So a few weeks ago (three? six?) I was working around the house, doing nothing in particular, when I started to get a terrible pain in my lower torso. I say torso because it was primarily in my lower back, extending down into my hip area, but my gut hurt at the same time, though not as badly. I’ve had similar pains before, usually associated with my menstrual cycle in some way, so I leaned over, grabbed the edge of the counter, and braced myself. Usually, these pains last less than 30 seconds. I grit my teeth through them, and then I forget about them.
This one did not last 30 seconds. It got worse and worse and worse, until I finally moaned aloud. Apparently so loudly that my husband, deep in the corner of the basement, heard it and ran up the stairs. I think it lasted about five minutes before it started going away. My husband was actually changing clothes to get in the car and drive me to the emergency room because he was so alarmed. But it did go away, and I forgot about it.
Today, it happened again. It’s not a muscle cramp. No one is stabbing me in the lower back. What IS it? My regular OB appointment is very soon, so I will be getting a professional opinion on this, but I wanted a little instant gratification.
Have any other Dopers had anything like this? (Particularly female Dopers, since I think it’s possibly menstruation-associated.)
I had this happen to me. I don’t mean to scare you or suggest that this is what is happening to you, but in my case it was an ectopic pregnancy. I’d urge you to see your OB as soon as you can just to rule this out.
Beadalin, I doubt that’s what’s up with me. My husband and I have been told there’s virtually no way for us to conceive without pretty hefty medical intervention. Wouldn’t it just be one of life’s little kicks in the teeth if we did, though, and it turned up as an ectopic pregnancy?
Anyway, I had another attack today, while some friends were here. One of them is a nurse and suggested the possibility of kidney stones.
Either way, I’m going to try to get in to the doctor on Monday – I was going to wait
until my OB appointment in 10 days, but the increasing frequency makes me think I should try to get in somewhere sooner.
I was going to scroll down here and suggest it was renal colic from a kidney stone, before I saw 2 other stone references above. It does sound right for a stone high in one of your ureters in the tapered region below the renal pelvis. They may try an ultrasound exam done by probing your sides, and suggest an extracorporeal shockwave lithotrypsy (sp?). I’ve had about 45 stones so far, and while they hurt, it’s not very frightening or grisly.
Yes, it was a functional ovarian cyst. It put me on the ground, gasping in pain. It hurt so badly I couldn’t get a deep breath to scream actually. Then the pain lessened after about 3-5 minutes. Confirmed by transvaginal ultrasound at my ob-gyn later.