> Descriptions of Irritable Uterus

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Most IU sufferers state that their contractions may or may not show up on a toco monitor.  Sometimes the painful contractions they feel don’t show up but the ones they don’t feel at all/have no idea they are having do show up!  Despite these aggravating contradictory readings, most people with IU do report that their docs notice some at least low level of “constant activity” on the toco, as if their uteri are in a perpetual state of grumbling – in this way “irritable uterus” is a very apt name for the condition.

• Braxton Hicks – regular or irregular, but, in general, more than 5 an hour and they onset in a frequent/regular fashion before you are full-term (can go on regularly for 1-3 hours at a time or more)
• A constantly tight belly, which feels like one constant Braxton Hicks, may be harder/tighter when standing or walking, can last for 10 minutes to an hour or more
• Regular or irregular painful contractions that feel like “the real thing” – cause real fear that cervical change may be happening, can be accompanied by cervical pain or pressure

• …my uterus gets hard right away and continues to tighten more and more until I can't even stand up straight. I can't be up for more than 10 minutes at a stretch and walking anywhere other than around my house is out of the question. It gets so tight my back is killing me from hunching over. It's weird cuz the upper part of my uterus sometimes will stay soft! Anyway I just have to sit down for relief, and sometimes only laying down helps. It feels like someone is forcing a large rock into my guts! Even rolling over in bed can bring it on, as well as needing to go to the bathroom and even baby movements. – Ann
• …only a small portion of your uterus will tighten. sometimes only half or even smaller will tighten, but can do so regularly – Kris
• …my uterus frequently just “balls up”
• …too many or too constant of contractions to be able to count how many come in an hour
• like menstrual cramps that don't as much come and go but just linger – Shannon
• … a constant tight belly when I'm standing or sitting, so when I say bad contractions, I mean ones kind of "under the tightness" that hurt – Shannon
• …my contractions have been ten minutes round the clock every day. Half of them I have menstrual cramps with and the other half are so constricting I have to breathe through them. – Lisa

• Some people feel nauseas while contracting
• Some have felt intermittent menstrual cramp-type pain and/or lower back pain (which are also signs of preterm labor)
• People most commonly feel the most/strongest contractions in the evening/nighttime -some think it is because hormone levels are supposedly highest at this time. Conversely, in the morning (when hormone levels are supposedly the lowest) many experience the least amount of pain/contractions.
• Sometimes you feel the contractions the worst when you are active, other times, they are not bad then but, instead, they kick in bad a few hours or a day later as “payback” for overexerting yourself.