In Women, Hernias May Be Hidden Agony.

Laura Sweet was an active, upbeat 42-year-old saleswoman living in Santa Monica, Calif., when the agony first started -- debilitating, flaring pains in her pelvis that lasted for days and recurred periodically. The discomfort resulted in many visits to the emergency room, referrals to various specialists, wrong diagnoses and a daily cocktail of painkillers. Her once-sunny disposition turned morose, and her vigorous workouts declined to a measly 20 minutes of walking a day. When one doctor's tests revealed no explanation, Ms. Sweet said, he told her she had ''chronic pelvic pain and I should learn to live with it.'' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]