hurray

Submitted by tullyleaf on July 17, 2010 - 2:39pm
Body: 

this is my first post on this forum,and i must first say a massive THANKYOU to christine and to every woman posting on whole woman.
when my pop first occured about 3 months ago i was truly terrified, not to mention in pain and shock.i felt betrayed by the medical profession.i knew immediatly that something had happened after a long day in the park with my kids.i went to my gp(local doctor) who examined me with a speculum and told me i was totally 'normal', that my vagina was exactally the same as every other womans(eh?), despite me assuring her my insides were falling out/caving in.and i hadnt been able to poo since it happened(few days).i insisted she examine me without the speculum and she gasped and informed me i had a HUGE cyst in my right ovary. she refused to refer me to a gyn. but refered me to the radiology dept of the local hospital(1month wait)I went home feeling pretty freaked out!next day i saw a different gp who refered me(rapid access,2 weeks) to a well woman clinic for trans vaginal scans. the gyn scanned me, told me there was no cyst and sent me on my way, dissmissing my worries and telling me my body was fine and just 'changed' by childbirth. i left feeling truly devastated,in fact i cried for 15 mins in the waiting room before leaving. I was in massive amounts of pain and could barely lift my 3month old baby,never mind look after my toddler and keep my house tidy!!!
a week later i saw a third gp, who examined me without a speculum and asked me to bear down slightly, she said i has cystocele and rectocele, and that the 'huge cyst' was in fact poo(sorry, i know its a bit much but hey, call a spade a spade right?)she gave me a senna and fibre prescription, and printed me off a page about pelvic floor exercises,which instructed me to do 10 sets of 10, 10 times a day!!!!
the impression that i got from her was that huge amounts of p.f.e might help, but it would prob. just get worse and worse untill it was bad enough to require surgery. as you can imagine, finding this website and the amazing information and ispirational message of hope and healing has saved me from a sea of hopelessness. i read the book and visit the website regularly and get a new boost of feeling YES, i can do this, i can heal. i manage my constipation which is what was causing all the pain,and the wwposture is amazing and so obviously the 'right' was for a woman to hold her body!
the strong, courageous, empowered women of the whole woman forum inspire me to live, pelvic prolapse and all, to be proud and strong, gentle and sensitive to others AND my body.
blessings, thankyou all xxx .

bad_mirror

July 17, 2010 - 3:59pm

So glad for you and know that it keeps getting better and better! Please continue to post your progress and pay that inspiration forward. (big smile)!

louiseds

July 21, 2010 - 11:45pm

Hi Tullyleaf

So glad you found us. First the good news. Doctors are human. Now the bad news. Doctors are human. You have been fortunate to find this out in a way that was not life-threatening. :-)

We keep reading stories just like yours, of women who go to doctors to get a diagnosis for this very uncomfortable condition, and come away just as uncomfortable, but very confused, and feeling betrayed because two of the three doctors they see lied to them.

It is not quite like that, but try telling that to a woman who has just been through what you have been through!

On the whole, doctors are not trained very well in dealing with POP because there is not a lot they can do to help the woman, except for surgical repairs, which are fraught with risks of complications, side effects, medium and long term failure and further prolapse.

One of the difficulties they have in diagnosing the condition is that it is about hypermobility of organs, so they do not find things where they are supposed to be when they examine a patient. This can lead to a very confused little medico. They are also trained to think of the worst case scenario, and get very worried about things that seem to be 'masses', and order lots of scarey tests and scans, and frighten the bejeezas out of women. If there is constipation happening, the intestinal contents will shove all sorts of things around in an attempt to keep it all movin' along.

Sometimes a strong laxative, or even the occasional enema is the elephant gun needed to break the vicious cycle of can't poo because everything is in the way, but can't get everything out of the way cos the poo can't get out.

Constipation can be caused by a number of factors that can conspire to bring your guts to a halt. Use the search box to look up constipation, but take a sleeping bag and several days of trail food because half the Forums here seem to contain the word 'constipation'. If you can get it licked without regular enemas, heavy laxatives and stool softeners, you have a good chance of being able to live the rest of your life pretty normally.

The keys to this are understanding how your pelvic organs and your pelvic region are configured physically, so you understand what you are trying to achieve; redesigning your posture, redesigning your diet, redesigning your clothing, re-learning how to use your body when it is loaded, ie heavy loads and difficult tasks, exercising with this same aim, and strengthening your whole body.

