scary symptoms?anyone relate?

I really dont' know what to tell you. I've gotten really bad cramps - uterine cramps - occasionally after wearing high heels for too long. maybe coincidental, maybe not.
my gut feeling is that you didn't cause it by pushing things up, but obviously I dont know that for sure.
In any case, I hope you feel better soon

Agree, my gut too is that you did not do anything by pushing things back up. I know however that the cervix can be irritable, after a pap smear it can get upset and bleed, so I supposed if you messed too much with the cervix it might get crampy but I doubt it... pushing the uterus up with a finger is not the same thing as running a Q-Tip around in the cervix.

Are you sure it was not gas? Going by pure statistics, that IS the most common cause of abdominal pain. And it is typically made better by lying down.

I went through a phase when I was constantly trying to push things back into place. as if that would make it all go away. oooh I was mad that it kept dropping down again!
I imagine that everything gets pushed around during sex, but I never have pain from it.
glad youre feeling better

I get these so bad sometimes that they are worse than period cramps. Everything is all tight and the prolapse feels worse. I usually take 3 Advil and in a day or so, it goes away.

After having two children, these have got a lot stronger and I was quite scared the first time I got them until I realised what they were. Maybe this was what you were feeling? Glad to hear you are feeling a lot better.

Frankie x

Yes I push things back up but not very often. Usually when everything starts hanging out I just put in my pessary. Wear it a few days then when I take it out things stay up. I have NO CLUE why. They'll stay up for many days or a couple weeks. Sex seems to prolong them staying up. One bout of constipation brings it all down again.

I know you've talked about your pessary before, and that you've had lots of success with it. Would you do me a favor, however, and give me some information again about what kind you have: shape, description, manufacturer, etc. I know everyone is different, and what works for one person might not work for another. But I am 'gathering' all of the information that I can, and I would really appreciate your help. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

Goldfinch

Certainly. Mine is the doughnut type. The doctor told me that it is the only one that would really work for me. It comes in about six sizes but I can't recall the manufacturer's name. It is very smooth silicone and the doctor gave me a needle and syringe so I can inject or remove air from it to adjust it's... "tension"? It doesn't really puff up like a balloon but it is harder or softer and harder or easier to compress depending on the amount of air in it. He adjusted it in the office and it suits me I haven't ever changed it yet. You just stick the needle right through the silicone and apparently it automatically closes back up and doesn't leak.

I use a little lubricant to insert it but have to keep the lubricant off the part I'm gripping or it'll just slip out of my fingers. I am supposed to smush it to insert it but can't ever keep it smushed and end up just cramming it in. I insert it lengthwise to my body and once in rotate it perpendicular and into the proper position behind my pubic arch. It seems to me about the diameter of a baby's head so I always feel like I'm at that oh-my-god! moment of giving birth when the head crowns when I insert or remove it... ha ha ha.... kinda ouch but not really agony or anything. If you've ever given birth naturally you know the stretchy feeling at the introitus isn't the hard part, it's the transition with the cervix opening that really hurts. But in any case it's only that wide in one direction whereas a baby's head is in two planes so it's not that bad. WELL WORTH being able to walk around feeling all pushed back up inside and not risking surgery.

I don't remove mine every night, that would be too much trouble. The longest I wear it is 3 or 4 days because that's the longest I'll go without having sex. I don't wear it during sex. Except... the other night. I'll tell you this funny story. When the doctor fit it I asked him do I remove it for sex? And he said, "oh yes, there's no room for anything else in there." So I always remove it before sex. Well the other day my husband came home from out of town early. We go in the bedroom for a "quickie" and I TOTALLY FORGET I was wearing the pessary! It wasn't until we were all done and I was peeing that I remembered. So I asked him if he felt anything different and he said no. Well later on we experimented and did it again. I figured out that his penis was sliding under the pessary so he was not feeling "blocked" or anything. So much for the doctor's saying there's no room in there. But still I think I'll continue to remove it for sex just for sanitary reasons.

Thanks, Anne, for the information - especially about the feature of adding and releasing air. I never knew that there were pessaries like that. I think finding a good doctor that you like AND who also has knowledge about pessaries is like hitting the jackpot. Your's sounds like a gem! But I guess he'll learn something new when you tell him your story about forgetting to take it out before sex!! :-)

Again, the information is much appreciated!

Goldfinch

I don't think he is as knowledgable about pessaries as he was just lucky and got the right one for me the first try, but he is a real gem; he's been my gyno for more than two decades. Retiring this year though (08) :(.

Just a thought, ladies. Instead of lubricating the donut pessary so it becomes slippery, how about lubricating your vulva and bottom part of vagina instead. It might make it easier to squash the pessary and keep it squashed for insertion.

Cheers

Louise

I'll try but I think I've done it that way before. It's not just the slipperyness it is also the kinked angle of my hand. It's like I can't keep it squished AND angle it right to push it up and in. But I'll try next time and see what happens.

Hi AnneH

I don't know whether or not it would work either. Why on earth don't they come with an applicator? Oh, silly me. That's what a gynaecologist is for, isn't it? Pretty darned expensive applicator if you ask me!

But seriously, I think the reason for no applicator is that gynaecologists and their paraprofessional staff are the only people who are allowed to fit them. I don't think even general practitioners (family doctors) are allowed to fit them. May be wrong about that, and it may vary from country to country too.

I can see a reason why initial fitting and removal should be done by a skilled person, but after that I reckon they are morally bound to teach a woman how to do it herself, and the products should be designed to be easy to insert and remove. Otherwise it is just a revenue raising exercise. Oh well, I guess if they can't get women onto the surgery treadmill they have to find a way of getting ongoing income out of women, ie make the pessary an inconvenient and expensive appliance to use.

I wonder if DH could help you (TMI?)?

Cheers

Louise

EDIT: On the other hand, if it was easy to get the pessary in with an applicator, it might not be so easy to get it out. Ouch!