Loni

[Guest guest]

Loni: I'm sorry to hear you are feeling poorly both physically and

emotionally. We have all been there.

I'm glad though that you have found a new practice that you seem more

comfortable with. I hope you get the referral you need soon. Could

you travel to an A-list doctor? Is that possible for you?

Low back pain is consistent with a blocked cervix during a period.

The blood is pushed backwards out through your fallopian tubes and

empties into your abdominal cavity where it is reasorbed by the body

and where it can cause endometriosis.

You asked about other risks of a closed cervix - there aren't

any " direct " risks that we know of other than endometriosis which is

not an insignificant risk I might add. It is nothing to mess with as

it can, in advanced stages, adhere to your bladder, bowel, and other

abdominal organs, nothing to leave untreated. There are, however,

what I will call the " collateral " risks of having a blocked cervix in

that you are unable to rely on your cycles as an indicator of good

uterine health. For instance, one of the signs of uterine cancer is a

sudden increase in menstrual flow and with a blocked cervix you

would " miss out " on that clue.

You asked what you can do to feel better? Well, the best answer to

that is find yourself the best possible doctor to perform a

hysteroscopy with laparoscopy for guidance as SOON as possible! That

is the best way to feel better. In the short-term, try some larger

doses (like 600mg) of ibuprofen and some extra sleep. You could also

talk to the doctor on Thursday about putting you on birth control

pills while you work to solve this. Birth control pills will help

prevent your lining from thickening very much each month which will

mean less blood, less back-bleeding and theoretically at least, less

pain.

As for exercise, believe it or not, exercise can actually help

menstrual pain, back pain and such. I'm not talking about becomming a

marathon runner or anything but have you thought about swimming? Or

how about taking a YOGA class? Or how about Pilates? (kind of like

Yoga only a little more vigorous -I have taken pilates and just loved

it!) Find some kind of exercise that involves stretching and

strengthening and I bet you will feel better almost immediately.

I know this is going to sound kind of harsh so please don't take this

the wrong way...but saying you have no energy to exercise is really

just a way of giving yourself permission NOT to exercise because you

don't feel like it. I should know because it is an excuse that I use

REGULALRY! Maybe you could try exercising even when you really don't

feel like it? Even when you are telling yourself you don't have the

energy to do it? I bet that you will find, somewhere about 10 minutes

into your routine that you DO have the energy to do it, and you are

actually ENJOYING it!! At least that is often the case with me.

Also, I try really hard to find kinds of exercise that aren't your

typical " exercise " - they have to be fun for me or I won't do them.

You won't find me doing calesthenics all day or going to a gym to

lift weights. But I love my Latin Dance tape and swimming and

Pilates. How about " borrowing " a pet for the day and running around

the park with a dog for a while? Or " borrowing " a friend's preschool

child for an afternoon and chasing them around the jungle gym? All

exercise counts...even the FUN kind!

I know where you are, I've been there so many times. It's really a

self-fulfilling prophecy that is a never-ending circle...I feel lousy

(physically and/or emotioanlly) so I'm not going to exercise so I

gain weight so my clothes don't fit right so I don't look like I want

to so I feel lousy so I don't exercise so I gain weight so......you

get the idea....except in my case you could also toss in the " so I

feel lousy so I eat some " comfort " foods like mashed potatos or

chocolate in a vain effort to make myself feel better.... " into the

equation!

So, the only way I can see to break this endless cycle of feeling bad

and gaining weight is to either decide that you don't feel bad

anymore (which is often hard if not impossible to do) OR to not let

how you feel prevent you from doing what you need to do. To " just do

it " if you will.

Think about Pilates or Yoga or swimming as a good place to start for

relief from your back pain to start and then go from there.

Hang in there and I hope you find a doctor that can help you soon!

Gwen