Health Organization for Pudendal Education

Hello,

Can a colonoscopy cause or exacerbate existing PN/PNE?

One branch of the pudendal nerve serves the rectum and anus, right ?

I ask this question on the basis that a number of forum members report their pain beginning with a medical procedure in the pelvic region. Others report pain issues following rectal surger

I had sacral burnng begin in 3/2013. Had my colonoscopy 6/2013 routine. Rectal vaginal clitoral pain all started 7/2013 and persist until today. I will never know for sure but I think the colonoscopy played a role somehow. Until I have blood coming out of my you know where I will never have another one in my life time.

Luckily, I am still a few years away from the recommended age for the first colonoscopy, but I have thought about doing the virtual one instead. I suspect insurance might not cover it and it may not be quite as accurate, but it may be a place to start with colon screening.

Patty wrote:I had sacral burnng begin in 3/2013. Had my colonoscopy 6/2013 routine. Rectal vaginal clitoral pain all started 7/2013 and persist until today. I will never know for sure but I think the colonoscopy played a role somehow. Until I have blood coming out of my you know where I will never have another one in my life time.

Hi Patty,

Thanks for your reply but at the same time sorry to hear of the outcome. Given the pathway of the branches of the pudendal nerve and the supporting structures it did seem to me that an outcome like this would be a possibility.

Thanks for sharing your experience

Hope you can get some sort of solution.

My doctor wants me to have one. I tell him NO.
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Do it. I was also procrastinating and I finally did it. They found multiple pre-cancerous polyps. I have to have a colonoscopy every 2 years from now on.
It is really hard for me to see how a colonoscopy could give you PN.

I already have PNE. I don't need a flare-up that may be permanent.

Ray, it is your health so you do what you want but it was "very timely" for me according to the gastroenterologist. Again I am not exactly sure how it affects the PN. I was awake and I followed the entire intervention on a computer screen. It seemed very benign. I still had PN pain at the time.

I had my colonscopy 1.5 years ago. They did it under heavy sedation because of my PNE, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and pelvic floor dysfunction. Even with the heavy sedation by that evening my overactive bladder symptoms were so nightmarish plus set off rectal spasms that had me in tears, I almost had to go to the ER it was so bad, but by the time I was thinking I couldn't stand it anymore it was Saturday. I limped through the weekend until I could get in to see my family doctor on Monday. Started me back on meds for overactive bladder. Saw Dr. Howard a couple of weeks later and he felt that the colonscopy aggravated my pudendal nerve and CRPS and that it was going to take time for things to settle down. Took almost 1 year before I was back to my baseline for urinary symptoms and about 6 months for the rectal spasms. Thank goodness they didn't find anything because I do not think I could go through how it flared me. However, one does have to consider the alternative if they find polyps or cancer.

Interesting