Everything In Between (Literally)

     I thought since I had a month before my life changing surgery ( I hope...I Really, Really Hope!) that I would share everything along the way that got me here. Now, I must let you know this blog is about "PNE" and my personal experience about the many ways "PNE" has affected and changed my life. Warning! Some topics may get personal as in TMI, it might make you feel uncomfortable and squeamish...Sorry...I am apologizing in advance. But, it's just the context of this sensitive subject, which just so happens to involve the most private and sensual part of my body, it is what it is so here I go.

What is PNE you ask? (Click here Pudendal Nerve Entrapment)

     Ya! Wow! I know...right! Well with that said, I tried to worn you this topic may become very personal at times, and all the facts that go along with having PNE can start to get really uncomfortable (no pun intended). I promise, I will do my best to keep things a little more classy than maybe a scientist would. This is not a thesis, it's my blog about my personal struggles with PNE. So, if I decide NOT to call certain body parts by their real name please forgive me. I'm just trying to tone down a very private and delicate topic.

     Well let me start by giving you a brief overview. Like I stated in my first post, this all began with a routine surgery. So, from the time of diagnoses to now, this is everything I have done that's led me to the decision to have surgery in Turkey.

     I have met with five different PNE specialist, four of which were out of state. Crazy right! Not so much anymore, considering I am now leaving the country. After meeting with a pelvic pain specialist at the University of Utah he recommended a doctor in Phoenix. First, off to Phoenix, I wasn't feeling very confident in the treatment plan, so when we got home we made arrangements to go visit with the specialists on the east coast, and off we went. First stop, New York, then New Hampshire and the last stop which was originally scheduled in Baltimore, but due to scheduling conflicts we learned that the same Dr. also has an office in Henderson Nevada, so instead, we opted to reschedule our consultation with him one month later at his Nevada office to avoid making a second trip back east.

     In between all of the consultations I had trigger point injections, three nerve blocks, an EMG, two specialized MRI's, some crazy, crazy medications, four and a half months of physical therapy, tens (electro shock therapy), Calmare therapy, a recommendation for Botox injections, suggestions for pudendal decompression surgery from 3 specialist, a consultation to surgically implant a pain pump, and of course at least a handful of emotional breakdowns...can you blame me! Not to mention the hours and hours of time spent researching in attempts of finding relief, on top of  appealing insurance claims, and contacting several attorney's in hopes of  pursuing legal action for medical malpractice. Sound exhausting? Tell me about it! I thought life was already exhausting pre-surgery. I have a large family, five kids to be exact, so most days I already felt like all I did was run our own little five ring circus. Five kids are hard enough to keep up with, who needs an extra does of complicated health issues? Well, I guess that would be me!

     In a nut shell that pretty much sums up the last 19 months of my crazy life with PNE. My intentions for creating this blog is to first, have somewhere for our family and friends to stay updated on this debilitating condition, and to follow my recovery and progress of the surgery that I'm about to undergo in Turkey. Second, hopefully someone else suffering with PNE would possibly stumble across this blog. It would be really nice to talk to someone else who may be experiencing the same day to day issues of dealing with PNE. And third, A place where I can express my emotions, this will probably be a good thing as far as the healing process goes.

     So, over the next three weeks I will go into more detail about all the topics that revolve around having PNE. Such as, how this happened, test and procedures, medications, specialists, the financial side, the legal side, the hours of research, my emotional breakdowns. So, you get it, basically the way PNE literally changed my life as a mother, wife, and person, and how I've learned to pick up the pieces and move through the devastating news of having PNE.

     PNE has tortured me with the most excruciating pain that I have ever experienced and endured! It has not only been physically debilitating, but also emotionally exhausting. I know it's not the end of the world or even a life threatening condition, but having PNE has definitely been life altering. For me, it's been the most difficult and heartbreaking condition to deal with, and my broken heart and pelvis are anticipating the relief that this life changing surgery will bring.