4 Year Old Girl with Infrequent Urination

Updated on August 03, 2009
K.M. asks from Olathe, KS
7 answers

Ok, my daughter drinks all day/night long. She keeps a cup with her at night so if she wakes up, she can get a drink. My issue is that she rarely goes to the bathroom. She generally goes twice a day and sometimes I literally have to ask her to go because she hasn't gone for such a long period. If I drank as much as her, I would have to go all the time. And, she never seems to need to use the bathroom when she wakes up in the morning. She's held it until noon or later after going all night without going pee. I brought this up at her last doctors appointment but they didn't seem concerned. I am concerned because this doesn't seem normal and to top it off, every year when she has had the flu, she dehydrates so quickly and Pedialyte, etc doesn't bring her back and she has always ended up needing an IV put in for rehydration. I feel this is connected some way. Has anyone else faced this issue. Any ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

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S.L.

answers from Kansas City on

One of my daycare moms just told me that the symptoms you describe is a red flag for diabetes. I don't have any experience with juvenile diabetes. I have seen a few children like this in my daycare through the years. One boy that I had was a breeze to potty train because he held it for hours and hours. But boy when that child went, he could fill and spill out of a diaper/pull-up in one shot.

Suzi

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D.T.

answers from Kansas City on

My daughters don't go very often. When they were younger I had to remind them all the time. My youngest daughter is 6 and she still doesn't go as often as I think she should. I have heard that drinking a lot could be a sign of diabetes. I don't know if that could be something but it wouldn't hurt to check with a doctor.

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J.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Wow, I'm glad I read the responses. I would be worried if I were you, because I've never heard of that and would think it would cause UTIs. But if there are kids who do it, maybe it's not that big of a deal. But I completely agree with Julie M - you know your kids better than anyone, and if your mommy radar is going off, trust that. Good luck!

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K.B.

answers from Wichita on

Good Morning K., Our gr son Corbin will go for hours also without going to pp. He drinks water most of the time ( his choice )with Milk at breakfast, lunch, dinner, with glass of water in his room at night. Some days he goes every few minutes some days will not go for hours unless I remind him.
Especially when he first gets up in the morning and after nap time.

Myself can go with just a suggestion or sound of water running...lol Then some days realize I haven't gone for many many hours. Go figure... :)

God Bless you K.
K. Nana of 5

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J.M.

answers from St. Louis on

Hi K.,

I am a nurse and a mom of 2 little girls. My husband is a surgeon. My daughter experienced the exact opposite with urinating too much to the point that her panties stayed wet all of the time. I didn't know what was wrong, but I FELT and KNEW something was wrong. Her pediatrician blew us off. We even took her to a pediatric urologist in Atlanta who also blew us off. They said it was everything from nerves to constipation. She was 4 at the time. I kept pressing because both my hubby and I felt like something wasn't right, and usually, with the fact that we are both in the medical field, the docs will listen to us. Well, no such luck. In fact, the urologist was such a jerk, I had decided to find a new one. So much for professionl courtesy.

We actually ended up moving to Illinois, so I had to start all over with the pediatrician, etc. and again, I was told is was just the stress over the move. I had finally had enough and literally demanded to be referred to another pediatric urologist in St. Louis. (My insurance required the referral before we could go.) I took my daughter ready to be looked at like I was another crazy mama who is over-reacting. When I told the urologist her symptoms, he said, "Without x-rays, I can't say for sure, but it sounds as if she may have a congenital defect. If that's the case, it is probably surgically correctable." My mouth just about dropped to the floor! We had the x-rays, and he was correct. She had extra plumbing which caused her to leak urine all of the time. He fixed it, and now she is doing great!

The reason why I told you this was because I just had that "feeling" something was wrong. It wasn't because of my nursing background or because of my husband's medical background. It was because of a mommy gut feeling. I was treated like an idiot, patronized, and blown off. I kept going until I had an answer. If you think and "feel" like something is not right, be an advocate for your little girl and press forward. Ask your ped for a referral to pediatric urologist. If you are in the St. Louis area, let me know, and I will give you my daughter's doc's name. Good luck to you.

(BTW, I did ask the St. Louis urologist to contact the Atlanta urologist with a followup note because they knew each other. Hopefully, that jerk in Atlanta will think twice the next time a mama comes in with concerns about her child and not blow her off, but I doubt it.)

Take care,

J.

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S.H.

answers from Wichita on

Hi, Kerry
I wouldn't worry too much about it. I have twin 5 1/2 year old girls and they have done the very same thing their entire lives. They are always drinking, and never seem to go to the bathroom. I finally just started making them go every 3-4 hours. Their doc says they are fine, just have "camel bladders". They, too drink all day, hod it all night and several hours after they wake up. As long as the urine isn't really dark (a sign of dehydration) has a really bad smell, she's fine. Some kids just don't want to take the time to go to the bathroom.

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D.S.

answers from St. Louis on

hi,
i realize you have had some responses and i have not encountered this with my child, but i would definitely follow the first response and take your child to another doctor for a second opinion or call your (ped doc now) and ask for another evaluation, it can't hurt and peace of mind will only help the both of you in the end.
D. s.

GOOD LUCK!!

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