The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Pumpkin Seed Oil
Posted by Elisabeth (Oceanside, Ca) on 02/20/2016
★★★★★
There were several studies performed using
pumpkin seed oil (PSO) in the treatment of overactive bladders. The studies confirmed that PSO did in fact "significantly reduce the degree of Overactive Bladder System Score...and are effective for urinary disorders such as OAB in humans." (
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24872936)
Having struggled with OAB for the last 10 years, I was beginning to think I would simply have to accept the fact my sleep would continually be disrupted due to this issue. I did try various products to solve the problem, one a very expensive herbal product touted for women but at approx. $45 per month felt this to be too expensive. The other was saw palmetto which my husband regularly takes and is very effective for him.
I purchased a bottle of a popular brand of 1000 mg soft gels of PSO (at a cost of $11.24 at my local store) and started taking 2 per day. Wow! What a striking difference after only 1 day. Instead of waking to the urgency of a bathroom call several times in the night I woke only once and that to a gentle pressure. The successive nights were similar and one night I was able to simply ignore it and actually fall back asleep. Mind you, I have only been taking this for 7 days while the studies were conducted over a longer period. I definitely will continue to take this product (also has other health benefits, I.e., anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory) and perhaps increase dosage to 4 mg per day and then taper off back to 2 mg per day.
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Joe (Nashville, Tennessee) on 04/13/2013
★★★★★
I also have nocturia and have been waking every 90 minutes at night for the past three years. Nothing my urologist prescribed helped it, and some of those meds like Flo Max (Tamsolusin) caused a really serious side effect that affected my heart rate, breathing and blood pressure dramatically, and I thought I was having a stroke. I also could not tolerate another drug called RapiFlo.
I happened to eat half a grapefruit one night before bed, and slept all night without waking. A happy accident? I tried it the next night and several other subsequent nights with the same results. I suppose the same ingredient is in grapefruit juice. Be careful if you take statin drugs like Lipitor (who doesn't these days?). Chemicals in grapefruit inhibit a digestive enzyme that breaks down the active ingredient in statin drugs. It could cause too high a dosage to go to your liver that might cause damage. I have no problem giving up Lipitor, as I am on an extremely low fat plant-based diet, and my lipids have fallen off dramatically so I no longer need the Lipitor. (Google Dr. Esselstyn diet if you are interested in the diet). Try grapefruit if you have nocturia.
Pumpkin Seed Oil
Posted by Muhsayy (Las Vegas) on 09/22/2017
★★★★★
Guys, as simple as it seems, pumpkin seed oil works for nocturia. No pharmaceutical drugs need. I recently had bouts of nocturia (surprise! ). It got so bad that I was reluctant to go walking or driving any distance away from home. After researching the condition on this site and others, I decided to get pumpkin seed oil. In the meantime I got some raw unsalted pumpkin seeds from the supermarket, and the condition is history. In either form pumpkin seed oils work, and immediately!
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Collegeville (Pennsylvania) on 12/14/2016
★★★★★
Prior to grapefruit juice up to 6 times a night. After grapefruit juice 1 time a night. Wish the doctors I had seen for years knew this.
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Kathy (Dallas, Tx) on 06/09/2010
★★★★★
Grapefruit Juice cured nocturia (need to get up and urinate in the night). I discovered this quite by accident. I was traveling by car on a long trip and at two different stops purchased a bottle (pint?)of 100% ruby red grapefruit juice to drink. That night I did not need to get up to use the bathroom during the night! I began drinking grapefruit juice daily. After a few weeks I no longer needed to drink the juice to maintain the healing.
Regarding grapefruit juice I also discovered when I was doing a colon cleanse and feeling poorly from the toxins being released that it helped my body clear out the toxins. Then learned from doing research it has an enzyme that helps the liver to detox the blood. It worked.
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by George (Colorado) on 12/08/2015
★★★★★
I tried drinking grapefruit juice last night. It worked for me! I slept through the night with no urges! I generally get up 2-6 times a night.
Hawthorn Berry
Posted by Katie (Bellingham, WA) on 03/31/2022
★★★★★
I was getting up 2 to 3 times per night to urinate. Since taking Hawthorn berry I have only been getting up 1 time a night. I take a 565 mg capsule during the day and another before going to bed.
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Slim CS (San Rafael, California ) on 11/08/2020 6 posts
Update: Last night, I was down to waking up just two times during the night! Seems too good to be true. And to think my urologist wanted to put me on Myrbetriq! I'm glad I refused meds for this.
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Doc (Kyle, Tx) on 11/14/2022
★★★★★
After several months of having to get up and pee several times (5+) in the middle of the night, I decided to start researching natural treatments. I ran across Earth Clinic, and those reporting good results from grapefruit juice. I really like the Texas Rio Star grapefruit which isn't in season yep. So I bought the grapefruit juice yesterday and drank 8oz about 45min b/f bed. WOW. it works. I only woke up to 1 time to go pee. Thank you to those that suggested grapefruit juice. I will continue taking this remedy and provide additional updates on my progress.
