Another Piece of the Jigsaw

After seeing Christies rheumatologist yesterday it seems that all her 'markers' for Lupus are negative, except for the three positive ANA results of 320 each.  The R needs to keep an eye on this as it signifies 'pre-lupus'.

It is the R's opinion that she is 'quite likely' suffering from Fybromyalgia, ON TOP of EDS, which explains SOOOO much!

Fybromyalgia (or F as i will call it) causes all sorts of problems. I found some very interesting information on how it affects the urinary tract and pelvic area. 

The following is just a few signs/symptoms & in bold type are the ones that affect Christie.  Some of these can also be attributed to the EDS:

"There are a wide variety of urinary tract problems and pelvic symptoms that can accompany your fibromyalgia:

• 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 frequency
• sudden need to urinate                                Note:  these are also symptoms of her UTIs
• pelvic pain or discomfort
• episodes of incontinence

• Urge Incontinence: Causes an urge to urinate that occurs only seconds before urination  (this has happened to Christie for YEARS - can go from not feeling like she needs to wee to BANG she cant move, literally, or she will wee. Very distressing for her, particularly when it happened at school. Until recently i thought that perhaps she was just holding on too long but now i understand. I have  mentioned this MANY times to various doctors including her paediatrician and no one had a clue.
• 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. (again this can be another symptom of her UTI, but when a specimen is tested not always does it return a positive result for infection.)

I dont know the full details about treatment, but i was told by her R that she will consult with Christies Paed. Urologist and there are some medications available that will help, but wont know more for another couple of weeks.

Here are a couple of interesting sites:

Fibromyalgia Tender Points Diagram (part of diagnosis)

Urinary & Pelvic Symptoms in Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia also affects the joints, muscles etc and this can be contributing to Christies constant and often high pain levels. Again, i dont know a lot about it. 

Google is gonna get one hell of a workout :)