Artificial sweeteners and frequent urination

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  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    I didn't read all of the replies, so maybe this was already mentioned....For several years I dealt with a condition called interstitial cystitis. Basically certain foods that went too far out from neutral on the pH scale would irritate my bladder and give me symptoms similar to a urinary tract infection. The condition was diagnosed by a urologist and they gave me a list of foods to avoid. What I found through experimentation was that certain things on the list (pineapple, chile, soda, tomatoes, alcohol, etc.) were consistent irritants while other things (strawberries, grapes, chocolate, etc.) were not for me. I also found that I could consume a high quantity of irritants in one day and be fine but consumption of a moderate amount several days in a row was a huge problem. I had to be much more thoughtful on meal planning each week. Based on internet research and reading a couple of scientific studies of the issue, I took glucosamine and chondroitin every day which provided a moderate amount of relief. I would drink water with a teaspoon of baking soda 1-2 a day for up to 3 days during flares. In the end, pregnancy actually cured the condition for me. Long story short, see a urologist.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    I do so love the detailed answers @aaron_k123 provides.

    Not a purposeful sugar substitute user, just eat it if it is in something I have chosen to eat, like my morning protein bar.

    However, I was peeing a lot during the day, also drinking about 2-3 litres of water (quite a bit on top of other liquids for my 100-105lbs). On top of the water consumption I dislike anything more than a trace of salt in my food.
    My carbs are an average 30-40% daily- so no problem there.

    What I found helper cut down on the frequent peeing was increasing my electrolytes, and strengthening my pelvic floor.

    I prefer Emergen-C for the electrolyte boost, there are plenty of other brands to choose from, including just raising ones salt intake.

    For the pelvic floor I just found a few ab exercises that focused on the pelvic floor, and included doing kegels daily.

    Oddly enough I rarely have to get up in the night.
    I put this down to a piece of probably erroneous information I read decades ago (I was very young) that said there was a 'switch' in your brain that stopped one peeing at night. I believed it at the time. Now, (at 65) even if I wake up and think I should go I just tell myself to go back to sleep and the 'switch' will work. Hahahaha, silly aside I know, but it works every time.

    Cheers, h.

    I am so stealing this for camping in cold weather...

    Talking to my bladder worked for me when I did winter camping 14 years ago.

    My decision was always made depending on what facilities were available. If there was a port-a-potty close by or trees were the facilities, I would get up. If I had to walk a ways to a toilet, I would talk myself into falling back asleep and hope at least one stall was open first thing.
  • momto3tolose10
    momto3tolose10 Posts: 33 Member
    I used to use chewing gum with artificial sweetners whenever we went long drives and it used to make me pee a lot. It took me a while to get the connection .I used to think the travel stress made me pee more . i stopped chewing gum and I can easily go 4 hrs without needing to go to the bathroom. So yes I have see this happen quite a bit.
  • Xerogs
    Xerogs Posts: 328 Member
    I stopped drinking sodas with Aspartame I noticed a decrease in getting up in the middle of the night to have to pee (2-4 times in my 30s). Now I get up maybe one time a night depending on the amount of liquid I drink before bedtime. I also noticed that when I start some medications I pee more but that is to be expected until you normalize to some extent. Low carb does make you urinate more for a variety of reasons and that is why you need to pay attention to your electrolytes so you don't get the "keto flu". I live in an arid climate so I hydrate year round throughout the daytime. If your hydration is good throughout the day I would say it is OK to taper off liquids as you near bedtime. I also always make sure to go to the bathroom one more time before I fall asleep, especially now that I am older (40s). It all seems to work for the better, in my opinion.

