To say that I have finally experienced the dreaded arse daggers?!

[Confrontayshunme]

You tried to warn me, MN, but in all my nearly 40 years, I have never felt anything like it. To quote Supt. Hastings "Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee donkey!"

Was trying to supervise 20 children and thought I would scream or fall down and actually writhe on the floor. I did feel like I was being stabbed, so at least the name is right.

Honestly, I almost asked a coworker to cover for me, but I thought she would laugh if I said I was dying and my bum hurt.

Then, 10 of the longest minutes of my life later and they just stopped. What the hell?! Will they come back every time I have a period? Why now at almost 40?

I have so many questions and the internet is not helping.

Give me your worst arse dagger stories...

Javelin Arse 😂 brilliant name!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who gets this! It's such a random pain - I also find I just curl up and wait for it to go away! Luckily mine only ever last for a minute or two but it feels like a bloody lifetime! For those of you who it lasts longer for...I sympathise!!

Javelin arse. Fanny daggers. Don't know which is worse.

One positive - no longer happens after menopause [to me anyway!].

#menopauseftw

I had a whole 27 hours of shooting up my bum pain with my first labour, totally different with my second thankfully.

I get these occasionally and I have discovered (from reading it on MN) that it helps to get into a downward facing dog yoga position. It does help but it’s hard to explain in the office.

I feel like I should preface this by saying that I had a pitocin induced precipitous back to back birth with my first, and while javelin arse wasn't as bad, I sure wished I had gas and air.

I've never heard of anything like it before.

Omg.. yes.. random bum dagger pain. Labour is nothing compared to it and I've had two!

@Namechangedandoverwhelmed

I have only ever heard of this on MN and I live in fear of experiencing it.

What if it happens in a meeting / at work? It sounds like you would need to leave the room? Can you even walk? How do you make it go away?!

So many questions 😳

Ah javelin arse. It’s.The.Pits. I used to get it fairly regularly until I had a Mirena fitted.

@Namechangedandoverwhelmed

It’s honestly the worst! It’s debilitating when it happens. It feels like a hot poker. I’ve been driving before and lost the use of my leg temporarily. Luckily it was my left one!

Oh wow I didn’t realise other people had this!

I get this (not since having a baby oddly). But I used to stand up ramrod straight, shuffle in circles and go AHhhAaaahhhhhHhhaaaaa til it stopped. Like a panicked penguin.

God I've found my tribe. I've had these pains for years. I'm well in the menopause and although they aren't so frequent I do still get them. Only ever had them in bed and (obviously) woken up in agony. I can barely breathe through it. I'd love to know what it is. I get several attacks for a few weeks then nothing for ages. I get up, walk about, stretch, curl up but nothing helps. Then it stops. My mum's friend suffers from this and she keeps icepops for this very reason. My sympathies to those of you who get them at work

I get this too! About once a month around period time, only starting happening since i had the coil fitted?!
Never could figure out how and why it happens, can anyone explain? I’ve never been diagnosed with endometriosis, have had an ovarian cyst that was removed during my last c section.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh. . I’ve been having pains like this on my period but assumed it was my menstrual cup moving about. Perhaps I was mistaken?

I have a Mirena, still get it. I was so happy the first time I read about it on MN, thought it was just me before.

Javelin Arse describes it perfectly. I got it every period when in peri.
I found, eventually, that shuffling to the loo and trying to do a massive poo (while gripping the edges hard) and bearing down sort of gets rid of it quicker.
It stopped as suddenly as it started and I've not had one in years now, but for me definitely period related.

I honestly thought you were talking about haemorrhoids and I was going to reverse brag that I've had them on and off since I went to Egypt at 25 and got food poisoning.

Nope, no idea what 'javelin arse' is, but you have my sympathies. Is it a bit like 'lightening crotch'? I had that during my pregnancies. It felt like a sudden stab to the cervix.

@Divebar2021

Ohhhhhhhhhhh. . I’ve been having pains like this on my period but assumed it was my menstrual cup moving about. Perhaps I was mistaken?

I thought the same, as I've only had it since using the cup.

@Tiddlywinkly

I honestly thought you were talking about haemorrhoids and I was going to reverse brag that I've had them on and off since I went to Egypt at 25 and got food poisoning.

Nope, no idea what 'javelin arse' is, but you have my sympathies. Is it a bit like 'lightening crotch'? I had that during my pregnancies. It felt like a sudden stab to the cervix.

Ooo is that what that is? Am only 6 weeks but feel like getting this!

Ditto so glad I'm not alone in this and loving the humour in this thread lol

Thankfully it's never happened during the day but it's horrendous waking up with this kinda pain 🙈

The worst time it's ever happened to me is after sex/masturbation lol and the only correlation I've noticed is eating too much junk food so for me I have a feeling it might be undiagnosed IBS

I find taking Buscopan helps when javelin arse decides to inflict itself. It is quite possible one of the worst things ever to experience. As much as you try to relax it’s nigh on impossible feeling like your arse has been inpaled!

Ok so I have been woken in the night three times, in the last couple of years, with a pain in my anus. Bad enough to wake me.
I find it goes if I sit on the loo.
Is this what you mean ?

I'm so glad its not me! in my 40's too. on my period I get bad javelin arse.
Its breath takingly painful and I have been known to writhe about in wordless agony. Not knowing when they will strike is the worst. Is it a fart? Nope its 5 seconds of paralyzing pain that is so intense you daren't move for fear your lungs will fall out your arsehole!

Aparently its very common. The only thing I've found to help ease it is to go for a poo. even just a wee nugget or a fart can help. Plus one can writhe in peace.

Aging is not fun.

Proctalgia fugax - random spasms of the smooth muscles around the anus. Buscopan is designed to stop smooth muscle spasms, usually those associated with IBS, but once you've swallowed the tablet it can't tell one smooth muscle from another so stops the anal spasms too.

It's only supposed to last a couple of minutes, but I can get it for half an hour at a time so I always have the tablets handy even though it only happens 2 or 3 times a year.

This is a good explanation of why it happens though I have no idea if the treatment they are flogging (in Australia) works.

I'm a GP. Funnily enough, as far as I can remember, I have only ever had male patients see me about proctalgia fugax, though maybe this is because women just assume it's something they have to live with? In men, anyway, it usually seems to go along with constipation, so treating that is what I usually try first.

My husband started getting this a couple of years ago during a particularly stressful time at work. It never happened during the day but he was waking in the night in agony. I did a bit of googling at the time and found this article about it. It's called Proctalgia Fugax

drcarolyndean.com/2013/05/rectal-pain-and-magnesium/

He takes a magnesium supplement before bed most nights and so far it's done the trick for him.