This is a lady, whom I have been seeing in the clinic for a complaint of pelvic pain. Her findings are consistent with a chronic pelvic infection, in the sense that, on examination when her pelvic female reproductive organs are moved there is accompanying pain and tenderness. Her pain has been going on for some time now, and is preventing her from functioning normally. She has adjusted to this in her walking and moving around activity, compensating by holding some of her abdominal and back muscles tightly. See Chronic back pain, please. This causes a component of her pain, becoming what we call, myofascial pain. This pain is associated with the fibers of the muscles and can produce trigger points. That is to say, when these points are touched, one has intense sensation of pain. When I see her, now, she has been already treated with pain medication and attempts at hormonal therapy. These have not been successful.

Now, chronic pelvic pain associated with the female organs is typically divided into pain from conditions such as endometriosis, and  pain from pelvic infection. These are both similar, and are more apparent at the time of menses. Usually one in medicine tries to decide if the pain is related to one or the other.

In view of her lack of success, I tell her that the pain can be associated with pelvic infections, which represent the body’s inability to handle the inflammatory response that is produced. I inform her that her pain is from more than one source. Further examination reveals that there is also a component, which seems to be associated with the pattern of her large intestine. In outlining the examined area on her abdominal wall there seems to be a component of tenderness which follows this pattern. By making her tense her muscles of the abdominal wall, we can determine the level of her pain, whether it is in the muscular layer, fatty layer or below in the abdominal cavity itself. In this way, we are able to show her that there already three levels of pain associated.

I treat her by giving her antibiotics for the pelvis, antispasmodic medications for the bowel and anti-inflammatories for the abdominal wall pain. I recommend that she also consider some massage therapy, which may help to alleviate some symptoms related to muscle pain.

She returns in two weeks, and I re-assess her and she has only minimal change in her level of pain and discomfort. She is really no better. I tell her things are not always what they seem to be. I inform her that, sometimes pain is not actually about what is hurting, although it may have something to do with it, in relation to the pain. I tell her a little bit about quantum mechanics. I tell her that everything is connected to everything else, so that each thing affects all things. I tell her this is also similar to how the body works. I give her an example. There is the person who is a hard worker, who believes that hard work is rewarded. In her office, there is someone else who chooses not to be a hard worker and inevitably, the work always ends up on the desk of the hard worker. We point out, that she can project this on her boss, as being the one who is overworking her, and direct anger at him. She then, gets an ulcer. Now it will not heal, if she does not address the fact that it is her direction of her energy that creates the ulcer. The take away is, not that it is stress causing the ulcer but, rather that what is directed externally which is received internally is a confirmation that what is external is as much self. This is so, because, there is only one from the quantum mechanics perspective.

I also tell her that the immune system may be considered as the contact between the internal self… the individual and the external self…. the environment. This interface, then, reflects what is going on in this relationship between the two. Thus, any abnormality in a relationship with a spouse, family member, other persons, objects or energy may manifest itself in the way the immune system operates. I point out to her that we have found most illness to have some underlying aspect in the operation of the immune system. This happens, whether we are considering pregnancy, heart disease, auto-immune disease, infectious diseases or a metabolic disease such as diabetes.

I point out that the immune system does not function as a steady flat line but, may be considered more as a pattern which goes up and down in function depending on choices and other activity going on. I tell her that studies reveal, that if I were to assign her and a spouse or boyfriend the task of arguing about a topic, and then measure the levels of functioning of her immune system, before and after the task, she would find that the levels of her immune system function would drop some 60%  or more. The immune system function would drop if she lacked sleep, ate poorly or if there were an increase in her stress levels. The function of the nervous system in responding to the need to fight or flee, initiates a series of responses, which affect the immune system function.

I point out that all of these activities reflect choice to some degree, and so the functioning of the immune system depends, not on what it is exposed to, but to, what choices we make and whether we choose a state of stress or not. I tell her that the use of antibiotics is the equivalent of the following analogy. The immune system is like throwing a party and having policemen outside, whose job it is to prevent the ability of uninvited guests to attend the party. So long as there are policemen, there is no net inflow of uninvited guests, but if, some of the policemen are missing then there is a net inflow. If there is a fall in the number of policemen, but we are able to rev up their activity, then we can produce the effect of no net inflow of “crashers”. Thus, it does not matter who brings the uninvited guest, as long as there are policemen present, who prevent the net inflow. I point out that, what the immune function reflects is largely a matter of how personal choices are made. Thus, the responsibility for how one does, rests largely with the individual, and the use of antibiotics is only an augmentation, and does not take the responsibility away that the individual has.

I point out that things are not always what they seem to be, as the pain and discomfort experienced often has to do with other things, often in metaphor. I point out to her that one of my ex-players experienced an unusual amount of pain in his knee, preventing from participating in one of his favorite activities, which is soccer (see Knee I). He performed the task of placing his awareness into the pain in his knee and was able to have the intuition that this was related to self-sabotage. He was able to modify the degree of self-sabotage to the point where he was able to return to playing pain-free. I suggested that she do a similar exercise. She, at this point, told me that she was aware of what, in her life, was creating her pelvic pain. She told me she felt this was related the situation, that existed at home, involving her daughter and grand-daughter, and the partner with whom she was living, and his son. She implied that this was creating a large amount of emotional disturbance in her life. She told me that she also knew what she had to do.

She returns to the office, in another two weeks, after being discharged home. She tells me that she is much improved and that she took care of some of the issues, mainly those concerning her partner and his son who have now left the environment. The remaining issue is that of her daughter and granddaughter. There is disagreement, as she feels her daughter is not taking proper care of the grandchild. I inform her that she needs to either be the mother of the grandchild or to let the daughter be the mother of the grandchild. She needs, either to adopt the grandchild and terminate the parental right of the daughter, or she needs to make her daughter responsible for her child. She cannot remain in the middle. We have a conversation about this and she leaves.

She returns for a follow up visit in ten days and greets me in the hall with the statement that all of her pain and discomfort is now gone. She states that she took care of the final aspect of things and that her daughter has become responsible for the grandchild.