The dangerous answer for getting up to ‘go’ at night

Must be the new math.

The geniuses at Ferring Pharmaceuticals came up with a great way for you to “go” a “half time less” overnight.

So what does that mean? You hop to the john?

I guess not.

But you will want to run in the other direction if your doctor hands you an Rx for this brainchild drug – or diagnoses you with this new “disease” — nocturnal polyuria.

Because getting up to pee will quickly become the least of your concerns…

Three strikes and you’re (not) out

It sounds so frightening that people will be begging their doctors for a cure. But nocturnal polyuria simply means you need to get up and pee after you’ve gone to bed.

There are lots of reasons that might happen, and plenty of ways to get it under control.

But taking the new med called Nocdurna should never be one of them.

Nocdurna is a “new” drug made from an old generic one called desmopressin. It’s been around for quite some time to treat some very serious diseases. Like a rare kind of diabetes, hemophilia, and another type of bleeding disorder.

But researchers noticed that people who were being treated with desmopressin for these critical conditions weren’t peeing as much. Could they have stumbled on a “new” drug worth billions?

Apparently Ferring heard that “ka-ching” sound really loud. The result was Nocdurna.

Now this drug is so risky that, twice already, the FDA’s advisory committee gave it a big thumbs- down. In any other business, that would be that. But in Big Pharma’s world, it just means you put the TV commercials on hold.

So even though that committee concluded that the benefits of the drug didn’t outweigh its risks, the FDA will probably ignore that advice like it so often does.

So it’s almost a given this very dangerous drug will land in your doctor’s office very soon.

And if he mentions it to you, here’s why you should be running as fast as you can in the other direction.

Nocdurna works by restricting the amount of water eliminated in your urine, it’s called an “antidiuretic.”

And that can be very dangerous. Because it can cause the sodium levels in your body to become very low by dilution.

And those extremely low sodium levels can cause life-threatening seizures.

The condition becomes even more likely if you have an electrolyte imbalance caused by an illness, vomiting, diarrhea, or are even drinking extra water because of heat or exercise.

As I said, the generic version of this drug has been around for a while now. In fact, eight years ago the FDA even issued a warning about those deadly low-sodium levels caused by desmopressin, noting that there were over 60 reports of seizures, which caused two people to die after taking it.

The agency warned doctors to be very cautious when prescribing the drug, and told them what they needed to look out for. It also told them to advise patients against drinking too much water and what to do if they got a cold or stomach bug.

Certainly, having to “go” after you hit the sack is no way to get a decent night’s sleep. But there are ways to get that under control without resorting to a risky drug like Nocdurna. Especially considering it will only save you half a trip (still trying to figure that one out!)

First, you need to find out why you have the condition. The most obvious place to look (for men) is the prostate. An enlarged prostate can put extra pressure on your bladder. But your prostate isn’t the only culprit: For example:

• Excessive urination can be one of the first signs of diabetes. In diabetes your kidneys are already working overtime, so you certainly don’t want to put more strain on them.
• Sleep apnea is a common reason for getting up to use the bathroom during the night. It seems that when you strain to breathe while asleep, your heart can start producing a hormone that ups urine production.
• How much do you drink after dinner? Especially if that meal was a salty one, drinking large amounts of liquids in the hours before bedtime will get you up during the night.
• Are you taking a blood pressure drug that’s making you go at night? Many contain diuretics that, of course, increase urine production. Taking such meds in the morning can easily fix that.
• And as we age, our bladders don’t hold as much as they used to. So for many it’s not a disease needing a drug, but merely a natural part of getting older.

For an enlarged prostate, several natural remedies are considered to be very helpful, including horsetail, nettle root and saw palmetto.

Source:

“FDA advisers unimpressed by Nocdurna” Shannon Firth, January 13, 2015, Medpage Today, medpagetoday.com