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Forum Name: Urology Topics

Question: medication to help prevent wet nights

mouse - Tue May 01, 2007 8:34 pm

ive been to an out patients appointment today and I discussed problems ive been having with increased amount of night time wetting of the bed. the dr I saw is writing to my gp about a medication that will help. the medication has to b taken at night. I cant drink for an hour and a half before hand and also nothing at all through the night. the medication has to be taken for three weeks and then a break without it for a week. it is supposed to help by not producing urine. does anyone know anything about this medication? is it safe for my kidneys? I am a catheter user (isc via mitrofanoff). I hope I havent confused anyone! ty for your time.

Dr. Chan Lowe - Fri May 04, 2007 8:46 pm

I suspect the medication is called DDAVP. DDAVP comes in a few forms. It is often prescribed as a nasal spray that is used at bedtime. It works by causing the kidneys to retain water rather than excrete it into the bladder. This means less urine is produced and as such, the chances of night time wetting go down. It is safe on the kidneys. It's action in nasal spray form only lasts for about 8-12 hours. At that point, it wears off and the kidneys begin to excrete water again. It is likely that while using this, AM urination will increase because the kidneys will filter off all the water they would have during the night to keep the proper fluid balance for the body. Best wishes.

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