Depression - Hopeless & Helpless

Hi FunnyFoot, it’s nice to hear from you again, but I wish you were feeling better. Which parts of the posture are the biggest problem for you? A moderate cystocele should be something that you can manage without relying too heavily on a pessary. So can you be more specific about which elements of posture are the hardest for you to do? The exercises are to reinforce the posture, but it is the posture itself (all the time) that is the key. Can you firebreathe? Can you stand and sit with the relaxed lower belly and pulled-up chest, or is this what is causing you pain? It sounds like the pessary is not giving you much relief from prolapse; do you feel better or worse when you take it out? Hang in there, we will try to help. - Surviving

Hello dear funnyfoot, I am relatively new here but I am thinking that if you can explain your disability it might help all of us to brainstorm to try to find some solutions. Which exercises are you doing or not able to do? maybe they can be modified. Maybe even the posture will need a bit of modification for you. Also, maybe the DVD for elders might be a good starting point for you (even if you are not elderly)? I am wishing you well. I am sure you will hear from many women with more experience than I have right now. As much information as you can share - the better.

Dear Funnyfoot,
I am sorry you are feeling so down. The other commentators make some good points. It would be helpful if you share more information about yourself. You say you have Christine's book. If you review the section on pessary you will see that Christine shows how a thin,ring pessary should sit in the vagina. This vertical positioning is not how it is traditionally fitted. Over time the traditional fit can cause other issues including rectocele. Women with rectocele also experience constipation. I am glad your constipation seems to be resolving. You might want to share the WW pessary information with your doctor. Regarding the posture, even though you have difficulty with walking, you should (unless you have other issues as well) be able to use the posture for sitting. You can also do many of the exercises in seated posture. Once you share more information about yourself we may further be able to help you.
I know you are feeling very discouraged right now. However, you are trying to communicate with other women and you are seeking some answers. Prolapse is not life threatening. I am hopeful that you may be able to improve your situation. Please continue to talk to us.
Good luck,
WholeWomanPA

Hi Funnyfoot,
Im there with you. I cant abide a pessary, my body reacts violently to one. Constipation makes things a whole lot worse I have found good results from cod liver oil taken daily. It takes a few days to work but once the bowel is lubricated its ok and it doesnt work as a laxative I too have other health problems and its difficult for people to understand that dont have them. Depression is a terrible thing, I have found that its hills and dales. Try Baby steps, one little achievement at a time, it doesnt have to be big it might be just tidying that cupboard you meant to do and cant be bothered. Baby steps work and so does support, I know all about depression. So you definately have mine. Can I say if your tablets are not working go and see your doctor, explain it could be you need either a different one or a higher dose.
Good Luck and God Bless.
Dickydolly

You will hear back from the more experienced here but in the mean time, I will chime in. If you are able to sit in WW posture that is wonderful. That took me a long while but little by little it is coming. I have to constantly check in on my abdomen because for some reason I have spent a lifetime with tension there. How are your ab muscles when you sit and stand? Are they soft and relaxed? I am wondering if you are able to stand in WW posture? It seems like even if you cannot walk much, the standing will also help. In my first weeks I felt the best when standing in WW posture or walking. Another question is, will it worsen the condition of your foot to walk on it, even though there is pain? Maybe starting with just a tiny walk around the house would be the way to go. I think you might find that even with a cane in hand you might be able to approach a modified WW posture (chest up, belly relaxed). Is your back okay when your chest is up and chin in enough for the crown of head to be uplifted even when seated? Try to set your goals to something that is attainable. Maybe sit in position for a stretch that is okay for you, then rest a bit. Maybe stand for just 5 minutes and rest again. Louise or Surviving had suggested the elbows and knees position and that is an amazing resting position for many of us here. If you can find just a couple of positions that don't bring you more pain, it might help you to find some hope. Someone earlier was reminding us of those baby steps. My best wishes to you.

Dear Funnyfoot

Ms Nightingale has given you some good stuff to think about there.

Re your constipation.
I definitely find constipation makes my prolapse worse.
When I miss a day, I find a lubricant smeared at the entrance to the anus can relax muscles around there and going becomes easier.

I wondered perhaps whether at this stage, if you have been constipated for more than a few days, that an enema may be the best way to go as it will clear the rectum and the lower intestine where your main problem may well be at this stage. You should be able to get small-volume enemas (a small squeeze bottle/tube) at your pharmacist.

After you have cleared you can decide where to go from there.

Psyllium along with bran is a bulking agent and although generally used to prevent or control chronic constipation doesn’t suit everyone. I find the flatulence and bloating side effects not helpful to prolapse.

Stool softeners such as docusate can be used to treat constipation and for prevention. (They may cause nausea). These are the ones that are dished out in hospitals and can be bought at the chemist. Anyone with chronic constipation and prolapse should be looking at these first.

