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 can include:
- urinary frequency
- sudden need to urinate
- pelvic pain or discomfort
- episodes of incontinence