Do I need to get a doctor's diagnosis?

But try to see a midwife- it will be a friendlier apt and they will be less likely to suggest surgery.
Sometimes a woman thinks she has a prolapse and it turns out it something else- like a cyst.
But prolapse isn't life threatening so going undiagnosed isn't going to hurt anything :)

Hi and welcome, Tintagel,

I like your attitude! Progress is slow and incremental for older women. Be patient and relax into this work. It is something you do for the rest of your life and becomes effortless after a while. Take it easy, don't stress, be happy.

:) Christine

P.S. By all means get a professional diagnosis - and take your doctor a copy of Saving the Whole Woman!

Hi Tintagel

Like you, I felt the need to see a doctor when I first noticed my POP. BY the time I had got to see her for an exam I'd read Saving the Whole Woman and was keen to share it with her, but I'm afraid she was very dismissive. Some women here have had the luck to meet some more open minded physiotherapists/ doctors who have been interested. I think it's worth taking every opportunity to share this understanding, if you feel strong enough.

Do you need to see a doctor? Maybe- to rule out another cause for your symptoms. With the user name and interest in the Royal Wedding you sound as though you are in the UK. Have you thought about seeing your practice nurse? There's usually one who does all the smears etc. They are usually more knowledgeable and open minded than the GPs - they chat to a lot of women and see a lot of fannies. If I were you, however, I would not let yourself be rushed into any decisions about treatment. This really isn't a sudden emergency - although it feels like one to begin with.

Christine is probably right that with older women healing is slower. I'm sure lots of factors come into play. However, if it's any encouragement, I'm forty seven and started to see some improvement after about four months, marked improvement after about six and dramatic improvement after eight. Every woman is different - that's not meant to be a benchmark - just something to cheer you up. Like you, I spent the first few months thinking - yes - is that a bit better today - and then getting disappointed by bad days. I think you can only measure it by keeping a diary over say, the first year and then you will really see patterns in your symptoms. I found it hard to accept that healing POP was not like healing a broken leg. It's a fluctuating condition and it can be controlled, improved and sometimes reversed to varying extents- but progress isn't always in a straight line.

I can understand that family members are concerned. Probably as you gain confidence in your ability to live very well with this minor condition, to improve your symptoms and to feel that you have stopped it in its tracks - that body confidence and happiness will be evident to them and they may stop worrying. It's such a horrible word - prolapse. It sounds as though things are falling down and out and they really aren't- they're just falling backwards and you can do a lot to stop that happening. The pubic bone is there to stop anything dramatic happening, when we get our posture sorted.

All the very best on your healing journey. Keep asking any questions you need to.

Doubtful

My family, (my 6 sisters my mom and my daughter) all encouraged me not just to see the doctor but to allow him to surgically treat me.
He surgically attached the prolapse to the tailbone and it fell down again. The mesh had to be challengingly removed and I have a lot of yellow-pink discharge and am so worse off than before he did anything.
I am 63 and my habits are hard to change. I read from Saving the Whole Woman sometimes think it is beyond my grade level and sometimes love and respect the place it tries to lift me to. I am starting to know my pogo and to more understand the pubic bone, the vaginal wall, the front(anterior) and back(posterior) of the vagina. I know the contents of my bowel and bladder make a significant difference in my comfort level. I am picking up a bit of CSF's humour and envisioning myself going out into the world on all fours as the prolapse does stay up front on all fours. The firebreathing helps me to feel my abdominal contents being up front and not falling back and down. I have had a terrible day to-day- I think it may be a lot of inflammation so I need more work on a good diet for me(Most of life I have eaten anything - no restrictions) I feel I need to get more fresh and less prepared stuff. It is a journey but if you have organ prolapse I believe it to be manageable without surgery, worsened eventually by surgery, not a problem when I sit or lie down(1/3 of life)
3 separate doctors made me feel I was being difficult and they had the solution, I feared the results of surgery, had it anyway and though I got lots of surgical attention, I do not like what 63 is for me at this time. Just mentioning my experience- wish I had held to me sense of taping things up as a foolish treatment...

hi and welcome to Tintagel.

I am same age as you, noticed my prolapse in January, but probably ignored the symptoms for a while before that.

My family thought i should get it checked with GP - which I did. A two minute exam on the couch, something muttered about anterior and posterior that I didn't understand, then a referral to a gynae. Which could take a year. I had a tearful week or two of coming to terms with a) a condition that would be with me for the rest of my life and b) the fact that the doctor had not seen what i had (POP disappeared lying flat).

One 'friend' a former nurse told me that I needed treatment immediately. Thank God I did not take that advice.

Enter Christine's book and DVD, and the forum here. All incredibly positive and helpful. It gave me space to work things out for myself.

So this is where I am at now. I checked the diagnosis through self exam (as in Saving the Whole Woman book) and found I have a rectocele, sometimes protruding from vagina and sometimes not - depends how long i have been standing / what position i am in. I am doing first part of Whole Woman workout most mornings before breakfast, and have just added firebreathing to the workout. I am making a concerted effort to realise that i am 55 not 25, so need to accept that I should rest more and pace myself and adjust to my day when needed if the prolapse makes me feel achey.

I teach part time, a few hours most days. I garden, go on cycle rides of several miles and have mainly got used to living with POP. I also got a back support an cushion for my car because driving seemed to work against the posture. It has helped a lot. I don't think the POP has worsened - although on a few occasions it did seem like it, but now after 4 months, I have signs that it is actually improving. Went for a long walk last weekend, being very careful about posture, and thought 'wow, the POP is still tucked inside the vagina.' Progress.

I would describe my POP as discomfort, at times. The more I enjoy the other things i do, the less i notice it. Husband is sympathetic and mainly I keep it low-key. I have considered a pessary, and will update when i finally get a gynae appt.

Hope sharing this may be useful