Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at OPM.gov.

Can there be more than one reason for my pain?

Yes. Studies have found a good deal of overlap among pain conditions.1,2 For instance, a woman may have endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression at the same time—each of which may contribute to the overall pain she feels.

Having more than one pain condition can complicate diagnosis and treatment. To be effective, treatment needs to address all the conditions that are contributing to a woman's pain.

Citations

  1. Andrews, J., Yunker, A., Reynolds, W. S., Likis, F. E., Sathe, N. A., & Jerome, R. N. (2012). Noncyclic chronic pelvic pain therapies for women: Comparative effectiveness (Comparative Effectiveness Review No. 41). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
  2. Rodriguez, M. A., Afari, N., Buchwald, D. S., & National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Working Group on Urological Chronic Pelvic Pain. (2009). Evidence for overlap between urological and nonurological unexplained clinical conditions. Journal of Urology,182, 2123–2131.
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