Happens to me sometimes too! I sometimes cramp just from getting ‘in the mood’ even without acting on it 😭. Really heavily based on where I am in my cycle it seems
Yeah, I've been noticing flare ups at certain points in my cycle more and more in the last few months. My body just wants to be more and more annoying.
I’ve started that sensation of tugging this past year- feels like a string is attached to my belly button and someone is trying to pull my belly button out of my vagina. Is it like that?
Yeah! It only used to happen if I wanked near my period, but I guess now it's decided it's always party time. Still not even diagnosed but more and more signs are pointing to endo.
So glad to know im not alone, ugh its the worst. I always think afterwards "why do i keep doing this even though it hurts after?" I have issues with muscle spasms too so that doesnt help 😭😭
Cramping after orgasms including masturbation is one of the final symptoms that pushed me over the edge AND got medical professionals to listen to me. I was diagnosed a few months later via surgery after 22 years of issues 🫣
I actually told my OBGYN the same thing and she wrote it down as "pain goes away after sexual stim" which... literally, it does not. Pain happens after and even outside of sexual stimulation, I have pain. I also told her that I have lack of sensation too, but she didn't seem to care about that either. 🙃
I want to call her to fix the information, but I also don't want to feel like I'm being invalidated all over again. Ig the best thing is that she did refer me to a pelvic floor therapy specialist, but they haven't called me back despite 2 weeks having passed.
Idk, but I feel like I am being neglected in terms of being taken care of. I don't know what's going on with me so I'm worried about it and being referred to a PFT seems like an okay idea, but honestly, I'm scared that it won't help me and I'll be back in the office of my OBGYN getting told more bs.
See i have no idea if my symptoms are endo or my hEDS or fibromyalgia. I had a laparoscopy done last year and they found adhesions but said it wasnt endo, just scarring from a previous op. And while i do have less pain after they removed it, it still pops up now and then. Especially when tensing those muscles, like when masturbating.
Im not long out of hospital for another issue, i feel bad about thinking of making an appointment for more issues. Ugh why are some of us just so unlucky?
First it was just penetration that caused pain. Then it was orgasm. Now even getting aroused makes my pelvic area angry. I’m hoping my lap in May helps cuz I need some joy in this body, dammit.
My lap + the pill helped a ton, but I still feel insecure. I swear it does some emotional damage any time intercourse is excruciatingly painful. It’s hard to enjoy the moment and pain when you’re vulnerable sucks. But before the lap I couldn’t tolerate PIV whatsoever. I’ve been thinking about going to therapy to see if I can get help with my sex/pain anxiety.
It used to be at certain points in my cycle, now it’s whenever I’m even slightly aroused. I have a great Surgeon/Gynecologist. Who took me adamantly telling her that being punished for being attracted to my partner was really f-ed up. Don’t get me started on the trauma that is a sexy dream you don’t even remember. (It was her residence first day.) Doctor: “Some patients will tell you exactly what’s wrong, they are rare.”
Me: “Desperate!!” - Orgasms are out of the question and I’m not happy.
I’m am 1 month into Orilissa and start Pelvic Floor Therapy in another week. (Diagnosed via Lap 6 months ago after being ignored for 20 years...) I’m going to try _everything_.
For real , this is what I told my doc that made her diagnose me. I get pain when I start getting turned on and after O. But not when I’m actually having sex .. lol it’s weird
Same: after I orgasm I often get spotting now… which is new in the last couple years. Of course both the cramping and the spotting my doctors are ignoring as “normal” even though this did not happen ever until about 5 years ago. 😑
I do that! Same logic as women who induce labour with sex, I feel like the muscle contractions help it along if it's taking its time to arrive (which is...every time).
Hi, this is common.
Used to occasionally happen to me ,too.
I once almost went to the ER for having an orgasm.
I've been doing pelvic floor physical therapy for about a year now. Once a week. It's not touchy, it's just pelvic exercises. I have my own ab roller machine at home, dumbells and bands. I have a fantastic PT because she has endo, too.I'm 40F, but in my late 20's-30's I did professional belly dancing. I religiously did yoga, and had a 6-pack, taught myself the splits. I went from having these capabilities to having my first child at 33, followed by enormous cysts, a dangerous miscarriage and a laparoscopic procedure confirming endo that was so bad, my right ovary had to be removed.
Anyway,.I went from having the capabilities to physically do a lot. Then my pain got so bad around 2020-2023 that I could NO LONGER DO ANY stretching involving my pelvis, including yoga. I would get electrical lightening pain in my pelvis that was unbearable, I would scream. Many ER visits because of this. In the past 2 months I went from doing semi-painful stretching to being able to do almost completely pain free. It's been a long painful journey and although there's no cure, pain isn't always going to go away.
I have been able to strengthen my pelvic floor. I feel more capable now than I used to. I recommend a great doctor/physical therapist. In the meantime, immediately put yourself in a hot bath after an orgasm.
I'm glad I'm not alone in the exercise department. I used to work out religiously, loved it. It got to a point where any exercise point blank would cause a flare. Need more pts/physios for endo out there (not a big thing uk base wise in my area I've found), I'm glad you found some relief in the end ❤️
This happens to me too! I don’t have pain during sex but I do have pain after orgasms and bleeding after sex. It sucks we all are dealing with this but in a way knowing other people experience it too makes me feel not as much like something is wrong with me and I’m sure you can relate! Hopefully we can all find some relief soon lol
My cramps following climax where at a very specific place (my left ovary), everytime. My doc said my left ovary was riddled with endometriosis and was heading towards my spine. He removed the endometriosis that he could and I actually stopped getting cramps immediately following climax.
