Living with Chronic Pelvic Pain is a dedicated patient-to-patient support community for patients and families affected by Chronic Pelvic Pain. Living with Chronic Pelvic Pain is powered by BensFriends.org, a group of patient support communities for rare diseases, and is run by volunteer moderators who have been affected with chronic pelvic pain disorders. If you or your family has been affected by Chronic Pelvic Pain Disorders, consider Living With Chronic Pelvic Pain your second home. Living With Chronic Pelvic Pain , as well as the rest of BensFriends.org’s patient communities, is free for members to join.
Chronic Pelvic Pain is an Umbrella term to describe chronic pelvic pain including: Interstitial Cystitis, Endometriosis, and PolycysticOvary Syndrome. Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP) is commonly defined as non-malignant intermittent or continuous pain in the lower abdomen, pelvis or intrapelvic structures, lasting at least 3–6 months. If non acute and central sensitization pain mechanisms are present, the condition is considered chronic, regardless of the time frame. Central sensitization is characterized by amplification or increased sensory perception, where stimuli that are normally not painful are now perceived as painful. CPP is in women not exclusively associated with the menstrual cycle, sexual intercourse or pregnancy, but is sufficiently severe to cause functional disability or to lead to medical care.
Epidemiologically CPP has a greater incidence in women than in men, and is mostly present between the ages of 36 and 50 years. The etiology of CPP however is not clear. It can be difficult and complex to determine the cause of pain; in fact, no specific cause may be discovered. Many women are not able to identify a specific set of problems which can cause problems and allow for the diagnosis to be made. CPP may originate from one or more organ systems or pathologies and may have multiple contributing factors. It usually involves an interaction between the gastrointestinal, urinary, gynecologic, musculoskeletal, neurologic and endocrine systems. It can also be influenced by psychological and sociocultural factors.
This site is a virtual community intended to be a safe place for patients and family members as young as age 12, to visit for information, discussion, venting and mutual support. Members come from many backgrounds. Some have a strong religious faith, and others no faith; some are children and others adults, rich and poor, graduate educated or taught by life. Our common denominators are that we share a life journey, and we try to help each other.
Why create an account?
Posts on the different Ben’s Friends communities can be read by anyone on the internet. You can browse through the different topics and find most of the information you’re looking for but there are many things you won’t be able to do unless you create an account. These include:
Making your own posts. Although you’re able to find useful information just by reading other members’ posts, you might still have a lot of questions in your mind. Either you want to start a new topic to talk about them in detail or you want to reply to a comment on a thread. These won’t be possible unless you create a new user account.
Viewing other members’ profiles. Member profiles include information about the country or region they are from, whether they are a patient or a caregiver, and details about their disease and treatments. Maybe you came across an interesting post and you want to learn more about the member. Or maybe you’re looking for members who are from the same country as you. Having a user account allows you to see other member profiles and find information that may be relevant.
Sending private messages. Aside from being able to post publicly and commenting on a thread, having a user account also allows you to send private messages both to other members and moderators. In case you want to discuss a topic only with a specific person, this is possible by sending private messages when you have created your account.
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