This morning I picked up my pessary...this evening I ordered my sea sponges.

Submitted by rural_juror on June 19, 2009 - 11:17pm
Body: 

My pessary fitting so far has been a nightmare.

Supposedly my gyno is the fitting expert in our HMO, but that's not saying much. The round/disk/donut ones didn't really fit according to her, so she put me in the Gehrung, which is like a bridge that holds up the cystocele. She seemed confused about how it was to go in during the initial fitting a few days ago, and the pain was horrible when she was twisting it into place. Once it was in I decided to give it a try, so we ordered that one. I was able to find directions online about how to place it, so did some visualization on how to proceed once the one she ordered came in.

UGH! She put it in for me today and I was CRAWLING up the exam table to get away from her--it was that painful. I cried out a couple of times until she got it into place, then she left me alone and told me to remove it and put it back in. (I flipped her off when she left the room-yeah, childish, I know!) I went to check it and she had it in sideways (blocking the vagina, instead of opening it) I removed it and replaced it with much less discomfort. I pulled out the directions that came in the box and layed them out on the exam table. When she came in to check me I told her that it had been in wrong ("maybe it shifted") and showed her the printed directions. She checked it and said I had placed it perfectly, so she called it good, told me I could keep the directions (gee thanks!) and sent me on my way.

I lasted 2 hours in that stupid thing. Now, granted, the first hour was great. But then, the discomfort turned to EXTREME discomfort and all my efforts to override it failed. I was crazy to get it out and very upset. When I felt around it, my cervix was really low. Usually I have a full index finger in before I can touch my cervix, but with the pessary in, I could feel it as close as the second knuckle. That can't be good! Out it came with a loud "Good riddance".

But because the Gehrung is moldable--and I'm not one to admit defeat easily--I even rounded it out a bit and tried it again this evening. At 2 hours, I was again miserable and my cervix was moving south. WTH? So far my cervix has been the mildest offender in this assault. I don't need it to all of the sudden decide to join in the mad rush to exit.

So, needless to say, I ordered my sea pearls and I'm thinking they will work great. I've been using the Instead cup and tampons pretty comfortably. I worked 3 hours at a food pantry yesterday with the tampon in and didn't even think ONCE about my prolapse. And that was lifting, standing and moving stuff. I could not even think about doing that with the stupid pessary I was fit into.

My darling husband brought me 2 dozen pink roses tonight, because I was so upset today. He is very wise and told me, "This is what progress looks like" I looked at him like he was crazy, so he said, "Yes, this IS progress. Now you know what doesn't work, and you can explore other options". (Yes, like finding a new gynecologist!)

RJ

rural_juror

June 20, 2009 - 3:19pm

I just think that there is so much room for improvement in the technology. I find it hard to believe that there is not some way to customize them--of course, there is more money to be made in surgery, so it's unlikely anyone would spend the effort to customize pessaries. It just seems like there could be some way to make a mold of the vagina and slightly expand it, then fashion a pessary that way. Sort of like how they make a mold of your teeth with that quick drying rubbery stuff. I've found myself thinking out how this could work, looking at different shapes and ruminating that there isn't more to choose from. Even my dog's small Kong toy looks like it is a possible shape. (No, I'm not willing to try it!) I really think if one were so inclined, there could be quite a demand in custom pessaries.

If the sponges don't work, I will try the beeswax pessary.

I had a "eureka" moment regarding why my cervix was descending: Christine discusses the prolapsed organs acting as nature's pessary. Well, once my cystocele and rectocele were pushed out of the way and my vagina was a tunnel again, my cervix had nothing to hold her up anymore! Down the hatch she goes! Now I TOTALLY see why a bladder tuck would lead to a fully prolapsed uterus. It's all making sense.

louiseds

June 21, 2009 - 8:57am

<:-o>

rural_juror

June 21, 2009 - 11:29am

I need you to decipher your hieroglyph for me. :-)

Judith

June 21, 2009 - 1:53pm

Good luck with your new sea sponge rural-juror. I've just started using mine and it's made life much more tolerable. I still get a bit of a pressure feeling at times but I don't worry that everything's about to drop out. I know that some people have found theirs scratchy but mine feels fine, maybe it's just a matter of wetting it enough beforehand. And Louise's dental floss idea works brilliantly. I am very pleased. I can't really understand why anyone would use a pessary instead as pessaries are harder and can press on any other -celes. The beeswax sounds quite good though. The other thing I noticed in the info leaflet is that you can leave it in while having sex, in fact, if you use spermicide you can use it as a contraceptive (wouldn't have risked that in my younger days though).

