Rock hard uterus--painful

I am 26 wks pregnant and lately even if I shift slightly on the couch, my uterus goes ROCK HARD and it's pretty painful. Every small movement seems to cause this lately. Sometimes I walk a few steps and it stops me dead and I have to breathe through it b/c it is so uncomfortable and painful.
This is vastly different than the BH contractions I've had in the past with DD1, or with this twin pg even.

Anyone else have this? Is it something to be worried about?

 

They sound almost like actual contractions. I'd probably call your doctor and see if you can get in to be checked just in case. I would also try to drink a lot more water because the cramps can come from dehydration.

 

I agree-you need to call your OB and get checked, the fact that they are painful make me think they ar more then likely actual contractions and that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. In the mean time lay down on your left side and drink lots of water.
Take care and keep us posted!!

 

I agree, call your doctor! Sounds like contractions.

 

ITA with everybody else- also make sure to take a calcium/magnesium supplement- calcium deficiency can cause contractions, the magnesium helps keep the uterus soft. :hug: Please update us after you know.

 

I agree with the others, I would call your OB. :hug:

 

It sounds like what I get that my MFM specialist said were not contractions just stretching, growing, muscles getting tight. i agree it is annoying at times and other times painful. It seems when I am not resting or laying down it happens to me. I am tyring to not stress about it as my dr. said I shouldn't. I think we just grow so fast that our bodies can't keep up.

 

Thanks so much ladies.
I saw my OB yesterday and told him - and he seemed very quiet. He didn't want to check me for dilation (bc he had just checked me 4 weeks prior as I was having a lot of contractions and pressure) but he did look below with a speculum inserted and he said I had quite a TON of yellow bodied discharge (but I normally do have quite a bit while pg lol).

Anywho, I'm not supposed to be due for an u/s until 4 more weeks but he gave me a req and said "call today" as it will likely take a week to get in.

So I think he's concerned, but isn't saying much so he doesn't worry me.

I called now and they don't have an opening until Nov 30th....which is like 2 weeks. But said they'll put me on a cancellation list.

I have been drinking lots of water so it can't be from dehydration, I would think. And def take my prenatals daily, as well as extra iron.

Keep you guys posted!!!

p.s. i did some google searching and it came up with "irritable uterus".... hmm....

 

I am very surprised he did not do a culture with that amount of yellow discharge. At one point at about 27 weeks when my Dr did a Ffn test and had a speculum inserted he also thought there was a lot of discharge and he did a culture for a yeast infection and bacterial vaginosis (both common during pregnancy and both can cause contractions) Mine were both negative but I was glad he checked. Did he mention doing any such tests? There is also medication called procardia that he can put you on if your uterus is irritable that helps keep your uterus quiet and stop contractions. I have been on it since 26 weeks when I started to shorten. I am sure if he was extremely concerned an ultrasound would have been scheduled right away per his request. Good luck and drink lots of fluids, empty your bladder often (this can also bring on contractions) and stay off your feet as much as possible since walking around is a way to start and continue labor. Oh and eat a very high protein diet!

 

Is the Ffn test done through a swab? or blood work?

He DID do a culture... but to me, I am always pretty goopy, and he does cultures ALL the time on me and they are always negative. He checked for candida as well as bacterial vag as well and both were negative 3 weeks ago.

He told me to call right away for the u/s and I did, but they can't fit me in until 2 weeks. I didn't call his office to make sure that was ok b/c he wasn't like you have to go TODAY for u/s... he said call today as it will probably take you a week. So I am assuming up to a week is fine... 2 weeks maybe not but the u/s place is trying to get me a sooner appt!

 

The Ffn is a swab on the cervical fluid and is done with a speculum inserted. It is good that he did the culture a few weeks ago. Is he just doing a cervical length ultrasound when you get in to make sure these "contractions" are not causing cervical changes? If the pain continues or there is more pressure I would call your Ob right away and insist that he see you and get an ultrasound that day. I know they get booked up but in this case it may be very crucial to know if there are cervical changes.

 

Are you in the US?? I am surprised that you called with concerns and they want you to wait 2 weeks for an appointment! When I worked in OB we had women coming in all the time with similar circumstances because their OB or midwife told them to. Most were dehydrated even though they said they were drinking alot. Most of the contractions stopped after they had a liter of IV fluids. What you think is plenty of water during pregnancy isn't usually enough. With a single baby I have to drink a gallon of water a day to keep the contractions off; with having twins I have been drinking close to TWO gallons of water a day. I would really think they would want an US for cervical length though....

