Idiopathic pelvic pain during early pregnancy
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
From weeks four to seven of my first pregnancy, I suffered debilitating episodes of pelvic pain (severe cramping and pulling sensations) lasting ten minutes at a time between 8 and 30 times a day. It started—and resolved—gradually, with week five and six having the most frequent and severe episodes. After week eight, the pain never returned. I went through labor unmedicated and, with hindsight, now can compare the pain the contractions (not exactly the same but similar).
During and after pregnancy, I saw numerous specialists including OBs, a gynecologist, a MFM, midwives, gastroenterologists, an urologist, an internist, and a pain doctor. Multiple imaging studies and labs were ordered. Nothing abnormal was found. During the worst of it, I asked to be hospitalized, so I could be observed and have the pain managed, but my doctors refused as it was not clear what was wrong. We discussed termination of the pregnancy but, because my OBs said that the pain wasn’t obstetric, there was no guarantee that an abortion would stop it. Luckily, it resolved on its own. We would like to try for a second child, but my husband and I are frightened of the pain occurring again—this time with a toddler in our care. No one has any answers what caused it. The best guess — and that is all it is — is endometriosis adhesions in my abdominal cavity that were pulled as my uterus shifted in early pregnancy. The theory is not perfect because (1) four years before pregnancy, I had exploratory surgery but no endo was visible at that time and (2) endo usually gets better, not worse, in early pregnancy due to the hormones. I want to know what was wrong, so that in case it happens again, we have an idea of how to treat me, but none of the doctors I consulted had ever heard of symptoms like this and I’m not sure where to go next. I can’t be the only woman that this has happened to. Does it sound familiar to any of you? Where would you go next? |
Anonymous
| You may never know. You don’t know if it will return. If you want another child, you just have to risk it. Everyone who gets pregnant risks all sorts of serious negative outcomes. It did resolve for you last time and you got a healthy baby. Only you can decide if another baby is worth the pain that you might endure. |
Anonymous
I would echo this. You don’t know if it will recur or not. The only thoughts I have are wondering if you have fibroids? And if you’ve ever seen a pelvic PT or prenatal chiropractor trained in Webster as there are all sorts of uterine ligaments and muscles and such that get strained during pregnancy. Unfortunately, for some women being pregnant is just really painful. It’s a sacrifice only you can decide if you want to make. Personally, I prolapsed after my first birth and my second pregnancy was a nightmare of constipation, prolapse symptoms (my bladder is basically at the door of my vagina and pregnancy made the pressure so much worse), vomiting stomach acid from severe heartburn, not sleeping well due to obstructive sleep apnea, and horrible throbbing vulvar varicosities that were purple and swollen and caused me to have to wear a female version of a jock strap and constantly be icing my vulva. Oh and I had gestational diabetes, too. And previously I was pretty fit. I’m just petite, I am short, I have a short torso, and my family grows big babies. It’s ok to stay with one child. It’s ok to have another, but you have to make peace that doing so may mean a return to your pain. There’s plenty you can do to attempt to treat it, but it may not do anything and you have to be ok with rolling the dice. |
Anonymous
OP here, first time, one of the problems was that there was not plenty to do to treat the pain. The ER told me to stop taking Tylenol because I was taking it so frequently. My OB gave me an oxy prescription but it helped only a bit during the episodes and made me loopy the rest of the time. I can’t take NSAIDs due to another medical problem. Yoga, deep breathing, stretching, heat, cold, TENs device: all did squat. What else is there? |
Anonymous
|
4 years is enough time for endo to have grown back. I have a similar issue and have been dismayed at how incompetent doctors are. I can get any opinion I want if I keep going to different doctors. It is dismaying how little consistency there is. In other words, try seeing another doctor. You can start having an endo expert look at the old exploratory surgery and/or old imaging. Try a pelvic pain expert?
What was the reason for the exploratory surgery? What you describe really sounds like the growing uterus ripping up endo adhesions +/- causing uterine cramping which felt like contractions. Or maybe adenomyosis. |
Anonymous
You could try a doctor experienced in female pelvic pain like Rachel Rubin or Sarah Cigna. You could incorporate epsom salt baths at a low temperature. Epsom salt dulls the pain receptors. Pelvic floor physical therapy. Chiropractor trains in Webster. TCM. Acupuncture. Learn and practice meditation. Accepting the pain instead of fighting it and recognize that it’s temporary will take your body out of fight-flight-freeze. At this point you are probably hypersensitived to pain in the area and your nervous system is reading any signal as a fire alarm because it is so primed. Learn about pain science. There’s lots of things you have not tried yet. |
Anonymous
|
https://www.tarabrach.com/meditation-radical-acceptance-of-pain/
https://www.tarabrach.com/pain/ https://www.amazon.com/Ending-Female-Womans-Manual-Expanded/dp/0615988636 Vaginal steaming is also great if you have chronic pelvic pain. Can’t do it when pregnant but before it has given me lots of relief. And I’m normally someone who thinks goop practices like that are BS. But it really helped me! |
Anonymous
|
OP here, I have seen a couple pelvic pain specialists. The most recent one came up with the endo adhesions theory but he didn’t seem convinced. I had been on hormonal birth control (depo then nexplanon) for the whole four and a half years minus the couple months of getting it out in anticipation of ttc, which happened right away. If there was no endo four years before it, and I had been on BC consistently, how could extensive enough adhesions have grown?
I want to be clear that I do not have chronic pelvic pain. It happened for three/four weeks than disappeared. I do get painful period cramps—the reason for the exploratory surgery to see if endo was the cause—but I use BC for menstrual suppression (and additionally to avoid hormonal migraines) and I rarely get a period.
Ok, to a certain extent, I agree with the bolded. I have an autoimmune condition which I did not previously mention because no one thinks they are related based on imaging and labs. The bolded statement is consistent with what I have learned about dealing with pain related to that medical problem. But a lot of the things you suggest are for chronic pain, not acute episodes. I tried a lot of what you mentioned (epsom baths and meditation). I stay away from chiropractors generally, and I was in no condition to leave the house for acupuncture. Accepting the pain would be easier if I knew what caused it. Every time it happened, all I could think (and sometimes say) was “something is WRONG. My body is telling me something is WRONG.” I want an answer so I can say something like “there are endometrial cells ripping apart in my belly as my uterus moves. I know it is wrong but it is temporary.” That’s how I did an unmedicated labor. |
Anonymous
| Do you have an inverted uterus? I do, and with each of my pregnancies had pain in my tailbone shooting down my legs so that often it was difficult to stand or walk— the pain started around 7/8 weeks and resolved by 14 weeks. No doctor has ever said this but I suspect it had to do with my inverted uterus righting itself with the early stages of pregnancy. It was more mild with each pregnancy and I think barely noticeable by my fourth pregnancy. (My first pregnancy ended in misscarriage at 14 weeks but I assume it would have resolved if the pregnancy continued, since that’s what happened with my second pregnancy.) |
Anonymous
| This is such a weird post. A close friend had to be hospitalized for the last 3 months of her pregnancy because of complications, and she’s pregnant with her second because they want a second and that’s what it takes to have a second. You had pain for three WEEKS and are questioning a second because of it? Line up a nanny for the entire first trimester if you’re so worried about it! I’d say you definitely don’t want a second. Move on, be happy with one. |
Anonymous
| I’d go see a really good endometriosis specialist, preferably one listed in Nancy’s Nook. Then, go from there. |