new to list

Submitted by tangogal on October 5, 2009 - 6:36pm
Body: 

Hi Everyone,

I'm brand new to the list - just found out about WW a couple of days ago and ordered the book and dvd. I joined for myself (I just noticed something falling in my vagina after a coughing spell recently) and also for my mom. My question at the moment is for my mom, who is also going to be using the dvd and book. She has a prolapsed uterus, and it's hanging out of her vagina at least a whole inch, according to my mom. Pessaries haven't worked for her (they make her leak as they unkink whatever is kinked), and her doc is now recommending surgery. Actually the surgery he's suggesting is to sew up her vagina (My suggestion was that he sew up his penis before recommending this). In any event, my questions are: If my mom does the dvd and reads the book, can she expect her uterus to go back in/up? Or will it just not get any worse? Or will it likely continue getting getting worse no matter what she does? My mom is 82, totally sharp and in excellant health. She very much wants to avoid surgery, but she's also very uncomfortable with something hanging out between her legs and is afraid that it will keep getting worse. Can the organs go back in once they have fallen out?

Thanks so much for any responses.
Joanna (tangogal)

fruitful womb

October 5, 2009 - 11:28pm

Hi welcome, sorry you have to be here but I'm happy you've come for answers and support.

About your mom, is she still sexually active? I don't know! 82? right, well some can still be active at that age, right?

Sewing up the vagina sounds pretty extreme. I love your comment about him sewing up his penis!, LOLOL HA HA HA!

I had my cervix out of my body before and after about a year, it went up inside where its suppose to be. This was after a baby tho. After this previous baby, I bulged quite a bit but seem normal (cervix up high) now 5 months pp.

Its probably not much help but I know others will chime in.

Wonder who has ever gone though a sewed up vagina??? wow.

kiki

October 6, 2009 - 12:25am

HI Joanna,
ah, a tangoer! how exciting!
Welcome, and how very lucky your mom is to have you!

There are a few women on here with prolapsed uteruses who have had amazing progress with WW, even from hanging out. so yes, there is potential for huge change. it's great that your mom is so healthy and so up for changing things to avoid surgery.
and i agree with your comment 100%! These men just don't think. On man we know thought I should just have a hysterectomy if I was through having children (really, normally he's very natural and level headed!). My gorgeous husband asked if he was willing to have his penis cut off since he was also through with kids? that brought home the point quite simply and clearly and he never mentioned it again...

Also, a few of us are having great results with Christine's anti inflammatory diet recommendations. How would your mom be about changing diet possibly radically depending on how she eats? My POPs have improved a ton again, as have Christine's uterine prolapse. Can point you in the direction of those posts if you are interested...

keep posting all the questions you have, for you and your mom!!!
also if you put key words in the search engine on the left you'll get loads of helpful posts...

tangogal

October 6, 2009 - 12:54pm

Hi Gals,

Thanks so much for your replies. To answer fruitful's question - my mom is not sexually active because she's not with anyone (my dad died about four years ago), but if she were to find a boyfriend she'd be very open to it. She saw her doc yesterday and asked him everything that could possibly go wrong with the surgery. After hearing his list, she decided not to do it, and to do WW instead. By the way, I have a thing on youtube of me doing a satire on that first Dr's. appointment she had when he suggested the surgery to sew up her vagina - it's meant to be humorous, but with a very serious point. If anyone's interested I can send you the link.

Kiki, I'm very interested in the diet. I typed in "diet" in the search field and didn't see any real guidelines - only that nightshades and possibly avocados aren't good. I already eat all organic, mostly veggies, small amount of fruit, quinoa, a little organic chicken or wild fish, hardly any grains and definitely no wheat, sugar or dairy. I do eat avocados, though. I don't eat anything processed or any oils other than coconut or olive. Sometimes I have some sprouted grain toast or sprouted grain cereal with almond milk (if I'm craving a treat). I also live with and do a lot of the cooking for my mom, so although she's not as strict as I am, she has a pretty healthy diet. Does it sound like I'm on the right track with the WW diet?

Thanks again for your responses.
Joanna

kiki

October 6, 2009 - 1:19pm

hi joanna,

a few main threads talking about diet are:

http://www.wholewoman.com/forum/node/2733

http://www.wholewoman.com/forum/node/2869

it's not about bad foods, but christine's work is around balancing omega 3 and 6's....i've been looking at how much different foods have of each, and it's surprising! as i also have an inflammatory skin issue that is no fun, i'm being pretty brutal with this to try to control it. but Louise for instance is looking for a more balanced approach,s o you can read what we (and lots of others!) have had to say with that in mind...

sounds like you eat very very well though, which is great on all fronts....

