Periods, discharge and other 'unmentionables'

hi winni and welcome to WW

initially I had lots of new discharge, but it was clear and almost like the egg white fertile cervical mucous. it was persistant throughout my cycle and lasted for a few months. I chalked it up to my body's response to something that shouldn't be, although it could've been completely unrelated too.
If you're worried about the last bits of menstrual blood getting blocked by the cystocele (which I think is unlikely, btw) maybe try a douche? or even gently cleaning out the area with a soft thin cloth when your period is finished and see what happens. foul smelling discharge is one of those things they tell you to have investigated by a health care professional, so that's my official advice.
and sorry about the recent diagnosis. I was 32? or 33 when I found my prolapse, too young! we are all too young for this but the good news is that now, at 38, I dont think of it much and it does not affect my life at all. really not. so there's hope!

Hi Winni

I would agree with Granolamom, but I would add that my retroverted uterus always bled for a week, tailing off in the last few days and becoming more smelly. It flipped over a couple of years into Wholewoman work and my periods became shorter. They became shorter again as menopause got closer, but it was quite a sudden shortening when my uterus flipped, quite different.

If your uterus is retroverted your bladder could conceivably be squashing your uterus down behind your vagina, upside down, and preventing it from draining easily.

Getting your body organised into Wholewoman posture will help your pelvic organs move forwards and normalise their configuration.

I hope some of this info helps solve your mystery. I would get it checked out medically just for curiosity and to rule out nasties as it seems to be a change from normal for you. The fact that your cystocele has appeared at the same time could mean that there is something that has caused both, or that the bleeding thing is caused by malpositioning of your uterus as a result of the prolapsed bladder.

Louise

I'm having the same trouble as Winni.

Here's what happened:

Three months ago I started my periods--the first since the prolapse. The first one was normal. The second was two weeks late, I assumed due to a flu-like virus that left me flat on my back for several days with a fever. Thankfully my husband was in town and could take care of the children. My period was two weeks late, and I figured the stress threw off ovulation, even though sickness has never affected my cycles before. But....then I bled for two full weeks. And it started out dark, not bright red like it should. I had the dark blood for about two days, and then it lightened up (in color). Then exactly a month later, I had a two-day period and it was only dark blood. Brown. Old.

That was two weeks ago.

My midwife wonders if perhaps I was pregnant (even using condoms during non-fertile times and avoiding each other entirely during fertile times) and I miscarried. If so, I should take some herbs to help flush out whatever I may be retaining.

Or is the prolapse keeping my uterus from shedding its lining entirely? I like the idea of douching with warm water.

DH blames it all on the flu. But the flu wouldn't give me a two-week-long period and then a two day period a month later.

My midwife thinks I should go get an ultrasound just to make sure I'm not retaining some tissue from a possible miscarriage. I'm hesitant.

Another thought that a friend had: maybe I have endometriosis. That word was floated to me by my first midwife, but I don't remember why.

What do y'all think?

Winni, you don't mention whether you have recently had babies or not. Would you clarify this please?

Ribbit, When I first menstruated I started off with dark, dark red, dryish flow, then it went red on days two and three, then dark again for the last three days. Night time the flow was light. My cycles were very irregular too. This pattern established itself until I had babies.

After having babies my first day would start off with spotting and go bright red and heavy for the first three days then tail off, still quite red but slightly darker. Night time flow was very heavy. Incidentally, my cycles were most regular in between babies and since then as well.

Perimenopause brought heavier flow in the same pattern, then it lessened and finally at the end it was scant and dark and the period was much shorter. During late perimenopause Cycles returned to irregular, with only one or two really short cycles (same as puberty) The night time flow lessened considerably, but I think night time flow changes were to do with my retroverted uterus flipping back to normal, ie malpositioning of the uterus will affect the characteristics of menstruation, and prolapse is certainly malpositioning!

My conclusion was that it is all hormonal and there are so many variables controlling hormones that it is too hard to call.

