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QUESTION:
I've experienced annoying but rarely prolonged or really severe lower back
pain on and off since early 90's. Always attributed it to a time when I
overdid things during a big gardening project - figured I hurt my back and
it never completely healed (have heard this is not uncommon). Sometimes I
more or less correlate times of renewed pain with careless physical
activity, e.g. overdoing the garden work again. When I once mentioned it to
my doctor, she seemed to more-or-less agree with my analysis and we didn't
follow up further.
But - the back pain has returned and become chronic in recent months. This
happens to coincide with a time of exacerbation of some peri-menopause
symptoms, e.g. the reappearance (after 5 1/2 months of nothing) of irregular
and sometimes rather prolonged and heavy bleeding, as well as renewed "mood
swings", on and off cramping, bloating, etc. In fact right now, I am
uncomfortably aware of both the cramping (with an accompanying sensation of
"pressure) and back pain - even though I had a 2 week period in mid July,
and spotted for several days just last week.
I've been "very" gradually weaning off estrogen supplements for months,
which might account for some of this (?). But, it suddenly occurred to me
that I've heard other women complain of back pain in relation to various
menstrual/women's health related issues. Any thoughts, or similarities with
other's experiences? I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow to discuss the
"irregular" bleeding (to be safe) - and am trying to get a sense of how much
I should stress the back-pain symptom right now.
ANSWER:
you're describing a constellation of symptoms whose underlying cause
could be plain old perimenopause (most likely) to one of the gynecological
cancers (far less likely). But for your peace of mind, you might want to
schedule an appointment with your gynecologist.
you're describing a constellation of symptoms whose underlying cause
could be plain old perimenopause (most likely) to one of the gynecological
cancers (far less likely). But for your peace of mind, you might want to
schedule an appointment with your gynecologist.
Here is Christiane Northrup, M.D.'s definition from her book, "Women's Bodies,
Women's Wisdom."
"Adenomyosis, a common cause of pain and heavy bleeding, is a condition in
which the glands that normally grow in only the lining of the uterus -- the
endometrium -- grow deeply into the walls of the uterus. (Sometimes called
"internal endometriosis," adenomyosis is often present along with fibroids
and/or endometriosis, but not always.) This condition can result in bleeding
into the uterine wall with each menstrual period. The uterine wall becomes
spongy and engorged with blood, producing a condition in which the normal
uterine muscles can't contract normally to decrease the bleeding."
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