Mary Ann

My pelvic pain began in March of 2008. The pain was a constant burning in the vulvar and perineum areas, and was exacerbated by sitting. I spent months trying to figure out what was happening to my body and how to stop the pain. The first couple of doctors said it was a yeast infection. Then it was vulvodynia. Next came vulvar vestibulitis. Then I found a specialist, who diagnosed it as pudendal neuralgia – trust me, you don’t want to Google that Now I had several different names for the pain, but it was not getting any better, regardless of what you called it. I began researching what to do to make this horrible thing go away; all fingers seemed to point to pelvic floor physical therapy. My first specialist at the time did not think I was a candidate for pelvic floor physical therapy. Let me tell you, emphatically, he was WRONG. When my pain first started, my levels were 8 out of 10. It was horrible. My first pelvic floor physical therapist (PT) helped somewhat, but was too vested in the diagnosis of my specialist at the time and essentially gave up on me. I found a second PT, who did help, but was all the way in Philadelphia – and I just wanted to find someone close to home. Thankfully, I found Marci Marshall. When I first started seeing Marci, my pain levels were in the 4 – 5 range. The constant burning had died down, but I could not sit without ice. So, the pain was controlled, but I was still not a happy camper. She was very upfront and honest during my initial evaluation about how she differed from my previous PTs and what she thought she could do to help me. At this point my pain levels on most days are 0 – 1. I am scared to write that (don’t want to jinx it!), but in general, I am better. What do I attribute that to? A large part is Marci. She never gave up on me for starters. She was diligent about finding new ways to help me. If one thing was not working, she tried another. She stays up to date with research in the field and truly is vested in trying to help her patients. When I was at a loss as to what doctor to see, she found one for me and talked to them about my history. She listened and HEARD me. Pelvic pain is so insidious – and Marci is caring and compassionate. She understands the complete loss of control her patients are feeling, and bit by bit, helps them regain that control. She is not only at PT, but a patient advocate and cheerleader. If you are experiencing any type of pelvic of pain, please, please, do yourself a favor – see Marci. My first specialist told me I needed pudendal surgery and my first PT supported the idea. I am soooo glad I did not go that route. I found Marci, who made pelvic floor PT work for me. It can get better – you just need the right PT….