Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Newbie with a more health-related question...(long)
Not quite sure if this is the best place to post a question like this, as it's more so in regards to health... but it's possibly regarding sexual health?
This is a problem that's happened on and off for maybe a year or so and I'm not sure how worried I should be, or if there's possibly anyone else out there who's had experience with this and might have an idea...
First of all, I am on BCP's, and have been continuously for around 7 years... I've changed brands a few times, but my current one I've been on for a few years with no issues.
The major issue: I've noticed for a while now that sometimes I will have continuous, dull menstrual-type cramps when I'm not PMSing, or even after I'm done with my period.... or not even close to PMSing yet ... Sometimes I'll even feel them all month long off and on (not necessarily continuously throughout the whole day, but off and on daily, or maybe it'll go away one day but come back the next)...etc.
The pain is not severe but it's noticible...wouldn't even really call it PAIN, more so a dull ache, like a minor PMS cramp
A little more info that might relate: I had a bout with a urinary/bladder issue a little over a year ago, where I was having strong smelling urine (with no pain though) and they were detecting a little blood in my urinalysis as well, to the point where they sent me to a urologist to have a cystoscopy (where they send a camera into your bladder) and a CT scan, both of which came back normal.
Durring all that, I was having these same dull cramps, and I offered that I thought it must be some kind of bladder infection when you put it together with the other symptoms, plus there was some bacteria showing up in the tests too, so they gave me 2 rounds of antibiotics.
After the two rounds, the other symtoms went away for a while and I finally tested clean in my urinalysis and figured all was fine....but I would notice the slight cramping would still come back off and on between my cycles, regardless...
I've sort of just been living with it. When I bring it up to my doctor, (OBGYN), whom I just had my pap with on July 8th, she suggested maybe seeing the urologist again if I'm worried, but I'm not so convinced it's bladder related.... while yes, I will get the strong smelling urine once in a while, it's more so if I don't drink enough water (because then when I do, it goes away)..., And I'm not having any other signs or pain related to infection..
What it comes down to: I've tried to find answers by searching online regarding this symptom and I've wondered if this can be a sign of endometriosis, which I've read it can be, but then again, I've never had problems with my period (as far as heavy bleeding or extremely bad cramps), and on the pill it's practically non-exsistant. Most people I know who had endometriosis had severe issues with their periods.... but then again I've also read sometimes women have minimal or no symptoms at all, so who knows! Whenever my doctor examines me for my pap, she says everything feels/looks great and normal... and she's never mentioned it as a concern when I told her about these mild cramps.... But I don't know.
Has anyone out there experienced this at all or heard of it? I've also taken two pregnancy tests recently, both negative.
Sorry for the length of this or I sound like I'm rambling, there's lots of little details that I'm trying to squish into as short a post as possible... so let me know if you have any questions if anything is unclear.
TIA
Re: Newbie with a more health-related question...(long)
A lot of women get cramps in their lower abdomen/pelvis and freak out, thinking it has to be reproductive organ related. There are other things in there.
If it's all month, comes and goes, crampy, can't be linked with anything, maybe you are confusing gas pains and/or constipation for cramps. If you have no other symptoms of endometriosis, I doubt that's the problem. And the only way to say it's endo for sure is to stick a camera in your abdomen, which a doctor wouldn't do unless you have persistent severe pain with other diagnoses excluded.
Thank you all for your responses so far...
Regarding the suggestion about IBS/Constipation....that's a maybe. I do have some signs of that condition where I'll go back and forth between phases of having diarrhea somewhat often (and when that happens, the cramps are nothing like this though, they are WAY worse and sharp), to constipation for a period of time...then to "normal" for a while.... so my "regularity" is never what you'd actually call regular -- it depends on the stress level in my life at the time.... my symptoms of this show themselves more when I'm more stressed or anxious, as I have been diagnosed with a anxiety/panic disorder.
But this is how I've been for as long as I can remember, and this symptom was never apart of it until recently... so that's why I took notice and why I wasn't sure if it could be related.
