Ovulation usually does not have characteristic symptoms, all the sensations that a woman experiences during the release of an egg from the follicle on the surface of the gonad are subjective. Usually, the period after ovulation is not accompanied by a pronounced deterioration in well-being. What painful sensations, pain and discomfort after ovulation can talk about, this article will tell.
Why does my stomach hurt?
The stomach may start to ache during ovulation. And this in most cases has quite explainable physiological reasons. Firstly, the release of the egg is associated with a rupture of the follicle membrane, and this, albeit minimal, but still trauma. Secondly, the oviducts (fallopian tubes) begin to actively contract to ensure the advancement of the egg, which is large and clumsy in itself, unable to move on its own.
Complaints that the right or left side hurts, the uterus hurts, there are pulling pains, as with menstruation, usually have women with a low pain threshold, because the processes that occur during ovulation are microscopic and cannot be objectively felt by a woman. Therefore, various pains during ovulation are often an individual feature of the female body.
The main feature of the so-called "ovulatory syndrome" is the short duration of unpleasant sensations. Usually, with the end of ovulation, they also disappear. If the pain persists even after ovulation, there is nothing physiological and natural in this.
The reasons why pain can persist in the second phase of the menstrual cycle can be different.
The presence of a follicular cyst
It usually forms on the sex gland in the absence of rupture of the follicle in this or in one of the previous cycles. Pain after ovulation characteristically manifests itself and increases during physical activity, intercourse, when trying to dramatically change the position of the body in space. Physiological cyst can heal itself over time.
The danger lies in the likelihood of rupture of the cyst. A rupture can be indicated by the appearance of a sharp pain in the lower abdomen with an "echo" and "lumbago" in the right or left side (depending on which ovary is affected), in the rectum, the woman is tormented by an irresistible desire to empty the intestines.
Weakness grows, the woman may lose consciousness - with such symptoms, it is imperative to call an ambulance and take the patient to a gynecological hospital.
Inflammation of the appendages
The inflammatory process in the area of the appendages, if chronic, often manifests itself precisely after ovulation ends. It is possible that an attack of pain provokes hormonal surges characteristic of the ovulation period.
Adnexitis is accompanied by an increase in temperature, the discharge becomes abundant, slimy, with an unpleasant odor, often purulent. Medical help is required.
Ectopic pregnancy
Even before the delay, if the ovum is attached in the area of the fallopian tubes, a woman may pay attention to pulling, as with menstruation, pain. In fact, they are associated with a short-term tension of the smooth muscles of the oviducts, the innervation of which is partially disturbed by an embryo growing in the wrong place.
Typically, such pains appear 9-12 days after ovulation. It is reasonable to wait for the delay of menstruation, do the test... With an ectopic pregnancy, the stripes will be dimmer, but the test will still be positive. It is better to donate blood for hCG - when it rises, they talk about pregnancy, and if it does not correspond to the period of menstruation, an ectopic embryo attachment may be suspected.
Premenstrual syndrome
A very individual syndrome, which manifests itself in each in its own way. Abdominal pain shortly before menstruation is associated with the fact that a woman's hormonal background changes again.
Premenopausal period
With age, the ovarian reserve becomes more scarce, and the woman produces less and less sex hormones. Painful luteal (second) phase after 40 years is considered a sign of premenopausal changes, a signal that menopause is just around the corner. Additional symptoms - hot flashes, sweating, instability of the emotional and psychological state - also indicate age-related changes.
Embryo implantation
Some soreness in the lumbar region and lower abdomen, a feeling of fullness in the lower abdomen can accompany such a delicate and delicate process as embryo implantation. Usually it occurs a week after ovulation, it can be accompanied by implantation smearing blood secretions (no more than a day), discomfort is usually short-lived and takes no more time than the ovum takes to complete the process of attachment to the endometrium of the uterus - no more than 40 hours.
The painful sensations associated directly with ovulation continue after it for no more than two days. If unpleasant symptoms persist afterwards, you need to consult a doctor.
In the second phase of the menstrual cycle, progesterone acts on the woman's body, which produces the corpus luteum - a temporary gland formed at the site of the follicle rupture. Under its action, the muscles of the uterus soften to provide favorable conditions for the development of the embryo (and even if pregnancy has not occurred, progesterone works in the same way). But this sex hormone has a similar effect on the intestinal walls - they become more "lazy". Under the influence of progesterone, bloating, flatulence increases, the likelihood of constipation increases, which also causes discomfort in the abdomen.
Why do headaches appear?
Headaches before and after ovulation have different causes, only one thing in common between them - the matter is in hormones. Before ovulation, when estrogen first rises and then falls sharply at the time of the release of the oocyte, a spasm of the blood vessels of the brain occurs, and this is precisely what headaches are associated with within several hours after ovulation.
On the remaining days of the second half of the cycle, headaches may be associated with the action of progesterone. They in no way indicate the presence or absence of pregnancy. But under the influence of progesterone, both during the onset of pregnancy and outside of it, the head really hurts more often, the mood changes, and sleep disturbances appear.
Normally, such headaches are not associated with changes in blood pressure levels, do not affect the rhythm and nature of the heartbeat. If you find signs such as arrhythmia, heart pain, headaches associated with hypertension or hypotension, you should consult a physician. Such pain is not associated with ovulation.
Causes of other ailments
Sometimes women complain that their back hurts. In this case, you should consider options for pathologies that are not related to reproductive functions and ovulation as such. So, the lumbar region can bother against the background of kidney disease, with pathologies and injuries of the musculoskeletal system, some forms of muscle and other neuralgia.
Stomach pain should not be associated with ovulation - the process of release of the egg does not directly affect the work of the gastrointestinal tract, but under the influence of changes in the level of sex hormones, a slight violation of the tone of the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract is possible, and therefore a woman after the release of an egg may have complaints of heartburn, bloating, flatulence, which most women and formulated as "a stomach ache".
The tailbone, like the bones and ligaments of the pelvis, usually does not hurt, even if the probability of becoming pregnant was high and now the woman is looking forward to such a sign as an early one.
Pain in inaccurate localization (when a woman herself cannot really say where exactly she is experiencing unpleasant sensations) often occurs against the background of hormonal disruption - after the abolition of contraceptives and OC (oral contraceptives), also in this case, it is possible that ovulation will be absent for several months. and then the presence of tense follicles, which give the formation of a large corpus luteum.
Learn more about painful ovulation in the video below.
