New on the forum

Hi,
I'm no expert, except on myself. I also have a cystocele or bladder prolapse. Mine bulges out, even sometimes in the morning. I've been doing the exercises but I sit when I do the floor ones as I have arthritic knees. They always help, as does the firebreathing. I have set all my carseats on a 45 degree angle and try to practice good posture. I use KY vitamin E and Aloe nightly and try to keep things "tucked in" by occasionally and always before sitting bending over as if to pick something up off of the floor. I bend over in half every time I pee and that helps, too. I used to get bladder infections before my prolapse but now I am emptying my bladder more often and more completely. I am m less active physically, and I can not do long periods of standing but that hurts my knees, anyway. I am probably more active mentally. You will adjust. The sex is maybe even better! The altenative is way worse and by being good to myself I have become a more self-confident and feminine person. Hang in there, you will find your way. Your body is miraculous and self-adjusting.

Wow, mother to 7, that is fantastic! Your body seems to have served you well through the years but sorry to hear of your recent changes. What was/is your experience of menopause and can you correlate the changes you have noticed to this process? Louiseds on this forum has chronicled a great deal of her journey through menopause, so a search of her name will bring up heaps of info.
Moistening the bladder - Christine has created a salve called Bliss Balm that is not water soluable and is simply divine that may help with moistening.
Sitting - I've given up finding the 'right' kind of chair and just make adjustments wherever I am sitting. I have found hot water bottles filled with varying amounts of water are great for helping to reinforce the lumbar curve and encouraging sitting on sits bones rather than the sacrum, which is the bane of modern society ;) Gym balls are great too, impossible to slouch and great for getting your body used to supporting itself. A search for 'posture' in the search engine will bring up more info.
I think most people find it takes some practice and diligence to see results, but they will happen and like mentioned already, you will have a greater sense of your own body and get to know it in a whole new way.
Stick around and ask questions, you are in good company!

i am 40 and the mother of 3.....soon to be 4! i was diagnosed with my cystocele about a month ago and i find it definitely can be all consuming. my struggle is to just let go and accept it because i find when i fight it in my head, when i over focus on my symptoms....that is when my symptoms seem to get worse. (don't know if you can relate?)

finding this forum has been a beautiful thing because i don't feel so isolated and the women here are all so supportive and knowledgeable. so, thanks for sharing your story with us and i wish you only the best :) -lalita

Well, us old geezers should stay in touch!

I am 65 years old but feel 25 in my head !
I have had a prolapse for 35 years and only a few months ago realised that the friend I had been ignoring for that time was wanting to make my aquaintance and appeared outside the area !
I knew deep inside me that all this was normal as I had a wonderful Mother who refused all medical intervention and died guarding her prolapse at the age of 96 !
However I was so encouraged by finding the site and realising that there were so many of us out there. I sent for Christines book and read it on an English train which was a revelation !!! I was left alone !
I have begun by sitting properly and leaning forward to pee. I have read and re- read the book but think I may read the workout onto a tape
( very old fashioned ) as I will take the work out step by step.
I am an active 65 year old, I walk and do Pilates and recently have joined a " Nifty Fifties and Over " keep fit class. Some things have exacerbated my prolapse and I am being selective about my activities
I have been following an Ayurvedic diet for health and feel very empowered that I am taking this very normal condition into my own hands
I am not consulting my doctor as I feel I don't need to.
Life in Britain can be empowering if you have thye right relationship with your doctor
I hope to improve with Christine's exercises which look to me like classical ballet . I feel very grateful for the site and thank everyone who contributes It's about comminicating That is where we get our strength from

OK, I'm thinking I'll change my name from Discouraged to Geezer now! I was discouraged when I first signed up for this forum. I had just been to my gyn. Now, I'm seeing her come around a bit. She herself has a rectocele. She no longer thinks I am crazy for not having surgery. If I can be a good example to her, I can help many others, her patients. She's a Geezer, too. So, I'm not discouraged anymore. You can figure out how to live with this, pompom12, just like you could figure out how to adjst to wearing bifocals or many of the other things we graciously cope with as we age. It will be a challenge sometimes, but you can know that if you keep with it you will be just fine. It will get to the time when you forget it completely for a few hours, maybe even when you garden. I feel good after I garden in a bent-over position. You will have become aware of the position of your pop, just like you are aware of the position of your feet and your hands. It will become second nature to pull your chest up and sit correctly. Best of luck and encouragement to you.

