One year ago I had a sudden onset of abdominal pain deep in the lower left area (over my ovary). It was sharpest over my ovary but also radiated out toward my groin, down toward my left thigh, and around my side to my back. It was a constant pain that varied in intensity from minute to minute with no apparent connection to any movement on my part. It started on a Sunday evening and when it didn't go away by Monday morning I called my doctor and got an appointment for later that day.
During that exam they determined that my uterus was "abnormally tender" and the doctor suspecting that I was pregnant, ordered a blood test. Sure enough, I was pregnant, much to my surprise. Suspecting possible ectopic pregnancy, I was told to go to the ER. Several ultrasounds and anxiety filled days later, it was determined that my baby was in the uterus and doing just fine.
I was still experiencing pain (though slightly less intense & less frequent.) Doctor's conclusion? Must be a pulled muscle. It didn't feel like a pulled muscle to me, but I had just used an ab machine at the gym for the first time and it was possible I'd pulled one of the very inside muscles, I supposed. Mostly I didn't care anymore except to know that my baby was okay. So I let it go.
Throughout my pregnancy the pain in that spot would come and go randomly, but I just chalked it up to the physical changes of pregnancy aggravating an already injured/never fully healed muscle.
After delivery (64hrs active labor followed by a repeat cesarean), I experienced vaginal bleeding that just didn't stop. It wasn't "excessive" by medical definition (I wasn't filling a pad in 1hr) and I wasn't anemic, but the bleeding just never went away. I would fluctuate from spotting to heavy bleeding on any given day.
At one point near 8wks postpartum I had a very sharp, very sudden pain followed immediately by heavy bleeding (filled 2.5 panty-liners in 20 min). I also noticed that my discharge smelled foul at this point when it hadn't before. A trip to the E.R. resulted in a diagnosis of bladder infection and possible hormone imbalance. A follow up appointment with my doctor resulted in a prescription for an antibiotic, the minipill, and an order for an ultrasound.
The ultrasound results were "normal" with the exception that my cesarean scar wasn't *fully* healed but also wasn't concerning so they'd just check it again in another 3mths.
The minipill tamed the bleeding (kept it at just spotting or nothing at all) for the first full cycle. I noticed something else, though. Within the first week of taking the pill the pain in my lower left ab disappeared completely and didn't return until the placebo week. And boy did it come back! It returned within 24hrs of taking the first placebo pill even though I didn't start bleeding until day 7. Then, within days of starting the next cycle of pills the pain went away again (even before the bleeding did) and I didn't have it again until...middle of the second week of pills I was several hours late taking a pill and ended up having a full "period" that lasted about 5 days. Toward the end of that the pain returned and is just now going away (a few days after the bleeding stopped). In the middle of that bleeding I had yet another ultrasound and I'm again being told that it was "normal".
The odd thing, though, is that, having recently read online about possible causes for my pain, I asked the nurse who gave me the results about cysts and was told they hadn't seen any. This is odd since during a fertility assessment workup prior to my first child a little over 3 yrs ago, I was told (and saw on my own ultrasound) that I had polycystic ovaries and was diagnosed with mild PCOS! So, excuse me if I find it a little difficult to believe that whole strand of pearls (as they call them) just suddenly disappeared! >:( The nurse couldn't explain this and has put a message through to the doctor whom I am waiting to hear from.
In the meantime I was wondering.... does my story sound familiar to anyone out there??? Any ideas or suggestions on where to go from here? I am 100% convinced that it is NOT a muscular issue at this point, but beyond that....???
During that exam they determined that my uterus was "abnormally tender" and the doctor suspecting that I was pregnant, ordered a blood test. Sure enough, I was pregnant, much to my surprise. Suspecting possible ectopic pregnancy, I was told to go to the ER. Several ultrasounds and anxiety filled days later, it was determined that my baby was in the uterus and doing just fine.
I was still experiencing pain (though slightly less intense & less frequent.) Doctor's conclusion? Must be a pulled muscle. It didn't feel like a pulled muscle to me, but I had just used an ab machine at the gym for the first time and it was possible I'd pulled one of the very inside muscles, I supposed. Mostly I didn't care anymore except to know that my baby was okay. So I let it go.
Throughout my pregnancy the pain in that spot would come and go randomly, but I just chalked it up to the physical changes of pregnancy aggravating an already injured/never fully healed muscle.
After delivery (64hrs active labor followed by a repeat cesarean), I experienced vaginal bleeding that just didn't stop. It wasn't "excessive" by medical definition (I wasn't filling a pad in 1hr) and I wasn't anemic, but the bleeding just never went away. I would fluctuate from spotting to heavy bleeding on any given day.
At one point near 8wks postpartum I had a very sharp, very sudden pain followed immediately by heavy bleeding (filled 2.5 panty-liners in 20 min). I also noticed that my discharge smelled foul at this point when it hadn't before. A trip to the E.R. resulted in a diagnosis of bladder infection and possible hormone imbalance. A follow up appointment with my doctor resulted in a prescription for an antibiotic, the minipill, and an order for an ultrasound.
The ultrasound results were "normal" with the exception that my cesarean scar wasn't *fully* healed but also wasn't concerning so they'd just check it again in another 3mths.
The minipill tamed the bleeding (kept it at just spotting or nothing at all) for the first full cycle. I noticed something else, though. Within the first week of taking the pill the pain in my lower left ab disappeared completely and didn't return until the placebo week. And boy did it come back! It returned within 24hrs of taking the first placebo pill even though I didn't start bleeding until day 7. Then, within days of starting the next cycle of pills the pain went away again (even before the bleeding did) and I didn't have it again until...middle of the second week of pills I was several hours late taking a pill and ended up having a full "period" that lasted about 5 days. Toward the end of that the pain returned and is just now going away (a few days after the bleeding stopped). In the middle of that bleeding I had yet another ultrasound and I'm again being told that it was "normal".
The odd thing, though, is that, having recently read online about possible causes for my pain, I asked the nurse who gave me the results about cysts and was told they hadn't seen any. This is odd since during a fertility assessment workup prior to my first child a little over 3 yrs ago, I was told (and saw on my own ultrasound) that I had polycystic ovaries and was diagnosed with mild PCOS! So, excuse me if I find it a little difficult to believe that whole strand of pearls (as they call them) just suddenly disappeared! >:( The nurse couldn't explain this and has put a message through to the doctor whom I am waiting to hear from.
In the meantime I was wondering.... does my story sound familiar to anyone out there??? Any ideas or suggestions on where to go from here? I am 100% convinced that it is NOT a muscular issue at this point, but beyond that....???
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