If you ever ask yourself why am I peeing so much you might have problems with frequent urination, which is the desire to pee at any time, day or night. Your bladder will normally feel full and you might feel a strong desire to pee, which can cause you to lose control of your bladder. Frequent urination is likewise called overactive bladder and many people deal with this condition. The key to treating an overactive bladder is addressing the underlying cause.
The Causes of Frequent Urination
It is regular to have to urinate often if you are consuming large amounts of fluids like water, alcoholic or caffeinated drinks or taking diuretics, which are medications designed to remove fluid from the body. Consuming some foods, such as chocolate, spicy food and drinking protein shakes may also trigger the need to urinate.
However, if do not drink an excessive amount of fluids or take diuretics and you are still peeing 8 times a day or more or awakening in the middle of the night having to relieve yourself, then you may provided a condition known as polyuria. Individuals who have this condition might produce an extreme quantity of urine, a minimum of 2.5 liters in a 24 hour duration.
Polyuria can be caused by:
- Pregnancy – the growing uterus puts pressure on the bladder leading to frequent urination.
- Diabetes – polyuria is frequently an early symptom of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes as the body tries to get rid of unused glucose through the urine.
- Medical Conditions – polyuria is a symptom of numerous medical conditions like chronic diarrhea sickle cell anemia, urinary tract infections and interstitial cystitis. Less common causes of polyuria include a dysfunctional bladder or bladder cancer, liver failure, and cushing’s syndrome (high levels of the cortisol in the body which can sometimes result in diabetes).
A Closer Look at Some of the Causes
If you ever question ‘why am I peeing so much?’, you might have among these conditions and knowing the additional symptoms can help you identify the prospective cause of your frequent urination.
Frequent urination can be a symptom of many different problems. When frequent urination is accompanied by fever, an urgent need to urinate, and pain or discomfort in the abdomen, you may have a urinary tract infection.
1. Urinary Tract Infection– UTI
UTIs can develop anywhere in the urinary tract, from the kidneys to the bladder, but they usually develop in the bladder and urethra. They are caused by bacteria and women get them more often than men since their urethra is shorter, which easily exposes the bladder to bacteria. The main symptoms of a UTI is the need to urinate more frequently, burning or pain while urinating, urine that has a strong or foul smell and lower abdominal pain. If not treated immediately, a UTI can intensify and you may experience a fever and chills, queasiness and urinary incontinence.
2. Diabetes
People who have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes often have issues with frequent urination. Polyuria is one of the primary symptoms of the disease. The kidneys are accountable for filtering the blood making urine when you have diabetes, the amount of sugar in your body is unusually high, which is hard to entirely filter out of the blood stream.
When the kidneys attempt to filter your blood, they reabsorb some sugar, however they can not reabsorb all of it and the unused sugar ends up in your urine. This causes it to draw water and produces big volumes of urine. Another symptom of diabetes is being regularly thirsty, which will include more fluid to your system as you aim to satisfy your thirst.
3. Kidney Failure
The kidneys are the organs that filter waste products from the blood and help to remove them from the body through urination. The need to regularly urinate can be a symptom of kidney failure, but initially, kidney failure does not have any symptoms. When kidneys start failing, they can not filter waste products successfully and the buildup of waste products in the blood causes other symptoms like lethargy, weak point, shortness of breath and confusion.
There are numerous causes of kidney failure, but it can normally be effectively treated if captured early enough. However, if they fail entirely, you might have to be placed on dialysis or have a kidney transplant.
4. Sickle Cell Anemia
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited form of anemia that avoids the formation of healthy red cell. Because red cell help bring oxygen throughout the body, people with sickle cell anemia do not get enough oxygen since their red cell are not healthy enough to adequately supply it.
The red blood cells in those with this disease are crescent moon shaped or “S” shaped and sticky, which often leads them to getting stuck in smaller capillary. This will block the circulation of blood and oxygen to the remainder of the body. Symptoms of sickle cell anemia include:
- Anemia
- Tiredness
- Pain episodes
- Edema
- Bacterial Infections, including UTIs
- Leg ulcers
- Eye damage
- Liver blockage
One of the complications of this condition is frequent urination because it can cause kidney problems.
When to Contact a Doctor
If you are wondering ‘why am I peeing a lot?’ and it has lasted for a number of days without any known explanation, you should make a visit to see your doctor. Excessive urination can result in dehydration, which can even more make complex any condition triggering your frequent urination. If you are concerned about how much you urinate, you can monitor it by recording how much fluid you are consuming, how often you are urinating and how much urine you are producing, and by weighing yourself every day.
What Can You Do By Yourself to Prevent Frequent Urination?
If there is no medical condition causing you to question why am I peeing so much?, you can help avoid episodes of frequent urination by limiting the amount of alcohol and caffeine you drink, preserving a healthy diet and, if you smoke, quitting the routine. In addition, include lots of fiber in your diet as being constipated can increase the pressure on your bladder causing you to urinate more. Likewise, learn Kegel exercises to help strengthen your pelvic floor.