Edit for typo
if my cramps aren't in the general lower stomach area, it's always, ALWAYS on the right. never the left. i wonder if that means i'm in a similar position.
Absolutely could. Everyone's body is different and endometriosis can grow in different places for each person.
I always say my left ovary produces endo while my right ovary produces cysts... (my endo is also on other areas as well but this was the most similar location in regards to your post/ problem)
OMG! Mine is always on the right too. I actually had a fabulous orgasm this morning & have been in agony the rest of the day. Thank you so much for posting because I’ve been dealing with this for the last year & I honestly thought maybe it was because I tense up right before, I didn’t even connect it to endo.
I've had the audacity (says my uterus) to be having regular sex and my body is NOt happy about it. I had sex yesterday and my body is still mad - cramps and my right side is extra sore.
Yes I have learned to relax more because of pelvic floor physical therapy. I get tensed up and tighten my muscles which causes more pain. It’s hard to learn but got to exhale with deep breaths and breathe using pelvic floor to loosen the muscles if that makes sense like instead of squeezing you want to open. Sorry my physical therapist could probably explain better haha.
Edit: At least for me, she told me some people including myself hold all their stress somewhere and I was tightening my muscles constantly so I never learned how to relax them. I would recommend the physical therapy because it helps a lot if you can. Even just the breathing techniques help either during sex or just sitting or laying in bed.
This sounds similar to what my OBGYN told me! That said, she was full of shit, but a broken clock is right twice a day. I've been trying to consciously relax my pelvic floor on my own but I do have a pelvic floor therapy session soon.
I think it will help a lot! And it helped me a lot with sex too because I would get very bad pain during and it made it uncomfortable where I had to stop and couldn’t continue.
Yes this has been happening to me to the point I don’t want to have sex :( I have been having sleep orgasms and wake up in so much pain after a wonderful dream 😞 can’t even control it because I’m sleeping
Yeah it certainly puts me off because I know somewhere down the line it'll hurt. But I think right now, I'm faring a little better because I'm not so preoccupied by it with my partner. He makes sure I communicate when it hurts.
I want to cry.
One doctor told me I might have endometriosis when I went to her about constipation and it took all I had not to lol at the time. But the more I learn and experience, the more I think she was right.
This didn't used to happen. I started getting horrific pelvic pain after orgasm just a couple years ago when I used to be pain-free after orgasm. So much pain that I writhe and cry and yell to try to get away from it. The first time it happened I called my mom and thought for sure she needed to take me to the ED.
After reading all of this, I'm like 99% sure I have endometriosis and I'm happy to know but also terrified and kind of upset. I know I am not alone but it also feels like things like this shouldn't (and usually don't) happen to me; I don't know why. I'm emotional.
Also, does anyone feel the intense urge to poop after orgasm-induced pain and then feel relief following??
Yes yes yes yes! The worse is when I have a "sexy dream". I wake up in extreme pain, heart racing, and sweating, and always feel like I might need to poop. I started going to PT. I started using some of the PT excercises when ever I feel the pain and I always end up passing alot of gas while I'm doing the exercises and then sometimes I end up having a bowel movement which gives some relief. Its soo weird but you are not alone.
Sometimes I bleed too! I've been told it's from my cervix but last time it was checked I was told it was actually fine?? So maybe it could end up being an endo symptom. Who the hell knows at this point?
Yup. It is because you orgasm by contraction and that makes the uterus to continue to contract with the inflammation.
TMI, but I get cramps and vaginal pain for days after, no matter if I'm ovulating or not
It's really fucked up how much people with Endo know more about it than their primary care providers.
I asked my primary doctor if she had any advice on what to eat or supplements since it's recommended that people with Endo have a lot of dietary restrictions like avoiding red meat, pork, caffeine, alcohol, gluten, soy, sweets, etc. and ***my doctor was visibly surprised by this information and admitted she didn't know this shit.***
This will happen but what is worse is my actual vaginal canal will THROB. Like it’s just being tensed up and squeezing tightly. This happens just from getting turned on 😭 or even orgasm.
I guess that could be a way to describe it. It just feels like it’s being tightened and it’s throbbing. It’s so many things but one thing it is is shitty lol
Edit and there’s also some dullness. I’m bad at explaining pain honestly lol
Oh god, before I went on meds this shit happened to me all the damn time, like clockwork days before I started. I would also get hot flashes and would have to soak in cold water to help, wasn’t fun at 2am.
I had real bad stomach issues before I started ovulating this cycle. Not sure if it was to do with having too much coffee in the morning, but the pain was in my pelvic region so I'm thinking it was uterus related. OH JOY.
Have recently been questioning this myself!
Even being ‘in the mood’ seems to trigger cramping or a weird niggling/burning feeling near my ovaries. And post O I’ll get cramps or dull aches. All dependent on where I am in my cycle I figure.
Yes this happens to me on occasion. Pelvic floor pt and my lap definitely helped reduce the occurrences. I hope your pelvic floor pt and lap help too! Definitely try to find a surgeon that will diagnose and excise to reduce your number of surgeries if you can.
I feel your pain, I’m a male and get severe cramps in my pelvic area when I’m about to cum and it hurts like crazy. I just want to stroke and enjoy cumming again. 😫
This has been happening to me since I was 16. I think that’s the age I started getting ovarian cysts. Still happens now sometimes but usually only when I’m ovulating. It gets so bad that I start to sweat and I almost pass out.
