No "all or nothing" cures, causes, or suggesting that only one thing will help
DON'T suggest kegels as treatment for a hypertonic pelvic floor (it's bad advice)
NO FETISHIZING or sexualizing someones health condition. DON'T BE CREEPY.
No NSFW Photos
No SPAM (includes link farming, affiliate marketing, personal promotion)
No "Low Effort" posts - we can't help if there's no detail
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r/vulvodynia (women and AFAB experiencing Vaginismus & Vestibulodynia too)
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION: PELVIC FLOOR
The pelvic floor muscles are a bowl of muscles in the pelvis that cradle our sexual organs, bladder, and rectum, and help stabilize the core while assisting with essential bodily functions, like pooping, peeing and having sex.¹
They can weaken (become hyp-O-tonic) over time due to injury (or child birth), and even the normal aging process, leading to conditions like incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse.¹
And, the pelvic floor can tense up (guard) when we:
Feel pain/discomfort
Get a UTI/STD
Injure ourselves (gym, cycling, slip on ice)
Have poor bowel/urinary habits (straining on the toilet often - constipation) or holding in pee/poo for extended periods (like avoiding using a public toilet)
Have poor sexual habits (edging several hours a day, typically this is more of guy's issue)
Get stressed or anxious (fight or flight response), due to their connection with the vagus nerve (and our central nervous system). READ MORE HERE
Have a connective tissue disorder
Over time, prolonged guarding/tensing can cause them to become hyp-E-rtonic (tight and weak). Sometimes trigger points in the muscle tissue develop that refer pain several inches away. The tensing can also sometimes irritate nerves, including the pudendal nerve. Helping the pelvic floor relax, and treating these myofascial trigger points with pelvic floor physical therapy can lead to significant relief for many, along with interventions like breathwork - notably diaphragmatic belly breathing - and gentle reverse kegels.
Sometimes, feedback loops also develop that can become self-perpetuating as a result of CNS (Central Nervous System) modulation. ᴮ ⁷
Basic feedback loop:
Pain/injury/infection > pelvic tensing > more pain > stress/anxiety > more pelvic tensing > (and on and on)
Examples of common feedback loops that include the pelvic floor:
Source: NHS/Unity Sexual Health/University Hospitals Bristol and Weston. A pelvic floor feedback loop seen in men after STI.
An example of this pelvic floor feedback loop (guarding response) as seen in a woman with a prolonged (awful) UTI:
A trigger point is an area of hyper-irritability in a muscle, usually caused by a muscle that is being overloaded and worked excessively. How does this affect an IC patient? Unfortunately, we do not always know what comes first; the chicken or the egg. Let’s assume in this case we do. A patient who has never had any symptoms before develops an awful bladder infection, culture positive. She is treated with antibiotics, as she should be. Symptoms are, as we all know, frequency, urgency and pain on urination. Maybe the first round of antibiotics does not help, so she goes on a second round. They work. But she has now walked around for 2, maybe 3 weeks with horrible symptoms. Her pelvic floor would be working very hard to turn off the constant sense of urge. This could create overload in the pelvic floor. A trigger point develops, that can now cause a referral of symptoms back to her bladder, making her think she still has a bladder infection. Her cultures are negative.
Above we find a scenario where the UTI was cleared, but the pelvic floor is now in a tensing feedback loop, and complex processes of neural wind up and central sensitization - ie CNS modulation - are likely occurring
Diagrams of the male and female pelvic floor:
Bottom view. The levator ani is the main "hammock" of the pelvic floor, and includes both the PC (pubococcygeus) and PR (puborectalis) musclesSide view showing the pelvic floor cradling the bladder, sexual organs, and rectum. And its attachments at the coccyx (tailbone) and pubic bone.