Can anyone answer a couple of questions about sea sponges?

(1). Is it ok to leave a sponge in all day, do you have to take it out and rinse it?

(2) If you exercise with it in doing stuff that you wouldn't normally attempt because of POPs, is there any chance of doing damage or does it actually protect as well as make you feel more comfortable ( I mean, is it like using painkillers to mask pain so that you can dance the night away then pay for it when the pill has worn off?)

(3) picking up from RJ's comment about uterus prolapsing when rectocele and cystocele move back, could the sponge cause this to happen if you've only got celes, no uterine prolapse, because it pushes them back?

If anyone can answer these I'd be very grateful. Judith xxx

rural_juror

June 21, 2009 - 2:34pm

Thanks for your comments, Judith. I'm really anxious to get my sponges and give them a try. I'm hoping they will come this week!

My thoughts on the sponge is that it should'nt cause the cervix to come down as it acts as just another -cele. (the spongecele...or maybe "seal") The problem I have with the Gehrung pessary is that it essentially caused my vagina to become a tube/tunnel again. With nothing blocking the way, the cervix descends to fill the void. Any other type of pessary (or a sponge, or a tampon) would block the tunnel and support the uterus. The Gehrung is a unique pessary in that it opens everything up again. This just shows me that if I had a bladder tuck, I would soon be facing a further prolapsed uterus.

Judith

June 21, 2009 - 3:36pm

Yes, I see what you mean. Should be a big improvement for you then.

I'd be keen to see what other sponge users (or just people who are more expert than me) answer to my exercise question, that's quite a big one for me. I'd like to think it was protective rather than merely palliative, keeping the organs in place and stopping the fascia from overstretching more when exercising - is that just wishful thinking I wonder.

I really wish I'd discovered these sponges years ago for periods, I think they're great.

Please let us know how you get on. Judith xx

louiseds

June 21, 2009 - 7:47pm

Surprise with raised eyebrows. Pity there isn't one for a lightbulb moment. L

alemama

June 21, 2009 - 8:49pm

1. yes I think you can leave it in all day- never have but I can't imagine why not
2. yes I think it has a protective effect - I felt better than ever after my first period in years- I attributed that to wearing a tampon all day and all night for three days- I felt like it pressed my rectocele back and allowed for some healing to go on there that had not happened yet.
3. no it won't cause further prolapse- as far as I can imagine- that would be like saying sex would cause prolapse.

that said- I would not use it as a brace so that I could go out and do crazy stuff. I have used a tampon for support when I knew I was going to be on my feet for a long time but not so that I could go lift heavy stuff. The nice part about prolapse is that it lets you know when you are pushing it too far. That way you can give yourself good care and recover well.

Judith

June 22, 2009 - 7:30am

Thanks Jackie, alemama, Louise for your replies. Alemama, your tampon use over all that time sounds pretty hardcore. It made me think of a whole new dimension to that Tampax ad where it enables women to scuba dive and skateboard etc etc during their period. Thanks for the info, very helpful - I'll hold off from trampolining then.

A bit of feedback for people who've posted about rectocele and BMs ie a bit of TMI again. In my limited experience so far, it seems that using the sponge helps with emptying the rectum better. I haven't tried BM with sponge inserted, I've been putting it in immediately afterwards, but I think that the fact that the rectum has been held in place over a period of time must make a difference to the mechanics of defecating - Louise seems to be the expert on this aspect so may have some insight as to why.

