Severe cramping - cant function

[cazza84]

Hi! New to this forum! Had a laproscopy 2.5 weeks ago, had some old scar tissue removed and mirena coil inserted.

Ive bled the whole time since. I also.have.an infected insertion site for which ive been given penecillin.

Today i am in agony, total agony. Its like contractions every 10 minutes, severe cramping and pressure and i feel so sick with it. I can barely move and if i do i gets worse.

Has anyone else experienced this? Could it be the infection but inside? Or just the coil?

Any advice much appreciated! Painkillers havent helped at all

[jjeemm]

Hi cazza84

I'm so sorry to hear that you're suffering so much...yes, uterine contractions can be horrendous - the pain is like no other pain I've ever experienced in my life. As you say, you're unable to move. When I had them I remember just sinking to the floor and writhing around and howling in agony - I wanted to die. The anguish and anxiety this kind of pain causes is indescribable. I only ever experienced the contractions after I had my laparoscopy in September last year (I didn't have the coil inserted and I didn't have an infection) and the contractions only ever came on a few hours before my period was due to start, so I would guess that what you're experiencing isn't because of the coil or your infection, but more likely as result of the lap itself. However, if you are worried about the coil or your infection, I would also make an appointment asap with your GP to make sure the coil is still in the right place and the infection has cleared up...at least it will put your mind at rest.

Anyway, if the pain you're describing IS the result of your lap, the good news for me, at least, was that I only experienced the contractions for 3 months and then in January this year they stopped. So, as far as I'm concerned the contractions were definitely caused by the lap itself (my endo consultant also later agreed with me). I'm guessing that during the surgery the surgeon moved all my adhesions around quite vigorously and had a good old poke around my uterus and it must have set off some nerve pain or something (apparently I also have adenomyosis so it can't have helped to have my uterus knocked about).

Re. pain killers I only had mefenamic acid and paracetamols to hand the first couple of months and because I couldn't physically open my mouth to swallow anything to begin with because I was in too much pain, I had to wait until I was able to swallow them with some food and then wait about 30 minutes for them to work. However, in the end they did seem to do the trick. I also invested in a TENS machine which I didn't need to use in the end (thank goodness...it's still by my bedside though, just in case!) and I also bought some CBD oil just in case (again I haven't used it yet, but have read good things about it). I also went to see my GP to prescribe me some opioid pain relief just in case, although in the end he wouldn't (another story for another day!!!).

My best advice is to stock up on as many kinds of pain relief as you can and to try if at all possible to identify when the contractions are likely to occur...have they come when your period is due (I know it's difficult to calculate because of the coil)?

Another idea is to phone your hospital and speak to the endo nurse if there is one, and ask for some advice about how to deal with the contractions. I really wish patients could be better informed about post-op pain - the medics do know that these contractions can be brought on by surgery - at least if we were told they might occur we'd be prepared!!!.

Anyway, I really do hope that, as was the case with me, the pain you're enduring at the moment will eventually disappear, even if you have to suffer the contractions for a couple of months...until then hang on in there and try to get the strongest pain relief that you can get hold of.

Sending you supportive hugs and all my sympathy...I do hope you feel much better very soon! XX

[cazza84 in reply to jjeemm]

Thank you so much for getting back to me. The pain finally stopped, lasted about 10 hours. Really hope it doesn't carry on like this!

Thank you for all the advice xx

[jjeemm in reply to cazza84]

Oh good grief - 10 hours!!! You must be totally exhausted!!! Yes, please do make an appointment to see your GP if you can....maybe you could even ask your GP to refer you back to your endo consultant?? No-one should have to suffer severe contractions for that length of time unless they're in labour and even then most women are automatically offered some effective pain relief!!!

I do hope you can have a good rest tonight and can get the right help to stop the awful pain from ever reoccurring! Wishing you all the very best, XX