Rock hard tummy?

smallanimal

Lately I noticed a few times that my tummy goes very hard and uncomfortable.  Might this be braxton hicks?  Most of the time comes with a little lower back pain too. Is it just me?
 
I have been told by a friend that I should take magnesium to ease the discomfort.  In some countries it's actually the norm to take about 500mgs.  My doctor is noncommittal, she says it cant hurt.  Do any of you take extra magnesium?

Taylor72

The hard stomach thing sounds like BH to me. My dr said to make sure I'm well hydrated and empty my bladder often and it should help. 

Dannylion24

I used to get that a lot I previous pregnancies. Was always told it's normal. I took magnesium last time, but it was for leg cramps. 

smallanimal

I took some magnesium in the morning, seems to be better now, but not sure if it is connected.  Weird discomfort!

MWoodside

Like just sometimes? If yes, BH. I do not take extra magnesium b/c it can lead to loose stools.

smallanimal

Yes, only sometimes.  Right now it's fine.  Magnesium = loose stools? wahoooo, bring it on!

kitkat8387

I was having a lot of Braxton Hicks for a while there and came across the suggestion online to take magnesium. My doctor said it wouldn't help but I definitely feel that it has! It hasn't caused loose stools for me but that might be because without it I was pretty constipated, so it's balancing itself out lol

Magheeta

I've been having trouble staying hydrated lately and have been experiencing a lot of BH - including the tight stomach. I'll have to try the magnesium to see if it helps. Thanks for posting this!

SnarkasaurusRex

Agreed, it sounds like BH to me. With DS and with this one I never notice them unless I am touching my stomach (so I don't feel it when they happen like some others do), but they do tend to be more frequent when I get dehydrated.

My OB never mentioned magnesium for BH, but she did for cramps and Charlie horses.

chelle087

I also agree that it sounds like BH.  I have had them with both of my pregnancies and agree with others that hydration is key and I also tend to get them more if my bladder is full.  Sometimes they wake me up at night when I need to go to the bathroom.

lovelongdog06

I had a ton of Braxton Hicks with DS. They worried me so much I ended up in my midwife's office to be checked but all was fine. Some women have "irritable uterus". I'm not sure if I qualify or not.

smoochie041719

Glad you started this post! I've been noticing them here and there, especially when my bladder is full and I've been wondering if they were BH. Most of the time I only notice them if I touch my bump when it's happening. They are mostly painless tightening for me.  

cafedisco

lovelongdog06 said:

I had a ton of Braxton Hicks with DS. They worried me so much I ended up in my midwife's office to be checked but all was fine. Some women have "irritable uterus". I'm not sure if I qualify or not.

I was officially diagnosed with irritable uterus last time.  It would have been funny if it wasn't so uncomfortable.

But yes, totally normal @smallanimal.  But of course, take note if they become regular (even if they don't cause pain) and close together.  Still likely just dehydration or you need to rest, but that would warrant a call. 

HGRich

Mine occur so frequently, though never regularly, that I wonder if I have irritable uterus. But I also may be exaggerating the idea of "frequent" as a FTM. A dozen times a day, at least. It is uncomfortable but not painful. 

cafedisco

@HGRich I have no idea if this matters but mine always hurt with my first, but they were frequent like yours - often becoming regular.  Luckily, they are less painful so far this time. 

HGRich

@cafedisco mine just feel like a tight squeeze, so not painful. But I do plan to keep track of them. They've never come more than three in an hour that I recall. Still, I plan to ask about it at my next appointment. Glad yours aren't so bad with this one! 

Nolegirl1185

@smallanimal  I can't say much about BH as I think I have only experienced it one time.  But I do take 300mg of Magnesium daily.  I was told to take it for leg cramps, sciatica, and the meralgia parasthetica and I'm so glad I started it.  I haven't been experiencing RLS nearly as often, and I have only had one bad episode of the meralgia parasthetica since starting the Magnesium a month ago.  As for the loose stool, I haven't noticed that, but I'm also on an iron supplement for anemia which causes constipation so I think they just cancel each other out. 

smallanimal

@Nolegirl1185  I am now on 640mg for two days. In some countries pregnant women are told to take 500mg magnesium from month 4-8, actually!  Hoping it will help.  What is your RLS? 

@HGRich   Mines are not short at all.. sometimes the tummy goes hard for about ten minutes or even longer.  But does not happen very frequently, or at least I dont notice it that much? Might it be that mines are not BH but something different?  How long does yours go on for? Mines are not at all painful just uncomfortable, especially when standing up. 

HGRich

@smallanimal I've kind of stopped paying attention to how long because they happen so much. Haha. But 2-10 minutes seems about right. An average instance I'd say where I know I'm dehydrated but don't want to drink a bunch of water before bed could get me two or three contractions an hour lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to an average of 7-8 minutes. But ten minutes or longer I've had too. My uterus also goes rock hard for nearly an hour after (our awkward and uncomfortable attempts at) sex. I would say, if you know you're dehydrated or your bladder is full and your uterus goes rock hard, empty your bladder, have some water, and rest. If they fade away that means it's definitely BH. At least from what I've researched and heard. 

Nolegirl1185

@smallanimal RLS is restless leg syndrome.  Typically magnesium is for leg cramps like Charley horses but I don't have those (knock on wood), but the RLS is crappy.  It's pain in the legs that causes the need to constantly move them.  It was keeping me awake to the point I couldn't lay in bed, I had to be walking around.  Turns out I can't sleep walk so I wasn't getting any sleep lol

MWoodside

My BH have been happening a ton today! Before today I'd notice it just a few times per day. Today it's been all day long.

smallanimal

Tummy update:  BH is much better since I have been taking magnesium.  I recommend it to everyone.  Currently taking 360mgs a day and seems to work wonders.  Disclaimer:  my doctor said i can only take it up to the end of month 8, so passing the advice on.

