Hi. Just thinking out aloud is it worth us/ are we allowed to have a " how do you cope with pelvic pain " thread. There are a lot of " us " out there, I would have struggled without chatting away to Judith 57 ( believe it or not we have laughed sometimes, about our situation).
CLKD regards the rings.......apparently the NHS are stopping using them as they are causing other problems, regards weight distribution etc. the one that is recommended is called " airflow", ladies who have just had a baby can hire them through the NCT, don't know if we could, but if not it is an eye watering £165.00, but I gather it has given a lot of people with this horrid problem there life back to a better quality.
I have so far managed to avoid using a cushion, but I don't need to sit at a desk, and when I do sit and it starts to feel uncomfortable then I get up.
Wanderer my stomach was also solid as I had been horse riding for ten years, five times a week, for three hours a time, but I have managed to get a "floppy " tummy. Physio said horse riding is really bad for the pelvic floor, bit late now.
Also wanderer these " nerve " drugs can take up to three months to work. I only take 15mg of ami, which helps also lift my mood and helps me to sleep.
The stabbing, shooting pains you have wanderer and the intense ache is what I had, and still do sometimes, the pelvic floor is trying to relax, it's no different to having cramp in your leg. I get a lot of relief from small heat pads, from amazon they are by dreamland, I have two one that I put on my lower back buttocks, and the other on my pelvic area, I have them on the hottest setting and they stay on for three hours, they are as hot as a hot water bottle, and you can feel the muscles/nerves relaxing. When I was at my worst, they where indispensable. Also when I was bad, and had to do my work, I ised a TENS machine on the massage setting, this was a very good distraction, I would have it on for up to ten hours aday.