'Girls' Actress Zosia Mamet Gets Candid About Her Struggle With Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

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By Leanne Gossels

The cast of Girls is known for baring it all, on screen and off, and Zosia Mamet is no exception. The actress has been candid about her health and wellness struggles in the past, opening up about her experience with an eating disorder. Now she is getting real about a health issue many would consider uncomfortable to talk about.

During a talk at AOL's Maker's Conference, Mamet revealed that she has been dealing with pelvic floor dysfunction for years.

"For six years, it felt like I had the worst UTI of my life," she explained.

After going to multiple doctors she finally received a diagnosis. Pelvic floor dysfunction is hard to diagnose because it covers a whole range of issues that can affect women, including feeling the need to pee all the time, pain during sex, back pain, or not being able to get to a bathroom fast enough.

"Another symptom not often talked about is just a constant sense of pressure," Isa Herrera, M.S.P.T., C.S.C.S., a physical therapist who specializes in treating pelvic floor dysfunction, told Women's Health. "It's almost like you feel something is going to fall out of your vagina."

Mamet described "insane urinary frequency" and shared that it felt like she had "a hot poker" up there during sex.

"They told me I was crazy," she said of her experience going to so many doctors who couldn't find a root cause of the pain. This experience is far too common.

"The average woman sees six or eight doctors before they get a diagnosis," say Herrera. "It's what I call the doctor roadshow. The symptoms are so wide that it can be confusing for many practitioners."

Treatments for the condition vary, but usually involve physical therapy, though sometimes women require surgery.

"Typically with women suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction, the pelvic muscles are short and tight," Amy Stein, D.P.T., a physical therapist explained. "Treatment can both internal and external manual therapy—you have to lengthen and loosen the muscles basically."

That solution shocked Mamet after years of trying to treat the symptoms not the problem.

"My answer was: Pilates? Seriously!?" she recalled.

Women who are experiencing pelvic issues without getting answers, or who have seen multiple doctors without results, should consider seeing a specialist who focuses on pelvic floor dysfunction.

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