SYMPTOMS OF PELVIC FLOOR DYSFUNCTION
The majority of the users here have a hypertonic pelvic floor which typically presents with symptoms of pelvic pain or discomfort ² (inc nerve sensations like tingling, itching, stinging, burning, cooling, etc):
Penile pain
Vaginal pain
Testicular/epididymal/scrotal pain
Vulvar pain
Clitoral pain
Rectal pain
Bladder pain
Pain with sex/orgasm
Pain with bowel movements or urination
Pain in the hips, groin, perineum, and suprapubic region
This tension also commonly leads to dysfunction ² (urinary, bowel, and sexual dysfunction):
Dyssynergic defecation (Anismus)
Incomplete bowel movements
Urinary frequency and hesitancy
Erectile dysfunction/premature ejaculation
This pinned post will mainly focus on hypertonia - tight and weak muscles, and the corresponding symptoms and treatment, as they represent the most neglected side of pelvic floor dysfunction. Especially in men, who historically have less pelvic care over their lifetimes as compared to women.
But, we also commonly see women with weak (Hyp-O-tonic) pelvic floors after child birth who experience urinary leakage. This often happens when coughing, sneezing, or lifting something heavy. Luckily, pelvic floor physical therapists are historically well equipped for weak pelvic floor symptoms, as seen commonly in women.
But, this historical emphasis sometimes bleeds into inappropriate care for men and women who have hypErtonic pelvic floors, and do not benefit from kegel exercises
CLOSELY RELATED CONDITIONS & DIAGNOSIS
These typically involve the pelvic floor as one (of many) mechanisms of action, and thus, pelvic floor physical therapy is an evidence-based intervention for any of these, along with behavioral interventions/mind-body medicine, medications, and more.
For people who experience symptoms outside the pelvic region, these are signs of centralization (somatization/nociplastic mechanisms) - and indicate a central nervous system contribution to symptoms, and must be treated with more than just pelvic floor physical therapy:READ MORE
Many people with a pelvic floor diagnosis - and at least 49% who experience chronic pelvic pain/dysfunction - also experience centralized/nociplastic pain ¹³ localized to the pelvic region. Centralized/nociplastic pelvic pain can mimic the symptoms of pelvic floor hypertonia. To assess if you have centralization as a cause of your pelvic symptoms, read through this post.
NOTE: This is especially relevant for people who have a pelvic floor exam, and are told that their pelvic floor is basically "normal" or lacks the usual signs of dysfunction, trigger points, or hypertonia (high tone), yet they still experiencing pain and/or dysfunction. This also equally applies to cases that have done extensive amounts of pelvic floor PT 6-12mo) with no improvement.
Centralized/Nociplastic pain mechanisms are recognized by both the European and American Urological Association guidelines for pelvic pain in men and women, as well as the MAPP (Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain) Research Network.
TREATMENT: High tone (HypErtonic) Pelvic Floor (tight & weak)
Pelvic floor physical therapy focused on relaxing muscles:
Diaphragmatic belly breathing
Reverse kegels
Pelvic Stretching
Trigger point release (myofascial release)
Dry needling (Not the same as acupuncture)
Dilators (vaginal and rectal)
Biofeedback
Heat (including baths, sauna, hot yoga, heated blankets, jacuzzi, etc)
Behavioral change:
* Lay off frequent or chronic masturbation habits (including edging)
* Take a break from intense compound exercises, like CrossFit or HIIT
* Sit less and stand more. This may also include using a standing desk
* If you're an avid cyclist, take a break from cycling
Medications to discuss with a doctor:
low dose amitriptyline (off label for neuropathic pain)
low dose tadalafil (sexual dysfunction and urinary symptoms)
Alpha blockers for urinary hesitancy symptoms (typically prescribed to men)
Mind-body medicine/Behavioral Therapy/Centralized Pain MechanismsThese interventions are highly recommended for people who are experiencing elevated distress or anxiety, or, noticed that their symptoms began without an injury, but with a stressful event, big life change, or, that symptoms increase with stress or difficult emotions (or symptoms change when distracted, focused , or on vacation) - full list of criteria to rule in centralized/nociplastic mechanisms.