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Kristi (United States) on 09/01/2022
★★★★★
Grapefruit juice 100% worked for me!!!
I love this website. I've learned how to fix my sciatica, sleep better at night (thank you Art! ), and many other things. Most things are just quality of life. Nocturia, for example, was never really an issue but suddenly after I fixed my insomnia, I had this weird thing where I get up to pee anywhere between 7 and 13 times a night. How annoying - and infuriating.
I don't think it matters the brand as long as it's real grapefruit juice. I use Florida's Best. If I drink it an hour (or more) before bed I still will get up to pee a few times, not NEARLY as much as usual, but still a handful of times. But if I drink it 45 minutes or LESS before bed I will only get up once, sometimes not at all and I can wait until I wake up.
I know there is a reason this works, but it makes no sense to me because common sense states that if I drink a HUGE glass of anything before bed, it's going to make me go to the bathroom a lot lol. But I just... don't with grapefruit juice.
IDC why it works I just know it works, so thank you!
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Sue (PNW) on 10/18/2021
★★★★★
Wow, I am happy to report Grapefruit Juice is working for me, too! I've had frequent urination at night for years, recently it was getting ridiculous, wondered if I got any decent sleep at all as was up several times a night. I was getting so anxious about it and that clearly made it worse. I had nothing to lose, so tried the grapefruit and have been steadily improving. I was previously up every hour or so, (it was awful), and first night after a grapefruit after dinner I was up every 3 hrs, and after a few more days of drinking a small glass of grapefruit juice after dinner I slept 3 hrs and then 5 hours straight. That's a big improvement for me.
I have no idea why this works, but I am very thankful to Earthclinic posters. Here's looking at you, Kathy!
Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda)
Posted by Ian (Nottinghamshire) on 10/22/2016
★★★★★
I was getting up to urinate 4 times every night.
My cure that worked for me is a teaspoon of Bicarbonate of soda in a quarter glass of water at 7pm and the same measure again at 9pm. I go to bed at 11pm. This guaranteed me 6 hours uninterrupted sleep.The only drawback is slight constipation or hard stools and quite thirsty upon waking up. No caffeine produce during the afternoon too.
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Katie (Bellingham, WA) on 03/15/2022
★★★★★
I was getting up 2 to 3 times a night to urinate. I started taking Hawthorn Berry Capsules twice a day 565 mg each the last one closer to bedtime. Now I only get up once a night. I still drink some water in the evening. Hawthorn Berry is also good for your heart.
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Laney (Rocheser, NY) on 11/04/2023
★★★★★
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!
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Susu (Sacramento, CA) on 04/18/2023
★★★★★
When I came across the word "nocturia" I got the bright idea to look on my favorite website for a remedy. It was the day after I had to get up at least 13 times. The usual is about 5 or 6 times a night which is already pretty bad. The first night after the grapefruit remedy I got up 3 or 4 times which was a huge improvement but each day it has gotten better. Last night it was one time and that hasn't happened in years. I am freezing the grapefruit juice so I enjoy it more. I'm getting about 3 1/2 ounces before bed and 3 1/2 ounces in the afternoon. I chop it with a fork to make it slushy and it is really tasty that way.
Grapefruit Juice
Posted by Slim CS (San Rafael, California ) on 11/04/2020 6 posts
★★★★★
I have been needing to go to the bathroom 7 - 8 times every night for the past seven months. Needless to say, this has affected my sleep patterns quite a bit.
I started drinking grapefruit juice a couple of times a day about a week ago. I had relief almost immediately. I am down to 3 - 4 times a night and hoping this will improve even more over time. I am really grateful for Kathy's grapefuit juice post from 2010, as well as the one that mentions Pumpkin seed oil. I'm doing a combination therapy of grapefruit juice and pumpkin seed oil capsules.
White Kidney Bean Extract
Posted by Snorton (Westlake Village, Ca) on 10/12/2018
★★★★★
Recently someone mentioned a friend having problems with frequent nighttime urination. I hadn't thought about it before but I would get up several times at night myself. In fact, I had been getting up for so long that I couldn't remember when it started. I also realized that when I went out shopping, I would plan for locations where I could visit a restroom. I just put it all to drinking too much coffee during the day. I visited the Earth Clinic site and decided to try drinking grapefruit juice before bedtime to see if it helped. It did! But it was somewhat variable in helping.
One morning I awoke and realized that I had slept through the night but I hadn't had grapefruit juice the previous evening. In thinking what I had done different that day, the only difference from any other day is that I had taken a carb blocker (white kidney bean extract) before lunch. So I stopped the grapefruit juice and experimented with taking the carb blocker once a day. I tried three different brands of carb blocker, all with the same result: no nighttime visits to the bathroom. In fact, my bladder was not overly full in the morning and I urinated less during the day. It also seems that I drink less liquid during the day. It appears to work but I have no idea why.