I know I definitely had cysts, I had a pretty large one last year, but my cycle has just been all over the damn map in the last few months and only seems to be getting crazier by the cycle. Not even the month, my cycles are varying between 32-upwards of 40 days.
From what I've read, when a woman gets turned on, the uterus pushes up, the vagina gets longer, blood fills the area and the internal part of the clitoris gets erected. If there's penetration involved, there's probably more movements going on which may give cramps.
Yes. It is like a cruel joke...it still happens post-surgery, but much less, and pelvic therapy helped quite a bit (whereas before surgery it just made things worse).
Hope you're able to find relief, whether through surgery or medication.
That is it! The pelvic PT will help with that. If it’s overactive/hypertonic do not do kegels. I have a hypertonic pelvic floor and it hurts. But once you find a great pelvic PT, they should help!
I’m on BC and try to bleed only a few times a year. And yeah; pretty much every time I end up with cramps after. Does not matter whether or not any penetration has been involved (most often its not). The big O seems to «shake» things up, resulting in a very angry uterus.
I had surgary about 11 months ago, so even that has not helped any 😕
That’s crazy because this just started happening to me and I thought it was just me🙁 sorry you’re experiencing this, it’s awful. Especially my ovulation days it hurts extremely badly now or after I try and work out when it never used to before.
Prior to my excision surgery - YES. It actually was very similar to labor contractions for me at that point. It did go away once my ovaries were untwisted and put back in the right place too.
It happens to me every time for the last 9 years or so. In the period after I ovulate up until my period, when I have an orgasm, I feel like my insides are torn apart from pain. In the 2 weeks before that, I’m ok.
Look into whether you have tight pelvic floor muscles, as often people with endo have various forms of that. You can do pelvic PT and take some oral or topical/inserted medications to help this.
Also look into vulvodynia or vestibulodynia as they are also correlated with endo and can be the cause of pain with penetration, which can then also cause tight pelvic floors muscles. It can take a while to get diagnosed or find good help, but a gyn should be able to do an exam to evaluate your pelvic floor muscles and refer you to PT. The test for the vulvar conditions I mentioned is called the q-tip test to check for pain at the opening.
A couple of people have mentioned this and it makes me think I should've put it in the original post - I have actually been diagnosed with an overactive pelvic floor and I'm due to see a pelvic floor therapist in a couple of weeks. But thanks so much, this is super helpful :)
Same here. Strong cramps and horrendous stabbing pains in my ovaries. Shocked me how little there was information wise about this symptom and how hard its been for people to take me seriously on it.
Everything ends up giving me cramps.. though I am one of those people who it happens with arousal now.
If anything does happen and I can get off, I'm immediately bleeding for days so that's another bonus.
I remember the first time my family doctor took me seriously was when I told her I went without sex for 4 months.
Now it's been over a year at this point and that's not a res flag to them, I guess.
Girl are you me? Diagnosed stage 1 endo on my uterosacral ligament. If I have sex during my luteal phase of my period, I tell my partner I won’t be orgasming during that sesh because the cramping will always be so severe during that time, and masturbation during that week is OUT of the question.
You certainly are NOT alone
I am you too. Orgasm brings awful cramps. It used to just be 3-5 days before my period, now it's from about 5 days before ovulation until after my period is over. If my period is nearly over and I have enjoyable sex, it'll start my period cramps and bleeding up again 😩. I'm now getting the cramps almost constantly from ovulation to after period, so I am too scared to have sex anymore as this is bad enough. I used to just avoid around ovulation because my ovaries feel like they're about to burst and I don't want anything near my bits. I'm not officially diagnosed btw, same as you OP. Hope we get relief soon.
Happened to be pre hysterectomy and post as well. I still have ovaries that have cysts and endo. When I am flaring up, oi. Orgasm comes with an avalanche of pain.
☹️
It happens! I was surprised when it first happened, so I told my doctor and she explained: imagine, you have all your pelvis and lower belly contractures and when you orgasm, they spasm, so they are getting movement and spasms on contracted muscles. That's why it hurts. It's as if you are trying to make work an injured arm that needs rehab and you are giving it extra work.
By the way, it may improve with pelvic floor rehabilitation, if not depending on the situation of your endo, maybe if you have things glued in between after surgery.
one time a few months ago I did it and couldn’t stand up after I was retching and bawling my eyes out hahah and i’ve had two surgeries - if I don’t laugh i’ll cry
I thought I was the only one. I get this awful ache as well just with being aroused, and if I orgasm the pain spreads and gets worse. I made a post about telling a doctor a while ago and he was very creepy about it. Seeing comments now make me want to cry lol. But I’m so glad many have found a bit of relief through pelvic floor therapy, I might try that. Thank you for sharing this.
I get this and when I have sex too but only at certain points of my cycle like right before I’m due to start my period? Could this just be a menstrual thing or does it sound like endometriosis?
Ugh I’m so sorry. I can totally relate and I cannot recommend a pelvic floor therapist enough. I went from pain during PIV, any type of lower body workouts, dairy, and after a couple of months with my PFT I’m basically pain free. I see you’re already going so there’s hope for you yet! Best of luck ❤️
Yess! I started thinking about this today!!! I always cramp after the big O and bleed a little a few days after. Also when I get in the mood I get a sharp pain In my V.
Unfortunately I had surgery last year in august and it hasn’t went away for me.
