I’m Michelle – the face behind The Happy Pelvis. I live with chronic pelvic pain and had my symptoms dismissed and misdiagnosed for over 15 years.
I created The Happy Pelvis to be a resource to increase awareness, educate and support others who are going through their own pelvic pain or chronic illness journey.
What started as a creative outlet while on disability with chronic pelvic pain, has now grown into something that gives great meaning and purpose. Since starting my blog and Instagram in 2018, I am now able to connect and educate thousands of pelvic pain and chronic illness warriors around the world.
I’ve heard from way too many others, just like me, who have gone through years of unexplained pain and have had doctors downplay their symptoms.
If you live with pelvic pain…
Listen up.
Your pain is real.
You should never let a doctor make you feel like your pain isn’t worthy of further exploration. If you know something is wrong and your doctor is failing in their duty to help you, you should seek a second, third, fourth, or however many opinions you need to feel comfortable with your healthcare. You will eventually find a doctor that empathizes and see’s your pain for what it is, pain.
On thehappypelvis.ca and The Happy Pelvis instagram , I share my personal health journey, pelvic health related content as well as honest and relatable posts about living with chronic illness. If it is not backed by a reputable source or something I personally would not use, I won’t put in on the blog.
I truly hope that The Happy Pelvis blog can inspire and motivate you to learn to love your pelvis + take control of your health.
Feel free to look around and be a part of my journey as I spend my time living a happy, and almost healthy life.
Below are some links to blog posts that might interest you:
May is Pelvic Pain Awareness Month
8 Natural Tips For IC + PFD Flares
12 things to do instead of watching Netflix when you have a Chronic Illness
More about my pelvic pain journey...
I’ve had pelvic pain since childhood, after a tailbone injury from a tobogganing incident around 8 years old. Since the onset of my period at 13, my cycles have been painful and that is when the vicious cycles of chronic vulvar pain, UTI’s, yeast infections and pelvic pain began and I suffered without concrete answers and diagnosis’ for over 15 years.
My health aggressively derailed in October 2017 after a routine UTI. That is when I started to get the most painful, debilitating “flares” felt in my bladder, urethra and vagina. I went through months of testing (a lot of negative or inconclusive results) and doctor visits, which led to many unanswered questions and left me feeling alone and scared about my health and quality of life.
After years of having my pelvic pain not taken seriously enough, I had to become my own advocate. I spent hours a day researching my symptoms and compiling information in a binder that I could share with my doctors. I also joined many groups on social media to try to find some answers or support. Looking back, that was probably the best thing I ever did.
When I started to push for answers and educate myself, the most amazing thing happened: I learned that I was not the only one trying to cope with unanswered chronic pelvic pain and health issues.
I met folks from Canada and around the world who were dealing with the same pain and issues as I was and struggling to find relief and answers. There was an automatic sense of community and acceptance within these groups. It felt that my pain was finally validated and understood by someone.
At this point it was 2018 and I started The Happy Pelvis. A few months had past (+ many different doctors later) and I got in to see a highly skilled OBGYN who is an Endometriosis Excision Specialist, who I sought out after learning that they listen to their patients and doesn’t dismiss their pain. After a few months in his care, I was diagnosed with 3 chronic pelvic pain conditions.
1. Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome
Since these diagnosis’, I have also been diagnosed with Lupus, Fibromyalgia and Tarlov Spinal Cysts which are also pain generators.
If something resonates with you in my posts, don’t hesitate to reach out. I love hearing from other strong and resilient warriors.