One thing is clear about fibromyalgia and that is it will cause myriad symptoms no matter what. This is perhaps why it was once considered a medical conundrum.

As a matter of fact, it was considered a psychosomatic disorder brought about by post-neurotic stress disorders, much as many other disorders are to this day such as certain seizure disorders are and was once vilified and shunned by the medical community.

Still, it casts a shadow upon many physicians as the possibility of such a diagnosis crawls across their medical records. Why is this so?

It is because they would rather have a clear cut, classical medical diagnosis and you are not likely to get fibromyalgia and overactive bladder together in one blow. You are more likely to get just overactive bladder and have to wing it from there.

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is characterized by a generalized and widespread pain of the muscles in the body which is usually accompanied with chronic fatigue, sleep problems, depression, mood swings, and memory problems.

Pain is generally amplified overall and it is believed to have something to do with the way the brain processes the signals from pain receptors in the body.

Symptoms can come on suddenly or occur after a physical trauma or following surgery or post traumatic stress disorder. There can also be symptoms accumulating over time with chronic stresses with no single identifiable stressful event, but a stressful lifestyle being implicated.

Generally, women tend to get fibromyalgia syndrome more than men do, but men do get it too. The only problem there is that men get discounted more than women do in terms of diagnosis just for being men and usually do not get treatment as a result.

This is an unfortunate outcome of the gender ration and is probably due more to the fact that men do not like to go to doctors.

Tension headaches tend to accompany symptoms of fibromyalgia as do symptoms of TMJ pain disorders and IBS pain syndromes.

Also depression and anxiety disorders as well as chronic fatigue syndrome also accompany the symptoms of fibromyalgia as well. Interestingly, there has been some association with fibromyalgia and overactive bladder too.

There is no definitive cure for fibromyalgia at this time, but there are medications approved for it and these medications do help alleviate many of the symptoms. Alternative therapies are also helpful.

Exercise helps exponentially, as long as this can be maintained on a regular basis. It is also important to maintain a healthy and strict diet while identifying food allergies which could be a contributing factor.

Overactive Bladder

When you are dealing with fibromyalgia and overactive bladder at the same time, it can be difficult to be certain if one is causing the other.

The bladder being overactive means you have a problem with bladder storage and there is a frequent need to urinate. This urge can be difficult to curtail in many cases and you may not be able to stop it.

This can lead to involuntary urination which is also known as incontinence. Sometimes interstitial cystitis is the cause. A physician will need to determine this, as both conditions can be very painful and cause frequent urination.

This issue with an overactive bladder will cause issues with your social life which are embarrassing. You could end up isolating yourself and even limiting your social or work activities as a result.

The positive news is that a simple evaluation from a specialist will help determine what the specific causes are for the symptoms and help identify if it is fibromyalgia and overactive bladder symptoms which are related or if the two symptom trees are different. This is important to understand in order take proper treatment approaches.

Either way, you may need to practice certain exercises such as holding your urination in as long as you can. This is one tried and true method of strengthening the bladder muscles to create a better tone for the muscles which help support the bladder. That is correct.

You need to hold it to learn how to hold it. You did it before when you were a toddler, you just don’t remember. Sometimes things go wrong with the body and you need to do it again. It just seems less dignified when you are older. Actually, it is not that big of a deal.

The Nervous System and Tricks

One could consider the nervous system as a system of tricks. It isn’t actually a system of tricks, as it is more the mind connected to it which tends to play the actual tricks upon us, but this is what we are left with and it is how we are able to access the grid, so to speak.

Notice how you are easily able to lift your arm a certain way just by giving a mental cue to do so. Well, you can do many things with your body in this manner.

To be candid, try doing this with urination. When you get to the toilet, try controlling the start and stop of urination. Actually start and stop urination in spurts.

Urinate for three seconds and stop and hold for three seconds, then start again for three then stop for three and so on. This will help you gain control of your bladder muscles.

Eventually, you will have better control of your bladder and it will be less active. Also, you will need to practice holding your urination longer. Believe it or not, you can do it. It is a mind over matter issue, but you can do it.

You may have heard it before, but much of this is a trick of the mind, which is a trick of the nervous system. This is actually quite brilliant because it means you have a great deal of control over things you never thought you had control over before.

This can work for both fibromyalgia and overactive bladder in the same way. The tricks you use to control an overactive bladder can be the same you use to control pain. There are infinite possibilities. Open your mind and free your heart.

Sources:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/basics/definition/con-20019243

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/overactive-bladder/basics/definition/con-20027632