Can sensory issues cause a child to want to urinate frequently?

[mammal_mama]

I am taking my 5yo to the doctor on Wednesday because she is using the bathroom very frequently -- sometimes even a few times in an hour. She doesn't always pee a lot, and sometimes she'll sit there a minute and say, "I thought I needed to pee but I don't." But dh and I are concerned that she feels the urge to go so frequently, and want to have her checked out to make sure there's no medical problem.

She does stay dry all night. She occasionally wakes up in the wee hours and gets up and goes potty and goes right back to sleep, but these occasions are rare. She usually sleeps solidly for 9-10 hours, and then pees a whole bunch upon waking, so it doesn't seem like there could be any kind of bladder issue.

Anyhow, I just really want to rule out any medical issue and see what other reasons there might be for her wanting to go so often. I actually think I've overlooked it for far too long because I'm a frequent pee-er myself, so abnormal is sort of my normal. I suppose she could even be going a lot because I go a lot -- but it's not like she goes whenever I go or anything.

She has been evaluated as sensory seeking, and I was just wondering if this could have anything to do with it. She actually didn't want to start using the potty regularly and wearing panties until she was 4 1/2. I made no big deal of it and just changed her, but I usually needed to check her and take the initiative on changing her because wet diapers didn't bother her; this was the case whether she was in cloth or disposable. She'd be soaked through and happily playing as if she hadn't a care in the world.

Now that she's in panties, they only feel right to her if she's got them pulled up into her butt-crack. I don't know, I can't help wondering if the frequent trips to the bathroom are somehow related to sensory issues. I guess I'll know more once we get her checked out medically, but thought I'd see what some other parents of sensory-seekers or avoiders had to say.

[LynnS6]

Ds is a sensory avoider and had frequent urges to urinate -- it was particularly bad between about 5 and 7. I swear it felt like he was going every 30 seconds sometimes! At home, I didn't care, but when we were out, it was a real pain. So, I'd ask him to wait 5-10 minutes and gradually increased the amount of time to something like 30 minutes (assuming he'd gone right before we'd left).

He's 9 now, and mostly over it.

[mammal_mama]

Thank you so much for sharing, Lynn! I feel better now and am almost wondering if this is a wasted trip to the doctor, but I suppose it's still a good idea to rule out an actual medical problem. 

Edited by mammal_mama - 2/8/11 at 4:00pm

[mammal_mama]

Well, the urine sample was normal but dd has a yeast infection! I was surprised about this at age five but the doctor said it can happen with too much soap or not wiping well enough. I mentioned that we use very little soap, but I often have to change dd's panties throughout the day because I think she pulls them up after peeing without making sure she's completely dry, and her panties get really damp, and the dr. said that can definitely cause it.

So I guess I need to check her after she wipes and make sure she's dry, rather than just reminding her to wipe really well as I had been doing. I think we also need to eat yogurt more regularly. Thanks again, Lynn and anyone else who's been reading! I am certainly relieved that it's not diabetes or anything serious.