In March of 2003, I finally went for a pap smear which I had been avoiding for over 12 years!! I was told that my intense bleeding was from numerous fibroids and that a hysterectomy was needed.

Being that I was already going through menapause, the surgery was scheduled for the end of April 2003. Being that I had only had one previous pelvic surgery, a tubal in the late 70’s, I didn’t really know what to expect in regards to the post-op pain I was enduring.

My surgeon was unwilling to give me additional pain meds without my “begging” for something, as she didn’t want me to become addicted to them, and even then the rx was for either ten pills or six. My pain was unrelenting, the burning, the ability to sit more than a minute or two, the feeling like I had “something stuck in my rectum” made me believe that something had been left inside me from the surgery itself. As mentioned, the burning kept increasing along with the twinges of electric type jolts that would drop me to my knees.

Within a week of the hysterectomy, I became totally incontinent. I had no sensations or feelings in my bladder whatsoever! This just sent me to another doctor, who in turn ignored my pleas for something for the pain, telling me that I had no infection so I couldn’t be in that much pain.

To make a long story shorter, I surfed the web looking for something that somewhat resembled my pain symptoms. Thank God I found it, I was diagnosed with having Pudendal Nerve Entrapment or PNE. I have since undergone another surgery to try to release the nerve—this was in June of 04. PNE is the most painful, life altering disease that you can imagine. I am unable to sit, bend over, stoop down, lift anything over 5-10 pounds, climb stairs, etc. The pain is unbearable, even while taking pain meds three times a day.

My quality of life is no more. I am home bound, except for the trips to the doctors which will leave me with a horrible pain flare the following day just from “overdoing it” by going to my appointment. The pudendal nerve works the bladder, genital organs along with the rectum. Constipation is also a main complaint with PNE. The taking of the pain meds is one thing, but with PNE, the nerve doesn’t relate the message to the brain to tell the muscle it’s time to “get things moving.”

I am hoping that maybe having a pain pump implanted will be my answer, so my quality of life can improve to the point of being able to at least lift and hold my grandchildren, let alone sit down for a meal with my family. I seriously don’t know how anyone is able to live with this type of chronic, horrific pain for any length of time.