BecNJake

I started getting BH contractions since initially reading this post. I didn't recognize them at first because they feel different than during my last pregnancy. I'm wondering if it is because part of my lower abdomen is numb/ decreased sensation after my c-section in AUG 2015. Anyone else have that experience? My midwives said after your first baby you may have an increase in early contractions anyway because the body knows what to do and may practice early (as long as they are not regular and consistent, they said it's ok for me to just put my feet up, drink some water and wait it out). The BH contractions are more painful this time although the sensation isn't all there, I think I'm carrying this baby a lot lower. Feeling for you mama's dealing with them and I'm gonna take your advice and try magnesium!

Nolegirl1185

@smallanimal may I ask why you were told you couldn't take magnesium after the end of the 8th month?  I've been taking it for awhile now and was never told that.  Just curious, I don't want to create any harm!

chelle087

@BecNJake I have been having BH for a while now (they started way earlier than my first) and I also feel like I am carrying a lot lower. I am having a lot of muscle pain in my lower belly and just find it difficult to believe that this baby is going to stay put for 12 more weeks!

Magheeta

Checking in, too. My BH have slowed down a lot since I've been drinking more pedialite and gatorade. I still have them occasionally, but not nearly as often or severe as before. 

smallanimal

@Nolegirl1185   My doctor said its main function is to relax muscles and ease contractions.  She reckons that towards the end, it can suppress real contractions and potentially slow down any potential labour, or worse, might make you not notice real labour contractions.  Hence the advice of stopping it when we get to 36-37 weeks.  She didnt specifically say that it would cause harm, but she confirmed that in a lot of countries including hers (she is German) you actually prescribe it from 3-4 months to 8 months and every pregnant woman takes it like this. 

Nolegirl1185

@smallanimal wow!  Good to know, thanks for the info!  Looks like I will be stopping it around 36 weeks then

kitkat8387

@smallanimal thank you for the advice on the magnesium! It has helped me immensely despite my doctor saying it wouldn't, but since she didn't advise me to take it she didn't mention that I should stop at any time. Just set myself a reminder to stop at 36 weeks!

HGRich

I may be joining you all on the magnesium too. Last night I had 12 in an hour and a half, some of them six minutes apart until lying down and drinking water slowed them to ten and then fifteen minutes apart and then they went away. While I knew I wasn't in labor because they didn't hurt, it still freaked me out a little and I've decided I'm not a fan! Up until last night their frequency didn't bother me, but that was too much for my taste. Ugh. 

Koukonei

I'm going to try not to freak anyone out here, please forgive me if I do! I've had a full term birth in the past and my signs of premature labour were so slight and even at the very end right before I started pushing, my contractions never hurt with the twins. Just felt like Braxton hicks. If you ever feel like something is "off" (tightening not going away or coming fairly regularly, mucus discharge, etc.) Please for the love of God, get checked. I'm not trying to scare any of you, but I felt almost normal and thought I was bring paranoid. My kids would not be here if I had ignored that feeling of feeling weird and not gone in. My 2 symptoms when I went in were that my belly felt a bit hard and lower and I was having increased cervical mucus.

HGRich

@Koukonei don't worry--you're not! That's why I was timing them last night actually, to see if they increased in frequency and intensity. But they did go away and now I know what my body is doing. But I also didn't have any increased mucus or any other changes. But I know it's always a possibility for anyone and don't plan on writing it off. 

HGRich

Ok well, I talked to a nurse today about DH's mono and the Braxton hicks and she chewed me out for not at least calling the on call doctor during the BH.  She said if I get five in an hour again, I need to go to L&D. Oops. I know I need to take it seriously but I really wasn't too concerned. I know this baby is important enough to go even if it is a false alarm, and even if I'd be going alone with DH sick. I just wish I had family in town so someone could go with me. As a FTM I may have a few false alarms. Who knows? Anyway, wanted to add that for any other FTMs with BH whose doctors haven't been terribly clear about procedure and expectations. Five an hour=L&D visit for mine! 

Magheeta

@HGRich - I don't know if this is any help, but when I had my weird BH episode (painful contractions for about an hour to hour and a half) I waited them out, too. It happened on a Saturday night and I didn't call my doctor's office until Monday morning. They weren't terribly concerned since there wasn't any discharge or bleeding, but they said I could have called the after-hours/emergency line. Maybe it's because I'm a STM? That was pretty much their reasoning for why it happened - my body is already used to the whole baby process and can act on overdrive? 

I'm glad you're okay now, and definitely listen to your doctor! I just wanted to share my experience in case it helps you feel less guilty for not going into L&D.

SnarkasaurusRex

My OB's official guideline for when to go to L&D with BH is anytime they become regular in interval and timing, even if they don't hurt. When I actually got to the hospital for my induction they told me that I was already in early labor, but I thought it was just BH since they didn't hurt (and I wasn't timing them since I knew I was headed to the hospital anyway, oops).

HGRich

@Magheeta thank you, that does help! Ha. 

@SnarkasaurusRex mine mentioned that too. That's another thing that confused me in that I was having so many but I couldn't predict it well. It did get shorter between them but was seven minutes then nine then six, etc. And she said their regularity or irregularity can help me know for sure. But she still wants me to call, and I'm ok with that! 

smallanimal

@kitkat8387  glad it's helping.  I actually took 640mg today because I was looking at a very long and difficult day and zero discomfort.  Won't take so much every day, but good to see it actually works..