decided not to have hysterectomy

I think you are wise not to have a hysterectomy.
I am 72 yeas old and was advised to have a hysterectomy
several years ago. I almost agreed to have one and
then found this site.
I decided to try the ww posture and am very happy I did.
If it isn't broken why wreck it.
Regards,
Flora

WW posture or whole woman posture is a way of holding your
body that helps to put all the pelvic organs in their proper place.
Go to the main page and read the FAQ especially 11 and 12 they explain
the posture.
Also if you can order Christine's book "The Whole Woman." It explains a lot
of things about the posture, some of the results that can happen
after some of the surgeries and many more things diet, excercises etc.
You can order the book from the ww woman store which can be accessed
from the main page or type wholewomanstore.com into your browser.
Welcome to the forum and if you have any more questions do ask them.
Someone will try to answer them. You may not get an answer right away but
I am sure you will get an answer.

Edit
Sorry the name of Christine's book is "Saving the Whole Woman."
Had a blond moment or maybe a senior's moment.

Hi Patmado1

I'll take a risk here and make an assumption. Just laugh at me if I am wrong. If you are unsure what we are talking about, or carry out some of our suggestions, just ask us to explain further. That way, everybody learns. ;-)

Cheers

Louise

To patmardo1,

You are wise to educate yourself about the alternatives to and consequences of hysterectomy before making this decision. Do you have any symptoms? Are they slight, moderate or severe?

About alternatives. Have you considered using a pessary? It's a device that you insert into your vagina, much in the way a the contraceptive device a diaphragm is inserted, that holds the uterus, bladder, and rectum in place. You remove it every six to eight weeks to wash it, then you reinsert it. There are 19 different types of pessaries. Like buying shoes, it's important to be fitted with the right type and right size for your anatomy. If' it's too large it will be uncomfortable or painfual. If it's too small it will fall out.

One of the most helpful things you can do in making this decision is to watch the short video "Female Anatomy: the Functions of the Female Organs" at www.hersfoundation.org/anatomy. After watching the video click on the anatomy charts to the left of the monitor.

If you would like to receive more information about pessaries and about the effects of hysterectomy you can go to www.hersfoundation.org and click on "Contact". In the comments section you can request that information be emailed or sent by post to you about pessaries.

Dear Nora,

Thank you so much for posting! I appreciate your support of women considering hysterectomy for prolapse. Your DVD and adjunct materials are very useful in explaining the many risk factors associated with hysterectomy. However, I would like to discuss with you an issue at the core of the Whole Woman message.

For over 500 years medical science has misrepresented the position of the pelvis in the standing human body. It seems that initially it was an honest mistake caused by mounting the vertebrae on a steel rod, resulting in a straightened spine and a pelvis rotated 90 degrees backward to look like a “bowl” with a muscle-covered “floor.” Astonishingly, this mistake, which has huge implications for women, is only now being quietly corrected by medical science. In fact, the first edition of Saving the Whole Woman (2003), a copy of which I personally gave to you, was the first time this information was made widely available. Only three other times in history was the mistake detailed – twice in the gynecologic literature and once in the veterinary literature.

What this means is that in truth the human pelvis is in the very same position as four legged mammals. We have an absolutely horizontal sacrum and a spine that was only able to become fully vertical by forming a deep lumbar curve. It is a profound truth that we are a horizontal species from the hips down and vertical from the waist up. The old myths of half-man, half-beast were based on intuitive understanding of the correct position of our bones. The challenges of bipedal stance to the female body were much greater than the male, as our hips had to be wide enough to birth large-headed offspring, yet narrow enough to maintain graceful human gait. And it is women who suffer most from the loss of our innate posture.

Because pelvic organ prolapse is largely a postural problem in women, and prolapse a major indication for hysterectomy, I would like to ask you to join me in this movement to correct the misrepresentation of female pelvic anatomy. The ways in which we talk about and envision our anatomy make all the difference in how we understand prolapse, its prevention and reversal.

