unexplained pains in pregnancy

[jodie116]

i've been having pains in my lower abdomen since 15 weeks pregnant. i'm now 31 weeks pregnant and having the same pain but now its excruciating and i'm unable to sleep or walk sometimes. after 5 trips to the hospital spending a week there each time the doctors have told me to manage pain with painkillers and get on with it. ive been tested for water infections, SPD, fibroids, cysts and appedicitis. they found 2cm around my right ovary which they said is normal. they couldn't see my appendix but said if this was appedicitis i would be throwing up violently. the 'tube' going to my kidney on my right side is swollen indicating maybe i've passed a stone but there is no evidence of me ever having a stone or a water infection. my stomach keeps tightening and is really painful which they said its braxton hicks as they are irregular. ultrasounds show that baby is normal size and is happy. i take 500mg paracetamol x10 and 30mg codeine phosphate x8 a day to ease the pain but find myself feeling ill and sleeping alot. resulting in me not eating properly. due to this i'm now on iron tablets. its beginning to become a vitious circle. i except the fact that the baby can't be delivered early as its dangerous for her. midwife has said that they will look at doing a plan  at 34 weeks. which will probably be wait till 40 weeks. all i want is answers as i am now fed up of being in and out of hospital with no idea where the paion is coming from.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Some cramps are expected in pregnancy due to hormonal changes, gas, constipation etc. If you have a tipped or retroverted uterus then this can also cause pain. It can also be due to infection. Any sharp pain in the abdomen can be due to gas, threatened abortion, infection or due to unrelated causes such as kidney or gall bladder stones.
In your case since it has been happening for last so many weeks, it must be gas. Watch what you eat and keep a log and see if what you eat is related to the appearance of pain. Some food items cause more gas formation than others. Take care!

[Catnip603]

Baby's head pressing down on the cervix can cause intense pain.  Does changing your position help the pain at all?  When I had this type of cervical pain, resting with my legs and hips elevated helped because I think it shifted baby's position.

[geminigirl1963]

I'm not sure about the other pains that you're having, but some of your abdominal pain and feeling sick could be from the amount of paracetamol (acetaminophen) that you're taking.   500mg x 10 tablets a day equals 5,000 mg of acetaminophen, which is 1,000mg OVER the maximum daily dose.

You also need to double check and make sure that your codeine phosphate does not have added acetaminophen in it - it sometimes does (or can).  The codeine itself can also cause stomach pains and an ill feeling.

I wish you the best of luck and a happy, healthy baby!