Women's Health Community

You are definately not the only one, I have heard of this before in post menopausal women but I don't know what if anything there is to be done about it. you could try the menopause support board.

Oh no, that sounds really horrible. I am sorry you are dealing with such pain. Unfortunately, there are a number of causes of pain with orgasm and your doctor should look further into the causes of this sexual problem without skipping ahead to a hysterectomy.

Our Sexual Issues Member to Member board is another place to ask this question, though welcome and definitely not a problem to ask here.

Wow. I have what I would describe as mild menstrual cramps after orgasm (and I am pre-menopausal). But nothing like what you describe. Your doctor sounds maybe a little too eager to subject you to medical procedures. I mean, a D&C for *spotting*!? Good lord! That seems extreme--although I guess she might have wanted to check the tissue for cancer or something. Anyway, I would maybe try another less gung-ho doctor for a second opinion about that hysterectomy.

Hi Redskink you are not alone. I have the same pain lately. My history: I have had a myomectomy for a submucous fibroid 5 years ago, still have an intermural fibroid that formed a few years later, and last year had a D&C to remove polyps and endo biopsy..all good there no cancer. Soon after my surgery last year I began to have pain which turned out to be ovarian cysts, so my doc put me on birthcontrol, Alesse. Still had cramping pain a few months later. Went back in to see the doc and had a pelvic saline ultrasound but doc could only still see the one fibroid in the muscle, no endo, or polyps and the fibroid he has decided to leave alone.

His theory is that I have varicose veins or pelvic congestion as he has ruled out everything else. These veins which grow large and have valve damage that cause blood flow to back up and this causes pain. He gave me two options, do a procedure where tap a large vein in your neck or your leg...shoot a dye into it and watch on an xray to see the veins light up in the groin to confirm his theory or go on continous progesterone birthcontrol pills. I chose the pill route.

That was 10 months ago. I stopped the progesterone to have a withdrawl bleed since the spotting got out of hand with continous birth control and since I started the pills again...the cramping started. It comes and goes for the last fews days, but after orgasm I have the exact same symptoms you do and it's most severe and excruciating and makes me sweat and feel nauseated. I never had this type of cramping before or after orgasm before taking the progesterone...this is new. Now I am calling him to go back, this time I will probably get an ultrasound again and then agree to do the XRay procedure if nothing is found. If you and I do have this, there is a cure and its a simple outpatient procedure, similiar to what they do for varicose for the legs.

You may want to ask your doc to investigate this as a possibility. It's more common in pregnant women or women who have had children, I have never had kids, but worked a job where I did alot of heavy lifting for many years and I wonder. If that's not it, for me, I assume it's the fibroid and I will ask for an embolization procedure for that. Good luck to you. I can write back let you know how it goes. If your doc doesn't go for it find another doc...it's your body and you should be able to help decide what happens to it.

Hi ladies, I wanted to share my story which has very similiar symptoms to yours. I had originally posted on another board & have been talking to other women who have the same symptoms. Here is my posts from that board & subsequent follow-up posts:

Nov 05, 2008 10:29PM I too experience the exact same symptoms, very intense cramping after orgasm ~ probably 85% of the time. The pain is so intense at times that I am in tears. I have tried Tylenol prior to sex, stretching before & after, but nothing seems to help. The pain at times lasts up to 30-45 minutes after. This has been happening for 4-5 years (I am 39) so i'm not sure what changed in my body to trigger the onset of the pain later in life (I have never been pregnant) My doctor has no clear cut explanation. I do, however, have endometriosis & fibroids. Although not officially tied to the orgasm pain they could be a contributing factor. I even have pain at times waking up after having sexual dreams. I can't offer any advice, however, I will report back in December as I am having a partial hysterectomy the end of November. If I still have the pain after removing my uterus & cleaning out the endo & fibroids then I would guess it's some sort of muscle issue. The Calcium/ATP explanation above is intriguing. I wonder if there is a way to alter the calcium & ATP to trick the body into not feeling the pain. I'm not a doc or scientist but will definitely try and look into that explanation further. There needs to be more research & support groups for women like us. The medical profession seems to have no answers & there are a lot of us out there. probably many more than we think. Good luck to you & others & I'll report back after my surgery. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

