Mooncup/Diva Cup

a while back someone posted here that she was using them - the disposable variety though - as a pessary.
I haven't used one, so I can only speculate. first, I wonder if it would even stay in? some women have trouble keeping tampons in with a prolapse so I wonder about the cup. I don't think it should be uncomfortable, I think you aren't supposed to feel it at all if its inserted properly.
my guess is that it would have the same disadvantage as a pessary, in that it takes up space and keeps the vagina 'open'. but thats just my thought

I bought them and tried several times - each time the prolapse pushed it down and out as soon as I stood up. No good..........

Haven't tried that but at risk of sounding like a broken record, I adore my doughnut pessary. I seriously doubt it is going to cause any kind of further damage. And even if it does, I'll deal... whatever it is will likely be much less than the horrendous damage surgical repair would do to me. If a pessary keeps you from having surgery, the small risk of possible damage from it is preferable than the PROVEN and MAJOR damage from hysterectomy, A&P repair and bladder lifts.

The pessary makes me feel all tucked back up where I belong and 25 years younger. I don't even use it much. Just knowing I have it in the closet if I get really heavy feeling and sick of it, is enough to keep me content even if I don't actually use it. It is the feeling of having no control and being helpless that is the worst thing for people to deal with. Having the pessary is like a "feel better" button you can push. Studies show that if people have a "feel better" button available, they feel much better about tolerating discomfort and TEND NOT TO EVEN USE THE BUTTON MUCH. It is just the fact of having it that makes them feel better. It's a psychological trick but hey, whatever helps you deal.

Anne that is totally how I feel! It is the feeling of having no control that drives me nuts. If I had something to lean on during those really tough days I know I could hang in there but I am so scared of trying a pessary because it is the only hope left in my mind of something helping this discomfort so if it doesn't work I am afraid I will cave to surgery eventually.

ATS you described my day exactly. Halfway through the day I have to lay down a while and then I can continue although more uncomfortable and then once they are in bed I have to lay down the rest of the night!

I am also afraid to try a pessary because it sounds like it hurts to insert...Anne what is your experience?

I used to be so terribly uncomfortable…like my entire Central Nervous System was being pulled down by my “back compartment”. Then I learned how to lift my tailbone and stretch my head up (shoulders down!) and developed the rest of my body to join in that effort. Today is the final day of Christmas party preparations…dh and I just finished an even 100 tamales from scratch and I’ve been running non-stop all day. Something has radically changed since the early days of my prolapse and although I’m older and somewhat weaker, I’m not being dragged around by my butt any longer. I can’t really describe it exactly, but it’s all so OKay at this stage of my life. I so-o-o-o want the young mommies to get here too.

What are plies? I have the older book. Is that in the new one?

I feel the same way ATS about my prolapse. It doesn't seem as bad physically as others. Now is a bit different because I am newly pp but before I got pregnant this time I did the posture, exercises etc. and my bulges were not near the entrance. I couldn't even see the rectocele. However I had this horrible pressure in my behind. It felt awful and other women on here said there bulge was almost coming out yet they seemed to feel better than me saying they can't feel it????

Yes it is uncomfortable to insert and remove but it is so brief I don't mind it much. It is rather like sticking your own finger to test your blood sugar. There's that hesitant moment when you must make yourself do this to yourself, and you don't like it, but it is over with so very fast. You tolerate it because the benefits are worth it.

Hi ATS, I only have a minute because I'm trying to get a quilt finished for a Christmas gift... but I had to stop and say that even the simplest and easiest of exercise helps me so much. My body cannot cope without movement. I, like you, find it hard to follow along with a book but I refuse to let that be my excuse for not moving my body. I started with the first exercise in the book, when I was confused I posted and asked Christine my questions and she always answered.

