Excruciating pubic bone pain still going 2 weeks post-op, tx for UTI hasn't helped!

O.M.G., I have had excruciating pubic bone pains for the past 2 weeks since my laporascopic vaginal hysterectomy with 1 ovary removed. The pain doubles me over and makes me want to either cry, curse, or both. Emptying my bladder seems to help if I'm in the middle of an episode, otherwise nothing touches the pain. The doc has treated me for a UTI and examined me (no hematoma) with no improvement in the symptoms. Laying down makes it worse. I feel like a horse because I stand all day long and dread going to bed at night. I would sleep standing up if I could. My doc is at a loss and thinks it's bladder spasms...Urospas doesn't even phase it. I had separation of my pubic bone during my 2nd pregnancy, that's what this feels like but much worse. It started about 3 days post-op and has actually worsened since taking antibiotics and meds for bladder spasms. What gives??? I've combed the internet to find others who've experienced this and most importantly, for answers on how to make it STOP. I'm a tough gal but I swear, this pain is breaking me. Anyone have experience with this kind of pain and have advice on what might help it? TIA

I am so sorry that you are in that kind of pain. It definitely isn't the usual type of thing. Has your doctor done an x-ray to see if your pubic bone separated since the pain is similar?

Thanks, Danni, he manually palpated it and said it felt normal. I'm thinking maybe a strain on the ligament connecting the pelvic bones wouldn't allow enough play for him to be able to tell manually. An x-ray or cat scan might show more. Thanks.

I had the very same thing, and the pain landed me in the hospital ER twice! It started at about a week after my surgery and lasted a couple of weeks. CT scans, MRI, dr exams, antibiotics... nothing helped or showed anything wrong. My doc was at a complete loss. What I finally found that worked with the pain was completely relaxing that area. It sounds odd, but it worked! I discovered this after lying on my primary doc's table just bawling because nothing helped. She suggested taking a xanax right there in the office to see if relaxing helped. It did, though didn't get rid of it completely. It hurt worse at night and seemed to be ok when waking in the mornings. So, we decided to try and relax that specific area when it would begin to hurt and it helped. Try it and let me know. I am sorry you're going through this, as I will never forget the pain.

That sounds a lot like what I'm experiencing. I have avoided all medications, caffeine, and juice today to see if something I'm taking exacerbates it. So far today I'm just feeling every ache and pain elsewhere but the pubic bone pain seems less (no hot poker, double you over pain yet today). In the past it has been worse at night so the true test is to come. The pain has a nasty routine of waking me up during the wee hours when my bladder is full. The only thing that eases it at that time is emptying my bladder. I'm hoping maybe all the Advil I've been taking since surgery had something to do with it. I'll definitely try relaxing my muscles to see if that helps. Thanks so much for sharing what helped :-).

You're so welcome! Let me know if it helps.

Forgot to mention that my pain was worse when lying down, too. It also seemed worse when my bladder was full, waking me in the night when I needed to go. Tried meds for bladder spasms, too. I really had to try and concentrate to fully relax the muscles in that area, too. Just wanted to let you know. My recovery would have been uneventful except for this. Feel for ya.

Another thing to consider is Interstitial Cystitis (IC), also known as Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS). The symptoms can seem like a UTI but when a culture is done there is no infection present. Surgery can be a trigger for IC and it can be very miserable and painful and medications for a UTI aren't really helpful.

in there!

Thanks, Weiser, I had considered IC since the catheter I had after surgery was taped too short putting pressure on my bladder sphincter from the water balloon holding it in place. Fortunately, I'm thrilled to report that after employing the pelvic muscle relaxation exercises KelleyC recommended, I'm actually experiencing quite a bit of relief. I also removed the 4 C's from my diet to decrease bladder irritation, just in case :-). I'm still getting the sharp pains but can actually decrease them by focusing on relaxing my muscles. Thank you, ladies, for your tips, my quality of life is improving because of them.

So glad to hear!! Hopefully the pain will now begin to dissipate.