You Don't Have To Live With Chronic Pelvic Pain

By Jasser Thiara, MD

Mid-Atlantic OBGYN

. https://hcavirginia.com/physicians/profile/Dr-Jasser-Thiara-MD

More Pain Management & Rehabilitation Articles

You Don't Have To Live With Chronic Pelvic Pain

Have you been living with chronic pelvic pain (CPP)? Have you been evaluated by a pelvic pain specialist? Are you tired of circling back and forth between healthcare providers with no relief of your pelvic pain symptoms?

All too often female patients have suffered or are suffering from this debilitating condition. It is a problem that many women need to see multiple specialists for, and try different approaches, and in many cases that may not be enough. Many women adapt their lifestyle and daily activities so as to “live with it”.

Chronic pelvic pain is pain in the area below your bellybutton and between your hips that lasts six months or longer. There are many causes, including uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, post operative adhesive disease and gastritis. One of the more common is endometriosis.

Endometriosis happens when tissue normally found inside the uterus grows in other parts of the body. It may attach to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, the exterior of the uterus, the bowel, or other internal organs. As hormones change during the menstrual cycle, this tissue breaks down and may cause painful adhesions, or scar tissue leading to infertility or more commonly, CPP.

More than eight million American women suffer from symptoms of endometriosis. Although the reason why endometriosis occurs in some women and not others is poorly understood, it likely has to do with abnormal menstruation. This is why it has the potential to affect all women during their menstrual life (13-52 years of age). Typically, it presents as pain just before, during, or after menstruation. For some women, this pain may be disabling and may happen during or after sex, or during bowel movements or urination. It sometimes causes lower back pain and many women with endometriosis have no symptoms at all.

The key to effectively diagnosing and treating endometriosis starts with scheduling an appointment with a chronic pelvic pain specialist. After a detailed consultation your doctor may require a surgical procedure called laparoscopy to diagnose endometriosis. During your laparoscopy, a well-trained surgeon may be able to resect all of your existing endometriosis leaving you pain free. A gynecological surgeon well trained in the use of the DaVinci Robotic surgical system can visualize microscopic endometriosis, something the naked eye cannot see, before it leads to chronic pelvic pain and infertility.

As with all conditions, it's better to address them sooner than later. Why live in pain, if you don't have to? So, if you have symptoms of CCP, then now is the best time to do something about it.