severe and painful bladder spasms

[katleen]

Two days ago, I experienced extreme and painful (what I think) bladder spasms. These spasms or contractions occured every 40 seconds and lasted for about 10 seconds. The spasms were extremely painful, shooting to the left side of my left breast and into my cervix. It was excruciating. Massaging the area only made it worse, it was only after an hour of placing hot packs and taking a painkiller (Nurofen 200 mg) that the spasms subsided, although I can still feel slight spasms.

I have a mass growing on the outside of the bladder and is believed by doctors to be endometriosis. Since I am trying to conceive (at age 35), my fertility specialist has suggested to hold of on any surgery to remove this mass and focus on getting pregnant.

I was wondering if I should seek medical help and whether I would need to reconsider the urgency of having this mass removed.

Any suggestions?

[Dr J Singh]

Hi,
I suggest you not to worry about the problems of contrast. They are more worrisome for those who have renal dysfunction. Contrast CT scan is important as it helps in delineating the lesion properly and can give a better idea about the extent of the lesion within the lumen of the organ (bladder). Please don’t worry as the modern day contrasts are water soluble and shouldn’t cause any problem in your case. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care.

[katleen]

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I went to see a urologist yesterday to make sure my bladder was fine. He initially thought the spasms could have been caused by stones and he ordered an ultrasound and urine test. Both came back negative for stones.

From the ultrasound, it seemed that this mass was still very close or even inside the bladder wall. The urologist ordered a CT scan (both the normal one and one with contrast dye), to pinpoint the exact location of the mass.

I have never undergone a CT scan, and the one with the contrast dye really worries me, especially after reading some of the possible sensations, side-effects and risks of injecting the dye. Why did the urologist order both the normal CT scan AND the one with contrast dye? What are the benefits of the CT scan with contrast dye compared to an MRI? I really do not like the idea of them injecting me with some kind of dye especially when I read and hear that this is not without any risks.

I am looking forward to some words of advice, as I am too nervous to make an appointment for the CT scans just yet.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hi,
The spasms of pain which you are going through are possibly due to endometriosis only. Endometriosis can create several problems not only in conception but also in the continuation of pregnancy. In my opinion, if there’s a major lesion of endometriosis which is troubling so much, then it needs to be surgically ablated and you need to be on some medication after that to keep the endometriosis under control before thinking of  getting pregnant. Please do take an opinion from another gynecologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care.