but for me I get kind of panicky and can't fall asleep until I do. 

[leeba25]

Yes, me. I sometimes pee, walk out of the bathroom, and turn right around and go back in. Or I'll sit on the toilet for 10 minutes and play a game on my phone while I pee a bunch of times. It seems like I stop, but then a minute later I can pee a bunch more, so IDK.

I just brought it up at my well visit a couple weeks ago, and they ran a bunch of blood work plus a urine test. I go tomorrow to talk about the results but it looked like everything was normal.

Something that has helped me the past couple weeks has been a sleep meditation app. Falling asleep used to take me an hour, easily, and now I'm out within 15 minutes. It's like magic, really. And somehow it takes my mind off the need to get up & pee more. The app I use is called Sleep Well Hypnosis by Surf City Apps, but there are a million out there plus podcasts with sleep meditation tracks. I need to check iTunes as well b/c I'm sure there are more. But really, I can't say enough good about this app, it's so amazing.

(Oh plus I'm on a new anti-depressant? IDK if that's helping, but it might be.)

[cabbage10]

When my OCD was the worst this and locking the front door were my biggest problems. I am so sorry you are dealing with this. You have had some serious stress lately with your move out and I wonder if that is contributing, stress makes my OCD worse

[jenny1980]

Oct 25, 2017 18:26:49 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

Oct 25, 2017 18:25:46 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

It definitely sounds OCD-y if you can't control the compulsion. What would happen if you decided that tonight you weren't going to do it?

I know this wasn't to me but for me I get kind of panicky and can't fall asleep until I do. 

The problem with OCD-ish behavior is that every time we do the compulsion we're reinforcing the NEED to do it. So it might make us feel better in the moment but over time, it causes an increase in anxiety. 

[mcsangel2]

While your question is really about the role anxiety plays in this behavior, I would think it's being exacerbated by the plain old physiology of getting older. Not sure how old you are....but I'm mid 40s, and I wake up to pee about 90% of the time. Like others above, I pee before going to bed, where I read for awhile, and then I have to go again even if it's only been 20 mins. It's the only way I have a chance of getting through the night uninterrupted. I don't have any anxiety issues.

[namasteak]

Oct 25, 2017 18:26:49 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

Oct 25, 2017 18:25:46 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

It definitely sounds OCD-y if you can't control the compulsion. What would happen if you decided that tonight you weren't going to do it?

I know this wasn't to me but for me I get kind of panicky and can't fall asleep until I do. 

Me too

[cleo29]

I do, but more C does it and I am pretty certain she has OCD.

[cajunmom]

I frequently have to do this but even if I pee a couple of times before going to sleep I always wake up during the night to pee, sometimes two or three times. I hate it.

[maloney]

This is me too. I pee immediately before getting in bed, then watch a show. I “have” to go again before I close my eyes, I also have to go if my husband comes to bed before I’m asleep. It’s frustrating and I only pee a tiny bit, but if I don’t go it’s all I can think about. This is really the only area in my life I feel compulsive. I also need to pee like 3 times before I finally will leave the house. I wasn’t like ‘‘tis before kids

[Captain Catnip]

Oct 25, 2017 19:26:12 GMT -5 maloney said:

This is me too. I pee immediately before getting in bed, then watch a show. I “have” to go again before I close my eyes, I also have to go if my husband comes to bed before I’m asleep. It’s frustrating and I only pee a tiny bit, but if I don’t go it’s all I can think about. This is really the only area in my life I feel compulsive. I also need to pee like 3 times before I finally will leave the house. I wasn’t like ‘‘tis before kids

Oh I forgot about this; if I am asleep when H comes in, I wake up and mumble that I have to pee. I don't even really remember the next morning that I got up. It's barely anything but I still need to go!

[Jalapeñomel]

Oct 25, 2017 18:25:46 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

It definitely sounds OCD-y if you can't control the compulsion. What would happen if you decided that tonight you weren't going to do it?

I’ve tried all my CBT stuff and nothing works. All I can think about is peeing. I’ve tried, and I give in to the compulsion every time.

[Jalapeñomel]

Oct 25, 2017 19:26:12 GMT -5 maloney said:

This is me too. I pee immediately before getting in bed, then watch a show. I “have” to go again before I close my eyes, I also have to go if my husband comes to bed before I’m asleep. It’s frustrating and I only pee a tiny bit, but if I don’t go it’s all I can think about. This is really the only area in my life I feel compulsive. I also need to pee like 3 times before I finally will leave the house. I wasn’t like ‘‘tis before kids

Now that you mention this, I do have to go before I leave anywhere several times.