Ribbit, remember that re-establishing ovulation after babies is like beginning menstual cycle all over again. It can be a bit hit and miss for the first few cycles. I can understand your midwife's concern. She is probably watching her own back in suggesting that you get checked. It would be remiss of her not to. But it is your call.

Louise

See, that's another thing. Menopause.

I don't want to hijack the thread here, but my mom said extremely early menopause runs in our family. I've been wondering if this is the beginning of it all.

My cycles have always been regular. Heavy, but regular. They always started out bright red until now--even between babies. I never have more than two cycles between babies before I get pregnant again (I have four children). This is the longest I've gone since we've been married that I haven't been pregnant.

But I'm scared to death to get pregnant again.

ribbit, I agree with louise's insights and my pp experiences have been so variable that I firmly believe that almost anything goes. another thing to consider....are you still bf? I find that nightweaning or teething or growth spurt or anything that changes the bf pattern will change my menstrual pattern too.

All these discussions are quite valid right here. I can see that your last sentence carries a lot of weight. When you are ready, how about making that last sentence into a new topic? It does seem to be a recurring theme with many Members of childbearing age.

If early menopause happens early in your family it could be a factor. I finally experienced menopause at 56. My Mum was 55. I could tell that my cycle and periods were starting to change when I was in my late 30's. I can see now that the changes were noticable, but minor. Now I have had menopause I can see that they were tiny changes compared to the experience that panned out.

That time when I was having 3 babies, 27 months of pregnancy, and 70 months of nursing over about nine years makes for an awful lot of ups and downs, and not a lot of regular cycles in between. Normal simply goes out the window, and a new normal establishes itself once nursing is over for good, followed by sliding into perimenopause.

Actually, there is no normal at all!

Louise, by "new topic" do you mean being afraid to get pregnant again because of the extent of the prolapse?

Granolamom, my ND recommended I get all the mercury taken out of my mouth so that I can fully heal from this chronic Lyme disease. In order to have that done, I have to wean the baby. She's a year and a half old, so its not like it's terribly premature to wean her, but it is certainly earlier than any of my other weaned! I wanted to nurse her for as long as she wanted, especially since she might be my last. But after ending up in the ER this past summer with a serious nervous system shut-down, I do believe my ND is right and I need to get the metal out of my mouth. At any rate, I've gotten her down to only nursing before bed at night. Thankfully she's got an easy-going personality and it wasn't hard to get her to this point.

My cycles are *not* sensitive to nursing/teething/sickness, etc. At least, they never have been before.

I thought that was what you meant, but maybe I made a wrong assumption. It is no big deal, continuing the conversation here.

Just wondering why you would need to wean to have all the amalgam fillings removed? Wouldn't quarter by quarter be OK?

the bf/cycle thing was just a brainstorming thought I threw out there. sorry you have to wean earlier than you'd have liked. I'm sure your little one will be fine, but I imagine the 'early' weaning will be harder on you!
I've also heard that a bf mother should not start the amalgam filling removal process until she has weaned the nursling.
sometimes you have to prioritize your health over long term nursing. and a year and a half is still a pretty long time!

1. Well, yes, comparatively 1 1/2 years is a long time for nursing. But considering I nursed the others for two-to-four years......
2. I had the first visit with the amalgam removal dentist and he said it wasn't necessary to wean 100%. He wasn't concerned with the nursing once in 24 hrs. Woo-hoo!
3. I started my period again today. Early. It's old and dark. I don't like this one bit.
4. I saw my ND again and mentioned the early menopause to her. She tested hormones and said, "Oh, yes! You need such-and-such and such-and-such supplemented." So now I'm on a bunch of herbs to support the menopause symptoms.....and I'm feeling better already. But it took my mom a full 20 years of the irregular cycles and other awful symptoms to abate. I don't want it to take that long for me. :( But then, she didn't have any supplements whatsoever.

happy to hear you dont have to wean. hooray!!
and happy to hear your ND was able to come up with a plan to help out with whatever is going on and that you are already feeling better.