Irritable Uterus

emonforte4

I had a false alarm last night at L&D because of leaking and irregular but painful contractions and the doctor determined that I have irritable uterus. The leaking ended up not being amniotic fluid, but since I had more than 5 painful contractions within the hour that I was there and my cervix has made no progress, they sent me home but didn't tell me much about irritable uterus. Has anyone dealt with this or is anyone dealing with this now? What do you do to keep the contractions at bay?

Everyusernameistaken

I had an irritable uterus with my last pg (starting around 20 something weeks). The contractions were not too painful but I would have 20+ an hour sometimes, resulting in lots of trips to l+d and lots of u/s to determine if cervix was closed (it was). I also took a few febrile fibronectin (sp?) tests to check for preterm labour.

Activity really aggravated it and I ended up off work/pelvic rest for 2 months. Baby ended up coming right on time though, with no issues.

Good luck and keep us posted!

jodyen

 I have that now. Went to L&D Monday night and they kept me thinking I was going to have her. I was having regular strong contractions every 8 mins with some smaller ones in between. They kept me overnight. My ob came in did a sonogram and the baby is fine and told me I had a Irritable Uterus also. I am going to be 37 weeks tomorrow. Was told no sex, walking for more than 30 mins and basically to rest and not to overdo it. My contractions have gone down still have them about every 30-45 mins and just take tylone for the pain as needed. My doc and nurse said not much to do and that my body is just preparing for it and as long as the baby is fine for us not to worry about it. I hope this helps. 

emonforte4

Thanks for replying, ladies! I plan on moving my Friday appointment up to a closer date to see what my OB has to say about it and maybe get my membranes stripped to see if that might get things going. I've been drinking tons of water, resting but also keeping busy, and keeping track of LOs movements, but these contractions are just aggravating! Guess there's nothing much to do at this point but to hope they either go away or progress.

Everyusernameistaken

@sarahtrpt, I wouldn't worry about it too much . At 37 weeks my dr wasn't concerned because baby was full term. I was only put on rest when labour would have resulted in premature birth (20 something to 30 something weeks). Still, constant contractions are super annoying...asj your Dr if you need to go easy. Good luck!

emonforte4

I've been trying to find more information about it, but apparently not a lot of research has been done on it. I can see why; it's damn confusing! Hopefully we all find some relief from it and these contractions are making some sort of progress, at least. 

pigtails1031777

I have had with my past 2 pregnancies resulting in a 34 weeker and a 38 weeker. Had ptl with both girls. They don't know why it starts but if your cervix looks good than that's awesome! One that changes it's all down hill. GL

luvmybundle

i ended up staying in the hospital for 2 nights with very painful contractions due to an irritable uterus and degenerating fibroid.  i was really pissed because it took 3 trips to the er for them to do something to help me.  Drinking tons of water and tylenol was not helping and when they finally called my ob to let her know, she told them that maybe i wasn't dehydrated and they should actually try something else.  ended up getting indocin and the steroids in case i did go into labor, but my cervix stayed firm and tight.  i was 27 weeks at the time.  

emonforte4

I've pretty much been doing my best to ignore it because I can just tell it isn't the real deal. Called my OB this morning to see if they could move my appointment up, but unfortunately they can't so OB told me to just rest and stay hydrated. I've been taking my fur baby on more walks to try and help things progress maybe, but it hasn't done much. It actually hurts a lot less the more active I am so I suppose I'll just keep walking. @luvmybundle That is awful that it took them that many times to take you seriously and do something about it. I'd be pissed too! So glad you were able to keep your LO in to cook longer!

cmraj

I have it with this pregnancy, made a trip to L & D at 33 weeks, and my doctor put me on modified bed rest, I think taking it easy and drinking a lot of water has really helped. If your doc isn't seeing you at least once a week at this point they should be to make sure the contractions aren't causing a change in you cervix. There's also medication they can prescribe to stop contractions, but at least my doctor won't prescribe it after 34 weeks. Just try to take it easy and trust your body if something doesn't seem right. 

IBackBevo

I was given this diagnosis with my last pregnancy starting around 22 weeks. I would have regular, semi-painful contractions but I never dialated. I had to go on bedrest awhile. I found that getting dehydrated and physical activity made them worse. Usually, when they got bad, I would lay down for the rest of the day and drink a lot of water. Even though I don't think "irritable uterus" generally leads to anything, it was definitely very scary! Hugs to you!