my second post : Merry Christmas to you all. I thought I would report back with some enlightening holiday news (at least for me & maybe a starting point for you all). I am 4 weeks post surgery ~ a laproscopic vaginal partial hysterectomy. Surgery went off without a hitch, recovery has been super with minimal pain and I am extremely happy to report that I have not experienced any of the symptoms I posted above. It appears that all my cramping and severe pain with orgasm is gone (let me add that I have only experienced a self-induced orgasm & none via intervaginal stimulation ~ 6 weeks before that they suggested). My orgasms have been wonderful & I'm looking forward to getting back into a sexual relationship where I don't experience the pain I had. (ironic thing is I'm now single after a divorce & 13 years of marriage ~ hee hee) I cannot, unfortunately, give you a specific medical cause ~ I can only share that they removed my uterus & cervix which had fibroids & endometriosis. So it would seem that something relating to the uterus/fibroids/endo would be my best guess. My doctor hasn't been able to offer up much help. I'm just so grateful the pain is gone (along with my periods!!). I wish you all the best in your individual situations & hope that you can find a remedy that is best for you and your specific situation in the near future ~ best wishes to you all in 2009 !! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

my last post : ok, it's me again. just thinking & reviewing my own personal history & the development of my pain. Like I mentioned above I had experienced severe cramping for the past 4-5 years. I was diagnosed with endometriosis back in the late 90's during infertility treatment (at that time I did not have fibroids). My diagnosis of fibroids is relatively recent. So in a google search of fibroids & cramping I came across a link to a book titled 'What Your Mother Never Told You About Sex' by Hilda Hutcherson. In the google preview (I copied the link below) it specifically mentions fibroids & sex (page 308) ..... here is a quote "....

CONTINUED IN NEXT MESSAGE ~ RAN OUT OF CHARACTERS

my last message continued................

"....Fibroids may cause a generalized discomfort or the urge to urinate or have a bowel movement as the uterus is forced against the bladder or rectum during intercourse. they may also cause intense cramping pain during orgasm that may last for several hours after intercourse has ended...." it continues on but google only has a preview of page 308 and doesn't continue to 309. My suggestion would be to head to the local library & check into this book and bring it to your ObGyn and discuss further with him/her. Sounds like quite possibly this is a Fibroid issue that many Dr.'s are not well educated in ~ nor am I for that matter and just offering my own educated guess based on my own symptoms. Link for the book is below or if you are not trusting of 'links' (which I understand) ~ I went to google and typed in "fibroids orgasm cramps"

books.google.com/books?id=xu8tb2o66iIC&pg=RA2-PA8&lpg=RA2-PA8&dq=fibroids+orgasm+cramps&source=web&ots=qBM4CCvYuy&sig=f_F3v0ujNb6cFtTEpucF1vax1tk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result

Once again ~ good luck to all who are experiencing this debilitating condition. I wish that 2009 brings an end to your pain & suffering. Happy Holidays!

Redskink, I think you have just taken a large weight off my shoulders. I was beginngin to wonder what was going wrong with me.

I'm 29, and I'm also a lesbian so to be frank, I know this is not caused by penatrative sex. It started for me about a year ago which was also about the time I was diagnosed with PCOS. So I have cysts on my overies but hadnt thought about fibroids.

After I orgasm I instant get pain like it is the worse period pain in the world, that then develops into me rushing to the toilet thinking I am going to have diorehia. I dont but I will sit there for a good 10-20 minutes, sweating and feeling like I might be sick. I then mnage to make it back to bed where I can't for the life of me find a position that makes the pain any less. Probably about 30 minutes after orgasm the pain starts to dull slightly, sometimes enough for me to sleep but I know I will have a painful tummy throughout the night. I absolutely agree at this point, no matter how sensational the orgasm is, NOTHING is good enough to bare this pain.

I have not mentioned this to any doctors, not even my PCOS specialst but I am starting to think that maybe I should. I have mentioned it to my partner who jokingly (I hope) thinks it is me trying to avoid sex - I can only imagine what pressure that would put on a hetrosexual relationship!!!

I hope there are more out there who can offer some advice or ways to ease this pain. At 29 I'm reluctant to have a hysterectomy whether I plan on having children or not, but hand on heart I would have one if it was there only way to stop the pain. Thank you for posting this, it has put my mind somewhat at ease.

J.

just had a hysterectomy in december, everyone said i would feel like a new woman. WRONG ! my complaints were constint bleeding, severe cramping and pain and pain and headaches with sex. i already had all the test and procedures done, and nothing ever helped. so i did it. i went for the hyterectomy and that was a mistake for me. on the same day i was suppose to have a sling put on my bladder; well that did'nt happen because my doc who did the hysterectomy cut into my bladder twice. so instead of the sling i was getting my bladder repaired, and instead of 2 hour surgery it was 6 ,instead of next day going home it was 5. i have had nothing but problems ever since. and now i can't even think about sex because it hurts so bad, at least before i was able to have sex with some discomfort, but at laest i had it now i can't . and no one can tell me why. the pain and cramps are still there just no bleeding.. good luck think it through : (i'm 43)

