Patient AK

When I was 19 years old I had constant pelvic pain. It was a persistent problem that interfered with my everyday life. The cramping was so bad I often wore a stick on heating pad to my college classes, always slept with a plug in heating pad, and avoided intimate contact due to pelvic pain. On top of the pain I was also using the bathroom almost hourly and waking up 4-5 times nightly if not more to use the bathroom. There were times when I would cry while using the restroom due to pain. Just thinking of that time in my life is difficult for me. No freshman in college should have to go through what I went through. Eventually, after many doctors had found my condition peculiar but undiagnosable, I was finally diagnosed with both endometriosis and interstitial cystitis. I was treated for the endometriosis via an all progesterone continuous birth control, but told there was nothing I could do for the IC. It was only after a few more doctor visits that physical therapy was suggested for me. So at 19 years of age I met Nari, and that day honestly changed my life.

Four years later I am a college graduate. I am getting married in June and have a positive and pain free intimate relationship with my Fiancé. Although my condition is chronic, and I still have my bad days, with Nari’s help I am able to sleep nearly 8 hours without getting up to use the restroom. There are days when I even forget I have IC because I will realize I haven’t been to the restroom in hours. As long as I stick to my diet, my pelvic pain doesn’t effect my daily living. Often the pain is nonexistent. I owe so much to the treatment I received from Nari. I even chose to continue to Physician’s Assistant graduate school so I can help women with their pelvic pain.

But Nari isn’t just my physical therapist. She was at 19 and still is the only person I could talk with about my condition without fear of judgement. I often wonder where my life would have lead me without the help I had received by going to physical therapy with Nari. Would I still have severe pelvic pain? Would I have been able to have an intimate relationship with the man I love? Would I have been able to sit through a class in graduate school without getting up constantly and embarrassingly to use the rest room?

If you are desperately searching for help and don’t know where to turn, look no further. Healthy Pelvis changed my life, and I am sure it can change yours too.