 

I agree... When my OB suspected anything he had u/s done minutes later. He also told me to go straight to L&D if after hours I was having contractions. When I was dilated at 30 weeks the fluids for sure helped!

 

It's not the same in Canada as it is in the US. I had a HARD time getting a technician to agree to an U/S that my OB ordered a week after already having one for growth discordance. Even with a doctor's rec they refused to do one. Had to wait 20 days from my last one.

 

That kind of treatment would make me crazy, and I hope it's unusual. I'm in Canada as well and I've had a couple of short notice ultrasounds, one the next morning when I went in during the night with contractions at 29 weeks. Regular appointments are only booked a week in advance and for urgent stuff they just slot you in between bookings. Right now I get ultrasounds every 2 weeks, but for a while there it was weekly and no problem at all.

 

If I was in the hospital, as I was many times for PTL, I would get an U/S pretty much right away. If it was an outpatient req, the werent as accomidating

 

He did do the swab so I wonder if it was to check for infection or for that Ffn test you are talking about!

I am in Canada yes... He told me after this u/s to have them re-book me for another every 3 weeks so that I always have them pre-booked and have no trouble getting appts.

If I am still like this tmrw, maybe I will call my OB back and tell him that I think I need an earlier u/s date. I COULD call around to a few diff u/s places and see who has the earliest date avail.

 

I would ask what he swabbed you for. I am lucky that my Dr's office has ultrasound attached to it and the office itself is attached to the birth center (hospital) My OB had my u/s and appointments booked a month at a time. I have had cervical checks up until 31 weeks and now I have weekly u/s to check fluid levels and positions of the babies.

 

WOW! I can not imagine an ultrasound technician being allowed to blatantly disregard a doctors orders. That would never happen here because if it did it could open the technician up for a lawsuit if the Dr ordered it and they refused and something was wrong. Did your OB know that the tech refused?

 

Yes. After it happened I xalled her to advise her that they would not do one until I was 20 days from my last. She told me it was most likely because in order to compare growth U/S should typically be 14-20 days apart to show a significant change in order to see if the babies are following their own growth curve or falling behind. Made sense to me.

 

Yes, my Dr has told me the same thing. I didn't know why he wanted the other U/S.

 

They can also check your cervix with U/S and see if you are contracting. COuld be why he asked for another one.

 

UPDATE:

Thursday - the day went by and it was about 4pm when I realized I had felt NO fetal movement at all. Which I know w/singletons (and twins can too!) that it can be normal. But for me, the babies are always moving, at least ONE of them anyway. So I ate, drank, poked em, etc and waited another hour and nothing. Not even ONE kick or bubble that day. So I went into the hospital for an assessment and told them I had been having the painful uterus hardening etc and that now there's no movement.

They tried to get their hb's and at first (and for a while) they weren't findin anything. I was terrified. But eventually they got them both on dopplers. Baby A had a low hb and baby Bs was 190 (which they said would be normal IF he was crazy active, but he wasn't!) The OB on call came in and examined me and said my cervix is still closed but that with twins things could change on a dime and he was worried that I could go into premature labor at any time, so he gave me the Celestone injections to mature their lungs.

They admitted me for 48 hrs and gave me 3 IV bags of fluid for "good measure". They arranged for me to have an emergency u/s the next morning to check on them and to see why they were appearing to be distressed.

Come morning I felt them starting to move again and was so relieved. The u/s was fantastic for peace of mind b/c hb's were back to normal (around 150-160 for each of them) and they were moving around and fluid levels were good. They gained 0.5 lbs in a week and a half, since my last u/s and are now 2lbs each at 26.5 weeks!

So the dr said not to worry about WHY that happened as we don't have a magic ball and won't ever know for sure why, but that to focus on the fact that they are happy , healthy, and fine now!

So I am home and just taking it easier. It is really hard b/c I have the strong nesting urge and it's killing me with the need to get organized.

I have another u/s on Nov 30th and see my OB 2 days later.

Thanks for listening!

 

How scary! I am glad everything is fine, and that both are doing well.

 

It's good to hear that your babies are just faking you out. That u/s for peace of mind is so worth it.