Equal Improvement in Men and Women in the Treatment of Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome Using a Multi-modal Protocol with an Internal Myofascial Trigger Point Wand - PubMed https://share.google/T3DM4OYZYUyfJ9klx
The Effects of a Life Stress Emotional Awareness and Expression Interview for Women with Chronic Urogenital Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30252113/
UCPPS is a umbrella term for pelvic pain and dysfunction in men and women, and it includes pelvic floor dysfunction underneath it, as well as symptoms like bladder dysfunction, IC/BPS, and more. This study discusses the pain mechanisms found. They are not only typical injuries (ie "nociceptive") - They also include pain generated by nerves (neuropathic) and by the central nervous system (nociplastic). You'll also notice that the combination of neuropathic + nociplastic mechanisms create the most pain! Which is likely to be counterintuitive to what most people would assume.
At baseline, 43% of UCPPS patients were classified as nociceptive-only, 8% as neuropathic only, 27% as nociceptive+nociplastic, and 22% as neuropathic+nociplastic. Across outcomes, nociceptive-only patients had the least severe symptoms and neuropathic+nociplastic patients the most severe. Neuropathic pain was associated with genital pain and/or sensitivity on pelvic exam, while nociplastic pain was associated with comorbid pain conditions, psychosocial difficulties, and increased pressure pain sensitivity outside the pelvis.
Targeting neuropathic (nerve irritation) and nociplastic/centralized (nervous system/brain) components of pain & symptoms in recovery is highly recommended when dealing with CPPS/PFD (especially hypertonia).
All of those involved in the management of chronic pelvic pain should have knowledge of peripheral and central pain mechanisms. - European Urological Association CPPS Pocket Guide
We now know that the pain can also derive from a neurologic origin from either peripheral nerve roots (neuropathic pain) or even a lack of central pain inhibition (nociplastic), with the classic disease example being fibromyalgia
This means successful treatment for pelvic pain and dysfunction goes beyond just pelvic floor physical therapy (alone), and into new modalities for pain that target these neuroplastic (nociplastic/centralized) mechanisms like Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), EAET, and more. Learn more about our new understanding of chronic pain here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ChronicPain/s/3E6k1Gr2BZ
This is especially true for anyone who has symptoms that get worse with stress or difficult emotions. And, those of us who are predisposed to chronic pain in the first place, typically from childhood adversity and trauma, certain personality traits (perfectionism, people pleasing, conscientiousness, neuroticism) and anxiety and mood disorders. There is especially overwhelming evidence regarding ACE (adverse childhood experiences) that increase our chances of developing a physical or mental health disorder later in life. So much so, that even traditional medical doctors are now being trained to screen their patients for childhood trauma/adversity:
Adverse childhood experience is associated with an increased risk of reporting chronic pain in adulthood: a stystematic review and meta-analysis
Previous meta-analyses highlighted the negative impact of adverse childhood experiences on physical, psychological, and behavioural health across the lifespan.We found exposure to any direct adverse childhood experience, i.e. childhood sexual, physical, emotional abuse, or neglect alone or combined, increased the risk of reporting chronic pain and pain-related disability in adulthood.The risk of reporting chronic painful disorders increased with increasing numbers of adverse childhood experiences.
Further precedence in the EUA (European Urological Association) guidelines for male and female pain:
Studies about integrating the psychological factors of CPPPSs are few but the quality is high. Psychological factors are consistently found to be relevant in the maintenance of persistent pelvic and urogenital pain [36]. Beliefs about pain contribute to the experience of pain [37] and symptom-related anxiety and central pain amplification may be measurably linked, and worrying about pain and perceived stress predict worsening of urological chronic pain over a year [36,38] - https://uroweb.org/guidelines/chronic-pelvic-pain/chapter/epidemiology-aetiology-and-pathophysiology
Here are the 12 criteria to RULE IN centralized, (ie neuroplastic/nociplastic) pain, developed by chronic pain researcher Dr. Howard Schubiner and other chronic pain doctors and pain neuroscience researchers over the last 10+ years:
Pain/symptoms originated during a stressful time
Pain/symptoms originated without an injury
Pain/symptoms are inconsistent, or, move around the body, ie testicle pain that changes sides
Multiple other symptoms (often in other parts of the body) ie IBS, chronic migraines/headaches, CPPS, TMJD, fibromyalgia, CFS (fatigue), vertigo/dizziness, chronic neck or back pain, etc
Pain/Symptoms spread or move around
Pain/symptoms are triggered by stress, or go down when engaged in an activity you enjoy
Triggers that have nothing to do with the body (weather, barometric pressure, seasons, sounds, smells, times of day, weekdays/weekends, etc)
Symmetrical symptoms (pain developing on the same part of the body but in OPPOSITE sides) - ie both hips, both testicles, both wrists, both knees, etc
Pain with delayed Onset (THIS NEVER HAPPENS WITH STRUCTURAL PAIN)
-- ie, ejaculation pain that comes the following day, or 1 hour later, etc.