Also, I have once experienced dryness after removing the sponge and used the Bliss Balm, worked very well. Judith xx

louiseds

June 22, 2009 - 8:58am

Hi Judith

It could be that the sponge helps the emptying. I had a stressful morning Sunday and didn't have time for my usual routine. I was feeling quite put out all day, and suddenly just as I was about to head off to bed my body decided it needed a poo. It was hard to start, OK in the middle and hard to finish. The first bit was quite big and hard and the rest was OK, but I did have trouble finishing. (The things we talk about here!!) There was very little peristalsis pushing it along. Halfway along I tried splinting, but I could not feel the rectocele bulging into my vagina. Instead there seemed to be a pocket of stool down beside the external anal sphincter. I felt still half full. So I lifted my butt off the seat and did one of my upside down jiggling things to shake everything up towards my navel. That must have just shaken the kink out of the pipe. At last I could finish off. The question is, why didn't I feel like I needed to go earlier in the evening, when my rectum first filled? I think it might have been because I was doing a lot of slouching last night before I went to bed. Don't know why. It had been a stressful day. Perhaps everything just got pushed down and jammed in place. Today has been a bit low, but tonight it's good. My dear old body really is quite trustworthy, after all.

Maybe getting the bowels organised for a while with the sponge sets you up for a good poo. Maybe inversion exercises would help with constipation, full stop? Particularly if done about 15 minutes after a meal. Do a trial and report back.

Cheers

Louise

Judith

June 22, 2009 - 10:23am

Hi Louise

Am happy to give most things a go, not sure precisely what counts as an inversion exercise. My back won't let me do anything too radical eg headstands but does downward dog count? Also will try BM with sponge in.

I've also ordered one of those duramed-mabis-douche-enema-hotwaterbottle things mentioned by Pam I think it was, waiting for it to come from the US. I want to experiment to see whether irrigating the rectum combined with keeping it in place with sponge will facilitate rehabilitation ie allow the fascia to restore some tone because it's not being constantly overstretched. In any event, it will be more comfortable I'm sure.

I followed the thread about the device, not sure I totally understand how it isn't the kind of enema that, through continued use, might lead to loss of natural bowel function and urge to empty, so feel some trepidation. Am I right in thinking that there isn't a problem with the mechanics of introducing fluid into the bowel per se, it's only if the fluid is some kind of irritant eg coffee, and that plain water is ok. Think I need a little bit of reassurance that I'm not going to wreck my natural function which is actually very good, just want to be sure I'm completely emptying.

If you know the answer I'd be grateful. Then watch this space .......Judith xx

louiseds

June 22, 2009 - 10:36am

Hi Judith

I confess that enemas are not my area at all. I sympathise with your desire to fully empty when you have a poo, both so it does not enlarge the rectum and for simple comfort. I just wouldn't get too obsessed with it. My bowels do all sorts of strange things, sometimes easy, sometimes hard, sometimes hard, sometimes very soft. I try not to worry too much about it, as long as I can have a decent empty out on a regular basis, which is usually every day. If I have worrying sensations I do something about it, whether that be splinting, going back every time I get that feeling, drinking more water, particularly after eating a lot or salty food, or upping the fibre. I cannot see anything wrong with the occasional water enema, especially if it seems that the stool is dry. Surely you are just adding back more water? There is nothing quite as satisfying as that feeling of having 'done a good job' as my Mum used so tactfully to say. Go for it.

Inversion exercise. Ah yes. Downward dog or just hold on to your ankles with your wrists with slightly bent knees and jiggle your knees a bit and try and shake your organs about a bit and suck air into your vagina. It is the kind of action you would use with a full jar of beans if you wanted to fit a few more in, not forcing but rearranging the contents enough to make more room. Kapiche?

L

Judith

June 22, 2009 - 11:54am

Kapiche, thank you Judith xx

Christine

June 22, 2009 - 7:10pm

Hi Patra,

I have tried organic cotton balls dampened with water before insertion and they do work to keep things higher. For me, though, they work their way into the high corners of my vagina and are very difficult to remove. The sea sponge does the same if I place it high enough to do any good. Yes, I have a reference in my book from a paper stating wool pessaries wrapped with string have been used for thousands of years. That sounded terrible when I read it, but the way your great-aunt describes the little silk-wrapped sachets sounds lovely.

:) Christine

Mae

June 22, 2009 - 9:23pm

Love that man! He is very wise and loves you VERY much..trust me! I have a guy like him! We are very, very lucky!! ~Mae