Take Control

Don’t let abdominal or pelvic symptoms disrupt your life

Painful sex, loss of bladder control, chronic constipation, persistent pelvic discomfort — problems like these disrupt women’s lives.

Yet many women suffer silently, sometimes for years.

“Often women are too embarrassed to bring these problems to a doctor’s attention, or they are unaware that remedies exist,” says physiatrist Sheila Dugan, MD, codirector of the Program for Abdominal and Pelvic Health at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

These symptoms can severely diminish the quality of a woman’s life — for instance, by making intimacy with a partner more stressful than comforting.

If you’re not living your life fully — either because of a diagnosed condition or an unidentified one — let your doctor know. This is often the crucial first step toward relief.

One resource to turn to is the Program for Abdominal and Pelvic Health, where a multidisciplinary team can test for serious underlying health problems and successfully treat disruptive abdominal and pelvic conditions, such as fibroids, endometriosis and urinary infections.

Available treatments include the following:

• Physical therapy and minimally invasive surgery to treat weakened or inflamed pelvic muscles that can cause incontinence and sexual problems
• Drug therapy to control disabling pain
• Psychological support to ease the emotional stress your symptoms may trigger

To make an appointment with the Program for Abdominal and Pelvic Health at Rush, call (312) 942-7274.

• Read “Tummy Trouble“ for information about what a stomachache may be telling you.