Pelvic floor muscles are only one tiny bit, and no more important than any other group of muscles. If you can get through all those PF exercises in a day, good luck to you. They won't do you any harm but I would be concentrating on fixing the constipation and getting your posture right. That includes overhauling your diet and not compressing your lower abdomen with tight clothing, so your pelvic organs have space at the front, supported on your pubic bones instead of hovering over your vagina, waiting for the big bungey jump.

There is one other adjustment. That is how you reconcile with this new reality. It is a brain thing. Your body has been damaged and that damage can not be repaired, but you can find workarounds that will enable you to get back to trusting your body and get it working effectively for you. You may still have some residual symptoms once you get your body organised, but the fear dissipates, the bulges go away after a couple of days if you have a temporary setback. With hard work and good luck you may be symptom free or just have a little awareness of your POPs 95% of the time. Once it ceases to scare you, and you realise that you are in charge again, You will feel much better in yourself, and you will certainly be able to take on the world again.

I recommend Christine's book, Saving the Wholewoman, because it is so comprehensive in its explanations. The First Aid for POP DVD gives an introduction and workouts to help you strengthen your body.

Membership of Wholewoman gives you access to a heap of other video resources and other things that are coming in the Members Only section.

Membership of the Forums is free, but financial membership of the Village (call it paying your local government Rates) is a different category of membership.

These things are a really positive investment in your future health.

Tell us a bit more about yourself over the next few weeks, and how your body is responding. We may be able to help you to make sensse of it all.

Louise

gardengirl

July 22, 2010 - 5:38am

Louise your responses just blow me away! Sometimes, is it the compassion and empathy, sometimes the commonsense, sometimes the practical knowledge, sometimes the encouragement and sometimes, you just make me laugh out loud!

tullyleaf

July 22, 2010 - 1:56pm

thanks louise, i love that you recognise that i am scared of my pop, even though its still obviously still my body, doesnt always feel like at my darkest hours! im a big beliver in owning fear, i am scared, but im not going to be scared forever,and im not going to feel incapaciated forever either. ive managed to sort my constipation out with a combo of fruit and nuts diet and new position for opening bowels(courtesy of you actually, you described it in a post, talking about the animal kingdom, genius!!!)
the pains gone and i no longer have the desire to bear down all the time, which was also linked to the constipation. im pretty sure i also hae a urethracele, its like a smooth marble sized ball and feels like the front of my vagina is all bumpy where its kind of spilling out, make any sense to you? i actually felt all of my pops go 'pop',and the urethracele happened after the other two, while i was squatting for a wild wee, behind my grandma's seaside caravan one dark night(he he) any tips for helping it to get smaller,it doesnt sem to be irritated my my pants but im thinking its only a matter of time! i bought the book, unfortunatly it was the first edition, am i right in thinking i would be better off with the revised second edition? just spent our summer fund on festival tickets and an ergo backcarrier so will prob. have to wait a few months before splashing out again. thankyou so much for your reply, i cant tell you how much it means to be able to straight talk with someone knowledgable about this whole situation xxx

heavenly

July 22, 2010 - 2:16pm

Louise,
I know I have responded a lot to your humor but you indeed, come out with the most outrageous statements I have ever heard. The comedians on TV can not hold a candle to you my friend.

Whenever I am having, as you say, a bungey day, I find you on the site and read everything. Today when I read about the bungey jump, I really laughed so hard my husband ran from the other room to see what he was missing. I do a lot of jogging from the inside from the comments from you. Oh Louise, Louise, you are such a blessing. I did pee my pants a little when I read the comment but it was worth it. You really are making my life worth while during this confusing time for me. I love you.
Always,
Heavenly

Christine

July 22, 2010 - 4:21pm

...post from Louise. "With hard work and good luck you may be symptom free or just have a little awareness of your POPs 95% of the time."

"95% success rate" is what women are told over and over again regarding surgery.

The truth will prevail!

louiseds

July 23, 2010 - 1:08am

Hahahaha! But it is true. I do 'notice' funny sensations a few times in my active day, but I now treat them signals that something needs adjusting, rather than my POPs giving me trouble. *But*, I am only 'troubled' by my symptoms, to a point of saying, "Goodness me, what am I going to do about this rectocele/cystocele this time?" every few weeks, and it always gets better again, usually with attention to diet. That's what I call 95%. Maybe I have low expectations, and don't even consider the possibility of complete recovery? Maybe my head has just adjusted to the new reality?

Whatever it is, I am pretty happy with my POPs and how they behave. Like Sue's (MeMyselfandI) they are just a part of me and my life, and I don't have to worry about them any more. They do not fill me with fear, because I know them well. That is a pretty good place to be.

L