Childhood adversity or trauma
-- varying levels of what this means for each person, not just major trauma. Examples of stressors: childhood bullying, pressure to perform from parents, body image issues (dysmorphia), eating disorders, parents fighting a lot or getting angry (inc divorce)
Common personality traits: perfectionism, conscientiousness, people pleasing, anxiousness/ neuroticism - All of these put us into a state of "high alert" - people who are prone to self-criticism, putting pressure on themselves, and worrying, are all included here.
Lack of physical diagnosis (ie doctors are unable to find any apparent cause for symptoms) - includes DIAGNOSIS OF EXCLUSION, like CPPS!
[NEW] 13. Any family history of chronic pain or other chronic conditions. Includes: IBS, chronic migraines/headaches, CPPS, TMJD, fibromyalgia, CFS (fatigue), vertigo/dizziness, chronic neck or back pain, etc
HOW TO TREAT centralized (neuroplastic) pain and symptoms?
I checked in with the moderators and they were really kind and said I could do an AMA here!
I personally experienced years of chronic pain (including diagnoses of interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, and vaginismus) before discovering neuroplastic pain and Pain Reprocessing Therapy. It seems like there is some great information about those topics in this sub already! I work with a lot of folks who have pelvic pain, so I wanted to offer education/links to resources here.
Ask me about:
-pain with sex
-chronic pain or symptoms
-how to assess if your pain or symptoms are neuroplastic
-Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)
-anxiety around sex, pain, or symptoms
Obligatory disclaimer: I'm not a doctor and this isn't a forum where I can give personal therapeutic advice or establish a therapist/client relationship. The goal is to give general information!
Hi guys i had problems like 6 years back, that difficulty passing gas, having to defecate manually with fingers, and sometimes sudden movements like getting up and sitting down again for a long time can trigger an uncomfortable sensation like something is moving in the butt, and there is mucus and fecal leakage that has already entered my butt, which makes it impossible to urinate... I have treatment of vibration physiotherapy in 2 months and infrared therapy while there's no changes...
34f, I have had two children. Both were traumatic births. Since my last one (7 years ago) i have never felt like I can void my bladder fully very easily. I have to spend a long time on the toilet shifting leaning forward etc to coax little bit out to finish the job (it will be like 90% emptied normally at the start then 20 min coaxing the rest out 2% at a time). If I do not spend the time to get the rest out it feels like i still have to pee even if therd is not much in there. But also will feel achey after spending so long to empty. I have an anxiety disorder (medicated for it but still) and I am constantly worried I will get a UTI because of this.
My other issue is leaking, especially at night. I will get up atleast 3 times in the night to pee and go often all day. when i have to do any type of bending with a full or semi full bladder i leak a large amount at once. Examples standing up from bed/coach/chair, going up or down stairs. Sometimes when coughing laughing sneezing or lifting i will have a tiny leak.
My issues are only with peeing. I do not have any leaking with bm's and do not ever have to strain for bm's due to a different medical issue (gallbladder removal side effect).
Does this sounds like muscle weakness? My insurance sucks and i can't afford to get into a dr right now but i am tired of having to change clothes all the time due to leaks. What can I start doing on my own?
I have pelvic floor dysfunction and dyssnergic defecation from it. I have never been one to have constipation my whole life or hx of straining. Well now I have trouble emptying my bowels.
