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!