"Women's first pain" is really not what you think

Stomachache is a very common symptom. Who dares to say that they have never had stomachache? I'm afraid that's unlikely.

What comes to your mind when you think of stomach pain? Gastroenteritis? Gallstones? Period? Today I want to tell you that there is a strange disease on earth that can also cause stomachache. Not only is it the most painful in terms of degree, but it is also extremely difficult to treat. It is a recognized treatment problem in the world medical community. This disease is very "ungentlemanly" and specifically tortures female friends. Menstrual pain and second period pain are nothing compared to it!

If female compatriots have persistent lower abdominal pain, they should be alert to this disease!

36-year-old Zhang Yu is a "veteran" abdominal pain patient. At first, she just felt occasional pain in her lower abdomen. She thought it was normal for women to have stomach pain, so she didn't take it too seriously. But she never expected that this was just the beginning of her nightmare. After that, Zhang Yu's stomach pain became more and more severe. In the past, the pain only lasted for a few days or at most a week, but now it hurts all day and all night. She was in so much pain that she couldn't work normally during the day, and couldn't even eat a meal. She was in so much pain at night that she couldn't sleep. Not only did her quality of life suffer greatly, but the pain also made her have thoughts of suicide. When I went to see Director An Jianxiong's pain clinic, I was sweating profusely from the pain and couldn't even straighten my back.

What kind of disease is this that can cause her pain for two years? Director An Jianxiong said that this is what people often call chronic pelvic pain. Don’t think that this is just a minor problem. In fact, there are quite a few women who have this problem! Furthermore, this is a world problem. For this purpose, the International Pelvic Pain Society was established in the United States.

The Air Force General Hospital of China Medical University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly established the Pelvic Pain Research Laboratory of the Beijing Institute of Translational Medicine of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Gao Guolan, a gynecologist, conducted an epidemiological survey and found that in Beijing alone, the incidence of chronic pelvic pain was as high as 19.2%.

How much do you know about the true face of chronic pelvic pain?

This is a disease that is more common in women aged 20-40 years old. When you have continuous or intermittent pain in the lower abdomen, pelvis, and lumbosacral area (what we often call the lower abdomen) for more than 6 months, and this pain is often related to menstruation and sexual life, and seriously affects your quality of life, it is most likely chronic pelvic pain.

What is the cause? The world's authoritative medical work "Textbook of Pain" believes that gynecological diseases are a very important cause of pelvic pain, mainly including pelvic inflammatory disease, pelvic congestion and pelvic adhesions. The culprit that caused Zhang Yu's pelvic pain was pelvic inflammatory disease. In fact, she was diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease two years ago when she first developed symptoms of lower abdominal pain. After a week of antibiotics in the hospital, the pain was under control, but it came back within a few days. The subsequent treatments were also "when the enemy retreats, I advance; when the enemy advances, I retreat." This led to such severe chronic pelvic pain.

Director An Jianxiong said that not only gynecological diseases, but also urinary system diseases, digestive system diseases, and skeletal muscle system diseases among the currently known causes may cause chronic pelvic pain. There is a set of data: more than 50% of patients with chronic pelvic pain have concurrent reproductive and urinary system diseases or irritable bowel syndrome.

This is because the nerves in the pelvis and lower abdomen are interconnected, and are "close neighbors" that can sense each other. Therefore, problems with the intestines and lower abdominal muscles may cause pelvic pain. In addition, psychological factors are also closely related to the occurrence of chronic pelvic pain. Psychological factors such as long-term depression can increase the incidence of chronic pelvic pain.