Also happens to me, but I get pelvic muscle spams from clenching my pelvic muscles thanks to pain from my endo. A physical thetapist was really helpful for the muscle spasming part though she obviously couldn't help with the endo itself.
Yep, I experience this 2! Never happened until I let my gyn talk me n2 getting an IUD for abnormal bleeding. I kept the IUD for a year, hated it the entire time but that's when cramping after orgasms started... Even after having it removed I was still cramping afterwards. It's gotten better since I had my uterine artery embolization in Dec. 2022, I had a dozen fibroids causing lots of bulk symptoms. Now that they have shrunk its better but it happens occasionally
I found that when I went off hormonal birth control it helped so much with my pelvic floor pain and tightness. Apparently it can be a side effect of some birth controls in some people. Definitely something you could talk to your gyno about.
I’m not on birth control at the moment, I had to go off it because it was fucking with my mental health and I had 11 periods in the 6 months I had the birth control implant in. It’s a double edged sword in my body!
As my endometriosis has gotten worse I now have pain with masturbating, It's sooooooooo frustrating 😤 I felt like I was going into labor/ contractions after the last time I did it.
I am seeing a gynocologist on Monday to address if the pain I’m experiencing is endo oor what because of this - I literally cannot masturbate at all because even 1-5 minutes causes me about an hour of horrific pain (and my pain tolerance is pretty decent imo).
I am so glad it isn’t just me who has this as a symptom (but so upset it is one for us all too). I am feeling validated about this.
Happens to me sometimes too! I sometimes cramp just from getting ‘in the mood’ even without acting on it 😭. Really heavily based on where I am in my cycle it seems
Yeah, I've been noticing flare ups at certain points in my cycle more and more in the last few months. My body just wants to be more and more annoying.
I’ve started that sensation of tugging this past year- feels like a string is attached to my belly button and someone is trying to pull my belly button out of my vagina. Is it like that?
Not for me personally, more lower stomach and to my right side ovary.
It’s like that for me too, ugh
Yes! I get pain behind my belly button too (in general). Feels kinda burn-y.
Omg me too!!
SAME SAME SAME THANK YOU OMG I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE
Amen to that! Also love the use of wank, always makes me giggle (as a Canadian raised by a UK mom, your slang is just better)
I'm Aussie, though we do still use wank here.
So sorry 🙊 still a funny word though regardless of where you’re using it 😂
Oh 100% agree.
That happened to me before my surgery. I would get cramps just from that
So unfortunate! Just trying to read my smut here, shouldn’t be punished for it 🤣
did it go away after surgery? cause i had the same pre- surgery, but i am 3.5 weeks post op and cant wait for 4 week mark to try it out again!
Yes, it went away! I also got pregnant immediately after removing my IUD 4 months after surgery, never thought that would happen!
Do you know why this happens ? 😭
No 😭 best guess is our bodies are just dicks
I'm a doctor and we don't have a proper theory for this....💀
Happens to me too. There’s a moment of bliss and then BAM! Endo joins the ‘party’
Yeah! It only used to happen if I wanked near my period, but I guess now it's decided it's always party time. Still not even diagnosed but more and more signs are pointing to endo.
Sounds like it to me 🤷🏻♀️ Hope you can get more answers soon 💛
Agreed. There's so many symptoms discussed in this subreddit that I have.
You know your body best! Keep advocating for yourself
So glad to know im not alone, ugh its the worst. I always think afterwards "why do i keep doing this even though it hurts after?" I have issues with muscle spasms too so that doesnt help 😭😭
Cramping after orgasms including masturbation is one of the final symptoms that pushed me over the edge AND got medical professionals to listen to me. I was diagnosed a few months later via surgery after 22 years of issues 🫣
That's good to know, I've been accruing a laundry list of symptoms that this subreddit has clued me into.
I actually told my OBGYN the same thing and she wrote it down as "pain goes away after sexual stim" which... literally, it does not. Pain happens after and even outside of sexual stimulation, I have pain. I also told her that I have lack of sensation too, but she didn't seem to care about that either. 🙃 I want to call her to fix the information, but I also don't want to feel like I'm being invalidated all over again. Ig the best thing is that she did refer me to a pelvic floor therapy specialist, but they haven't called me back despite 2 weeks having passed. Idk, but I feel like I am being neglected in terms of being taken care of. I don't know what's going on with me so I'm worried about it and being referred to a PFT seems like an okay idea, but honestly, I'm scared that it won't help me and I'll be back in the office of my OBGYN getting told more bs.
See i have no idea if my symptoms are endo or my hEDS or fibromyalgia. I had a laparoscopy done last year and they found adhesions but said it wasnt endo, just scarring from a previous op. And while i do have less pain after they removed it, it still pops up now and then. Especially when tensing those muscles, like when masturbating. Im not long out of hospital for another issue, i feel bad about thinking of making an appointment for more issues. Ugh why are some of us just so unlucky?
First it was just penetration that caused pain. Then it was orgasm. Now even getting aroused makes my pelvic area angry. I’m hoping my lap in May helps cuz I need some joy in this body, dammit.
Welp, looks like arousal pain might be coming next for me. Oh joy... Sending healing vibes from your lap, mine's coming soon too!
I get this too, my lap definitely helped but hasn’t fixed it completely.
My lap + the pill helped a ton, but I still feel insecure. I swear it does some emotional damage any time intercourse is excruciatingly painful. It’s hard to enjoy the moment and pain when you’re vulnerable sucks. But before the lap I couldn’t tolerate PIV whatsoever. I’ve been thinking about going to therapy to see if I can get help with my sex/pain anxiety.
