New here ,sad and confused.

[Lara]

Hello everyone,
I have posted this already on the USA board,but Janetm2 suggested me to do it also here.
this was my first post:

'Re: Dr. Marvel Contact Information

Postby Lara » Tue Nov 15, 2011 11:49 am
Hello,
I had a hemorrhoidectomy on july 2011,and on the 4th week after surgery i started having pain in my rectum,vagina,perinium and coccyx,the colo-rectal specialist
that performed the surgery diagnosed me with levator ani syndrome wich is basically mucle spasm",i cannot sit,sex is painful ,not during but after mainly the day after,
i have burning sensation,no numbness tough,but a lot of pain,to the people that have been diagnosed with prudendal nerve damage is my question.My specialist says that he doubts is a nerve damage because i dont have incontinence,and that i have the opposite he has seen in people with prudendal nerve,wich is a very weak pelvic muscles,i am so confused and every day i struggle to even get up from bed,my life has taken a terrible turn and i feel very isolated .can someone here tell me what his/her symptoms are?
please? i really need help .i live in Maryland i am a 43 yr old woman,two daughters,born by c-section(both),was very athletic before this tragedy,a hard runner a very happy woman.

I have been seen by an urogynecologist that week and he also diagnosed me with pelvic muscle spasms,he did so many horrible tests on me,anyway he prescribed me vaginal valium suppositories and they are helping so much!! i even went to the movies last night,and no pain,but havent tried sex yet i am too scared of the after pain.
On nov 25th i had an MRI done,i dont know the results yet,i hope nothing wrong,i will try to stay calm ,and call the specialist office until tuesday,or will they call me if something is not ok?
i feel confused because my symptoms sometimes are not like PNE, but sometimes they are!
my symptoms are:

Pain in rectum
pain in coccyx or sacrum not sure,(i had a steroid injection in coccyx that made the pain even worse!)
at the very beggining like in august i had pain in my vagina, and perinium not anymore(unles i have sex it comes back) for one day.
no numbnes,i have (*before the valium),a burning sensation deep in rectum and coccyx or sacrum.
i dont have problems of hypersensitivity in the zone,or sensations of cold.i am amazed how the valium suppositories have reduced my pain,have bee walking the dog doing ,laundry, cooking,thanksgiving dinner wasnt a problem i could sit the whole time

This thursday dec 1,i have an appointment at a pain management center,i have no idea what they are going to do there.
has anyone gone to a one? i havent received PT,at any moment .

My whole life has turned upside down,i used t run 5 miles 5 dayas a week ,weight lifting 3 times a week,a was extremely active in great shape,with a resting heart rate of a profesional athlete,my sex life with husband was wonderful,my daughters were so happy,now even the dog looks so sad.
i am afraid of losing my family,my 13 yr old daughter started having bad grades,never happened before,my husband has being very supportive but lets get real,he needs sex and i cannot give it to him,with so many women outside i feel terrible.
I feel that i hate runners when i see them ,im sorry i just want to be honest,i hate to see a healthy womaN with a healthy booty,arghh am i wrong? am i a bad person?
i feel like i will never be out of this nightmare.

Thanks for reading this frustraded woman.

[Violet M]

Hi Lara,

If you are lucky it's possible you just have tense muscles that are impinging on pelvic nerves and maybe with the valium suppositories and the help of a good pelvic PT who knows about pudendal neuralgia you will be able to improve. There is a list of PT's in Maryland that you may want to check out. http://pudendalhope.org/node/63

It's very common for people with pudendal neuralgia to have pelvic floor muscles in spasm with pain in the areas you are describing but the trick is to figure out what's causing the muscles to be in spasm. Is it a damaged or entrapped pelvic nerve causing the spasms or could there be a musculskeletal issue such as a misalignment that's causing the muscles to spasm and impinge on the nerve? It's probably going to take some detective work and research on your part and with the help of the right health care providers hopefully you can figure this out. With your history of heavy exercise, is there any possibility that could have contributed to some musculoskeletal injury -- possibly straining of some ligaments or sacroiliac joint dysfunction?

Sexual intimacy without actual intercourse and penetration might be a good temporary solution to the problems you are having with sex right now. There are things you can do but I won't go into the details. If you show your husband you are still interested in him and his needs even if you can't have traditional sex, hopefully you will still be able to have a great marriage relationship.

I think it's normal to feel sad when you see other normal people and you can't do the things you used to enjoy. You go through a cycle of grief and loss when you have a debilitating illness. That doesn't make you a bad person. Hopefully you will be able to not let it make you bitter but put your energy into finding answers and getting well.

Take care,

Violet M

[Lara]

Violet,
Thank you so much for responding me,i do hope this nightmare ends soon for all of us.
i havent received yet any call from my drs office..i am so anxious right now..my MRI was performed last friday,do you think they already sent the report to my specialist?
shall i call them? ,but i have read somewhere,that an MRI doesn't show nerve damages,or entrapments ,so i don't know what to expect...
i will try to keep calm and cook something today.
Today i miss the gym more than ever,the smell of the machines,the sauna,my insane sweating ,i miss everything ,everything,my red wine ,wearing my jeans with high heels,
thongs ,dancing,omg why my life has turned out like this?
Violet i come from a country with tropical weather the whole year,and this weather depresses even me more!!!!

Thank you ,again ,every night i pray for every single person that is in this boards,miracles can happen ,i know.i just have to wait and be patient i guess.

Lara.

[Violet M]

Lara, it might be a little too soon for the report to be back but it won't hurt to call and see. You're right, the typical MRI might not show what you need it to for an accurate diagnosis but it will at least help rule out something serious like a tumor.

Can you still have the red wine? Some people say a little vino really helps them relax, especially at night.

I used to live in a tropical country and loved it. Are you having cold, grey weather in Maryland now?

Prayers and hugs,

Violet

[Lara]

Good news,Just hang up with Dr ,and .. the result is A Normal MRI,that's a huge relief for me,now i will proceed with the appointment i have thursday at the pain
management center, yesterday afternoon and today i am having pain,not as much as before but noticeable,which makes me think that my pain is somehow
connected with my emotions,just waiting for those results made very stressed ans anxious,i won't give uo,till i get to the root of this.
I am having a 'busy" day,cooking,and decorating a little bit with x-mas ornaments the house.
Violet,vino and valium,i think is not a smart combination.
Maryland is beautiful,but the weather,ughh rain today,gray dark skies..i miss my country like crazy ,,my white sand beaches,my parrots,my neighboor sneaking into my life lol,even the dogs look happier theres.
I love USA,but i dont like this weather at all!

Lara

[Violet M]

Violet,vino and valium,i think is not a smart combination.

Very true. I'm wondering though since it's suppositories which don't have as many systemic side effects if you could get away with it as long as you didn't take them at the same time -- maybe a few hours apart. Might be worth asking your doc or pharmacist.

[janetm2]

Lara,
It is good to hear the MRI was all clear. The emotions especially stress and anxiety can add to the pain, hopefully the clinic can give you something to lower your pain. Unfortunately a busy day may not be good for you, I hope you don't have a flare of pain after. It seems one of the things to try and do is pace yourself and I have to say the pace is probably slower than you may think. Let's hope you can get things done and you actually have found a good pace. Looking back at what you wrote may work. I hope to do the same this weekend.
Janet