A lot of times I just lie on the floor and invent my own routine. Sometimes I search the internet for different exercises. Sometimes I follow along with something on PBS. If I question the safety of an exercise I just don't do it. I did not start feeling better until I committed myself to at least some exercise each day. This is truly something we can only do for ourselves. Even five minutes here and there adds up. It is so easy to not do it, but I don't think we can make our way through without it. Gotta go and sew now...I have missed posting...I will be back after Christmas. Kit

Mommynow, I had that awful pressure for the first time in my life just recently. It lasted several weeks and was afraid it would stay with me forever. I started exercising...everyday...and it went away. It is entirely gone now. I also added a lot of fruit to my diet. I think both helped a lot but I believe exercising was the tipping factor. I don't do any real strenuous exercise but the results have still been amazing. I think my body responds better to moderation now. Good luck to you, I know it is a miserable feeling to carry around. Kit

Mommynow, sorry, forgot to say that, yes, they are in the new book with the ballet exercise routine. The new book is beautifully written, as well. It teaches much. Also wanted to mention that before I started trying to exercise again everything in my abdomen felt weak and strained like something was tearing with the slightest exertion. It was terrible. One day I felt so weak I sat down in my yard and cried because everything seemed so hard. I just could not do much of anything. And when I started to try to exercise it exhausted me. But I knew I had to pull my own self up. Little by little it got better. It is still not easy to exercise but I am absolutely joyous that I have this ability to help myself heal. I can live weeks on a baby step. Any forward movement is a gift to me.

How do you sew a quilt, paint a bench and drymount a picture all at the same time??? Oh, I need some elves around here!! But it feels so good to be doing!! Kit

baby steps are the way to go. at least for me. I can't seem to make the time to exercise for more than just a few min at a time these days. and I also learn better from watching someone than from reading and looking at pics, but try the first exercise in the ballet routine - just one. and do that ONE for a week. then do the next one. and so on. makes it easier and less overwhelming. I personally LOVE the plies even though my legs ache afterwards. especially because they give me that sense of control, that I can do something to help myself. I still have the occasional day where I MUST get off my feet, but I try to take it as a cue that my body needs more care, rather than look at it as a limitation. kwim?

ATS - maybe you can try the bike on a level surface at first? like a nice bike path or boardwalk? whats the worst thing that can happen? I doubt you will do any irreversible damage from one ride. and you might have fun.
let us know how it goes

Hi Anita and All

I haven't posted for a while and have missed doing so, but we have been the house of illness and lurgies! My oldest daughter is at nursery school, three mornings a week and is exposed to all the bugs and then brings them home! My back is also better now ( I feel down the stairs a while back) and hopefully we are now on a good health run for Christmas.

I wanted to post when I was feeling more positive again as I was feeling distinctively un-pollyanna like with the related aches and pains I had with the accident, then we all had a tummy bug and then I developed a cough which brought back that peeking feeling again. Anyway I will stop rambling on about our woes and get to the point. I actually felt a lot worse for not doing regular exercise and feel much better for now getting back on track. Way back at the beginning, I was so scared to do any exercise in fears it would make things worse, but the truth is that exercise is the way forward and will make you feel better. You will go through a lot of aches and pains as you strengthen your body, use muscle groups that are underdeveloped and make the posture your own. Try a 5- 10 minute daily routine at first. Kit and Granolmom are so right in this. You could do some of the DVD exercises every day. Do 1 minute of the firebreathing when you first get up. I do the firebreathing in the morning whilst the porridge is cooking for us all. I have weak core muscles too,they are getting stronger and weak core muscles will make everything harder to start off with, as you try to hold the posture but firebreathing is great for these and just keeping in the posture will also strengthen these. A new PT is going to give me specific core muscle and transverse abs workout in the New Year so I will report back with these when I have them.

It is a lifelong commitment and this is so hard to accept at first, but if you can try and do the daily exercise regime, you will start to feel better and and then acceptance may come a bit easier. I think what gives me a kick up the rear when I am feeling low is that there is no viable alternative looming at the moment and I gain strength from how much better my body feels and I am trusting in its healing potential.

By the way I finally got my head around the ballet workout after having the book since May and it was amazing- only got through half of it. Found it physically challenging but also very rewarding!

I am sending you all lots of Christmas love and hope that you all have a healthy and happy New Year. We are making about 40 forty fairy cakes tomorrow and my daughter is going to decorate them with smarties and icing pens. I am so excited, I love Christmas!

