pain waking me in the night

[SEB88]

hi, i have an 8x8cm cyst i have no problems falling asleep, but at 4am/5am i wake up for a wee but then i get back pain, hip pain and pain from the cyst just inside my pelvis, i then take ibuprofen and cocodamol and use a wheat bag but it just won't go and i can't get back to sleep. Is it because i am lying down? is so i need to lie down to sleep!

it doesn't subside until at least 11am, it's worse when i need to do a bowel movement, i get 5 mins relief until the pain builds back up. driving is very painful, the burning pain in the hip mainly. but will carry on through the day on and off

It's affecting my sleep, my work, my life in general, i have 5 weeks left til my lap but i can not go on with this pain. i do not want to take much cocodamol as it makes me constipated which then makes my belly more uncomfortable but i am loathed to take tramadol as it's strong.

trying to get a GP appt but do people have any other tips or natural solutions that have helped them?

[Brownlow]

Hi SEB88,

I have this issue too. My situation is that my right ovary is stuck to my bowel and I also have an endometrioma on the ovary. I think the reason why you wake at 4/5 a.m. might be due to the timing of your bowel movement. Might be too much info but that is your dinner and the things you have eaten during the day making their way through your bowel. If something is stuck to your bowel due to endo then that will restrict the movement of the bowel and eventually cause pain. My pain also goes to my hip and down my leg.

At least during the day you are moving around which will help matters but at night you are lying down not moving. That,s why I think it can be worse at night.

I still haven't decided what to do yet re surgery but I was recently prescribed Naproxen by my GP. This is a stronger NSAID than ibuprofen. (Please remember to eat something before you take either of these otherwise your stomach lining might be affected) Try to get an appointment with your GP. Explain that you are in a bad way and the pain is debilitating and you should get an emergency appt. You need to prepare your body for the op and pain just wears you thin.

Solving the problem of constipation might help. There are various suggestions on the forum. Maybe to a search top right for 'constipation'. The bowels are also affected by hormonal fluctuations. Suggestions are Aloe Vera juice, psyllium husk, prune juice etc. I some times use 1-2 dessertspoons of whole flax seeds in porridge followed by a 500ml glass of water. This does help things to get moving again. I only use it sometimes though because flax seeds are very high in phytoestrogens which is the last thing we need. Also, try to make the time every day to walk for 30 minutes. Mint tea helps a bit too.

Good luck with your lap. x

[SEB88 in reply to Brownlow]

thank you very much ladies for the advice!!! all that information makes lots of sense, a diet change is coming, i did reduce my bread intake a while ago and that made a lot of difference.

i got a GP appt today and she gave me naproxen and stronger cocodamol 15/500 and a gut protector. i have another appt in 1week just incase these don't work for me and i need something else.

[Sydney0714]

Hi SEB88,

I had an endometrioma a similar size to your cyst, on my left ovary, which I had removed laparoscopically in June. Up until then, I had taken a combination of codeine, tramadol, ibuprofen and naproxen to try and deal with the pain, as well as cyclizine for the nausea and laxido and senna for the constipation. Like you, my pain worsened when I needed a bowel movement. I didn't work for around 4 months.

I found it very hard to manage my pain, different things work for different women. What I will say, is that now, 3 months on from my op, I feel like a new woman. I don't have pain, I don't feel sick, I have so much more strength and energy that I have resumed yoga and I can walk for sustained periods of time, and rarely take a nap on an afternoon! So please be hopeful for a positive outcome!

In the meantime, while you are waiting for your op, I would really take time out to relax, as stress is so bad for your body. Acupuncture gave me some relief from the pain, as well as relaxing me. Rest when you can, when you need to, always have a hot water bottle or wheat bag to hand when you are at home. Personally I think reducing gluten, dairy and sugar helps me, but this is not necessarily the case for every woman.

I was so desperate for pain relief that I regularly took what the doctors gave me, long term I think this is bad for your body and I agree with you that some pain relief makes the constipation worse. When you need the pain relief, take it, and make sure you are really upping the fibre in your diet - I found bran flakes with linseed really helped the constipation (although I tried to limit the amount of gluten I ate for the pain, I found the cereal necessary for the constipation).

Good luck, and please don't lose hope. x

[SEB88 in reply to Sydney0714]

thank you very much ladies for the advice!!! all that information makes lots of sense, a diet change is coming, i did reduce my bread intake a while ago and that made a lot of difference.

i got a GP appt today and she gave me naproxen and stronger cocodamol 15/500 and a gut protector. i have another appt in 1week just incase these don't work for me and i need something else.

[andrena41]

Hi seb88

I hac exacfly the same symptoms as you waking in the night for about 3 months.

I had a cyst which was attached to my lefg ovary and bowel and had a lapo last Fri to get itmremoved. I also

got my left ovary and fallopian tube removed.much to my distresss when the dr visited me on sat I found out I have stage 4 endometriosis. I have an mri next week and been advised i will need another operation. Before I got diagnosed I was taking tramadol at night to help me sleep it worked for a while but when the pain was bad I still woke up in the night.

to see yourself through the next 5 weeks prob a change in your diet is the best advice good luck and I hopeeverything works out well for you.