Christine

October 6, 2009 - 1:32pm

Hi Joanna,

How wonderful that you can be supportive of your mom!

While there is no way to definitively answer your questions, I think that your sharp mother will certainly benefit from learning about natural female anatomy, how prolapse is stabilized and reversed, and that many women are seeing results with this work.

I lived with a profoundly prolapsed uterus - like your mom’s - for several years before I began this work. I was pre-menopausal when I began the posture- but at this point I’m not sure hormone levels make a huge difference, as those of us making the menopausal transition have not seen any worsening in our conditions.

Yet, it is hard to know how an 80 year-old body will respond to postural change - I want to believe she has as much chance as the rest of us in seeing some level of result. I hope she likes the beginning workout program in the dvd and can at least find some useful exercises to do on a regular basis. Living in the posture is primary.

I agree that her cervix needs to pull up well inside her labia. But let’s be clear that the vaginal-closure operation she is being offered is not without serious risks - which one of the case studies at the end of STWW strikingly illustrates.

One thing she can do is to manually push her uterus as far forward as possible each morning. Then assume the posture for as much of the day as possible. She will need to alternate with lots of rest and understand that it can take months for the muscles to get used to holding the body in this way. Straining on the toilet is a major no-no and an anti-inflammatory diet can make a huge difference.

There seems to be no end to what we find out about pelvic organ support, and that prolapse can have a strong inflammatory component is our latest discovery. Over the last few days, my cervix has been very low and I’ve also had a flare of my inflammatory vulva condition (not a fun combination.) Having learned that butter is anti-inflammatory, and partly out of desperation/curiosity, I tried slathering on a good amount. Not only did my vulva clear up almost immediately, but my cervix is hardly noticeable again. I used organic, raw butter, by the way. I know it sounds crazy and I'm not suggesting she do this - only that there is much hope and remedies are all around us.

I so hope you keep in touch. The medical system has it SO WRONG about prolapse and the more 80+ year-old women we can help see improvement, the stronger our movement will be.

Hope an hugs,

Christine

SueHill (not verified)

October 6, 2009 - 1:48pm

Not wanting to sound too dense, but where exactly did you use the butter Christine, on toast or .... you get my drift, I hope? ;D

tangogal

October 6, 2009 - 7:21pm

Thanks, Christine,

Congratulations on finding the butter cure! I've tried all kinds of crazy things, and my mom is used to me giving her all kinds of remedies, as were my children while they were growing up! We'll be doing the dvd together - I'm looking forward to recieving it. Is the diet information on the dvd or in the book?

tangogal

October 6, 2009 - 7:58pm

Kiki,

Thanks for guiding me to those posts. I'm always looking for ways to reduce inflammation, also. Does this mean it's better to avoid omega 3's altogether? For example, do you think flax is helpful or harmful with inflammation? Also, I've read that walnuts are high in omega 6....do they also contain omega 3...would they be good or not so good for inflammation? I really want to learn as much as I can about this. I do take anti-inflammatory supplements, like curcumin, ginger and cayenne, and just recently heard about st. john's wart being anti-inflam. But my sense is that diet is key for me - mostly in terms of mood and energy.

Christine

October 7, 2009 - 11:12am

We're working on a documentary now about food and women's health. Am swamped at the moment, but there is lots of good information here on the forums. I believe walnuts have more Omega 3 than 6. Flax is controversial - several enzymatic steps required to turn it into DHA, which is the true anti-inflammatory essential fatty acid. Algae and fish oils are good.

And Sue...the butter didn't go onto toast ;)

SueHill (not verified)

October 7, 2009 - 12:02pm

Dearest Christine

My occasional breakfast treat of toast, butter and marmalade will never be the same! How wonderful to be on this voyage of discovery with you ... an 'expotition' I think is what Pooh would call it.

Sue xx

kiki

October 7, 2009 - 1:00pm

just to clarify....the idea is to boost the 3's, lower the 6's...
not sure of the whole story about flax, but Christine found algae oil to be amazing, i'm doing fish as algae oil not readily available where i am.
i'm also taking a lot of turmeric (4 capsules a day), and keeping my 6's as low as possible through cooking with butter or occasionally coconut oil instead.

my next step is to try christine's butter trick....hey, i've tried slathering myself in so many other things, this just seems normal to me now! ;-)
and it's got to smell a million times better than neem...