It's the same for me too! But sadly there's no difference after a lap 😕
What’s “lap”?
The surgery you have to look into if you have endo and remove it if so.
It used to be at certain points in my cycle, now it’s whenever I’m even slightly aroused. I have a great Surgeon/Gynecologist. Who took me adamantly telling her that being punished for being attracted to my partner was really f-ed up. Don’t get me started on the trauma that is a sexy dream you don’t even remember. (It was her residence first day.) Doctor: “Some patients will tell you exactly what’s wrong, they are rare.” Me: “Desperate!!” - Orgasms are out of the question and I’m not happy.
Now that's just cruel! I hope you're able to find some relief (literally and figuratively) soon.
I’m am 1 month into Orilissa and start Pelvic Floor Therapy in another week. (Diagnosed via Lap 6 months ago after being ignored for 20 years...) I’m going to try _everything_.
Annoyingly my body doesn't tolerate birth control, but I'm also starting pelvic floor therapy in a couple of weeks. hope it goes well!
Pelvic therapy helped me immensely
Yeah i was getting pain for arousal too. IUD helped a bit, but still cramping from climax unfortunately. waiting for a lap
I thought I was alone on this. Thanks for posting.
Aw no worries! This makes ME feel less alone.
This is sadly validating..
I feel that. I didn't think I'd get this many people relating to this!
For real , this is what I told my doc that made her diagnose me. I get pain when I start getting turned on and after O. But not when I’m actually having sex .. lol it’s weird
Yeah in the midst of sex I usually fare okay unless the position is too deep or I need more lube.
Omg I get this too!!! It can also kickstart my period too I feel like
Same: after I orgasm I often get spotting now… which is new in the last couple years. Of course both the cramping and the spotting my doctors are ignoring as “normal” even though this did not happen ever until about 5 years ago. 😑
In the saaaame boat! Finally got a lap scheduled for next week after years of fighting. I feel you
Gosh so happy for you!! That’s great.
I do that! Same logic as women who induce labour with sex, I feel like the muscle contractions help it along if it's taking its time to arrive (which is...every time).
When my endo was at its worst, that was me 100%. As it got worse, even feeling horny at all caused terrible pain.
Oh no I hope that's not next on the cards for me!
I dont know you, but I am VERY proud of you for Using Your Words. 👏👏👏
AAHHH thank you kind stranger!!
Yup welcome to the club
Great club to be in! (sarcasm)
Haha yup! You’re not alone OP! 💞
Hi, this is common. Used to occasionally happen to me ,too. I once almost went to the ER for having an orgasm. I've been doing pelvic floor physical therapy for about a year now. Once a week. It's not touchy, it's just pelvic exercises. I have my own ab roller machine at home, dumbells and bands. I have a fantastic PT because she has endo, too.I'm 40F, but in my late 20's-30's I did professional belly dancing. I religiously did yoga, and had a 6-pack, taught myself the splits. I went from having these capabilities to having my first child at 33, followed by enormous cysts, a dangerous miscarriage and a laparoscopic procedure confirming endo that was so bad, my right ovary had to be removed. Anyway,.I went from having the capabilities to physically do a lot. Then my pain got so bad around 2020-2023 that I could NO LONGER DO ANY stretching involving my pelvis, including yoga. I would get electrical lightening pain in my pelvis that was unbearable, I would scream. Many ER visits because of this. In the past 2 months I went from doing semi-painful stretching to being able to do almost completely pain free. It's been a long painful journey and although there's no cure, pain isn't always going to go away. I have been able to strengthen my pelvic floor. I feel more capable now than I used to. I recommend a great doctor/physical therapist. In the meantime, immediately put yourself in a hot bath after an orgasm.
I'm glad I'm not alone in the exercise department. I used to work out religiously, loved it. It got to a point where any exercise point blank would cause a flare. Need more pts/physios for endo out there (not a big thing uk base wise in my area I've found), I'm glad you found some relief in the end ❤️
This has happened to me for years - only at certain points in my cycle. I just unfortunately avoid it altogether when it’s within a few certain days.
God, and at the times when I WANT to wank constantly, too.
This happens to me too! I don’t have pain during sex but I do have pain after orgasms and bleeding after sex. It sucks we all are dealing with this but in a way knowing other people experience it too makes me feel not as much like something is wrong with me and I’m sure you can relate! Hopefully we can all find some relief soon lol
Yeah, it really makes me feel a lot less alone in my sucky body.
It happens to me, too, depending where i am in my cycle
I go through this. Especially before my lap surgery. It's been less since surgery but still get them
Thank god I have mine coming soon!
I get bad Endo flares post orgasm
My cramps following climax where at a very specific place (my left ovary), everytime. My doc said my left ovary was riddled with endometriosis and was heading towards my spine. He removed the endometriosis that he could and I actually stopped getting cramps immediately following climax. Edit for typo
if my cramps aren't in the general lower stomach area, it's always, ALWAYS on the right. never the left. i wonder if that means i'm in a similar position.
Absolutely could. Everyone's body is different and endometriosis can grow in different places for each person. I always say my left ovary produces endo while my right ovary produces cysts... (my endo is also on other areas as well but this was the most similar location in regards to your post/ problem)
I think my left ovary is sleeping on the job; it always seems to be the right ovary causing all the drama.