As far as it being gas... the pains I get from that are usually much sharper... and these are so dull... like a light, dull muscle cramp...... so another part of me wonders if it's some kind of light muscle strain, or cramping that I'm getting related to the poor condition of my back/posture.... I know my lower back is not very supported, as I have horrible posture, especially when I'm sitting...I slouch alot, and the cramps are worse when I'm sitting. AND I sit all day, as my job is a desk job. Also, I notice (because of my anxious nature) I am most ALWAYS tense to at least some degree.... I have to physically concentrate on relaxing my muscles most the time because I am naturally such a tense person... though again, I've been that way my whole life....
I am also horrible about drinking enough water... and also urinating regularly throughout the day... some afternoons I can just sit at my desk working and not even go to the restroom... I don't usually feel the NEED to, though, so it's not like I'm purposely holding it either.... I know that's not necessarily healthy but it's been that way my whole life really.... I know I dont drink enough water, and I drink alot of caffeine (mostly iced tea)....That's something I need to improve, I know, but it's hard. I just can't shove water down my throat all day... it hurts my stomach and my body doesn't even crave it... I perfer tea or other caffinated beverages.... or juice sometimes.
And regarding the question about how often I have sex.... Maybe a couple to a few times a week, so it is not excessive...
I know it's easiest to just go to the doctor and have all kinds of tests done rather than guessing.... I would if it were more cost effective, but the insurance I have right now is a PPO where I have to pay a part of everything out of pocket.... and seeing as the pain is not crippling and could just be nothing, I would hate to spend all kinds of money on a bunch of tests only to be told it's nothing and I should just live with it.......I try my best to keep the doctor visits to the bare minimum....
Come to think of it the more I mull it over....
I wonder if it COULD be related to years of bad posture and sitting all day.... sometimes I do feel the cramps radiating down into my groin muscles and in my lower back too, and like I said it's more noticible when I'm sitting...and I suppose a muscle cramp could be similar to a light menstrual cramp in that area? Maybe?
My husband, being a massage therapist who has studied muscles, always points out how bad my posture is and how much pressure is being put on my pelvis/spine because of my slouching (It's a pretty bad habit of mine, and like I said I sit like that the majority of the day)..... maybe it's catching up with me and I need to start getting chiropractic adjustments to see if that will improve it?...
Does anyone think that could be a possibility?
Thanks again everyone... I'm sorry for any TMI or rambling on my part... like I said I'm an anxious person and tend to obsess....
If you realize you're having a lot of problems with not taking care of yourself, I would start there and see if it gets better. You might not like drinking water, but it's probably better than having pain. Your posture and health could probably improve with exercise. If you increase your muscle mass and balance it might help. Eating better can clear up your digestive issues. And if you realize caffeine is bad for you then switch to decaf tea and pop. Juice and milk are also good alternatives. Eating more fruit can help with hydration. There usually isn't a fun or easy solution to anything. I don't remember reading if the pain was worse during sex, but you could have polycystic ovarian syndrome or just an ovarian cyst. I've read that PCOS is highly under diagnosed.
Hope you feel better!
It could possibly be endometriosis, even if you have light periods.The strange thing about the disease is that you can have a severe case and have no symptoms at all, or have a very mild case and have terrible chronic abdominal pain. Basically, the symptoms will vary from person to person and there is no way to know for sure unless you have surgery (they can not see it on an ultrasound). If the pain is not severe and handicapping you probably don't need to worry about surgery and just keep on with the birth control since that's really the only thing that can help. Does pain medication help?
Also, if it is Endo you might interested in the diets out there that help with the cramping/pain. It involves eating lots of foods that help with inflamation. You could experiment and see if this helps and then basically know your answer. Drinking lots of water is crucial too, not just for this disease and your bladder problem, but water is like the oil that keeps all the parts of your body running efficiently. You should be drinking enough water to make you have to pee at least every two or three hours. If you don't like the taste then try mixing it with juice or water flavorers.
Good luck!