Natasha's The Pain of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease – and How I Discovered Macrobiotics

One summer’s day, while I was writing my PhD thesis at home, I went to the loo and after a bowel movement, experienced the most excruciating pain, which seemed to split me from my backside all the way up my body.

I was riveted to the toilet seat, and was virtually paralysed with pain. Eventually, after perhaps 20-30 minutes, I was able to get up and return to what I was doing.

I had no idea what the pain was from. About 3 years earlier, I suffered an anal fissure, which hurt whenever I defecated. I had gone through surgery, which had cured this condition.

In the real world, I was finishing my thesis, preparing for my doctoral viva, and interviewing for jobs, mostly in the USA. At that time in the early 1980s, the world had become enthralled with the potential of molecular biology and the corporate world was seeking out PhD molecular biology scientists.

Thus I had to travel all over the US for interviews. On one such occasion, I stayed over with the Manager of a team I was interviewing for. In the morning when I went to the toilet, I suffered with a similar type of pain, but thankfully, not as intense as the first time described above. Even when I was aboard the airplane travelling back home, I suffered yet another attack.

Eventually, on the same day that I passed my PhD Viva exam,  I was offered a job with a US multinational corporation. I joined the team, moved to the US and in my position, I also had to travel a lot to attend meetings and conferences.

For the next 2-3 years, I was stricken with constant pain, especially when I had to go to the toilet. Having expensive insurance coverage, I underwent every type of medical test conceivable for these symptoms, including gastric and pelvic x-rays. I had to endure barium meal and barium enemas tests, a histosalpingogram (injection of dye into the uterus), ultrasound, IVP (Intravenous pyelography), leading eventually to a laparoscopy, to establish the definitive diagnosis. What was discovered was that I had been suffering from chronic pelvic infections, which had lead to inflammation, scarring and pain.

I will always remember sitting across from the Consultant who delivered this diagnosis and his suggested treatment which was antibiotics whenever I was contemplating having sex.

I underwent the laparoscopy only a few months after separating from my husband and marriage of over 11 years and suffered intense pain following this procedure. I moved to a new apartment and was pretty much a physical and emotional wreck after this separation. I also remember that I had phoned and asked a friend to drive me back from the hospital and that he had refused.

I never felt more alone in my life!

As part of my plan to make new friends I got involved in a theatre company. After the performance one night, I met briefly and spoke for a few moments with a man, who just happened to telephone me some time later, exactly when I was home from the hospital, in severe agony following the laparoscopy. Dispensing with the normal niceties on the telephone, when he asked me how I was feeling, I said dreadful and in pain. He asked if he could come over to my apartment and I agreed.

That was the night that I was introduced to NLP, chiropractic and Macrobiotics. This particular man had suffered an horrific sky-diving accident and had virtually pulverized his leg in the accident. Over about 2 years he had healed his injuries using a combination of NLP and various dietary measures.

I don’t fully remember exactly what he did that night, but he used a combination of NLP and hypnosis techniques, introduced me to a chiropractor, who suggested various nutritional supplements and also pointed me in the direction of the East West Centre, a Macrobiotic centre. Having never really heard of Macrobiotics, I attended cooking classes, thought that I had nothing to lose if I ate brown rice and beans, and so adopted Macrobiotics intensely.

Within one month, I went from being in constant pain and having to swallow antibiotics, to gradually having no pain. I carried on an affair with the above gentleman for a few months, and then carried on with my job and my life.

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