For the past 2 days I've been REALLY constipated (TMI) so I've been trying to eat more things with fiber in them.
Well, last night my stomach was hurting REALLY bad like I had to go so I went to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and... nothing. The cramps were so bad though that I felt I at least needed to push to see if anything would happen -Nope.

Sometime around 1:30 a.m. I gave up and went to bed. As soon as I laid down though the cramps dissipated and ushered in a whole different problem! From I'd say the top of my butt crack all the way through and up my vagina I had the most horrible cramps and muscle spasms. It hurt so bad but I just tried to go to sleep. 30 minutes after I laid down the cramps were still there so I took some Ibuprofen and tried to lay back down. An hour after taking medication I woke up in a cold sweat, severely nauseous and the same cramps only about 10 times worse! I started CRYING and I'm telling you - I am NO baby when it comes to pain!!! But this HURT!! I went back to the bathroom to see if maybe I had to go although these were certainly NOT intestinal cramps. After sitting in the bathroom for about a minute I went wee but nothing else. I started falling back asleep on the toilet even though I still hurt so bad. At 4:00 a.m. I finally crawled back into bed and the pain lessened and I slept till 7:45 a.m. when the boys woke me up.

Has anyone else had these strange cramps before? The only thing I can liken them to is the way I felt about mid-way through labor with the boys - only the cramps were in my bum and in my vagina instead of in my abdomen. At first I was thinking they were left over cramps from O-ing but I've never experienced that before.

Sounds alot like IBS. I can get severe cramps sometimes that it feels like my whole stomach is in a knot and once I finally pass something the pain goes away but Im nearly crying on the toilet the pain is that bad. If your not pregnant then maybe go to Dr and tell him - or get a mild laxative to help get some movements !!!

I'm not sure - didn't want to read and run - could be worth getting a check up if it continues or happens again - I've heard that cramps can happen after O but should not be severe and stop you from getting on with your life.

If it puts your mind at ease a quick check up won't hurt

Thanks girls. I think if it happens again I am definitely going to my OB.
Reba, I've had IBS before so I totally know the pain that comes from it! I had it the whole 10 months that I was on Ortho Evra (the BC patch) and didn't know that is what was causing it until I came off of it.

While I definitely DID feel those intense intestinal cramps yesterday when I really had to go to the bathroom, when it changed it was nothing like IBS cramps!
I seriously felt like I would just start bleeding any minute it was that bad. The thing that worried me the most was that it was in my vagina and it felt like that's where the cramps were radiating from.

Thanks for your replies!

Hi hun

I had IBS from about the age of 14 years to about the age of 22 when I developed coeliac disease (autoimmune disease where the body attacks it's own tissues when gluten is eaten)

This does sound like IBS - the cramps can vary , I sometimes get horrendous shooting pains up my bum that make it hard to sit down, sometimes they're achey sometimes the pain is in the anus and others it's cramping in the stomach. IBS has so many different forms and symptoms. What isnt widely known is that fibre actually makes IBS worse. There are two types of fibre - soluble and insoluble. The insoluble stuff is anything brown i.e. brown bread, brown rice etc. sweetcorn, apples, peaches (or anyfruit with a skin on).

Soluble fibre is anything where there is no skin (you can remove the skin from fruits etc) but you'll find this helps. I have so much knowledge on IBS and other bowel problems lol I've suffered for so many years. At times I felt like I was going to die.

In terms of pain, your bum wall is connected to your vaginal wall so that is why you will have experienced pain in your vagina too hun!

Constipation is awful, it makes you exhausted and nauseous. I find the best thing to have is a strong cup of coffee - it is a bowel stimulant and it usually helps me to get things going if you know what I mean!

Thanks Nessicle! I drank a big cup of coffee this morning and I did have some urgency but still couldn't go Maybe the urgency will hit me again later and I can finally go.

Thank you too for all the IBS information. I'm scared to death about IBS mostly because I'm hoping it doesn't escalate into something else. My mom had IBS for YEARS after giving birth to my youngest sister. At the time I don't think there was really anything for it or she didn't go to the doctor or whatever but just this past year she was rushed to the hospital with diverticulitis and had to undergo emergency surgery because the prolonged IBS caused a cyst on her intestinal wall to burst causing waste to leak inside her body. She had to wear a colostomy bag for 7 months and had reconstructive bowel surgery in November. Ugh, I don't ever want that to happen to me!

Anyway, thanks again for all of your helpful information. I googled "vaginal cramping" since I thought the cramps were radiating from my vagina and shame on me all KINDS of stuff came up from endometriosis to prolapsed uterus! Haha! At any rate it was painful and glad the cramps are gone... for now at least!

hey hun, sorry to crash your thread, the thing i find helps me go is tea, if that is any help.

you're welcome hun glad to be of a little help!

IBS has no cure I'm afraid - doctors don't understand it but they know there is a problem with messages reaching the gut from the brain!

Yours sounds like more isolated attacks though rather than full blown cramping and bowel probs every time you eat (which is what I had). It can be very severe though - it's not recognised as an illness when it should be.

I'm guilty of thinking the worse too but honestly try not to worry, it was most likely your vaginal wall contracting as it's the rectum wall too, it can be quite scary, I've laid on the bathroom floor in agony in the past.

Best thing you can do is to see if there are any triggers for you such as dairy or heavy meals which can both irritate the gut (though generally there aren't triggers as such in IBS it just 'happens').

Keep having a couple of cups of coffee and eat some soluble fibre (remember - skins off everything lady! ) and it should help to get things going again.

xx