Journey through Pudendal Neuralgia
Learning to live with Pelvic Nerve Pain
by
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ÒPudendal NeuralgiaÓ said the specialist at the end of my hour-long a
ppointment, on the 1st October 2009. To most people this would be a very strange sounding term and to many it means absolutely nothing. However, it is a very distressing nerve pain condition, which seems very difficult to treat, and for which there currently seems to be no complete cure. The more I have learnt about it, the more depressing it might seem, not only that, but with itÕs very situation in the body, for both men and women in the perineal area, it is also a rather embarrassing condition to discuss, especially with people of the opposite sex. Prior to this appointment, I had for some months wondered if this was the condition I was suffering from, but until this time, no one had been able to give my pain a name.
I have been suffering from what I believe is a form of chronic pelvic nerve pain for approximately two years now. On the Internet there are only a few abstracts from journals in the field, but actually there seems to be very little written on this particular problem. For the sufferer it means it is a real challenge to find any books that can be used to help or guide. For this very reason, as a health professional myself seeking to come to terms with long term nerve pain, I felt it vital to try and remedy this state of affairs so that others like myself would have somewhere to turn for help and advice. I am not seeking to give definitive advice about the way forward, nor to be too medical in the way I explain the problem. My aim is to use my own story to assist others in their search for ways to manage this pain, and to encourage all who go through this to keep trying the various options and asking for the necessary referrals, so that you can find treatments that may help.
In doing this I want to include othersÕ knowledge and experiences, so that I can give a balanced and accurate approach to what is happening in the world at large as far as the treatment and management of pelvic nerve pain is concerned and what the future holds for us. I will use my own personal journey to set the scene, before providing practical ways forward that I hope will benefit many. I have included a list of helpful websites at the end as a resource for those of you who do not know where to turn for help. I know that there are so many others out there like myself, who are struggling to come to terms with a pain without pathology, i.e. one that has no apparent physical cause, who sometimes feel that they must be going mad, because the pain is so strange and so hard to explain to others.
I hope to be able to answer the questions, which many of us ask, so that carers and sufferers alike may be able to gain a more comprehensive insight into this condition, and thereby be able to manage the condition and be able to obtain the best out of life and not feel permanently limited by it.
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About the Book
This book is based on the author's personal journey through pelvic nerve pain. It explains her experiences and the challenges faced along the way, with the support of both close friends and family. The book uses this journey to describe the approaches available here in the UK to treat and manage this type of pain.
It provides a picture of the ways through the maze in order to find the right treatment, and is written to help those who may be suffering from some kind of pelvic nerve pain. The book is not designed as a textbook for health professionals, but simply a means of enabling others to know how to access appropriate treatments. There are very few other books published which offer to provide such a resource.
There are a number of helpful websites listed at the end of the book for further reference and support
About the Author
The author Margaret Stubbs is an experienced and well-qualified Practice Nurse with a Master's Degree in Primary Care. The majority of her life she has lived in the UK, where she has married and also raised three children. For most of her 50 years she has been in excellent health and it was only in late 2008 that the current problems began. The onset of pelvic nerve pain was triggered by minor bladder surgery.
The pain has affected every area of her life, particularly her working life, where adjustments have had to be made. However, despite this chronic pain, she endeavours to live as normal a life as possible, and most people are probably oblivious to the fact she has this pain. She believes that the combination of her nursing skills and knowledge and her current experience give her a unique understanding of this pain and the desire to help others through writing this book.