Mittelschmerz

A bit of TMI here:

What’s mittelschmerz? It’s German for “middle pain”. It’s also the pain some women (nearly 20%) feel in their abdomen’s when they’re ovulating, that’s releasing an egg from one of their ovaries. I wanted to post about it, because some people don’t believe me when I say I’m ovulating. I totally know when I’m ovulating because I can feel it. Ouchies. It hurts. Ovulation pain can range from a mild twinge to severe discomfort and usually lasts from minutes to hours. In some cases, a small amount of vaginal bleeding or discharge may occur. Some women also experience nausea during painful ovulation, especially if the pain is severe. Thank goodness I’m not THAT bad. I’d be pissed to high hell if I bled or vomited every time I ovulated!

According to Wikipedia:

Mittelschmerz is believed to have a variety of causes:

* Follicular swelling: The swelling of follicles in the ovaries prior to ovulation. While only one or two eggs mature to the point of being released, a number of follicles grow during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle (non-dominant follicles atrophy prior to ovulation). Because follicles develop on both sides, this theory explains mittelschmerz that occurs simultaneously on both sides of the abdomen.

* Ovarian wall rupture: The ovaries have no openings; at ovulation the egg breaks through the ovary’s wall. This may make ovulation itself painful for some women.

* Fallopian tube contraction: After ovulation, the fallopian tubes contract (similar to peristalsis of the esophagus), which may cause pain in some women.

* Smooth muscle cell contraction: At ovulation, this pain may be related to smooth muscle cell contraction in the ovary as well as in its ligaments. These contractions occur in response to an increased level of prostaglandin F2-alpha, itself mediated by the surge of leutinizing hormone (LH).

* Irritation: At the time of ovulation, blood or other fluid is released from the ruptured egg follicle. This fluid may cause irritation of the abdominal lining.

Whatever the cause, this shit is not cute. Standing up hurts. Not debilitating pain, but enough to make me pause and say “ho, sit down.” So yeah, maybe the baby shower I went to today got my hormones going and caused my ovarian wall to rupture. Je ne sais pas.

I like the word “mittelschmerz” tho. It sounds like something you should say when giving a toast!

Flight

Flew to NC yesterday. Plane was packed and I sat in the very last seat, got the window at least. There was a little boy sitting next to me. His sister was in the opposite window seat and his dad was a couple of rows up. Some flight engineer or whoever (basically some negro in an orange reflective vest) boards the back of the plane and messes with some switches. He turns to the little boy and says “You’re not scared to fly alone?” The boy just shakes his head, “no.” Dude: “I’m scared to fly, I know that.” Kid: silence. Dude: “Supposed to be a lot of turbulence up there today.” This he says loud enough for the last 5 rows of the plane to hear.

What the fuck, man? I’m not afraid to fly at all, but a lot of people are. What kind of dick tells people on the plane that there’s turbulence and imply that they should be afraid? Especially when talking to a little kid? PARTICULARLY when you appear to be a person who would be privy to flight information! Ugh.

I used to like flying but now I don’t. Why? It’s not because of all the security hoops you have to go through, although I do suggest they put some seats at the end of the security check so you can put your shoes back on with some dignity and ease. I’m pissed because while flying on US Airways, I had to pay $15 to check my bag! They’re also charging $2 for sodas and juice! Okay. I know what the economy is like and it must be ridic to fill up a plane with gas. HOWEVER, I’m not going to fly your airline if you keep charging me for simple shit. I usually fly Southwest when I go to NC but I booked late and the available times didn’t work for me. Southwest doesn’t make you pay for that stuff. Really? Pay for my single bag?