Tilted cervix caused by endometriosis anyone else suffer with this

[Cummins6]

Elo ladies I'm 22 and have been diagnosed with endometriosis and PCOS for 4 years iv had 3 laps already I'm struggling with everyday life with all the pain my partner try's to understand but it's very difficult for him if we try to be intimate I scream with pain I have recently found out my cervix is tilted and I believe this causes a lot of my pain I dnt no why my gynae hasn't mentioned it I only found out when I had the coil fitted to try to control my endo has anyone had the same problem if so do u have any suggestions thanks

[Impatient]

A retroverted uterus is a backwards tilting uterus. 1/3 of all women naturally have a tilted uterus, but in a normal woman without endo and adhesions, the womb is free to flop back and forth and be flexible.

It can be repositioned forward by hand, but there's nothing to stop it flopping bckwards if that is it's usual position. It isn't abnormal, just less common than the forwards facing one.

Trouble is all the illustrations for endo, or tampon insertion and in sex guides refer to the forward tilting uterus ignore the fact that a third of all women have a backwards tilting one.

With endo and adhesions the extra problem arises in that adhesions stick the uterus in the tilted back position and prevent it flopping forward or being flexible. This can prove painful when having internal procedures and having sex in certain positions.

MOST of us ladies with endo do have a retroverted uterus, either because it naturally tipped that way or because it got stuck in the retroverted position due to adhesions. So you are in the majority. We did a poll on the old forum a few years bck and very few didn't have a retroverted uterus.

To have some idea what it looks like - I saved an illustration I found last year to post on here when this topic crops up which it does every other week or so.

motherrisingbirth.com/wp-co...

The picture has nothing to do with endo, but it very good for illustrating the different positions of the cervix. On the forwards tilted pic, the cervix is sort of side ways on as you can see, and the vagina is longer and if you imagine penetration when having sex etc, there is more room for anything to go into the vagina, whereas on the tilted image now look at the angle of the cervix.

A deadend, directly ahead of the vaginal opening and much closer to the vaginal opening too.

It will get rammed when having sex, and if you have cervical erosion (sore raw cervix) from heavy bleeding periods or long lasting periods then it will be more than a bit painful to have that take a battering when having sex.

Also comparing the two, you can see how big the gap is between the uterus and the bowel. This is called the POD, or pouch of douglas. When endo bleeds inside your tummy fall down with gravity, this is where they will end up and collect, unable to escape.

The Pod can fill up with endo blood, and grow adhesions that close it off trapping endo cells down there causing a mass or tumour which can push back to dent in to the bowel making trips to the loo and passing a poop a big challenge, and also can push forward in to the vaginal wall causing an obstruction there too.

Here's another illustration gynsurgery.org/ols/uploads/... showing the dark patch which is a large lump of endo in the POD and see how it dents in to the bowel. It's a pity the illustration is of a normal and not a retroverted uterus position - but it gives you some idea what problems can be caused round the vagina on the outside of it, which can lead to a great deal of pain when having sex.

You can try out different positions to accommodate the retroverted position, which may help a bit, so too can taking pain killers before sex and for a few hours afterwards,

But when it gets to the stage of being too painful whatever you try, my advice is stop hving vaginal sex and be open to exploring other ways to enjoy intimacy.

Perhaps try oral, or anal, or hand jobs or a host of other things you could explore which provided they are fun and pleasurable and don't cause you pain or gross you out, are just as useful for getting the spark back in to the bedroom.

There are literally thousands and thousands of women in the same predicament. it takes a loving and caring partner to be willing to explore different ways of being intimate without the need for vaginal penetration which hurts so much whatever position you are in.

In my case, me being on top is what works for me, facing his toes. But not all women can still manage vaginal sex without causing pain and it really is trial and error to find what works for you two.

Use the searchbox on the green bar at the top of the page and type in sex pain.

There have been so many previous discussions and loads of ladies putting forward their own methods for tackling this issue.

Endo surgery alone rarely solves the problem of sex pain for any of us. it is something we have to get used to by altering how we have intimate experiences.

[Cummins6 in reply to Impatient]

Thank you so much for this reply it's answered all my questions and made me feel a lot better

[Elwood in reply to Impatient]

I too have a tilted cervix, I agree ref the reverse positions, makes it a lot more comfortable, also I find the further away my knees are from my stomach the better too!