When I first “cracked the code” on stabilizing and reversing prolapse, and wrote and published Saving the Whole Woman, I set up this forum. While I had finally gotten my own severe uterine prolapse under control with the knowledge I had gained, I didn’t actually know if I could teach other women to do for themselves what I had done for my condition.
So I just started teaching women on this forum. Within weeks, the women started writing back, “It’s working! I can feel the difference!”
From that moment on, the forum became the hub of the Whole Woman Community. Unfortunately, spammers also discovered the forum, along with the thousands of women we had been helping. The level of spamming became so intolerable and time-consuming, we regretfully took the forum down.
Technology never sleeps, however, and we have better tools today for controlling spam than we did just a few years ago. So I am very excited and pleased to bring the forum back online.
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Best wishes,
Christine Kent
Founder
Whole Woman
Christine
February 26, 2009 - 6:39pm
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post surgery
Hi Mrsfuller,
No doubt it is a betrayal when women are not given all the information they need to make an informed decision. Keep your eye on the sling because they tend to migrate and erode in young, sexually active women. Do you know whether mesh was used for your rectocele repair?
It is very difficult to have a “little bit” of vaginal surgery - sort of like being a “little bit” pregnant - albeit pregnant with possibility of future problems. Surgery on the back wall pulls the front wall toward the back (and with it comes cystocele and urinary incontinence); surgery on the front wall - including sub-urethral slings - pulls the back wall down and with it the uterus...and so it goes.
The human vagina is a highly evolved organism and its functionality is significantly undermined by these procedures. It is very difficult to suggest what to do next. I would say the posture is a must to begin to pull the fascial planes toward their natural alignments. However, if you have mesh inside it is anyone’s guess what and how much exercise, sex, etc., will aggravate your situation even more. I truly have no good answers in these situations. It would probably be pretty difficult to get your surgeon to remove a "healthy" sling. However, I would certainly insist that it be removed at the first sign of trouble.
We are beginning the Whole Woman Project soon, which will be much more heavily dedicated to advocacy and action. Keep in touch.
Wishing you well,
Christine
mrsfuller
February 26, 2009 - 8:23pm
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The rectocele was sort of a
The rectocele was sort of a fold over repair. Apparently there had been quite an improvement since the first exam back in July, so it wasn't much more than folding over "extra" skin right at the back entrance to the vagina (left thigh to right thigh, I think). Yeah, I had been doing some serious praying in the meantime...we were also considering a tubal at the time too...fortunately we decided against that. So no mesh was used in the rectocele. I'm not sure if it's important to mention, but my first son's deliver was a mess, five hours of pushing, mostly on my back because the GP kept reclining my bed further each hour (and she was a woman). I ended up with a 4+ tear because of the suction that was required to get the poor little guy out. (cord around the neck, three times) That tear is basically where the wall failed on my 2nd son's delivery, third child. The girl hardly counts, 17 minutes from the front door with one and a half pushes and she slid out as the doctor slid on the gloves! Anyway, I digress, if I understand you correctly, that because the wall was pulled down both on the back side and the front side, that in turn "encourages" the top (uterus) to "pull down" as well, right? Makes sense. The sling I know is mesh, he talked about that at least...never mentioned that the uterus could prolapse. Well, thanks for making things a little clearer...hopefully he'll be a little more supportive of "correcting" things if that will even work. mrsfuller
Christine
February 26, 2009 - 10:28pm
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dynamics of suburethral sling and UP
I think it’s more likely that your front vaginal wall was pulled forward with the sling. When the front wall is pulled forward, the “back compartment” becomes vulnerable to collapse. New onset UP (if you have a uterus) or rectocele/enterocele (if you don’t) are the result. The uterine cervix shares its back wall with the intestinal “cul-de-sac” that is located just above the back vaginal wall. This is exactly how my UP manifested - although I did not have a mesh sling, but two sutures placed on either side of the neck of my bladder and anchored into the musculature of my lower abdominal wall. Your sling is positioned under your urethra and anchored into your abdominal wall by scar tissue. Even though they say “tension-free”, it is pulling anteriorly enough to kink your urethra and also pulling the front vaginal wall forward - these structures are intimately connected. Surgeons have been well aware of these dynamics for decades.
mrsfuller
February 27, 2009 - 5:46pm
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Well that's a disappointment
I guess it just goes to show you not everyone lives with integrity in every aspect of their lives. Even though this doctor was the best baby doctor I've had yet, he is still human. We can all be bought, it's just a matter of what price we can be bought at...or what we're willing to give away for a perceived need. Hopefully I can appeal to him with our common belief that our bodies were designed and not "accidents" of nature to help possibly change his perspective. One doctor at a time, right? mrsfuller
louiseds
February 28, 2009 - 10:34pm
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Well, that's a disappointment
Hi Mrs Fuller
It is so sad that you were not told the full story by your doctor before you had this surgery, and that you didn't find us until afterwards. ((Hugs)). You are right. He is human and probably did what he did with the best of intentions for you. Unfortunately, in matters of surgery that is sometimes not enough, as you have found.
You seem to have a philosophical approach which will enable you to ride over these difficulties without knotting you up with resentment and anger, and prevent you from getting on with your new body as best you can. More power to you. I do hope you can get some benefit from what you can learn here.
I would really like national health insurance schemes all over the world to put a moratorium on these procedures and have a very thorough and objective look at the costs to taxpayers and members, compared to the real benefits and the real shortcomings of these procedures for the rest of a woman's life. In ya dreams, eh? There are no serious warnings out there in public health land about what can happen afterwards. Even the research into the long term effects of these procedures only goes to five year followups. How long does the average woman live after pelvic repairs??? Many, many years.
Unfortunately, doctors seem to think that doing something is better than doing nothing, even if doing something does irreversible change and damage for short term improvement. I used to think these doctors were supposed to be intelligent human beings. Now I assume nothing about them, and have them justify their opinions before accepting their advice. Sadly, it is a lesson that, each person has to learn for him/herself and it is a hard lesson to swallow after the event.
Best wishes
Louise