What Could Be Causing Your Pelvic Pain?
Unfortunately, pelvic pain is very common in women. It’s a general term that describes any pain in the abdominal area. If your pelvic pain has lasted longer than 6 months, it is called chronic pelvic pain.
25% of women who suffer from chronic pelvic pain are in bed 2-3 days of the month. Men can suffer from pelvic pain as well.
Learn more about diagnosing, pelvic pain tests, and treatment options for pelvic pain.
Diagnosing
Meet with your doctor as soon as you’re experiencing pelvic pain. Pain is not normal and if your pain is affecting your life, visit your doctor. The sooner you visit your doctor, the sooner you can feel better.
During your appointment, your doctor will ask your questions about your pain and health history. Be completely honest and answer all of his or her questions!
Some questions your doctor might ask you:
- What activities make the pain worse or improves it
- How your pain limits you
- How long have you been experiencing pain
- How often does the pain last
If you’re able, keep a pain journal or diary to help keep track of symptoms leading up to your appointment. This will help you when answering some of the questions.
From there your doctor will examine your abdomen and pelvic area and decide to order more tests.
Tests:
- Lab tests
- Pelvic ultrasound
- Pelvic laparoscopy
- Pelvic MRI
- Cystoscopy
- Colonoscopy
Causes
There are many reasons why you are experiencing pelvic pain and there’s no one test to help diagnose the issue. Because there are so many different reasons of what’s causing your pain the road to recovery could be long and frustrating. What’s important is that you build a relationship with a physician you trust and will work with you to diagnose and treat your pelvic pain.
Pelvic pain can be caused by the following:
- Dysmenorrhea
- Endometriosis
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
- Ovarian cysts or torsion
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Miscarriage
- Ovulation
- Fibroids
- Uterine cancer
- Cervical cancer
Treatment Options
Pelvic pain is extremely frustrating because there are a variety of reasons you are experiencing pelvic pain. It’s important to talk to your doctor as soon as possible to get to the bottom of your pain. Pelvic pain could be organ, muscle, or nerve related and treatments vary by type or condition.
Emotional Health
Remember that your pain is not your fault and it can’t rule your life. Unfortunately, pelvic pain can affect your emotional well-being as well as physical. Pain can affect your mobility, sexual health, and overall quality of life. Many sufferers of pelvic pain seek emotional support to help cope.
You are not alone in your pelvic pain. Please reach out to others who are experiencing pelvic pain. Start with the International Pelvic Pain Society.
Sources:
http://www.acog.org/-/media/For-Patients/faq099.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20150121T1012152381
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pelvicpain/conditioninfo/Pages/default.aspx
