Irritable Uterus support

[readyORnot]

A long time ago I used to be prone to muscle spasms and was recommended magnesium. I opted to try and increase the magnesium in my diet rather than taking supplements and I'm pretty sure it helped, so I would imagine it would help with IU as well. Actually I don't know why I never thought of that while I was pregnant - I'll definitely be taking a magnesium supplement next pregnancy if I have any more!

 

[alison13]

Did this thread die?? I'm 33 weeks now and having a lot more contractions in the last several weeks. I seriously could go to the hospital daily for preterm contractions!! But nothing ever progresses. No cervical change, and I keep getting negative ffn tests..... Has anyone else had this happen?

It feels so wrong to keep ignoring all these contractions, but going in to get checked out is such a time waster!

Ok, hope everyone is doing well!!
Alison

 

[readyORnot]

Hi Alison33! I think the thread is still alive, just gone a bit quiet lately. I hope your contractions aren't too uncomfortable for you, there's lots of great advice in this thread. Personally my top tip is drink loads and loads of water.

 

[alison13]

Hi all,
Well, I'm 35weeks tomorrow and getting tons of contractions. This morning, I've already had about 20 in 2 hours. I have a 2 year old, so laying down all day is pretty much impossible, but they do go away when I can lay down.

I had a negative ffn test yesterday and my cervix is still closed, but I'm still kind of paranoid this little guy will be early again.....

Why can't I have a normal pregnancy?!

How is everyone else??

 

[Miss Broody]

Awww i wish i had found this earlier!!! I went into hospital at 34 weeks after a few days of regular tightenings and was kept in for three days before they diagnosed IU. Since then i have had loads of episodes of a few days etc and ones intermittently in between, it has been horrid!!!

Would have been nice to have some people to talk to as i was thinking i was just a complete freak!!!

Anyway i am being induced tomorrow due to my GD at 39 weeks. The not so little lady is estimated to be 8.4 pounds at 39 weeks from her scans.

My advise for anyone with this now is REST!!! i found walking etc aggravated my UI and although sometimes you think ohh maybe walking has brought on contractions it gets so sore and does nothing!!

I said to my consultant a couple of days ago my uterus is so so sore i cannot bear the thought of labour now. Luckily i have had a good couple of days rest and it is less sore now.

I also recommend warm baths/showers as this really helped me!!

good luck all xx

 

[Miss Broody]

Ohh and meant to say when i went in at 34 weeks although they said the contractions were not dilating me, i was 80% effaced and cervix was soft.

i have been back in since and they have confirmed the tightenings/contractions are happening so not in my hear lol xx

 

[readyORnot]

Hi Miss Broody! Don't forget to post pics of your little one when she arrives!

alison

 

[readyORnot]

Miss Broody, I hope you're not 61 weeks pregnant!

Just thought I'd give this thread a bump just in case there are any other sufferers out there who want some support. My days of IU are long behind me for now (but we're ttc#2 so who knows!) but I know how isolating it can feel when nobody else understands what you're going through, especially here in the UK where you're lucky if you even get a medical practitioner who believes that you're going through this let alone willing to help you through it!

 

[readyORnot]

I'm now 4 weeks pregnant with my second baby, so I've decided to give this thread another bump in case anyone else needs it!

Hopefully I won't suffer from IU this time around, but most of the stuff I've read suggests that if you've had it once you'll probably have it again.

 

[Emerald87]

Ohhhhh good luck! Hope it doesn't give you too much grief this time around.

 

[readyORnot]

Thanks Emerald87! My cupboard is stocked with magnesium supplements and my fingers are crossed for an IU-free pregnancy!

 

[readyORnot]

I know this topic hasn't been posted in for a while, but just in case anybody else is going through this I am still happy to lend a supportive ear!

Also, I thought I'd update that my second pregnancy was 100% IU-free! I made sure I kept hydrated, avoided stress at all costs, ate 'clean', used Magnesium oil and supplements.

I don't know if any or all of those things helped, but at least I know first-hand that one bad experience with IU doesn't mean it'll afflict you in subsequent pregnancies!

 

[Anges3059]

Thank you soooooo much for starting this thread. I know it's pretty old at this point but it is such a help to hear others stories! I was diagnosed with IU a week ago at 31+1. I'm almost at 32 weeks and I'm hoping for 38.

