My previous post worried many people across the world. It’s truly humbling to see the list of countries where people took the time to read my story. A heartfelt thank you for all the messages, love, compassion, healing vibes, good thoughts, and prayers. (There is quite a bit happening on my Facebook page where I post the links to my blog entries).
First of all, good news: my annual mammogram is clear!! Big sigh of relief. As for the rest of it…Per my incredible massage therapist’s suggestion, I went to the pelvic floor physical therapist. Within minutes, this amazing woman was able to diagnose what was going on and what to do about it. After three weeks of suffering, I finally was (quite literally) in the hands of a person who understood what happened. Sobering news: she thinks it will take 6-8 weeks to get my body from the red zone (her words) to normal. In the meantime, I can’t sit for more than 15 min or drive myself, but she’s hopeful it will gradually improve. As usual with physical therapy, often it feels worse after the session, especially in the beginning. I’m hoping that this is the pain of the solution, not of the problem.
How did we get here and why did it take so long to get the right diagnosis? Here is my current understanding of the situation. Doctors can diagnose what they can see with the naked eye or what the images show. My pelvic ultrasound and MRI came clean (thankfully!). This is because irritated nerves and super tense muscles don’t show up even on an MRI. But this combination in the pelvic floor CAN cause excruciating pain. Both my massage therapist and the pelvic PT attest to it. People can suffer for years and may be treated for unspecified nerve pain, or bladder inflammation or many other ailments while the truth lies in the pelvic floor muscles. As I shared in the previous post, an abrupt onset of menopause after chemotherapy, coupled with an unsuccessful attempt of the antiestrogen drug, created troubles with tissues that irritated the nerves. I might have had pelvic muscle tension for years, partially because they respond badly to stress and anxiety (you don’t say, ah!!). After several attempts with various medications, my gynecologist prescribed a nerve pain drug to calm it all down and an estrogen cream, which are steps in the right direction. But they alone cannot alleviate the pain. And they take time to work. I’m in the third week now and finally feeling some relief. Irritated tissues, tense muscles and nerves play off each other and that landed me in the ER two weeks ago with a blood pressure of 180/105, just from pain (my normal is 115/80). I’m learning that both men and women can experience pelvic floor issues. I can only imagine the stigma attached to it for men. For women, we are okay to discuss the pelvic floor in the context of pregnancy and giving birth, but not much beyond it.
They say rough waters make skillful sailors…
Katerina Bodovski Writings 