Pain felt initially with sitting down

[Catsandsunsets]

The second my bottom hits the couch or chair, I can feel this pressure like sensation in my anus.

Does anyone experience the same thing?

Do you have a diagnosis? Is this levator Ani or pudendal neuralgia?

[Puzzlelover54]

Hi, sorry about your pain. I had similar issues and it turned out to be pudendal neuropathy/neuralgia. Not sure what to suggest except to find a competent doctor who can help diagnose you properly. There are a lot of "quack" doctors out there as well as good doctors who have never heard of PN or don't have the slightest clue about it. Please let me know if I can help in any way. I've had PN for over 23 years. Best of luck to you. You'll be in my prayers. Peace!

[PN21 in reply to Puzzlelover54]

Hallo and thank you for your reply.

23 years with this pain, I believe your experience can be a better than most of the doctors I’ve known.

Could you please share the result of your treatment, what was the best you solution for your case? Were nerve block or Botox good solutions for you?

Did you achieve any progress in the end?

Any advice from your side please.

Thanks in advance!

[Puzzlelover54 in reply to PN21]

Hi again, Yes. I do have some relief from my PN pain. I have really good days and really horrible ones and then a lot of "okay" days in between. I'm sure you can relate.

I would have to say that Botox injections did help a bit. And PN injection blocks also helped as well as Hypogastric Plexus block injections - although not a lot of pain management doctors know about these types of shots. So, you would have to shop around a bit to find a PM specialist who will do these injections. I take Lyrica to help manage the pain.

I had to stop working full-time as a result of my PN. So, I try to get as much rest as I can and try to limit the amount of sitting that I do. I use ice too when the pain is really bad.

I mostly suffer from an awful burning sensation in my abdomen, pelvis, hips, leg, and foot. Burning, stabbing and numbness.

In the end I learned how to best manage my pain and to live with my PN as best as I can.

I am a devout Catholic with a strong faith - so my relationship with the Lord has been KEY to my "success" - as far as managing and learning to live with the pain. But it has NOT be an easy journey and at times it seemed down-right impossible. But with God's Grace and my patience I was able to make it. Don't give up. Hang in there. Advocate for yourself and have hope.

F.Y.I. (Absolutely NO pressure at all) Listen, I've written a book about my experience with pudendal neuropathy. It's my memoir entitled, "Behind the Tapestry: My Discovery of God's Grace Amidst Chronic Pain and Loss." It's available online - wherever books are sold. I'd like to invite you to check it out and to perhaps get an e-book version or softcover version of it - especially if you like to read. My book may give you some tips and also instill a sense of hope.

Best of luck to you and God Bless,

Maryanne P. from New Jersey.

P.S. Feel free to reach out again. Peace!

[edythe]

Hi Catsandsunsets, it sounds like pelvic pain, for which there can be many causes. I, too have suffered from it for a number of years but have made considerable progress, especially with sitting. As Puzzlelover writes, it is often difficult to find a competent doctor or to get an appointment quickly. However, there are very competent physiotherapists around who are able to help, take patients seriously and could, maybe, recommend a doctor. There is a list of such women’s physios in the uk online (google will help). If you are elsewhere in the world you should be able to find someone nonetheless as awareness for such pain has increased recently. I have found two expert PTs here in Germany. If you use the search function on this site, you may also find someone living near you who has a good suggestion. All the best!

[PN21 in reply to edythe]

hello edythe,

Could you please share your recommendations in Germany? I am in Germany and still suffering from PN for almost 2 years, and I see no end.

Thanks in advance, and wish you all the best.

[edythe in reply to PN21]

Hi PN21, Sorry to hear you’re suffering, too. I’ve just sent you a personal message.

[LNLPANDORAS in reply to edythe]

Find a good Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist. I have had better results and more understanding from them than most doctors. They don't seem to have a clue and no two can agree on a diagnosis. Best of luck to you. Be ready for some FRUSTRATION!

[GoldenPupLover]

Could certainly be coccydynia (coccygodynia in the UK). Have your chiropractor or better pelvic floor therapist check to see if your coccyx (tailbone) is pushed forward or to the side, - or both. That can overstretch the sacrospinous and/or sacrotuberous ligaments, causing significant pain with sitting. We treat this all the time at Clear Passage, if you can't find someone near you who has experience with this,

[anna1234567]

there are different possibilities that can cause this. For me it was back surgery. I would suggest going to a pelvic floor pt.

[Konagirl60]

I had tingling in my anus that started in late 2006. It always appeared after busy shifts at my job where I’d done a lot of lifting boxes, bent over my groin all day and as a result put stress on my pelvic floor.

My GP thought it was tenesmus ( she wrote that on a referral to a gastroenterologist). She didn’t listen to me. I didn’t have any gas, bowel issues or constipation. My GP recommended a colonoscopy because I was nearing 50 at the time.

I had the procedure ( completely knocked out ) and the diagnosis was levator ani muscle spasms.

Ten months after the colonoscopy, I could not sit.

I saw a PT in May 2008 who said my coccyx and hips were not aligned and she attributed it to my having had a C-section in 1990! I think she was right.

My sacrotuberous and sacrospinous ligaments had juxtaposed by 2008 and my right pudendal nerve was ‘ entrapped ‘ between them. It was also compressed in two other places along the nerve pathway.

Long story short, I was misdiagnosed, labelled with having a nerve imbalance, given a multitude of medications that did not help me at all ( but caused terrible side effects which I reported to Health Canada ) and left to suffer near death due to sleep deprivation over a three year period.

I was referred out of province ( in Toronto by a knowledgeable neurologist ) to the best in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

By late September 2009 I was properly diagnosed with pudendal neuropathy and still my GP and pain specialist in BC brushed me off. They did NOT believe the US expert and they left me to suffer torture.

I got the decompression surgery I needed because I hired and paid a registered nurse consultant. No doctor would help me! It’s been a nightmare and only now, 16 years later at age 66, am I feeling somewhat better.

You must see a doctor that knows about this and there are very few experts in the world.

I meant this for goldenpuplover.