core strengthening difficulty

I am very disappointed!  I stepped up my core workout, figuring no pain no gain, and now I am having a lot of upper abdominal pain which the nurse practitioner thinks is from excising too much!  It is weird because I can tell the exercise soreness in the lower abs, but the upper ab. pain/cramping I have now feels different from that.  It is also different from other pain I've experienced so far in my recovery.  I really took it easy on the abs at first, but I guess I got greedy.  I am so much closer than I've been in years to a healthy body that I don't want to wait any longer!!  I am about 10 weeks out.  I'd love to hear from people who are further along than me...how long before you could really work your abs?  

Patience, grasshopper! When I first started strength training, every part of my body hurt the next day. Since then, I'm only sore when I try to up the weight or intensity too much all at once. You want to work your muscles to the point of strengthening, not to the point of completely wearing them out. Try finding a happy medium between your previous core workout and the new intense version.