Pelvic Pain

“Things that go wrong down there.”

That’s the phrase women often use to refer to pelvic pain, all those horribly embarrassing problems in the vagina and vulva that cause so many women such discomfort. One in five women struggles with painful sex at some point in their lives. Yet pelvic pain impacts on more than the woman’s sex life. Vulvar problems can cripple women’s everyday lives, forcing them into desperate measures to seek relief – hours spent in cold baths or sitting on a bag of ice – and trailing from doctor to doctor in a desperate search for help.

Women had been writing to Bettina for years about these problems but six years ago she discovered solutions were starting to emerge. She wrote an article – The Vagina Dialogues – about what was happening and persuaded The 7.30 Report to do a story on the issue.

For all the women struggling with vulvar, vaginal and other pelvic problems, here are some websites that might be useful in finding help.

GAIN (Gynaecological Awareness Information Network) – Contact Kath Mazzella www.gain.org.au

HOPE (hope for patients with Pudendal Neuralgia/Entrapment) – www.pudendalhope.info
Discussion board for patients seeking answers/treatment options worldwide

Support group for women with Lichen Sclerosus – www.lichensclerosus.org

Help for women with Lichen Sclerosus – www.lichensclerosus.net

Read a selection of letters and case histories from the many women who have contacted her about this issue below.