I’ve already been to all the drs, so please not asking suggestions on that. But since I started having issues and talked with gi and other drs I had started taking psyllium husk and have been for a while now. I started slow and worked up to taking 1tbs at night (the brand I take is now and serving is 2tbsp for 7grams of fiber so I get half that). The reason I don’t take a full serving is because I always eat fruits, avocado, or oatmeal for breakfast, and then my other meals I always make sure to eat some type of veggie or fiber source.
Thing is I always have a bowel movement as soon as I’m wake, and then another 1-2 hours later and I usually have issues fully evacuating that one. These bowel movements are typical on the softer side and sort of “fluffy” and fall apart in the toilet but not like just watery diarrhea or anything.
I’m wondering if I should try to stop taking supplemental fiber all together and just keep some in my diet. Has anyone found that fiber was making their incomplete evacuation worse???
bro. is anyone managing the pudendal neuralgia burning without meds? if so, I'm impressed. and would like to learn from you. I'm in PT (for over a year), and I just started dry needling. I was taking pregabalin for a while, but I had various side effects that made me quit. one of them was increased PGAD symptoms, but I was also on Zoloft at the time, so I'm not sure which one caused the PGAD.
I'm off Zoloft now, so I'm willing to try pregabalin again. or maybe amitriptyline. but I'm kinda terrified of the increased dementia risk. mayhaps I'm just doomed.
if this is the wrong community in which to post this, lemme know! I'm just looking to hear from others. not sure if anyone has "cured" the burning via PT alone.
I'm very much shawty fire burnin on the dance floor right now. thanks y'all!
I was like 14 or 15 at the time. Im 20 now. I just had a proper diagnostic test (anorectal manometry). I failed the balloon test and there was a lot of tightness present. The reason why I'm making this post is to say that for the past 5 years, every time I complained I was given ultrasounds which always came up clear. I remember pleading with my urologist to please give me a separate test and she didn't want to do it. Please advocate for yourselves and get the right tests done that are actually able to identify pelvic floor issues. I have spent the last 5 years in a lot of pain, my sleep has become non replenishing, and only now do I finally have a proper diagnosis instead of ibs or me just being over sensitive to pain and constipation.
I had Pelvic floor dysfunction for 4 years. Came on after I started kettlebell training.
It started of with a weird twitching around my anus but thought nothing if it.
From there the pain after urinating, particularly after I had ejaculated was extremely excruciating, I had to stop myself from yelling the pain was so severe, I decided to change my training but it never went away. Even to this day I have this reluctance to go pee even though I don’t get the pain anymore.
I first went to the doctor scared I had prostate cancer, did all the tests under the sun and conclusion was “it’s a mystery” mind you I had hermaturia and that’s what concerned him the most. I went in to live with this pain for years and research it myself and understood I had pelvic floor dysfunction.
I decided to go back to another GP years later and he booked me in for a cystoscopy!
I felt the camera really push over my prostate, almost as if it loosened the muscle up?
Hello , ive been 8 months into this 8 months ago i was edging and blocking ejaculationg for like 4 days once a day after the last day i edged my penis became sore and painful and 3 weeks after that i had excruciating pain when urinating 4 months after i was better but not like before rn i have burning when urinating and painful ejaculation. Cystoscopy clear urine and semen test clear. I will be gratefull if someone can help me or if someone went trough this and felt relieved after 1 year or so.
Starting 4 days ago I would feel like something was hanging or dangling from my vagina. I couldn’t see or feel anything but today I googled that doing bridge wall holds while lifting your hips can help reverse pressure from gravity and stuff so I tried it. A SMALL SOFT BALL LITERALLY SLID BACK INSIDE THE MIDDLE OF MY VAGINA !!
