An Edinburgh mum who was told her debilitating pain was ‘pregnancy related’ waited years before receiving a long-term diagnosis.
Ewelina Podgórecka, 35, suffered gruelling aches in her lower back and hips while pregnant back in 2016. She was told it could be ‘years’ after giving birth before the pain faded, which it didn’t.
An MRI scan – which she didn’t get until 2019 – eventually revealed degenerative changes in her spine. Ewelina was told she would have to live with the pain for the rest of her life.
READ MORE – West Lothian mum on transplant waiting list says ‘it’s like a lottery ticket’
READ MORE – Edinburgh train passengers taxied home after ‘disappointing’ eight-hour journey to London
However, she found some solace in alternative approaches. Now, she helps others living with chronic pain find ‘what works for them’ and guides them through managing their pain.
With her son Alexander now nine-years-old, Ewelina says she ‘is still in constant pain’ – but she has found coping mechanisms that make day-to-day life easier.
Her methods include massage, reflexology, aromatherapy and meditation. Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Ewelina said: “It started when I was pregnant, nine years ago.
“It was my lower back and my hips, but of course because I was pregnant everybody thought that was the cause. They said that once I gave birth it would go away.
“I waited, I gave birth, and waited another two years.”
She eventually went back to the GP. Ewelina said was told to ‘put up with it until it passes’.
Baby Alexander
(Image: Ewelina Podgórecka)
She continued: “It didn’t improve. It got worse and worse.
“I was looking for a solution. Honestly I’d tried everything.”
It wasn’t until 2019 that she got an MRI scan which revealed degenerative changes in her spine. Finally getting an answer to her pain, Ewelina hoped that she might then be able to tackle it.
She added: “Once I was given the diagnosis I was told there is nothing that can be done.
“They said I would have to live with my pain for the rest of my life. I’m the kind of person that thinks, no – I don’t like that.”
She got searching and found various treatments and approaches. As a massage therapist by trade, Ewelina felt there must be a way to manage her pain.
She told us: “Now I study integrative healthcare. It’s a bridge between complimentary therapies and conventional medicine.
“It’s really opened my eyes. I don’t diminish all the achievements of medicine, but complimentary therapy is called that for a reason – because they can add quite a lot.
Sign up for Edinburgh Live newslettersfor more headlines straight to your inbox
“People were saying nothing could be done and I just had to take painkillers. I was sure there was a way to manage my pain.”
While Ewelina understands why she was being told her pain was pregnancy related, and says she would have thought the same, she did eventually feel something else must have been going on.
She said: “As time went by, I thought there must be another reason for this.
“The changes in my spine, nobody can tell me why, when or how they happened. I was asked if I had ever been in a car crash, that’s what the damage was presenting like.
“I had suffered odd pains before, but when I was pregnant it was nothing like that. You could say pregnancy triggered it, but when I asked if me putting weight on while pregnant caused it I was told absolutely not.”
Ewelina was also hearing from those around her that her pain was ‘in her head’. She added: “People say chronic pain doesn’t effect young people. A lot of the time I was told ‘it’s just in your head’, or told I was anxious or not sleeping well.
“I knew that it wasn’t. I could feel it every time I moved.
(Image: Ewelina Podgórecka)
“It got to the point that I couldn’t get up in the morning. I needed help from my husband, I was in so much pain.
“Your age doesn’t matter, it isn’t in your head and you’re not imagining it.”
Not only does she want people to know that their chronic pain isn’t imaginary, but Ewelina hopes that people know there is light at the end of the tunnel. She told us: “There is always something you can do. Even if you were told my doctors or medical professionals that there’s nothing you can do, don’t believe that.
“There’s always a way to shift your perspective, and change the perspective of your pain. You just have to find a way.
“It’s a long process, but you will get there eventually.”
Ewelina says her pain reached a ‘turning point’ when she changed her approach. She said: “Within the last few years, I’ve been working with mindfulness and how I see my pain.
Join Edinburgh Live’s Whatsapp Community hereand get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
“It’s like coming back to yourself. Once you master that, then you have the whole array of modalities to use.
“My go to is body scan meditation. I love it, it brings you back to your body and lets you focus on what’s going on inside.
“When you listen to your body you can actually take tangible actions. You can really do something about it.
“If you’re only focusing on what’s outside, and grabbing onto different solutions, you’ll go blind trying to help yourself.”
Ewelina now guides others through the process of managing their chronic pain. She’s hosting an online masterclass on January 30, which is free to attend.
She hopes to help those ‘stuck in limbo’ with their pain, and will cover simple techniques to ‘calm the body and mind’ and how people can ‘start finding relief now’.
You can find out more about Ewelina’s therapies here.