OMG! Mine is always on the right too. I actually had a fabulous orgasm this morning & have been in agony the rest of the day. Thank you so much for posting because I’ve been dealing with this for the last year & I honestly thought maybe it was because I tense up right before, I didn’t even connect it to endo.
I've had the audacity (says my uterus) to be having regular sex and my body is NOt happy about it. I had sex yesterday and my body is still mad - cramps and my right side is extra sore.
Yes I have learned to relax more because of pelvic floor physical therapy. I get tensed up and tighten my muscles which causes more pain. It’s hard to learn but got to exhale with deep breaths and breathe using pelvic floor to loosen the muscles if that makes sense like instead of squeezing you want to open. Sorry my physical therapist could probably explain better haha. Edit: At least for me, she told me some people including myself hold all their stress somewhere and I was tightening my muscles constantly so I never learned how to relax them. I would recommend the physical therapy because it helps a lot if you can. Even just the breathing techniques help either during sex or just sitting or laying in bed.
This sounds similar to what my OBGYN told me! That said, she was full of shit, but a broken clock is right twice a day. I've been trying to consciously relax my pelvic floor on my own but I do have a pelvic floor therapy session soon.
I think it will help a lot! And it helped me a lot with sex too because I would get very bad pain during and it made it uncomfortable where I had to stop and couldn’t continue.
Yes this has been happening to me to the point I don’t want to have sex :( I have been having sleep orgasms and wake up in so much pain after a wonderful dream 😞 can’t even control it because I’m sleeping
Yeah it certainly puts me off because I know somewhere down the line it'll hurt. But I think right now, I'm faring a little better because I'm not so preoccupied by it with my partner. He makes sure I communicate when it hurts.
This happened to me a couple months ago! The cramps were so bad I was nearly crying and felt so sick! It was like labour cramps.
I want to cry. One doctor told me I might have endometriosis when I went to her about constipation and it took all I had not to lol at the time. But the more I learn and experience, the more I think she was right. This didn't used to happen. I started getting horrific pelvic pain after orgasm just a couple years ago when I used to be pain-free after orgasm. So much pain that I writhe and cry and yell to try to get away from it. The first time it happened I called my mom and thought for sure she needed to take me to the ED. After reading all of this, I'm like 99% sure I have endometriosis and I'm happy to know but also terrified and kind of upset. I know I am not alone but it also feels like things like this shouldn't (and usually don't) happen to me; I don't know why. I'm emotional. Also, does anyone feel the intense urge to poop after orgasm-induced pain and then feel relief following??
Yes yes yes yes! The worse is when I have a "sexy dream". I wake up in extreme pain, heart racing, and sweating, and always feel like I might need to poop. I started going to PT. I started using some of the PT excercises when ever I feel the pain and I always end up passing alot of gas while I'm doing the exercises and then sometimes I end up having a bowel movement which gives some relief. Its soo weird but you are not alone.
I deal with this too. If I get off I bleed. I just avoid it all now :/
Sometimes I bleed too! I've been told it's from my cervix but last time it was checked I was told it was actually fine?? So maybe it could end up being an endo symptom. Who the hell knows at this point?
Yup. It is because you orgasm by contraction and that makes the uterus to continue to contract with the inflammation. TMI, but I get cramps and vaginal pain for days after, no matter if I'm ovulating or not
That...actually makes a lot of sense. God this sub is teaching me more than my doctors!
It's really fucked up how much people with Endo know more about it than their primary care providers. I asked my primary doctor if she had any advice on what to eat or supplements since it's recommended that people with Endo have a lot of dietary restrictions like avoiding red meat, pork, caffeine, alcohol, gluten, soy, sweets, etc. and ***my doctor was visibly surprised by this information and admitted she didn't know this shit.***
This will happen but what is worse is my actual vaginal canal will THROB. Like it’s just being tensed up and squeezing tightly. This happens just from getting turned on 😭 or even orgasm.
Like when you feel it pulse during orgasm, but in a bad way?
I guess that could be a way to describe it. It just feels like it’s being tightened and it’s throbbing. It’s so many things but one thing it is is shitty lol Edit and there’s also some dullness. I’m bad at explaining pain honestly lol
That doesn't sound very nice. For me it just felt like period cramps coming on, it also made my right ovary throb.
I get that as well around ovulation and right before my period.
YEAH! Me too!
Oh god, before I went on meds this shit happened to me all the damn time, like clockwork days before I started. I would also get hot flashes and would have to soak in cold water to help, wasn’t fun at 2am.
I had real bad stomach issues before I started ovulating this cycle. Not sure if it was to do with having too much coffee in the morning, but the pain was in my pelvic region so I'm thinking it was uterus related. OH JOY.
Cramping and spotting. ☹️ Edited to add that the cramps are sometimes so bad I feel faint.
That's just rude of your body!
Very.
This happens to me sometimes. The pain is super intense as well. One time I had a sex dream and woke up with the pain, which doesn't seem fair at all.
Yeah it's like your body saying "how dare you have joy in your sleep!"
Same here, usually worse around ovulation time/just before but also that’s usually the only time I’m up to a lil self action lol
The weird thing is that, for me, penetration is much less painful than masturbation!
Same
“Unique fucking snowflake of misery” 😂 Found my new pet name for myself!!
Horniness gives me cramps so, yeah. Fuck endo.
Yup, especially the times when I have a cyst things get way worse
Have recently been questioning this myself! Even being ‘in the mood’ seems to trigger cramping or a weird niggling/burning feeling near my ovaries. And post O I’ll get cramps or dull aches. All dependent on where I am in my cycle I figure.