Hi Red,

I am 44 years old and I too have been having this kind of pain, EXACTLY, as you describe. Your words and description sound like they come from my very own mouth. I am not post menopausal, perhaps in the peri stage but my periods are regular. I have been experiencing this for 5 years now. I have asked many people, Doctors, been on-line and NO ONE can tell me anything enlightening. I agree, the orgasm is NOT worth the pain. I can even feel it start to brew as soon as I become aroused. I will not do this too often but when my husband and I want to enjoy a lengthier time in fore play, I will take two Ibuprophen about a half hour before we begin. I am not a meds person, so I tell him..."It better be worth it"

Because he is often away and we do not engage in sex frequently, he seems to think it is simply a muscle contraction, that the muscle is not used enough.,( I know what he's getting at). I am thinking maybe he is right in a minor sense because of the lactic acid release in muscles that are being "worked out". I don't believe that the in frequency of orgasms is related though.

I'm sure it is something right before our eyes and I am determined to find out what is creating this kind of pain. Sorry I could not be of any concrete help but do not let it consume you. Our bodies speak to us and sometimes we just have to listen and try to find another way. You have to live in your body and deal with that pain, so don't worry about your husband. He will deal with it. You just take care of yourself and be gentle.

All the best,

Ali

17hockeymom - Thanks for your messages here. I'm 37 and have experienced what is described here. My current doctor thinks my fibroids are the cause. I had surgery 4 years ago to remove fibroids and some endo, but they are back. I had that surgery in hopes that they were causing my heavy periods and cramping, and infertility, but all that continued after the surgery. Now I'm having a hysterechtomy in a few days and am hoping that will be the end of all this, though my doctor tells me she can't guarantee there will be no more pain. I'm hoping at the very least that this pain after orgasm will end. I'm so sorry for Lyndell22 and can't imagine the trauma she's been through. I'm scared about all that can go wrong, but your comments have also given me some hope. Thanks for following up afterwards. If you have a second to give us another update after a few more months have passed, please do.

I'm 32 and I have been experiencing the same extreme pain, that is after an orgasm, but not triggered by a penetration intercourse. It last for approx. 20 minutes, but it hurts like , I'm sweating, and sometimes it gives me nausea. The only thing that gives me some kind of relieve is doing a number 2, sorry for the details. So, I don't know if it's linked or something, but it usually works. It does happen during my ovulation period, and fortunately not every month, and after the 20 minutes or so, I rest a little and it's like nothing happenned... the pain goes away completely. I went to see one doc that told me I had an ovarian cyst (she felt it during my exam), but I went to see another that didn't felt anything. My twin sister has the same problem, she went for a scan and they found nothing, even though her doctor had felt a cyst during a palpation exam. I'm relieve to see other women have the same problems, I will try to do more physical activities like some suggested, I'm not really active...

I'm 38 and the same thing was happening to me. When I get aroused and when I have an orgasm I kept getting a really bad pain in my lower right abdomen. I was also having really heavy periods with clotting. I finally broke down and went to the DR and I have a huge fibroid right where the pain is during sex. I already have children, so I am scheduled for a hysterectomy. The fibroid is too big and in a bad place to have it removed and chances are they could grow back. I can't wait to get rid of the pain and be able to enjoy sex again.

I don't know if this helps or not, but I read a very interesting article about orgasms in women. The article basically posed the question as to what is the purpose of a woman having an orgasm. We all know why men have them, but why do women. The article stated that research has been done and with the help of a camera inserted into the vagina, it was discovered that a woman's cervix actually "dips" down during an orgasm, almost like dipping a finger into a pan of water. Doctors think that this may be an evolutionary function to help with reproduction. The cervix dips allowing the sperm a quicker entry! My point is that anytime the cervix moves, opens, etc., there is some cramping. I have had this cramping pain for years after I have an orgasm, and I truly believe that this has something to do with it. I've been given a clean bill of health from my doctor, so no fibroids or any other abnormal conditions.

I'm so sorry everyone is going through variations of this, but I have to say that I'm glad to see I'm not alone. I was diagnosed w/ endo in my early 20s (along with an ovarian cyst), but the worst I got was EXTREME pain during the week of my period (I couldn't get out of bed). My dr. then put me on continuous contraceptive so I would only have 4 periods a year and painkillers for those times (which had little to no effect on the pain). Fast forward to my 30th year, I am now experiencing pain after orgasm! I had no idea why - though I figured it was the endo - but why now? And what's weird is, after I have a (painful!) period, I'm having great, pain-free orgasms for about a month or so... and then the last 2 months before my next period, the pain after orgasm increases. I don't get it! Does this mean my endo is getting more severe? This whole pain/orgasm thing is new -- I'm worried!

haley458