Pudendal and/or Posterior Femoral Cutaneous nerve problems?
Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:28 pm
Hello, everyone! Here's my story. I would greatly appreciate any insight that you may have regarding my problems.
In January 2017, after a short bout of harder-than-normal BMs, I got a superficial fissure, internal hemorrhoids, and some bizarre pain that would radiate into my left butt cheek and down into my left thigh. My first CRS successfully treated the fissure with nifedipine, but my pain didn’t improve. He figured that I had a hidden fissure and recommended Botox, but I didn’t agree with the recommendation (or like him much, for that matter) so I got a new CRS.
The new CRS treated my internal hemorrhoids with infrared coagulation, but was puzzled as to why I still had pains because he could see that they had shrunk. I could direct him to the exact location of pain in my anus, but he said there was nothing there. He figured it was a muscle problem and sent me to PT for biofeedback.
My PT decided that my problem was due to hip misalignment and tight pelvic muscles and recommended exercises, self-dilation, and sphincter muscle stretching. This helped reduce the radiating pain, but not the pain during or after BMs. I also developed an intense stinging or burning pain in my anus after BMs that could last anywhere from minutes to 8 hours.
I was still bleeding, so my CRS treated the hemorrhoids a second time. I no longer bleed and rarely have pain during a BM, but the intense stinging or burning pain afterwards is still there.
After reading about pelvic nerve problems, particularly with the pudendal and posterior femoral cutaneous, I’m convinced that that is the main source of my pain. Some urinary changes that I’ve had also seem to be possibly associated with those nerve.
The pain seems to move and change its form. It is usually only one of the following:
1. Stabbing, stinging or burning pain slightly inside the anus on the left side that is triggered and aggravated by BMs, walking, sitting normally, or bending. Can also feel like a thumbtack, a small rock, or a cocklebur.
2. Feels like someone is pinching me hard between my leg and anus.
3. Moves more left into my left butt cheek. Feels like a muscle cramp.
4. Moves down my leg into my thigh. Also like a cramp.
The PT (self-dilation and sphincter stretching) reduced the incidence of 3 and 4.
Other symptoms:
- When there is no pain, it can still feel like something is hanging out of my anus.
- Sometimes it feels similar to the feeling of a sensitive tooth.
- Sometimes I just feel a tickle inside the anal canal.
- The area around the left sit bone is always sore. Massaging it or applying cold makes it worse.
Other weird symptoms:
- Rectal exams seem to make it feel a little better for about a day.
- If I lie down and lift my left leg for a while, the pain can subside somewhat or completely. Putting a small pillow under my left thigh while sitting helps.
- Swimming seems to help. I never feel discomfort while doing it.
- Passing gas usually takes away the pain for a few moments.
- Grabbing my right butt cheek and pulling it outward slightly (spreading the cheeks) usually gets rid of any sharp-ish pain temporarily.
- When I quit taking morning sitz baths, my condition got worse.
- Sometimes it hurts to pee (occasionally very intensely). Sometimes it’s difficult to keep the urine stream going and I need a “restart”.
- In early 2017, I had intense rectal cramp-like pain with sexual arousal. That condition slowly improved over time to only happening during sex. It is now mostly gone.
Thanks for reading my huge wall of text.
In January 2017, after a short bout of harder-than-normal BMs, I got a superficial fissure, internal hemorrhoids, and some bizarre pain that would radiate into my left butt cheek and down into my left thigh. My first CRS successfully treated the fissure with nifedipine, but my pain didn’t improve. He figured that I had a hidden fissure and recommended Botox, but I didn’t agree with the recommendation (or like him much, for that matter) so I got a new CRS.
The new CRS treated my internal hemorrhoids with infrared coagulation, but was puzzled as to why I still had pains because he could see that they had shrunk. I could direct him to the exact location of pain in my anus, but he said there was nothing there. He figured it was a muscle problem and sent me to PT for biofeedback.
My PT decided that my problem was due to hip misalignment and tight pelvic muscles and recommended exercises, self-dilation, and sphincter muscle stretching. This helped reduce the radiating pain, but not the pain during or after BMs. I also developed an intense stinging or burning pain in my anus after BMs that could last anywhere from minutes to 8 hours.
I was still bleeding, so my CRS treated the hemorrhoids a second time. I no longer bleed and rarely have pain during a BM, but the intense stinging or burning pain afterwards is still there.
After reading about pelvic nerve problems, particularly with the pudendal and posterior femoral cutaneous, I’m convinced that that is the main source of my pain. Some urinary changes that I’ve had also seem to be possibly associated with those nerve.
The pain seems to move and change its form. It is usually only one of the following:
1. Stabbing, stinging or burning pain slightly inside the anus on the left side that is triggered and aggravated by BMs, walking, sitting normally, or bending. Can also feel like a thumbtack, a small rock, or a cocklebur.
2. Feels like someone is pinching me hard between my leg and anus.
3. Moves more left into my left butt cheek. Feels like a muscle cramp.
4. Moves down my leg into my thigh. Also like a cramp.
The PT (self-dilation and sphincter stretching) reduced the incidence of 3 and 4.
Other symptoms:
- When there is no pain, it can still feel like something is hanging out of my anus.
- Sometimes it feels similar to the feeling of a sensitive tooth.
- Sometimes I just feel a tickle inside the anal canal.
- The area around the left sit bone is always sore. Massaging it or applying cold makes it worse.
Other weird symptoms:
- Rectal exams seem to make it feel a little better for about a day.
- If I lie down and lift my left leg for a while, the pain can subside somewhat or completely. Putting a small pillow under my left thigh while sitting helps.
- Swimming seems to help. I never feel discomfort while doing it.
- Passing gas usually takes away the pain for a few moments.
- Grabbing my right butt cheek and pulling it outward slightly (spreading the cheeks) usually gets rid of any sharp-ish pain temporarily.
- When I quit taking morning sitz baths, my condition got worse.
- Sometimes it hurts to pee (occasionally very intensely). Sometimes it’s difficult to keep the urine stream going and I need a “restart”.
- In early 2017, I had intense rectal cramp-like pain with sexual arousal. That condition slowly improved over time to only happening during sex. It is now mostly gone.
Thanks for reading my huge wall of text.