It’s hard to know what the true symptoms of fibromyalgia are, because the symptoms are so various, so small and so big, and can be easily confused with the symptoms of another disease.
For a person who suffers from fibromyalgia whether they know it or not, even the littlest physical malfunction can be taken as a symptom. As a result, it’s very difficult to detect whether one has fibromyalgia or not.
If you do suffer from fibromyalgia, you can’t let fear overtake you. But when you begin to suspect that even the smallest physical foul-up can be a symptom, you’ll make a bigger deal of it than you should, and inevitably, you’ll lose control over dealing with your fibromyalgia.
This is why you must take control of your situation, and taking control means that you need to know what are really symptoms and what really isn’t.
Even though medical scientists and researchers still have a long way to go before we can officially know what all of the symptoms of fibromyalgia are or what the cure is.
However, one thing that we do know is a symptom of fibromyalgia is pungent smelling urine.
While it’s not a topic that a patient would want to discuss with their fibromyalgia doctor, for obvious reasons, you may still wonder whether strong-smelling urine is normal, a symptom of another disease, or a symptom of fibromyalgia.
Uncomfortable Symptoms
Discussing strong-smelling urine is something that you should discuss with your doctor, as it can help them to make a diagnosis of your condition.
If it gives you any comfort, as many as one in four fibromyalgia sufferers have pungent urine as a symptom.
But at the same time, not every fibromyalgia sufferer has pungent urine. This means that they may think they have the symptoms of another disease.
The actual smell of the urine can also vary greatly by the patient. What you should know is that pungent urine is at least a symptom of something, so if you do have bad-smelling urine, you should set an appointment with your doctor immediately.
Urinary and other bladder issues are a common problem with people of both genders who have fibromyalgia. If you do have these kinds of problems, it’s not safe to assume that you also have fibromyalgia unless if you also suffer from other symptoms that we know signal fibromyalgia is the problem.
Urinary Frequency
Urinary frequency is common with fibromyalgia patients. To be more specific, this symptom means that you’ll feel the urge to urinate more frequently than normal.
Fibromyalgia sufferers with this symptom report having to use the restroom as much as every thirty minutes for an entire day.
As you can imagine, this doesn’t only cause problems during the day, but it can disrupt how one sleeps by having to use the bathroom several times at night.
Additional symptoms of urinary frequency include pain, feeling a persistent urge to do so, and having difficulty to hold it. Discuss these symptoms and any others you may have with your doctor.
Urinary Urgency
Yet another urinary symptom that is common with people who suffer from fibromyalgia is urinary urgency. This overlaps with some of the symptoms of urinary frequency; urinary urgency is simply having the feeling to urinate urgently or to suddenly have this feeling without warning.
As you may have guessed, urinary urgency affects patients in largely the same way that urinary frequency does. You can wake up suddenly at night, have your daily routine inconveniently disrupted, and feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Additional symptoms of urinary urgency are the urge to urinate frequently, feeling the sudden the need to urinate urgently, and having sporadic episodes of not having to urinate and suddenly feeling a strong urge to.
Urinary Incontinence
In many ways, urinary incontinence is more severe than urinary frequency or urinary urgency. Urinary incontinence will make life very difficult and frustrating, but unfortunately, many patients have to endure urinary incontinence as a symptom of fibromyalgia.
Urinary incontinence is the inability to control urination. Just like how medical scientists don’t know everything about fibromyalgia yet, they also don’t know everything after urinary incontinence. Recent research has suggested it is the result of fatigue or a weakened bladder.
There are several kinds of urinary incontinence. Urge incontinence refers to an urge to urinate only seconds before doing so.
Stress incontinence is an urge to urinate that results from physical stress (ex. exercising, laughing hard, coughing, etc).
Overflow incontinence is consistent urinating due to the bladder being overfilled, while functional incontinence refers to not being able to reach the bathroom in time before urinating (usually as a result of aging).
Treating Urinary Issues
You can probably think of a thousand different ways that urinary issues can have a negative impact on one’s life.
It’s definitely embarrassing to talk about this issue with your doctor, but if you suspect that it may be a symptom of fibromyalgia, it something that you’ll have to sum up the courage to talk about.
There are a number of treatments that are available for urinary issues. One example is Kegel exercises, a form of physical therapy where the bladder muscles will be strengthened.
In fact, physical therapy of any kind can be one of the most effective treatments for fibromyalgia.
If there is an infection present in your urinary problems, you’ll have to turn to your health care provider for recommended medications.
Examples include muscle relaxants and oxybutynin chloride that can reduce muscle spasms in the bladder and lead to less urinary incontinence. Another valuable medication is antidepressants, which can also aid in reducing bladder muscle spasms.
Last but not least, you can always turn to electrical stimulation or surgery. You should only go forward with these options if your doctor recommends it, but both ways can delay urination and add bulk to the bladder.
While surgery is obviously not something one looks forward to, if you’re out of options it is a viable alternative.
REFERENCES
http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/guide/fibromyalgia-symptoms?page=3
http://www.medicinenet.com/fibromyalgia_facts/article.htm
I agree with this. My mother discovered the condition with through her urine. So, persons that are reading this and are suspicious about their urine, they should check !
I agree with this. My mother discovered the condition with through her urine. So, persons that are reading this and are suspicious about their urine, they should check !