[eddy]

I have weird thing about peeing. It is a phobia that I attribute to never being able to access restrooms in europe. I have to pee mulitiple times before bed and panic if I can’t easily access a bathroom in public. It has stuck with me for a long time.

[oliviapope]

I do this too, I go several times before bed. I even try to limit liquids and I still get up 3 or 4 times to make sure.

[abs]

Oct 25, 2017 19:16:38 GMT -5 cajunmom said:

I frequently have to do this but even if I pee a couple of times before going to sleep I always wake up during the night to pee, sometimes two or three times. I hate it.

Yep.  100% this.  I just blame a bladder that never recovered from pregnancy and age.

[penguingrrl]

I’m so same way. In my case I think it’s because I’m a ridiculously deep sleeper and having to wake up to pee during the night gives me anxiety. Add that to general sleep anxiety because I have to wake up hours earlier than my natural cycle, I’m so afraid of needing to pee interrupting my sleep that I can’t fall asleep unless my bladder is completely empty.

[jenny1980]

Oct 25, 2017 19:45:54 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Oct 25, 2017 18:25:46 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

It definitely sounds OCD-y if you can't control the compulsion. What would happen if you decided that tonight you weren't going to do it?

I’ve tried all my CBT stuff and nothing works. All I can think about is peeing. I’ve tried, and I give in to the compulsion every time.

Probably time to either think about meds or go back into CBT for a little professional tune up. Hugs. This stuff sucks. (Though I have made peace with likely needing to be medicated my whole life). 

[whitemerlot]

I have something somewhat like this. For me it’s a feeling of urgency that’s related to anxiety. I feel like I have to go, but it’s a never ending cycle of feeling like that every 2 minutes. I have GAD with some OCD type of stuff mixed in and am not on any meds and am kind of a mess lately.

[rightawaynow]

I am the same way and when I sit down sometimes I have trouble peeing. Sometimes I will pee, lay down and if I'm not asleep in 15 min or so I have to pee again. I have OCD as well but I never connected the two because I have the physical urge to pee. I started taking Azo and it's been better.

[karinothing]

Oct 25, 2017 19:53:05 GMT -5 abs said:

Oct 25, 2017 19:16:38 GMT -5 cajunmom said:

I frequently have to do this but even if I pee a couple of times before going to sleep I always wake up during the night to pee, sometimes two or three times. I hate it.

Yep.  100% this.  I just blame a bladder that never recovered from pregnancy and age.

Hmm this is also me. I do think of it as an OCD or anxiety issue, but I also don't have any other issues so it never occurred to me. I just blamed two kids.

[nessness]

Yep, peeing has to be the absolute last thing I do before I lay down or I’ll just lay in bed thinking about having to pee. I think it started sometime after DD1 was born. I rarely wake up just to pee but if I get up with DD2 I have to pee before I lay down again.

[textbookcase]

Ugh I’m sorry. I had a bunch of years of low OCD (always intrusive thoughts but have had less compulsions) but lately they’ve been bad and I’ve been thinking of going back for CBT. I think you’ve spoken about it before and CBT helped, yeah? I would probably go talk to someone if it’s interfering with things (like sleep)

[halfpint]

I have had this since becoming pregnant - like, I can't fall asleep unless I'm confident that every drop is gone. I attribute it to anxiety about being able to fall and stay asleep, like I know if I have to pee even a little, I'm going to wake up in an hour and then not be able to fall asleep again. I've noticed my anxiety is a little out there during pregnancy and PP, so I'm trying to pay closer attention to it. I don't know enough about OCD, but it certainly feels like anxiety to me.

[scm1011]

I dealt with this in a pretty extreme way for about 10 years. Starting in the evenings I would feel the need to pee every 10 minutes or so, and then when I went to bed I legit went to the bathroom 10+ times from the time I laid down to when I fell asleep (within a 30-60 minute time frame). Like a PP said, sometimes I'd exit the bathroom and immediately go back in. I went to a urologist who said there was nothing wrong with me.

It actually subsided greatly after I had DS last November. I thought it was probably because I was busier and completely exhausted (my kid is king of the shitty sleepers club), but this thread is making me realize its probably because I started taking anxiety medication a week after he was born due to PPA. I can't believe I never connected the dots before (see: lack of sleep). I still probably get up to pee 2-3x before I go to bed, but its nothing like before. And the early evening start has disappeared.

[lintscreen]

Oct 25, 2017 18:51:49 GMT -5 namasteak said:

Oct 25, 2017 18:26:49 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

I know this wasn't to me but for me I get kind of panicky and can't fall asleep until I do. 

Me too

Me three

[wambam]

I can't sleep unless my bladder is completely empty, which usually requires 2-3 trips to the bathroom.