The position of the pelvic organs you are using in your presentation Figure 1 shows the pubic bone in the classic supine position and the pelvic organs in the cadaveric positions they have been represented as throughout the history of gynecology. It is no surprise that surgeons have illustrated their viewpoint of female anatomy, which consists of a small operative window with the pelvis in the supine position. When we stand up the pelvis rotates into its fully nutated position Figure 2. The pelvic organs become positioned over their TRUE pelvic floor, which are the pubic bones that come together like the straps of a saddle underneath us. The bladder, uterus, and sigmoid colon are positioned directly behind the lower abdominal wall. In fact, the pregnant body Figure 3 is an extreme representation of how the organs sit out in front and over their natural bony floor. The conventional concept of “pelvic floor” is actually a more vertical wall of muscle. Figure 4. When we can conceive of our bones in their rightful positions, we more easily understand that the goal of natural posture and movement is to move our pelvic organs FORWARD instead of up.

An interesting side note is what happens when the pelvic interior is reconstructed surgically in standard operating procedure with the head of the table slightly lowered and the supine hips rotated backward 90 degrees in stirrups. The resulting effect is that the vagina has been made to conform to that age-old misrepresentation of female anatomy! The pelvic interior is now rotated out of natural alignment, making holding the organs over their true floor impossible. Extremely high failure rates can be explained by our actual anatomy. Our pelvic organ support system consists of our breath, gravity, and the natural shape of our spine, all of which can no longer work for us with a reconstructed vagina.

This brings up the pessary issue as well. If pessaries were the answer to most women’s prolapse problems that would be swell, but in fact they bring with them a unique set of problems. Primarily because of how the medical establishment envisions and suggests they be worn – again based on the same incorrect pelvic anatomy!

Pessaries are positioned like this by both manufacturers and doctors Figure 5 because it is believed they should hold up a horizontal pelvic outlet. In fact, when a large pessary is holding the normally flattened-against-intraabdominal-pressure vagina open, the vaginal walls become very vulnerable to neighboring organs squeezing into that open space. In reality, a pessary such as the ring-with-support will flip on its own to conform to the natural axis of the vagina Figure 6. For women with primary cystocele/rectocele, this relatively thin pessary lying vertically within the natural axis of the vaginal walls may push the bladder forward enough to relieve prolapse symptoms. However, for women with primary UP, the muscular cervix coming down from above will often push the pessary out.

It is true that women should be encouraged to explore the pessary option. But to suggest that the nineteen styles of pessary plus a good “fitter” is a major solution to prolapse is not accurate.

Because anything holding the vagina open to intraabdominal pressure places our natural anatomy in jeopardy, it is probably best that women first try to affect their symptoms by returning to their pelvic organ support system (natural breathing + gravity + natural spinal shape.) A thin pessary worn comfortably to reduce symptoms would be the next best approach. But understand that doctors have long recognized that pessaries do not halt prolapse progression.

Btw, I am speaking here of natural rather than post-hysterectomy anatomy.

Thank you for this opportunity to explain our natural anatomy, which can be found in much more detail in my book Saving the Whole Woman, Second Edition. Also, I would like to ask that you include a link to wholewoman on your site as I have always done for HERS. I have requested repeatedly that hystersisters be linked here only to be consistently ignored. We seem to be seen as “radical” and “militant” by some other groups, when in truth we are all about conservation of natural female health.

Sincerely,

Christine

Hi Christine

I am not sure that Nora does "suggest that the nineteen styles of pessary plus a good “fitter” is a major solution to prolapse". The way I read Nora's post says that use of an appropriate pessary can provide an alternative to hysterectomy as a treatment for pelvic organ prolapse. We know that there are women among Wholewoman membership who swear by, or know other women who swear by, pessary use. Pessaries can help a woman who has POP to manage the condition, and thankfully the Hers Foundation can provide comprehensive information to women who would only find sales information on other gyn sites.

Hi Nora

I hope you you can see from the host of posts on this Forum that there are many women who choose not to use pessaries, or have tried repeatedly and found they do not suit them.

I hope you have also seen the enormous number of posts from women who find that postural amendments really do reposition their pelvic organs further forward over the pubic bone and by this considerably reduce the unpleasant symptoms of prolapse, sometimes to a point where the prolapses no longer pose a significant problem in everyday activities.

Managing POP is not done with magic bullets. It is done by optimising a number of factors and practices at the same time. To ignore the potential role of pessaries would be condemning some women to unnecessary suffering. To ignore the benefits of carrying the pelvic organs forward of the pelvic floor would also be condemning some women to unnecessary suffering. I would go as far as to opine that it would be unwise to ignore the benefits of optimising posture, in the face of the evidence of women here who have used it for several years (nearly four years in my case) and find it pivotal to managing their POP's.

Respectfully

Louise