When I was first diagnosed the doctor took it pretty seriously and put me on Modified bed rest...which I though might have been excessive but I was happy he was being conservative. Then last night I had a particularly painful and contraction filled night so I called my OB's office and I got the woman OB who apparently had IU as well during her pregnancy. She sounded annoyed that I had called in and was dismissive about my symptoms. Then today at my prescheduled appointment the other doc was dismissive as well. So I asked him when I should be concerned and he told me to go directly to the hospital if I have more than 6 in one hour I felt like asking him to walk me to the hospital right then and there because I've had 6 just while we were talking! He just didn't seem to get it which made me feel very alone. I guess it sounds like a lot of women with IU end up going full term but the pain is excruciating and the contractions sometimes don't stop for days

To hear all these stories...even if this board isn't all that active makes me feel less alone. I wish the best of luck to anyone who may be reading this because they have been diagnosed with IU. It's painful and scary but I think for the most part it's not a danger to your pregnancy. I would encourage any woman with it to take it easy and not hesitate to go on bed rest if you need it. I think if you push yourself too hard you can put yourself into preterm labor and not know it. At this point I don't think I will have any clue when I'm in labor.

 

[readyORnot]

welcome Anges3059, I hope the last few weeks is not too fraught and I'm glad that this thread has brought you a degree of reassurance!

 

[mmr83]

Hope this thread is still going. I am 22 weeks with baby #4. I have had this pain, burning, contractions, cramping since 16 weeks. Went in at 17 weeks and my cervix was closed and long via ultrasound. Stopped for about a week then started again. At my 20 week u/s 2 weeks ago cervix was still long and closed from inside. It has gotten really bad this last week. If i get up at all the pain gets so much worse. its comfortable when sitting or laying but not too painful but when I am standing or walking ouch!

I get frustrated when I call my midwives office bc I feel like they just say its normal and dont take me seriously so I just would rather tough it out at home. I havent been diagnosed with irritable uterus but it sounds like thats what I have to me. I have drank lots of water, I take mag daily and have since before I was pregnant, and use topical mag sprays.

But heres my question, am I being smart not going in to get checked and saving myself a trip and getting more frustrated, or at what point am I being dumb and should be checked out?

Ugh tired of being in pain and worry! Thanks for any support ladies!

 

[AllyC]

mmr83,
I am 24 weeks and having this problem. I think you should get checked, to rule out the possibility that something serious is happening right now. I ended up in the hospital for overnight observation 2 weeks ago due to this, and until they got the monitors on me showing frequent contractions, I heard similarly dismissive attitudes from everyone--there are other more minor things that can cause pains at this stage, so I think everyone kind of first jumps to the more obvious ideas, like round ligament pain, braxton-hicks, etc. I've been on modified bed rest since my hospital visit and have been holding relatively steady, have a follow-up tomorrow. They still aren't willing to do much unless the situation looks more serious, and I am terrified, but I feel a lot better knowing that there is somewhere to turn for help and monitoring, and that they have a record of my situation to refer to if I need help later on.

This is an awful situation to be in -- the next three months are going to feel like three years!.....I totally understand how much this messes with your thoughts and feelings, can't imagine how much more of a wreck I'm going to turn into over time because I already feel pretty crazy from this!

Please go get checked out, and good luck!

PS thanks to everyone else who has posted about this, even if it was awhile ago now. It's really helpful to know others have been through it too.

 

[blueblue]

I'm 22 weeks pregnant and have been experiencing mild irritable uterus for a couple of weeks, usually at night when laying down when it feels like a constant low level "twitching". It got worse yesterday but I'm going to try and few different things (see below).

mmr83 - I think you should get it checked out to put your mind at rest.

Ally - hope everything goes well with your follow up. Sorry you are both having such a hard time.

From my own experiences:

- Magnesium supplements help (the upper tolerable limit is 350mg - see NIH factsheet: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/#h2

- Mine gets set off by calcium supplements - it's a difficult one as calcium is important, but it sets off the "twitching"

- stress seems to set it off - it seems worse when I am busy or don't meditate.

- this isn't a problem for everyone, but mine was set off at 6 weeks by a cup of camomile tea (it's a uterine stimulant). My GP suggested it was an irritable uterus then. It's been ok since until I started taking calcium supplements.

Here's a few suggestions I found from googling it:

- Avoid having a full bladder (and bowel)

- Stay hydrated by drinking water

- Get lots of rest

- Someone suggested doing Kegel exercises (again - check with your midwife, it may only be ok for the irritable uterus is mild)

- Someone suggested taking Zyrtec (cetirizine), a pregnancy safe hayfever medication to calm the contractions - I'd double check with midwife or GP that it's ok:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/301281.page

here's the factsheet for it: https://www.drugs.com/zyrtec.html

nhs advice on taking hayfever medication: https://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/935.aspx?categoryid=54

Hope this helps someone, I'm really glad I've found threads like this one as there isn't much advice elsewhere.