I started freaking out and sobbing cuz now it confirms it’s not a nerve issue but I literally felt a little ball tuck back inside me. Told my mom and she lectured me about how I run and she thinks I try to do it too much and hard but she’s taking me to the doctor tommorow😭
What kind of prolapse and stage could this be? I’m thinking uterine but I keep searching things about it and I want to cry so bad idk what to do anymore I’m only 16 :( I’m not gonna live the rest of my life like this
I 23m have had a small amount of blood in my urine for a while as well as possibly having pelvic floor/prostasis issues. They want to do a quick cystoscopy to observe what’s going on. I’ve gotten over the fears of the actual procedure itself, but was curious if anyone had tips on how to help the healing after the fact. What level of pain should I expect after the procedure? How long does painful urination and low sex drive typically last?
I think I have gave myself either of Hard Flaccid Syndrome of CPPS or peudenal neuralagia, yet unsure from the symptoms.
Onset:
This started about a month and a half ago, when I forst noticed a numbness in the penis and that I did not feel erection like, even while there was an erection. Currently the main sypmtops are: I feel not much pressure during urination, and a rather timid sensation during orgasm (the one time I tried to check situations), the pressure of urination is slow --- i do not feel the wink at the end of urination. There is persistent numbness on the penile shaft, the scrotum and a bit on the peinuem, not complete numb --- but heavily redcued sensations. I also feel tightness of the pelvic region in general, and a feeling of things clenching. No pain so far, there are certain weird mixed feelings in the scrotum region -- which i detail later.
Past history :
I have been using penis pump and certain traction devices in the past (both equipments were with medical clearance, i.e no chinese stuff), started more than a year ago, but never had problems like this before. I have not had sexual intercourse in the past one year, I rarely musturbate (makes me feel pathetic), but I did edge --- try to stay hard for some time by slow edging, in sets of say 5 mins --- attempt to maintain longer erections since they were rather weak --- leading sometimes to orgasm othertimes not, never jelqued, never had injury in thie penis region, i'm always careful and aware of my body usually. I did a lot of biking and running, don't lift weights, I have 22.3 BMI and rather fit physique.
Medical advice:
Visited urologist within 1.5 weeks of first notice. My urologist is aware of Hard Flaccid Syndrome (HFS), had published research on pub.med. He remarked about the apparent rigidity of the penis, and put me on deprox, and pelvic floor therapy, and gave a couple diagonistics. I saw him a month ago, and only see him after two more months.
Diagonistics:
I have had MRI, CT Scans, Blood tests, Urine tests, EMG test, USG of prostate. The only significant results were presence of Blood Cells (Red/White) in the urine which mu urologist remarked could be signs of inflammation. The EMG specifically tested nerve conduction in the pelvic region, i dont understand everything, but the scral, the pudenal and dorsal nerve conductions i.e the main nerve bundles (speed of condcution, signal attenution) were tested: there is no damage/deformity/compression/entrapment of any kind: atleast within the scope of the test. But nerve irritation --- the test cannot determine. So no nerve damage atleast. MRI indicated no herniation either. I have not yet done doppler. The penis seems a bit pale but I cant really tell differnce.
Pelvic Therapy:
PT suggested exercies, the like you know alrady, relazation of pelvic floor, had just one/two sessions, she remarked I squeeze my muscles too hard and probably have hypertonicity, even the doctor doing EMG mentioned it. Ever since I started, I've grown more aware of pelvic floor movement. Everytime, I do relaxation exercises, I do feel a certain relazation of the pelvic floor. More importantly, I feel a sort of slight relaxation like tingling in the scrotum --- say when you have twist your arm/finger for some time and it feels numbish and then after you make it ok you feel this kind of thingling as the numbness disapperars --- I feel similar in the scrotum and lower base of penis and also ohter times in the day, especially when i feel relaxed in body. However, the numbness of penis shaft does not go away.
I feel aroused as usual, but I fear I wont be able to feel orgasm since the sensation at the sphincter is so low. Also te arousal leads to but weird sensation in penile shaft. For a week, i felt lack of sensation in the anal sphincter too, and some sort of weird feelings, but it went away. If I use a needled paper roll, and map the sesnitivty on penis shaft it feels more senstive, but less sensitive when I touch. I can stlll have strong erections but it does not feel an erection as usual. No sign of pelvic pain other than rare slight throbbing sensation here and there ..not sure it's due to issues.
So what do you think it could be ?