I love it! If you need help changing your screen name, just let Louise or I know. :D

my cystocele really is smaller and higher than it used to be. I attribute this to the posture and breathing. and nauli, love nauli! (look for it using the search box or on youtube)
your bladder will not drop out and land on the pavement. I know the question of 'whats the worst case scenario' has been posed here before, dont' reliably remember the answer though. (thinking it was a golf ball size protrusion just outside the labia, but again, not sure)

I thought I was doing ok with the soft lump in vagina but the past 2 days it is lower and so squisy feeling and when I sit. Why would it get worse in a couple of days. I took 2 days of antibiotics and stopped because it killed my intestines and got constipated. I got a tick bite they thought. I have been just crying and so discouraged. Is it normal to have good days and then something happens and it gets worse. Will it get better again. I just can't take another doctor. Do any of you experience that squishey feeling down there or when you sit. Please, really do need a word fast. Love You All

I am 61 and feel like 20 other than"the bulge". I think of it as the BATTLE OF THE BULGE."Really down today trying to figure out why things have gotten worse, think I slacked off on posture and all because I was feeling better> I urge everyone not to slack off when things feel a bit better, that is the quiet before the storm!!! Love to you all and I really mean that!!

So sorry you are having a rough time at the moment...slacking off on posture and constipation can indeed make things take a turn for the worse. This will change and you will improve again! The female body is so fluid and just as things can worsen, they can and will improve. Re soft bulge - try a search for posts by Louise; she has some very effective ways of tucking things back up and in and describes this really well.

Hello Heavenly,

This is work that takes the rest of our lives and is never realized as a final goal or forever-prolapse-free state of being. Sometimes we feel completely cured and then a few days later - uh-oh! Yet, it is our bad times that work as a prod to "do something" to improve our condition. That something is always one thing or another that moves the organs forward.

I think it's very useful to have a few of your favorite WW exercises in your back pocket to pull out on a regular or even semi-regular basis - and certainly when you are feeling low. That may be resting on hands and knees, a few plies, or walking while making large movements with your arms.

My new favorites I will teach in the virtual WWCenter just as soon as we are up and running. Michael, my construction guy, built a beautiful stage that we will use for video, since the real WWC is very hard to light. He finished wide boards as facing all around the stage at his home workshop, wrapped them in a blanket to protect them, and then loaded them onto his truck. He had also been working with a soldering iron on another project and a spark from that must have leapt into the blanket because while he was inside eating lunch someone pounded on his door yelling that his truck was on fire! The facing boards were damaged beyond repair and the rack on top of his truck scorched. Luckily that was all the damage done to his truck. However, we are still waiting for him to finish the project.

We all have good times and bad. It is important to learn self-soothing so that you can move through the hard times with less struggle and suffering - this will come in time. Fighting the bulge just compounds the problem. However, sitting on the floor and doing a few pelvic tilts and circles, firebreathing and a brisk walk while cultivating a positive frame of mind will really help.

Hugs from Christine

Hi Pompon

I would just like to add that the uterus and bladder don't only seem to retreat when you bend deeply from the hips. They *do* retreat. When your torso is effectively inverted by this manoeuvre gravity pulls your pelvic organs towards your belly button, ie they retreat from the entrance to the vagina. Maintain your lumbar curve as you rise again and your sacrum and lumbar curve will push them forwards. Firebreathing and nauli do the same thing.

It is so hard at first. You have to pat your tummy, rub your head, whistle dixey and hop on one foot, while also coming up with ideas for what to cook for dinner. Unless you do all these things your POP symptoms will not improve.

No, its not really that hard! But you do need to address posture, diet, exercise, clothing and your living/working environment, as well as dealing with insidious stress, before you can expect significant improvement over a sustained period of time. Just do your best for as much of the day as you can, and you will steadily improve, even with a few setbacks. It is not magic. It is persistence and body awareness.

Above all, don't blame yourself for this. See setbacks as signals or hints, rather than evidence that these techniques don't work, or that your situation is hopeless. It really does take some time to get sustained improvement. There are so many variables, and so many ups and downs that you sometimes don't see improvement on a week to week basis, but you will see improvement if you check every six months or so. Babies mean extra carrying and lifting. Perhaps don't expect large improvements while you are still lifting and carrying little ones a lot.

Thinking of all of the Mums out there who have to manage babies and POP. It is so challenging.