I know how hard it is to keep track of your many pelvic pain symptoms and then having to try to relay them to your doctor(s). It’s like trying to put a 1000 piece puzzle together within the 10 minutes you have with them. Impossible, right? Because of this, I created I simplified symptom tracker that has helped me visually see my symptom frequency and prominence as well as allowing me to find out if my symptoms are associated with my cycle.Read More »
“If my doctor’s had more knowledge in pain science or chronic pelvic pain, I’m sure they would have given me the treatment needed to help me find relief and try to prevent me from developing Central Sensitization . ”
If my math is right, I’ve been living with chronic pain for over 15 years. I started feeling pelvic pain symptoms (debilitating cramps, abnormal bleeding, Vulvodynia, chronic urinary tract infections, IBS) around 13 years old.
Read More »
In my late teens/early 20s I dealt a lot of pelvic pain and chronic urinary tract infections. You can read more about my story, here. No matter how much I tried to prevent pain or infections from returning, I would still get them. I was constantly battling pelvic pain and the most my doctor did was give me refills on antibiotics and continuously gave me the talk about “proper hygiene”. Not ever, did they want to explore other possibilities to why I was so susceptible to infections and pain. The “wipe front to back” speech got old, really fast. A few years into this pattern, and I unfortunately had a reaction to the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin, so I finally had enough and asked that I see a urologist.
Read More »
Chronic illness isn’t new to me. I grew up with an incredibly strong mother living with Lupus/Fibromyalgia/Arthritis. She even had both hips replaced at the same time! I know, what a badass right? One of the earliest memories I have, is trying to swing from my mom’s bed trapeze (the aid to help her sit up in bed). And quickly being told, sternly, that it was not a toy 😛. As a child, I saw glimpses of strength and resilience whenever my mom would walk without an aid, or walk instead of using a wheelchair at an amusement park. I saw my mom have good days and very bad days and because of that, I believe it contributed to developing the strong empathy I have towards others today.
Read More »