Zosia Mamet became a household name after bringing to life the character Shoshanna Shapiro on the HBO hit series, Girls. The recently married star is using her fame to help spread the word about Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, which she suffered with for some time. So what is exactly is this condition and how did it change her life?
“It was an incredibly long journey to figure out what was wrong with me,” Zosia said at the AOL Makers Conference. “For 6 years, I felt like I had the worst UTI of my life. I did not have a UTI. I never thought I would want a UTI, but I wanted one so badly like a kid wants a puppy for Christmas because every time my test came back negative, it meant I still didn’t have an answer to what was causing my insane urinary frequency and unbearable pain.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction is when you are unable to control the muscles in your pelvic floor to have a bowel movement. There are a few symptoms you should watch out for that could point towards a PFD diagnosis. They include:
- The feeling that you need to have several bowel movements during a short period of time.
- The feeling that you cannot complete a bowel movement.
- Constipation or straining pain with bowel movements.
- A frequent need to urinate. When you do go, you may stop and start many times.
- Painful urination.
- Pain in your lower back that cannot be explained by other causes.
- Ongoing pain in your pelvic region, genitals, or rectum.
- Pain for women during intercourse.
If you have experienced any or all of these, it’s important that you make an appointment with your doctor to confirm the diagnosis. The Cleveland Clinic says PFD can be successfully treated with surgery, self-care, and treatments.
Although Zosia had one doctor insult her intelligence, she fought until she found the right doctor to help her.
“You can stop eating painkillers like Tic-Tacs, because we can fix you with physical therapy,” she remembers her doctor telling her and she was stunned. She added, “My answer was ‘Pilates? Seriously!?”
You’d be surprised to learn that even after suffering for six long years, Zosia says she wouldn’t trade it for the world. She ended up learning a lot about herself and what she deserves from others.
“I wouldn’t trade in my pain. My pain taught me everything. We need to trust our bodies. Just the fact that we are feeling it makes it real. I had seriously started to believe all those dicks with plaques were right.”