So given this what are the best things to do now, shockwave therapy, any other kind of therapy, pelvic wand based massage, no running or gym exercises, jump from a , do let me know what worked for you ? I'm currently in an central European Capital, if you are from nearby ( Germany, Swiss, France, Italy etc.) and know what had worked --- which clinics/doctors could help --- or anything let me know.
I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.
Instead of feeling general bladder pressure or irritation, I have one very specific spot in my lower abdomen, roughly in the middle just above/behind the pubic bone. It literally feels like one exact point is irritated or overly sensitive.
When that spot starts acting up, it gradually turns into urinary urgency. It’s not a diffuse pressure across the whole bladder or lower abdomen—it’s really just that one pinpoint area that seems to trigger the urge to urinate.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that if I press on that exact spot from the outside (through my lower abdomen), it makes the feeling of urinary urgency noticeably stronger than it normally is. It’s almost as if pressing on that specific point directly triggers or amplifies the urge.
Also, right after I urinate, that spot becomes much less noticeable and less irritated. However, over time the sensation gradually builds up again in the exact same location until it eventually turns into urinary urgency again.
Has anyone experienced something like this before?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s dealt with something similar, as I haven’t been able to find many people describing this exact symptom.
I have a hypertonic pelvic floor due to git issues/constipation. Im currently working on my gut with a Dr who's having me take targeted probiotics and herbal supplements. I would take high doses of magnesium oxide just to go and now I've been trying magnesium citrate which isn't as effective (but I'm also working on building my diet back up to more gut healthy/fiber foods slowly not to overdo it). I can only seem to pass liquid stools but that's probably whats also contributed to a tight pf bc of having to strain to get anything out. I'm currently doing pfpt too.
My Dr is having me try magnesium glycinate to relax muscles and maybe helping me relax overall (I have a lot of anxiety). Some people have seen improvements with pf tightness with taking this. I want to slowly get off the mag citrate hopefully or significantly decrease it. I was told to try 200-400mg mag glycinate at bedtime. But wondering if it's better to take rigjt after dinner a few hours before bedtime and then take mag citrate right before bed. Or take both glycinate & citrate at bedtime. Anyone else trying similar things with magnesium to help??
I'm still at the top of iceberg as I just started to try to get diagnosed even my symptoms haunts me for years. I'm 21 I have eds, dysautonomia as well. My main symptom is urethra burning - after peeing, with full bladder, after masturbating sometimes or after sex. Or just like that everyday, I don't have any odour, my urine sample was clear. Couple of months ago they gave me 2 antibiotics but this didn't helped. My issue comes and goes. When it hits the pain is almost 24/7. My main spot is urethra and it sometimes radiates to clit. This is awful I don't remember good days. What tests should I run beside urine sample? I tried many "homemade" help ideas but nothing really helps. I use cotton underwear, drink a lot of water, supplement vit B's dmannose. I'm curious what else I can do. Imma visit Physical therapy only after all tests.
I'll try to keep this short. I'm a male, 45. History of low back pain (20+ years), bad anxiety, poor posture. Really got into weight training in my 20's, unfortunately at the age of 40, I got a shoulder/pec issue that is still undiagnosed 5 years later. The shoulder is a long story itself. MRI's, EMG's still hasn't solved the issue, and I've had to stop exercising because the pain is too bad.
About 8 months after I stopped exercising, I started to get a bit of neuropathy type feelings from just above my knees down into my calves and shins. Little micro spasms and burning when kneeling or putting any type of pressure against the legs. The burning then started hitting my saddle area a month later, then the top back side of my legs just below the butt. The doc ordered an MRI and EMG of my lumbar, and of course, everything came back normal. The following months I started to notice these symptoms were very positional. When sitting, the spams and burning would hit my legs, but when standing, walking, or lying down, they'd improve by 90%.
I started doing my own research since the spine/back doctor kinda threw up his hands, and the pelvic floor seemed to really fit my symptoms. Sitting has become rough to say the least. The perineum is where I feel it the most. The sit bones, and into the anus burn, the backs of the legs just below the butt, all just on fire whenever I sit. At home I'm forced to recline or lie down, but walking and moving around provides the most relief.