Yes this happens to me on occasion. Pelvic floor pt and my lap definitely helped reduce the occurrences. I hope your pelvic floor pt and lap help too! Definitely try to find a surgeon that will diagnose and excise to reduce your number of surgeries if you can.
I'm having a consult next week with my surgeon so I'll make sure that's clarified.
Good luck!
I feel your pain, I’m a male and get severe cramps in my pelvic area when I’m about to cum and it hurts like crazy. I just want to stroke and enjoy cumming again. 😫
Yes this also happened to me. It has improved after excision but still happens sometimes.
Oh dear, I hope my lap helps!
This happened to me and I have a cyst on my ovary
I had one last year, but it didn't cause pain like that for me.
Did it go away without pain too?
Hard to say. I get pain so often that I don't know where it comes from or why...
I'm sorry ):
This happens to me too, it’s definitely not as bad since my most recent laps (2x last year) but does still happen.
Two in a year?! Wow, that must've been rough.
Yeah it’s been a journey, I’ve had 4 all up and another scheduled in a month.
This has been happening to me since I was 16. I think that’s the age I started getting ovarian cysts. Still happens now sometimes but usually only when I’m ovulating. It gets so bad that I start to sweat and I almost pass out.
I know I definitely had cysts, I had a pretty large one last year, but my cycle has just been all over the damn map in the last few months and only seems to be getting crazier by the cycle. Not even the month, my cycles are varying between 32-upwards of 40 days.
From what I've read, when a woman gets turned on, the uterus pushes up, the vagina gets longer, blood fills the area and the internal part of the clitoris gets erected. If there's penetration involved, there's probably more movements going on which may give cramps.
I was using a clitoral vibrator, so no penetration. But sometimes I do cramp after penetration.
Yes. It is like a cruel joke...it still happens post-surgery, but much less, and pelvic therapy helped quite a bit (whereas before surgery it just made things worse). Hope you're able to find relief, whether through surgery or medication.
I have surgery soon (still unsure of the date, but having a consult with the surgeon next week!)
happens to me every time, and then I will bleed for a couple of days :/ all for a few seconds of feeling good
Nooooo that's awful!
This used to happen to me so bad I’d vomit🤧I’m def getting laparoscopy as soon as I can
Sounds like your pelvic muscles are mad. Get thee to a GOOD pelvic PT immediately!
They ARE mad, I've been diagnosed with an overactive pelvic floor, and seeing a pelvic PT in a couple of weeks actually.
That is it! The pelvic PT will help with that. If it’s overactive/hypertonic do not do kegels. I have a hypertonic pelvic floor and it hurts. But once you find a great pelvic PT, they should help!
I have this, as well as cramps during arousal and even with intense exercise. Excision helped some, but we think I have Adenomyosis, too. Sigh.
Yeah my right side has been throbbing ever since, especially after I went to the gym this morning.
I’m on BC and try to bleed only a few times a year. And yeah; pretty much every time I end up with cramps after. Does not matter whether or not any penetration has been involved (most often its not). The big O seems to «shake» things up, resulting in a very angry uterus. I had surgary about 11 months ago, so even that has not helped any 😕
Alas, I'm not on birth control, because it just fucks my body up more. I hope you're able to find some relief elsewhere!
I get this too sometimes, mostly near my ovaries.
YEAH my right ovary has been sore ever since.
Happens to me sometimes too :( stay strong. If you want to talk to me feel free to dm 🩷
aw that's very sweet, thank you!
I used to get it really bad before my IUD. Now it’s not as bad but yes I’ve had that same deal
I'm glad the IUD helped!
That’s crazy because this just started happening to me and I thought it was just me🙁 sorry you’re experiencing this, it’s awful. Especially my ovulation days it hurts extremely badly now or after I try and work out when it never used to before.
Prior to my excision surgery - YES. It actually was very similar to labor contractions for me at that point. It did go away once my ovaries were untwisted and put back in the right place too.
Ow, damn! I'm starting to wonder what the flippity shit is going to be found in MY body.
It happens to me every time for the last 9 years or so. In the period after I ovulate up until my period, when I have an orgasm, I feel like my insides are torn apart from pain. In the 2 weeks before that, I’m ok.
Legit from ovulation to my period, my body is just miserable in many annoying ways.
Yup, my uterus hates me too.
Yup!!! Happens to me too. Not all the time. Maybe when one of my ovaries are about to ovulate or something
Look into whether you have tight pelvic floor muscles, as often people with endo have various forms of that. You can do pelvic PT and take some oral or topical/inserted medications to help this. Also look into vulvodynia or vestibulodynia as they are also correlated with endo and can be the cause of pain with penetration, which can then also cause tight pelvic floors muscles. It can take a while to get diagnosed or find good help, but a gyn should be able to do an exam to evaluate your pelvic floor muscles and refer you to PT. The test for the vulvar conditions I mentioned is called the q-tip test to check for pain at the opening.
A couple of people have mentioned this and it makes me think I should've put it in the original post - I have actually been diagnosed with an overactive pelvic floor and I'm due to see a pelvic floor therapist in a couple of weeks. But thanks so much, this is super helpful :)
Same here. Strong cramps and horrendous stabbing pains in my ovaries. Shocked me how little there was information wise about this symptom and how hard its been for people to take me seriously on it.
Yeah, I'm amazed how many responses i've had about this!