Love

Frankie x

are with us all I am sure from time to time. Just the other day we were visiting my partner's niece who is over in UK on holiday from Australia and she was dancing around the living room whirling and twirling my youngest around. I felt sad watching her as I don't lift my youngest lovely girl anymore but as my partner so lovingly said to me- you do so many other things with her and so much more. And I know that this is true and I am grateful for what I have and can do. You are not only different but unique and special as well.

Frankie x

What exercises did you start that helped? I don't have the second book. Do you mean the ones in there? We are tight on money right now so I haven't been able to get it yet.

ATS, if you were to spend a few hrs at my house you'd see me running after my kids and you'd never know I have a prolapse. or fibromyalgia. or a hearing loss.
so just because other women seem to have no problems doesn't mean it is so. for all you know your friend has a recently discovered lump of some kind or OCD or a suspicious tremor. not that I wish any of those upon anyone, but I try to keep in mind that everyone has their share of problems, so you are no different than anyone else.
doesn't make it easier, but it is what it is.

I will get back to you after Christmas, I promise. I do have Christine's new book but I've not mastered the ballet workout yet. Merry Christmas, I'll be back soon. Kit

hey, ATS, I don't think your thought process is silly at all. ah, there's a term for it, can't find the word right now. but its like those thoughts that create anxiety in us. sometimes I have to catch them and replace them with other, more useful, thoughts. that's all.
I just type as I think (faster than I think sometimes and that gets me into trouble!) too. I really do appreciate the freedom of anonymity here. If we are too guarded then our real thoughts stay hidden and it is harder for others to reach us. at least that's how I feel.

New here, just reading through, decided to try to post and say that I use a pessary sometimes. I use the "Cube", very comfortable. I lubricate it with K Y Gel or something on that line and insert. Plain & simple! In the dr.'s office he inserted it for me and it hurt some. Had measurements and ordered one by prescription for me. Was told to insert lubricated pessary for working, or daily, as needed, remove at nite, to give your body a rest. No, it does not fall out, has small suction cups, really gives support, sometimes uncomfortable without it. Easy to remove and Insert. I was scared at first. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get it out! There are tiny holes in various places on cube, I attached a string of dental floss to make sure I could get it out. Never had to use that (this is funny, and probably telling you more then you want to know, sorry). I insert the cube while standing up, and remove it while standing up, in a squat position. The dr put it in while I was lying down, thats probably why it hurt. I can't say enough about this pessary. Also learned from an older book of this author that there is a natural sponge pessary (I have this also) it is VERY comfortable, mine tends to get wet with urine every time I go to the bath room, not very convient while travelling (haven't mastered the idea yet).
I'm here to learn as I have this same problem. Seems to be worse at times. My regular dr does not know anything about this kind of problem. I see a Urogynocologist once in a great while, have to travel pretty far as there are not many in this area. Have learned a great deal from this author, the most important being to trust myself on taking care of myself, example ... using a pessary and simple practices that work.

The Very Best To All.

Hi Granolamom

I call these almost subconscious thoughts 'rabbits'. They pop up when you are least expecting them, and are totally irrelevant to the subject being dealt with at the time, which is why I think out brains dismiss them as irrelevant, and they disappear again.

I try to recognise them these days and grab them by the ears before they bob down out of sight again. Then I can have a good look at the thought, all over, work out where it came from, decide whether any part of it is true; keep the true part and ditch the rest, knowing what part of my past it has come from and that it is now irrelevant.

Once I have had a careful examination of the thought, the untrue parts of it never seem to recur and life becomes gradually more peaceful.

I have been doing this for several years now, and I now find that when I grab a rabbit these days, it is nearly always a rational thought, so I have come to trust my rabbits. They now serve me, instead of the other way around.

Cheers

Louise

Dear Louise,

This is an extremely useful and practical application of good psychology. The Buddha taught to examine our thoughts and your way also reminds me of something Henry David Thoreau might have come up with. Right on, Louise!

Happy New Year!

Christine

Hi Christine

Thanks, but it's not really original. The rabbit bit is, but that analogy came to me during a 2 week cognitive bahaviour therapy course, when I learnt about grabbing subconscious thoughts and examining them to see whether or not they were rational, and therefore whether or not I needed to take any notice of them.

You are right. Those who draw our attention to useful ways of using our mind/body/soul are indeed a blessing.

Cheers

Louise