Mittleschmerz: My Experience with Pain During Ovulation

Mittleschmerz (Mid-Cycle Menstrual Pain) was a nightmare for me. It started when I was only 12 years old. My poor mother didn't know how to handle my horrific outbreaks that occurred monthly, almost to the day. At that age it was so difficult to explain the type of pain I was experiencing. I would just roll over in bed in a fetal position and cry for hours the weird part of it was that in about 6 hours the pain would just disappear so I am not sure if anyone could figure out what caused this. I went to a pediatrician that diagnosed me with constipation I was given mineral oil daily, but the pain would still come on time every month. But I did have normal bowel movements yippee for me.

After years of mom and I dealing with my monthly egg eruption causing me to seclude myself in a corner of my room in tears we finally went to see a gynecologist. Now at the age of 15 after having an ultrasound I was told that I had a cyst on my ovary and that this was my cause of the monthly monster. Wrong again! After having a laparoscopic procedure and with no real proof of the cause of my pain I was placed on birth control pills. This seemed to help for about a year or two until I started to get nauseas from being on the "pill." Now at the age of 18 I decide I will stop using birth control and to no surprise knowing what I know now my monthly ovulation pains had returned.

Still not knowing that this is what is called mittleschmerz, which merely means pain during ovulation I endure more surgery. Simple, but not so simple because I now take myself to the emergency room with one of my disastrous episodes and with no further testing I have an appendectomy to then be told my appendix appeared normal and that I should go home and rest.

Now older, married and pregnant my pains have disappeared for 9 whole months. I never felt better until my first menstrual cycle after giving birth. The nightmare begins all over. Finally getting better in explaining my symptoms I went back to the gynecologist. I explained exactly what I was feeling which happened to be a textbook description of mid-cycle sharp pain lasting for several hours occurring every single month which does happen to get relieved with ibuprofen as I had become a master in trying to control the ache. I was diagnosed with mittleschmerz. Oh what a relief I wasn't crazy after all. I learned to time my ovulation and treat myself before the pains were too severe to cope with.