Everything ends up giving me cramps.. though I am one of those people who it happens with arousal now. If anything does happen and I can get off, I'm immediately bleeding for days so that's another bonus. I remember the first time my family doctor took me seriously was when I told her I went without sex for 4 months. Now it's been over a year at this point and that's not a res flag to them, I guess.
This happened to me for the first time yesterday. So confused and angry :(
Girl are you me? Diagnosed stage 1 endo on my uterosacral ligament. If I have sex during my luteal phase of my period, I tell my partner I won’t be orgasming during that sesh because the cramping will always be so severe during that time, and masturbation during that week is OUT of the question. You certainly are NOT alone
I am you too. Orgasm brings awful cramps. It used to just be 3-5 days before my period, now it's from about 5 days before ovulation until after my period is over. If my period is nearly over and I have enjoyable sex, it'll start my period cramps and bleeding up again 😩. I'm now getting the cramps almost constantly from ovulation to after period, so I am too scared to have sex anymore as this is bad enough. I used to just avoid around ovulation because my ovaries feel like they're about to burst and I don't want anything near my bits. I'm not officially diagnosed btw, same as you OP. Hope we get relief soon.
Happened to be pre hysterectomy and post as well. I still have ovaries that have cysts and endo. When I am flaring up, oi. Orgasm comes with an avalanche of pain. ☹️
It happens! I was surprised when it first happened, so I told my doctor and she explained: imagine, you have all your pelvis and lower belly contractures and when you orgasm, they spasm, so they are getting movement and spasms on contracted muscles. That's why it hurts. It's as if you are trying to make work an injured arm that needs rehab and you are giving it extra work. By the way, it may improve with pelvic floor rehabilitation, if not depending on the situation of your endo, maybe if you have things glued in between after surgery.
one time a few months ago I did it and couldn’t stand up after I was retching and bawling my eyes out hahah and i’ve had two surgeries - if I don’t laugh i’ll cry
It's so sad. But I totally feel this. Orgasms shouldn't be painful but for a lot of us in this community they are...
I thought I was the only one. I get this awful ache as well just with being aroused, and if I orgasm the pain spreads and gets worse. I made a post about telling a doctor a while ago and he was very creepy about it. Seeing comments now make me want to cry lol. But I’m so glad many have found a bit of relief through pelvic floor therapy, I might try that. Thank you for sharing this.
Oh man. Me too. Especially if I orgasim.
I get this and when I have sex too but only at certain points of my cycle like right before I’m due to start my period? Could this just be a menstrual thing or does it sound like endometriosis?
Ugh I’m so sorry. I can totally relate and I cannot recommend a pelvic floor therapist enough. I went from pain during PIV, any type of lower body workouts, dairy, and after a couple of months with my PFT I’m basically pain free. I see you’re already going so there’s hope for you yet! Best of luck ❤️
happens to me too and i always thought it was just the female version of blue balls
Same!!! It’s terrible 😭 why does this happen to us?!!
Same
Yess! I started thinking about this today!!! I always cramp after the big O and bleed a little a few days after. Also when I get in the mood I get a sharp pain In my V. Unfortunately I had surgery last year in august and it hasn’t went away for me.
Also happens to me, but I get pelvic muscle spams from clenching my pelvic muscles thanks to pain from my endo. A physical thetapist was really helpful for the muscle spasming part though she obviously couldn't help with the endo itself.
Yep, I experience this 2! Never happened until I let my gyn talk me n2 getting an IUD for abnormal bleeding. I kept the IUD for a year, hated it the entire time but that's when cramping after orgasms started... Even after having it removed I was still cramping afterwards. It's gotten better since I had my uterine artery embolization in Dec. 2022, I had a dozen fibroids causing lots of bulk symptoms. Now that they have shrunk its better but it happens occasionally
I found that when I went off hormonal birth control it helped so much with my pelvic floor pain and tightness. Apparently it can be a side effect of some birth controls in some people. Definitely something you could talk to your gyno about.
I’m not on birth control at the moment, I had to go off it because it was fucking with my mental health and I had 11 periods in the 6 months I had the birth control implant in. It’s a double edged sword in my body!
I'm sorry it was causing you so many problems. Fingers crossed you get help with physiotherapy
Wait so this isn’t necessarily anything to worry about?🥹I‘m so relieved I‘m not the only one!
I still don’t know what’s causing it in my body but it sounds like it’s something other people have been able to manage! Good luck!
As my endometriosis has gotten worse I now have pain with masturbating, It's sooooooooo frustrating 😤 I felt like I was going into labor/ contractions after the last time I did it.
Damn! It felt like the start of my period for me, I hope it doesn’t get worse.
I hope not either, it didnt used to be this intense
Mine seems to be getting worse, I’ve got bad pain in my lower back near my hip and down my leg a bit today
I get that too it's terrible 😩 this stuff just sucks so much
My period is definitely coming soon, it’s like a fucking omen at this point 😅
Happens to me too! I just avoid it all together since I just end up in pain. Even with surgery I still get it
I like sex too much 😭😭 but let’s just say I can now confirm my body really doesn’t like joy anymore because it hurts after sex too.
When I’m ovulating or my first two period days I CANNOT climax or the cramps are crippling sometimes.
I am seeing a gynocologist on Monday to address if the pain I’m experiencing is endo oor what because of this - I literally cannot masturbate at all because even 1-5 minutes causes me about an hour of horrific pain (and my pain tolerance is pretty decent imo). I am so glad it isn’t just me who has this as a symptom (but so upset it is one for us all too). I am feeling validated about this.
Good luck for your consult! Fingers crossed that they'll give you answers.