PFD questions? confused.

[kdream]

after seeing about a million doctors, i was finally told i have pelvic floor dysfunction. ive been to the physical therapist 3 times and it does seem to be helping, slowly. about a year and a half ago i was kicked in my right hip by a horse. i never got x rays, but it bruised really badly and i still have some trouble laying on it. my pt told me it could be related to the pfd and pudendal nerve entrapment she thinks i have. has anyone heard of an injury similar to mine causing pfd?? im just wondering why it would show up so late since it happened two years ago. it aso seems to get MUCH worse with stress and when my urgency and bladder problems first began i was under a lot of stress from school/family problems. i havent been diagnosed with ic, but my urologist is trying to have me do the ptherapy and see if it helps first. some foods seemed to bother me (pizza, coffee) but seem to have gotten better with relaxation exercises and pt. i also wanted to know if anyone else has random shooting pains/irritation in their vulva, but nothing is swollen or red?? my pt said it could be from the pne. ive been taking baths which seem to help the pfd, but sometimes also seems to cause vaginal irritation :/ ANY comments/info about pfd would help!!! thanks!!

[earthlady]

I was diagnosed with pelvic floor hypertonicity (muscle spasms). It was so painful it would wake me up at night out of a dead sleep and I would have to get up and walk around and then use a heating pad. I had pt internal release work done for two months and it did help but couldn't afford to continue forever. I used moist heat at home (soaked a wash cloth in hot water and put over my pelvic area and then put the heating pad on top), continued my pelvic floor exercises at home, and used Ativan as a muscle relaxant. I'm pain free from the spasms now but I continue to do all the pelvic stretches and take frequent warm baths in epsom salts as a preventative. Camomile tea was a great help in calming all my muscles down and it also helped my bladder. The drs. never did figure out if there was an actual nerve entrapment or just a nerve inflammation from the muscles spasming. I also upped my sublingual B-12 dosage. The whole thing gets so confusing as to what causes what that I just ended up treating everything I could! Good luck. I'm sure you will find what works for you. It takes a whole lot of patience.

[kdream]

thanks! my pt said im just so tight its difficult to get anything up in there. did you ever have random vulva pain? it comes and goes with me, but some days it makes my clitoris hurt. my urologist said it could be from the pressure or pelvic prolapse.

[earthlady]

Yes, I did have vulvar pain and also in the clitoral area. Painful hypersensitivity is the way I used to describe it and it sure felt like some kind of nerve pressure or irritation. Has your pt recommended a dilator to use for the tightness? There is a device called the wand you can buy that you can use for massaging the pelvic floor muscles internally yourself. I had to go to an adult store to find one because the medical ones were way too expensive. Also, if the plain baths are irritating have you tried adding baking soda in the bath water or Aveeno oatmeal baths? Sometimes baking soda can be overly drying to the skin and sometimes the heat from the water can aggravate inflamed nerves so I would switch now and then to just ice compresses. If it was burning I used ice and when it was spasming and tight I would use heat. Ahh, the things you learn when you have this darn condition. I was never so aware of my body parts before this all started!

[momw/ic]

I have symptoms very similar to yours. I did PT in 2003 for a year - the internal work really helped me a lot. Then we moved out of state and I couldn't find anyone who did it and I got worse very fast. My other pt was able to prescribe for me the machine she used for my therapy and I use it a couple of times a week to keep my pfd in check. If I quit using it those horrible spasms that wake you up from a dead sleep come back in full force. It is put out by EMPI and is called a Pelvic Floor Stimulation System. There is a vaginal probe that is inserted and then the machine provides different kinds of pulses to those muscles. If I am clamped down really hard it can be difficult to insert the probe but once in the machine forces all those muscles to relax. It has made all the difference for me but takes commitment to use it.

[skybluesoul]

I believe that a similar injury also caused my PFD. I was thrown from a horse, and landed on my left hip. Same as you, I had a lot of bruising, but didn't seek an x-ray or any other treatment at the time. The only thing that really alerted me to having a problem was an inability to stand intercourse. I was so tight! By the time I got to see a PT and urogyno (years later, as I ignored my symptoms), they said my pelvic floor was a mess. If you can get your PFD under control first, I think it's a bit easier to treat the bladder stuff. Sounds like you may also have vulvar vestibulitis. Keep on going to PT, and if you don't already have a good uro or urogyno, search for one.

[sailawaygrl]

Traumatic events can cause PNE and pelvic floor dysfunction, like the events the both of you describe. For some it can be a fall, a car wreck or an abusive relationship. I had my tail bone broken years ago by my ex husband (he kicked me so hard I was thrown a few feet away) I think that was a beginning of some of my problems. All of the nerves and muscles of our pelvis are so intertwined and then meet at our spinal column. They can be very sensitive for an area we give a lot of work! We ride motorcycles, horses, cars and sit on hard surfaces and have bad posture....all of those things can throw off something and cause swelling.

I went to therapy for a while too and it helped, but like other's I can't afford it now. I do practice some of the stretches and I own dilators as well. I find that without even realizing I tense my pelvic muscles a lot. When I do realize it I can make them relax but they don't stay that way without me constantly having to think about them. When my muscles get tight it causes me to have a low back pain that hurts so bad I can't even walk and lately the pain is shooting down my leg and making it numb.

If you are seeing results from the therapy keep going for as long as you can. Make sure you are learning self help techniques for the future. I hope that you find permanent relief soon.

[kdream]

has anyone else had severe back cramping and worse menstrual cramps with pfd? it seems like my period set it into awful tightening and cramping. i also have pins and needles tingling shooting down my left side of my legs and arms. has anyone else felt this? it seems like it starts in my clitoris area on my left side but i dont have the tingling tere only pain but it shoots down my leg into my foot which tingles like its falling asleep.