Urinary and Pelvic Symptoms in Fibromyalgia

Urinary and pelvic complaints are common symptoms of fibromyalgia, particularly in women with the disease. Bladder incontinence, urinary frequency, and painful sexual intercourse are just a few of the urinary disorders and pelvic symptoms that fibromyalgia can cause. If you have fibromyalgia and think that your symptoms may indicate a problem with your urinary tract or pelvic area, consult with your doctor. Your pain and discomfort can be minimized, helping you to live a more active and fulfilling life.

Types of Urinary and Pelvic Symptoms
There are a wide variety of urinary tract problems and pelvic symptoms that can accompany your fibromyalgia. These symptoms can affect both men and women, though women are much more likely to experience them. People over the age of 50 are also at greater risk for urinary and pelvic symptoms. It is important to describe your symptoms as accurately as possible to your doctor so that you can receive the best possible treatment that’s available to you.

Urinary Frequency
Urinary frequency and abdominal bloating is quite common amongst fibromyalgia patients, particularly women. This symptom causes you to feel as if you have to urinate constantly, and can result in you having to visit the washroom several times a day. Some fibromyalgia sufferers find that they have to urinate as frequently as every 20 minutes. Urinary frequency can also disrupt sleeping patterns, as it typically causes you to wake up to go the bathroom.

The signs of urinary frequency are:

  • feeling a constant or persistent urge to urinate
  • difficulty "holding" urine
  • going to the bathroom to urinate more than once during the night
  • pelvic pain or pain on urination

 

Urinary Urgency
Urinary urgency is another symptom that is very common among patients with fibromyalgia. It often coincides with urinary frequency and urinary tract infection. Urinary urgency is described as the urgent need to urinate. This urgent desire to urinate can often take you by surprise, leaving your searching for a bathroom to visit. It can also disrupt your sleep, causing you to wake up suddenly. Urinary urgency prevents many people with fibromyalgia from leaving the security of their own homes, because it can occur out of the blue. Tell-tale signs of urinary urgency can include:

  • urinary frequency
  • sudden need to urinate
  • pelvic pain or discomfort
  • episodes of incontinence

 

Urinary Incontinence
Incontinence is often considered a taboo subject, but in fact millions of women in America suffer from this problem. Incontinence refers to the inability to control your urination. It is often considered a simple sign of aging, but it should be taken seriously because incontinence does have the habit of making life frustrating and difficult. The causes of incontinence in fibromyalgia are not known. It may have to do with weakened bladder muscles or fatigue. There are four types of incontinence:

  • Stress Incontinence: Urinary stress incontinence is caused by pressure on the lower abdomen (eg. Laughing, coughing, exercising)
  • Urge Incontinence: Causes an urge to urinate that occurs only seconds before urination
  • Overflow Incontinence: This incontinence problem causes constant dripping of urine due to the overfilling of the bladder
  • Functional Incontinence: Functional incontinence is characterized by normal bladder control but the inability to get to the washroom in time (as a result of illness or age

 

Dyspareunia
Dyspareunia refers to pain or discomfort during sexual intercourse. It can sometimes cause such extreme pain that sex is impossible. Like incontinence, most women refuse to talk with their health care providers about dyspareunia. However, dyspareunia can make fibromyalgia even more difficult and can often cause stress in relationships. If you experience dyspareunia it is important to visit with your doctor.

Symptoms of dyspareunia include:

  • pain at the entranceway to the vagina
  • extreme sensitivity of the labia
  • painful clitoris
  • pain deep inside the vagina
  • pain upon thrusting
  • rarely, pain while sitting down or wearing pants

 

Dyspareunia mostly affects women, though it can affect men sometimes too. No one is really sure of the cause of dyspareunia in fibromyalgia. Typically, painful intercourse is the result of bacterial infection, a sexually transmitted disease, or trauma to the pelvic or vaginal area. The extreme sensitivity caused by fibromyalgia may be the cause of this painful intercourse.

Dysuria
Chronic dysuria is often a common complaint among those with fibromyalgia. Both women and men can suffer from the problem, though its causes are often unknown. Dysuria causes a burning sensation while peeing. It can also be accompanied by pain in the abdomen or bladder discomfort.

Treating Urinary and Pelvic Problems
Because urinary and pelvic problems can impact your life negatively, it is important that you seek treatment as soon as possible. Though you may feel embarrassed, your health care provider has seen these problems many times and won't even think twice about it.

For urinary incontinence, urgency, and frequency, a variety of treatments are available. The most effective treatments are typically those that involve some sort of physical therapy. Kegel exercises, which train the pelvic floor muscles, are highly recommended for women with bladder problems. Regular physical activity is also effective at helping to strengthen the bladder muscles.

Medical treatments are also available for urinary and pelvic problems. If an infection is present, your health care provider can recommend appropriate medications to help eliminate the infection. Muscle relaxants, like oxybutynin chloride, are helpful at reducing bladder muscle spasms that contribute to urinary incontinence. Antidepressants can also prove useful in reducing these spasms.

The use of electrical stimulation can often help to retrain bladder muscles. Mild electrical pulses sent through the vaginal muscles help to tone and strengthen the bladder. Surgery can also be a helpful option for urinary urgency and incontinence. Surgery can add bulk to the bladder, helping to delay urination, or it can provide more support to the bladder region.

Find more information on pelvic pain here.