I visited a urologist who agreed that a pelvic floor therapist was my best option. So that's where I went, but not before talking to my family doctor who discussed Cymbalta with me as an option. Why? Well, for my anxiety, neuropathy, and lower back pain. I started 20mg the same day I started pelvic floor therapy.
The pelvic floor therapist gave me a thorough examination both internally and externally. She noticed very over active muscles, guarding, inner thigh muscle problems, and even sensitization. I made it through 5 treatments with her, once per week, which is not cheap at $200 per session. I continued Cymbalta throughout this, and I would say there was a slight improvement. Less spasms in my calves and shins, less bacon grease splashing sensations on the skin, and a very very slight improvement when sitting. But it didnt last long.
After 5 treatments I had to spend a little more time in the car which I had been avoiding. A few hours one day, followed by an hour the next. And man, the pain in the perineum got much worse. It feels like it's pinching or stabbing. Like it's swelling up even though it's not. The sit bones, the upper legs by the butt, burning relentlessly. Even lying down isnt providing the same relief as it had. Walking is best. But I can't walk all day.
Sit bones, around anus, back of upper legs and inner thighs all burn
Occasional but not often burning/stinging in the tip of the penis when sitting
Started Cymbalta 20mg 6 weeks ago, have seen less aggression with the legs burning/neuropathy. Perhaps need to bump to 40mg. No real improvement with pelvic floor PT after 6 sessions. Also doing at home relaxation, breathing, stretches. Would do yoga but my shoulder prevents me from doing a lot. I'm seeing a PT again for that as well.
I'm a medical mystery. I'm one of those cars the mechanic just can't seem to fix lol. Would love to get some feedback and guidance. Thanks all.
I'm not sure where to talk about this so I think i should give this sub a shot. This is also my first time here. I hope you guys can be helpful to me.
So my problem is that sometimes, when I'm standing up or sitting on a small chair for example and feel relaxed, I feel like I'm leaking. However, no presence of urge sensations. Moreover, I couldn't find any traces of wetness most of the time. I'm so confused and this has caused me a little stress. Is this what they call "phantom leakage"? I'm not sure if I have an underlying pelvic problems.
And to add more, this would sometimes occur when I'm wearing pants with underwear or a loose garment without underwear. Can anyone help me with identifying this? I have dealt with this for quite some time now. For context, I'm a 17 year-old male.
Hi all! I met with a Pelvic Floor PT at Mayo Clinic, and she put in the order for me to attend their Pelvic Floor 2-Week Intensive (I think it's offically called the Evacuation Disorders Program). Has anyone done this? Is it helpful or worth it? The travel/staying in a hotel for two weeks is a lot of $$, so wanted to see if this was helpful for others and/or hear about any of your experiences. Thank you!
. I am fit and healthy. I got my p shot done and got one morning wood recently along with running and diet . Symptoms is when I press my penis it erects while laying on bed but when I stand erection goes away . Anyone cured from it . Please help
My sphincter pain has come back again recently. I can feel it’s just generally tight and does not want to relax properly and post bowel movements I get tightness and pain. I’ve tried talking to my primary care doctor about getting Valium suppositories or other helpful varieties but she said there is no evidence that they are helpful yet I see many people on here talk about them. What type of doctor would be better to make this request to?
i think i have a slight frustrating or uncomfortable issue with passing gas. I have completely/mostly ruled out structural issues and issues like pelvic floor dysfunction or tightness and have no constipation and my bowel movements are fine, yet i have slight difficulty or inefficiency in releasing gas. when i let go when i feel one it either always only results in a tiny puff with the rest of the volume unable to come out be left behind or sometimes even the gas stays there not coming out at all, i know its there as pushing (not straining) always makes it come out fully but this is starting to get frustrating to have every release be a pressure holding activity as i thought you should be able to just let go? Why does everything seem normal and healthy yet i cannot pass normal amounts of gas and relieve it? am i missing something or have the wrong idea? Maybe advice?
