Feeling hopeless

[cc123]

I have posted this on other boards and thought I would try here. For the last 3 1/2 months I have had pelvic pain. Achy from front to back. It started suddenly one night when I laid down for bed and has been with me each and every day since. That first night I felt like I was in labor. I had extreme pressure in my bowels and bladder and had to keep getting up to go to the bathroom even though nothing needed to come out but it felt better to sit on the toilet or just walk around. Since that night I have had rectal pressure daily changing from feeling like I had something shoved up inside to a dull ache up in my rectum to pressure that feels like it radiates from my tailbone out through my rectum. The pressure/achiness feels like it is in my vagina too sometimes. I also get pressure/squeezing in my bladder too which feels like I have a bladder infection. When this first started happening I went to the doctors 3 times in one week cuz I felt like I had a bladder infection. Along with these other symptoms I also have mild burning feeling cramps low in my pelvic region.

I have had a ct scan which showed some fluid in my abdominal cavity and an ultrasound which showed a cyst on my ovary. So my first diagnosis was a ruptured cyst. Since then I have had a second ultrasound which showed that the cyst is gone. I have had a sigmoidoscopy. Normal results. I have been to a pain specialist who did a rectal on me and said that it didn't seem to be coming from my nerves in my tailbone area.

Does any of this sound familiar to anybody??? :confused: Please I am desperate for some answers as this is beginning to really affect my relationships with family and friends.

Thank you for reading.

[leelee88]

This sounds very familiar.. Have you researched IC??

Interstitial cystitis (IC), also known as painful bladder syndrome or bladder pain syndrome, is a condition that results in recurring discomfort or pain in the bladder and the surrounding pelvic region. The symptoms can vary greatly between individuals and even for the same person throughout the month, including an urgent need to urinate (urgency), a frequent need to urinate (frequency) and, for some, pressure and/or pelvic pain. People with severe cases of IC/PBS may urinate as many as 60 times a day, including frequent nighttime urination (nocturia).

Pain levels can range from mild tenderness to intense, agonizing pain. Pain typically worsens as the bladder fills and is then relieved after urination. Pain may also radiate to the lower back, upper legs, vulva and penis. Women's symptoms may fluctuate with their menstrual cycle, often flaring during ovulation and/or just before their periods. Men and women may experience discomfort during or after sexual relations. During flares, patients may also experience the “IC Belly,” a sudden and random swelling of the lower abdomen.

When an IC bladder is examined using a procedure called hydrodistention with cystoscopy, physicians often find small, bleeding wounds, also known as petechial hemorrhages or glomerulations. These are usually caused by recurring irritation, such as coffee or soda. About ten percent of patients may have larger, more painful wounds, called Hunner’s Ulcers. Some patients with mild IC may have bladders that appear normal during a cystoscopy. IC patients rarely test positive for infection in standard urinalysis and urine cultures (1,2).

In recent years, there has been much debate about renaming IC and suggestions have included painful bladder syndrome, bladder pain syndrome and pelvic pain syndrome. In the United States, we typically use the term interstitial cystitis (IC) or interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) though many believe that patients are being frequently misdiagnosed with overactive bladder and/or chronic prostatitis. In Europe, physicians appear to favor the term bladder pain syndrome (BPS). We urge you not to become invested in any specific name but rather focus on symptoms. If someone has frequency, urgency, pressure and/or pain, they clearly require medical care and should be treated with compassion.

[cc123]

Thank you for such a quick response. Does IC also include the rectal pressure? That is what I struggle with the most everyday. The bladder irritation comes on less frequently...maybe one to 3 times a week.

Thanks again.

[stef000]

yeah IC usually comes along with irritable bowel and that can cause rectal issues....i have fissures (basically a tear in your rectum that can bleed a lot at a time when its opened up again) come up a lot....
you may have some dysfunction with nerves or muscles so i would think to try and get that sorted out too...i don't know who to see to figure that out though....(pudendal neuralgia and pelvic floor dysfunction)
heres one of them...http://www.spuninfo.org/index_files/WhatIsPN.htm
http://bio-medical.com/news_display.cfm?mode=INC&newsid=47http://newmayoclinicdiet.com/constipation/treatment-pelvic-floor-dysfunction.html

hope these help....if i accidentally put one that had sales on the site i am sorry.
i hope you find some relief soon
take care
:pray::pray::grouphug::grouphug:

[ICNDonna]

It's possible that what you have is interstitial cystitis. Have you seen a urologist? If not, that could be a wise step. Some people with IC do have bowel irritation as well. The Patient Handbook may have some answsers for you. The link to the handbook is in my signature below.

Donna

[leelee88]

Another thing that this could be is PFD ( Pelvic Floor Dysfuntion) This mimics IC and DOES make you have constapation and ALOT of rectal pressure..

The pelvic floor muscles attach to the pubic area anteriorly and the coccyx (tailbone) posteriorly. They form a sort of a sling providing support to the b ladder, uterus, rectum. They encircle the bowel and bladder openings aiding in closing and opening these openings (help with continence). Proper functioning of these ‘pelvic floor muscles’ is necessary in the process of urination and defecation. They are also involved in the sexual response. When these muscles don’t work properly they are said to be in dysfunction.

There are many symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction including:

Pelvic Pain
Pain With Intercourse
Vagina Pain
Pain Between Vagina and Rectum
Low back pain
Urinary Frequency and Urgency
Constipation
Painful Bowel Movements
Pain in the Testis or Penis
Pain associated with ejaculation
Decreased Urinary Flow

[aleet7]

CC,
what you are describing could very well be IC. When you mentioned vaginal and rectal pressure I wondered if you have pelvic organ prolapse. I have this and IC. I sometimes get pressure in my vagina and rectal area(I have a cystocele and small rectocele). This condition often times go unnoticed but is described by symptoms of pressure and feeling like you didn't finish pooing. Nevertheless, your best bet is to see a urologist.
Good Luck!
Aleet

[NancyB]

Dear CC =

Would you mind telling us how old you are? I am just wondering if you could be having an estrogen problem.

NancyB:)

[cc123]

Hi everyone,
Thank you for all of your responses. I am 35 years old and have been put on a low dose birthcontrol pill which did help my symptoms the first month but they came back the week after I started the second pack. I am now just starting pack 4 and hope that it will start to help again. My symptoms do seem to be better now then when this all first started...I think... although emotionally I am beginning to become a wreck because of the chronic pressure and pain in such a sensitive and private area. I did ask my doctor yesturday if my hormones could be off and he gave me a slip to have them checked after this pack is over. My daughter has a friend whose mom I talked to about this and found that she had some of the same symptoms (rectal pressure, vaginal achiness, cramps, and bladder symptoms). She was 37 when it all started and she found that she had a small cyst on her ovary, she had IC and she was already starting menopause. She said this went on for 5 years until menopause was over.

I looked up the pudendal nerve entrapment (that is when I had an absolute breakdown) and found that some of my symptoms fit that too. Feels better to stand, sitting on the toilet helps, tight fitting pants are uncomfortable, a bit of clitoral pain(although that feels like it could be radiating down from my bladder) but I don't have numbness or tingling. It is more of a pressure thing and achiness. I just don't know.

Would hormone levels being off cause these problems. What about stress and anxiety. I had a pretty stressful spring and this came on just after.

Thanks again.