Hi everyone — I’m trying to figure out if I should push for a second opinion or more imaging, and I’d really appreciate input from anyone who’s been through something similar.
Over the past year I’ve been tracking symptoms, and there’s a consistent pattern:
Pelvic pain (both dull and occasional sharp, often right-sided)
Low back/posterior pelvic pain
Bloating/fullness in my lower abdomen (sometimes visibly distended)
Spotting even though I have a Kyleena IUD (placed March 2021 and second one placed december 2024)
Bowel symptoms that flare at the same time as pelvic pain:
Alternating constipation and sudden-onset diarrhea
Rectal cramps right before bowel movements
Occasional bright red blood with bowel movements
Intermittent left-sided sciatica/leg pain that sometimes lines up with pelvic flares
Even before I got the IUD, i always had extremely painful and heavy periods with clotting. the pain would have me bed ridden in fetal position and medicine barely eased the pain. i got on the IUD to help with symptoms in the first place.
The key thing is that a lot of these symptoms happen together in waves once a month, almost like a cycle, even though I don’t get regular periods because of my IUD.
I recently saw my gynecologist and had a pelvic ultrasound, which came back normal. there was a small dermoid cyst i will follow up on in 6 months. He said the sciatica or low back pain could be referred pain or from the IUD pressing on my uterus while it’s contracting from cramps. He doesn’t typically order a pelvic MRI unless something shows up on ultrasound even though endometriosis doesn’t show up on ultrasounds. I am an MRI tech and we scan endo pelvis protocols with jelly where I work which helps see the lesions better.
has anyone else experienced these symptoms with a normal ultrasound and should i get a second opinion? The key thing is that a lot of these symptoms happen together in waves, almost like a cycle, even though I don’t get regular periods because of my IUD. i am glad the ultrasound came back normal but my gut is telling me something is still wrong because of the gynecologic and GI symptoms.
I recently saw my gynecologist and had a pelvic ultrasound, which came back normal. He said the pain could be referred pain or from the IUD and suggested repeating the ultrasound in 6 months. He doesn’t typically order a pelvic MRI unless something shows up on ultrasound. for people with these symptoms, what did your work up look like and should i get a second opinion? thanks so much!