    I once read an article that said Aspartame makes your bladder spasm and which makes you feel like you have to urinate more often. I tend to believe it from my own experience but it could be different for everyone depending on how they metabolize artificial sweeteners.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    I have been having to pee more than usual during both the day and night since losing weight. I assumed it was a case of drinking more and being perimenopausal.
  • Nubiannews
    Nubiannews Posts: 1 Member
    Yes artificial sweeteners make me pee! Yes they do. I measured and studied them over and over again for almost ten years.
    At first I noticed that aspartame (nutrasweet) made me go often, about every 25 minutes for 4 to 5 hours, then reduced to every hour for the rest of the day. Then when I went to sleep every hour the first 3 to 5 hours then it would slow down to 2 hour intervals for the rest of the night.
    The next day back to hourly intervals - this goes on for about 48 hours, getting better over time.
    So I stopped using aspartame.
    Then in 2015 I started going to a weight control doctor who put me on a protein supplement shake. I started peeing all the time. Being on a weight loss regimen I was drinking diet drinks and other 'sugar free' foods all the time. I was peeing so much I went to a urologist.
    Making a long story short; I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, went through the treatments, and all the anti-pee medications (myribetric etc), on the other side I was still peeing a lot. Finally noticed things I drank with artificial sweeteners had the same reaction as aspartame.
    I cut them all out, sucrose, dextrose, sucrolose, fructose, the pink one, the blue, the yellow one, all of them I could identity.
    The peeing stopped!
    Every now and then it would return and every time i'd go back and read the ingredients and an artificial sweetener would be there. They are everywhere. I eat very few unknown things without first reading the ingredients. But they show up in the most unexpected placed. Just about all anti-acids have them. Many over the counter medicines have them. I just had a CATScan with contrast and something they put in my vein made me pee.
    Now a days I can go up to 5 hours without peeing (though I make myself go every two hours) and sleep through the night.
    But if I inadvertently ingest an artificial sweetener there is no escaping the next 48 hours of pee.
    Hope this helps someone. My doctors are very sceptical of my claims but I've had sweeteners listed on my medical charts as an allergic reaction. Had an operation and had to have fluids, they gave me a dextrose drip, I peed so much. Now they can give me a drop but it is either saline or glucose, which is a natural sugar.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,332 Member
    edited July 2019
    Nubiannews wrote: »
    Yes artificial sweeteners make me pee! Yes they do. I measured and studied them over and over again for almost ten years.
    At first I noticed that aspartame (nutrasweet) made me go often, about every 25 minutes for 4 to 5 hours, then reduced to every hour for the rest of the day. Then when I went to sleep every hour the first 3 to 5 hours then it would slow down to 2 hour intervals for the rest of the night.
    The next day back to hourly intervals - this goes on for about 48 hours, getting better over time.
    So I stopped using aspartame.
    Then in 2015 I started going to a weight control doctor who put me on a protein supplement shake. I started peeing all the time. Being on a weight loss regimen I was drinking diet drinks and other 'sugar free' foods all the time. I was peeing so much I went to a urologist.
    Making a long story short; I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, went through the treatments, and all the anti-pee medications (myribetric etc), on the other side I was still peeing a lot. Finally noticed things I drank with artificial sweeteners had the same reaction as aspartame.
    I cut them all out, sucrose, dextrose, sucrolose, fructose, the pink one, the blue, the yellow one, all of them I could identity.
    The peeing stopped!
    Every now and then it would return and every time i'd go back and read the ingredients and an artificial sweetener would be there. They are everywhere. I eat very few unknown things without first reading the ingredients. But they show up in the most unexpected placed. Just about all anti-acids have them. Many over the counter medicines have them. I just had a CATScan with contrast and something they put in my vein made me pee.
    Now a days I can go up to 5 hours without peeing (though I make myself go every two hours) and sleep through the night.
    But if I inadvertently ingest an artificial sweetener there is no escaping the next 48 hours of pee.
    Hope this helps someone. My doctors are very sceptical of my claims but I've had sweeteners listed on my medical charts as an allergic reaction. Had an operation and had to have fluids, they gave me a dextrose drip, I peed so much. Now they can give me a drop but it is either saline or glucose, which is a natural sugar.

    As a correlation most of the items you mentioned would also increase the fluid level in your body and, as a consequence, the need to urinate.

    To run the full gamut of the experiment you would need to supplement with an equivalent number of not artificially sweetened liquids and see if that would have affected your urination in a similar manner.

    Dextrose by the way is not an artificial sweetener... it is just sugar. https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Biological_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Biological_Chemistry)/Carbohydrates/Monosaccharides/Glucose_(Dextrose)

    Peeing out the contrast medium is a good thing!!! :wink:

    Glad you appear to be doing OK and to be recovering from your past health concerns.

    Hopefully things will continue to go well for you!
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