Chronic pelvic pain and your vascular health

What Is Chronic Pelvic Pain?

Chronic pelvic pain that occurs because of venous disease (sometimes referred to as pelvic congestion syndrome) is often felt below the belly button in the pelvis. A number of conditions can cause chronic pelvic pain, including enlarged varicose veins in the ovaries and pelvis. In the pelvis, veins have one-way valves that help keep blood flowing toward your heart. If the valves are weak or damaged, blood can pool in your veins, which causes them to swell. When this happens near the pelvis, it is called pelvic venous disease (PeVD). Women with venous disease often experience pain during or following intercourse.

Pelvic venous disease usually affects women who have previously been pregnant because the ovarian and veins in the pelvis widened to accommodate the increased blood flow from the uterus during pregnancy. After the pregnancy, some of these veins remain enlarged and fail to return to their previous size, causing them to weaken, allowing blood to pool.

What are the causes of chronic pelvis pain?

Determining the cause of pelvic pain can be complicated because there are many possibilities:

• Pelvic venous disease (pelvic congestion syndrome)

• Uterine fibroids

• Kidney stones

• Infected appendix

• Endometriosis

• Ovarian cysts

• Other causes

A number of diagnostic tests can be performed through minimally invasive methods to determine whether your chronic pelvic pain is a result of pelvic varicose veins. These tests include:

• Pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound

• Pelvic venogram

• Computed tomography (CT)

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

“Bringing Experts Together for Unparalleled Vein and Vascular Care”

La Jolla Vein & Vascular (formerly La Jolla Vein Care) is committed to bringing experts together for unparalleled vein and vascular care.

Nisha Bunke, MD, Sarah Lucas, MD, and Elliot DeYoung, MD are specialists who combine their experience and expertise to offer world-class vascular care.

Our accredited center is also a nationally known teaching site and center of excellence.

For more information on treatments and to book a consultation, please give our office a call at 858-550-0330.

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