Just a little about the definition and thoughts behind the term "Psychosomatic". Because it is a word that should be used with great care. It is a serious condition in which patients feel unwell yet the cause is never found after numerous (!) exams.
Physicians are usually advised to not label a patient as psychosomatic unless it is absolutely certain there is no other cause because the diagnosis can cause further mental distress.
If a woman is pregnant, there is actually a cause there. Meaning early symptoms, even if unusual can not be classified as "psychosomatic". When studying an average time frame for pregnancy symptoms to appear it does not mean there are no women that don't notice symptoms earlier. They are just not the average.
In their second pregnancy women are more sensitive to changes. We all know this can be more cramping and discomfort. If a woman is in a certain hormonal state, she may be more sensitive to even the earliest changes. Afterall it is not like nothing is happening in the body and if women can have symptoms with ovulation they can have them after conception as well.
The first time I was not sure whether I was actually pregnant or not. Though I did feel horrible one night two days after intercourse with severe nausea.
With my recent two pregnancies I felt the same way around the time of conception, plus I had strong cramping that made my legs tingle. The following days pregnancy discharge appeared. There can not be psychosomatic pregnancy discharge. My temperature rose, also unlikely to be psychosomatic. I had a heavy, sometimes buzzing or crampy feeling in my uterus.
And of course all pregnancies were confirmed so again can not be classified as psychosomatic.
Psychosomatic symptoms of any condition are extremely rare. Which is why doctors are advised to be so careful when using this term. A lot has to happen in a body to actually create symptoms that aren't there. Anyone that does not have a history of possible psychosomatic illnesses or a delicate mental state should never be classified as psychosomatic right off the bat.
The psychosomatic diagnosis has many enemies because it is feared that the medical industry can abuse this term to "silence" persistent patients. Just because the cause of pain is not found, it does not prove there is no pain...it is a very delicate subject.
In recent years there has been a trend in using the term psychosomatic. At Goethe Klinik in Frankfurt few doctors were discharged and many warned because they almost caused death in a young mother who was brought in with ulcers and given NSAIDS because they felt her symptoms were "psychosomatic" due to the location of the pain. I have written pages about this for the past year. In the end there were several patients labeled as psychosomatic who later died or found they have a serious illness.
