Managing Pain During Pregnancy: A Personal Perspective

Question
Hello,

I don't really have a question. I was reading your response to the woman who wrote to you in December, who was pregnant and experiencing pain. I found your answer very informative and interesting. I had never seen that statistic before.

I wanted to let you know that I have had 6 successful pregnancies, however, they were very painful for me. My endometriosis is not so bad it's disabling (it was diagnosed through a laparoscopy, and I do have some pain), but normally it doesn't interfere with my daily life.

During pregnancy, however, the pelvic pain can be terrible. I also have fibromyalgia (which is bad) so perhaps this contributes to the pain. My first midwife labelled it "irritable uterus" but really, I think it's a combination of the endometriosis, and the problem I have with ligaments being too stretchy as a result of the fibromyalgia.

I just thought I'd share my experience with you.

Thank you for your good work and your "giving-ness" to others.

-Jane

Answer
Dear Jane,

Thank you very much for your kind words. It's certainly a good feeling to help others experiencing the pain and complications that endo causes.I just read a rather informative article in the April 2005 Glamour issue-page 120."According to the endometriosis Association half the battle with endometriosis is just getting correctly diagnosed. It also states that endometriosis is one of the most undertreated conditions in medicine" I'm sorry that you suffer with Fibromyalgia as that itself is very painful and also agree with you concerning pelvic pain during pregnancy being a combination of endometriosis scar tissue and stretchy ligaments resulting from the Fibromyalgia.
Jane, I appreciate you sharing your experiences with me and I wish you and yours all the very best.

Bet Ward