Magnesium citrate or hydroxide has been talked about a lot on this forum and it is grouped with other Osmotic agents such as lactulose, sodium phosphate and sorbitol (these latter can have flatulence side-effect). I have found magnesium keeps the stool soft without going to diarrhoea (cramping) and does not cause me flatulence.

Then there are the stimulant laxatives such as cascara, senna, castor oil and possibly the cod liver oil that Dillydolly mentions. These as we all know cause the cramp and the rush. Stimulant laxatives should not be used in cases of intestinal obstruction. I also know some doctors who don’t advise castor oil condemning it as fit only for oiling bikes. (Sounds like some very strong personal experience here!)

As you know your medication is causing the constipation, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to talk it over with your doctor and he can suggest something compatible. By the way, I find tummy upsets including constipation in their own right cause me to feel low. So if in that you are like me, the constipation can only be adding to your difficulty.

Cheers Fab

HI funnyfoot girl
I dont take a lot of cod liver oil. Just a teaspoon a day, like you I have bone problems, spine and hips also angina. The baby steps I mentioned earlier do work like the previous girl said stand for a little while do things for a short while. My daughter has ME she uses a timer to do things. If you look at the whole, its too much to think about or deal with, just look at a little at a time. Heres a tip I found as my meds make me constipated. Find a fruit or veg that works for you. A pear or cauliflower does it for me or nuts, but be careful as these have a high fat content. I dont like bulking agents as having a rectocele as well as a cyctocele it makes things worse for me. I have learnt from these ladies on this site that the more you worry about things the more tensed up you get and you end up in a round robin. Its very hard but I am now trying to just accept things and trying to relax (Ive not suceeded yet, but still trying). Good luck, and please talk to the doc.
God Bless
Dickydolly

Hi Funnyfoot Girl, I just wanted to share with you what works for me. I eat 10 Cashew nuts and 1 Brazil nut every day and I also drink at least 6 8oz. glasses of water. Water is important to keep everything moving. I hope you find something that works for you. Please let us know how you are doing. Best of luck to you.

Hugs, Jaylove

That's an interesting combination. How did you work that out, Jaylove?

Hi, I'm so glad to hear you resolved your constipation - Great news. Wow, 3 liters of water a day! Thats 12 cups of water a day. I would be living in the bathroom if that were me. I try to get 8 cups in a day but I don't always succeed. If I don't drink at least 6 cups of water I find that my stools get very hard and then it flares up my internal hemorrhoid I acquired as one of my momento's from giving birth. You certainly donot need any more water a day. I used to take stool softener's mayself when my internal hemorrhoid flared up but now I finally found a way to keep my stools soft and regular. I fogot to mention that I fix myself a smoothie every day containing lots of spinach, yogurt, strawberries, ginger and alvocado and a natural sweetener called Stevia. It doesn't sound good but it is good. I also eat a variety of fruits a day. At the present time I love the cherries and pineapples that are in season. When I eat bread - I only eat bread containing whole oat flour, bran flour, Soy flour and almond flour. Each slice has 8 dietary grams of fiber. This works for me. I just thought I would share. So glad your Constipation is under control. Best of luck to you in keeping it that way. I know Constipation is so bad for Rectocele so keep up the good work.

Hugs to you, Jaylove

I agree with Jaylove that 3 liters of water a day might be a bit much, unless you are out in the hot sun sweating from every pore all day long. It's a lot of strain on your kidneys. Was that a doctor recommendation?

I am not so sure about that 3 litre per day figure, Surviving.

Wikipedia (citing "US daily reference intake values". Iom.edu. Retrieved 2011-12-05) states, "In the US, the reference daily intake (RDI) for water is 3.7 litres per day (L/day) for human males older than 18, and 2.7 L/day for human females older than 18[7] including water contained in food, beverages, and drinking water."

I imagine that would depend on how dry the food was, ie dry pellets. It would also depend on the salts in the water, the overall electrolytic balance of the water, and how quickly it was drunk. Also, the amount of soluble fibre in the diet that would absorb the water before it got to the kidneys.

I thought kidneys only got strained by having to remove salts without them being dissolved in enough water , so that the kidneys would have to work too hard. Apparently not so.

Having said that, I have no idea what the maximum figure might be. There are so many variables. As they say we should drink 2 litres per day as a general rule, I think 3 litres would be reasonable, but perhaps not 4 litres, unless someone is putting out a lot of sweat, and expiring a lot of water vapour through exertion. 4 litres would be pretty hard to swallow unless you only ate crisps, which would not be in your best interests either.

Hyponatremia is the state the body gets into by drinking so much water that the water cannot pass from cell to cell by osmosis. I have heard of this in marathon runners and in people who take ecstasy and dance all night. The drug makes them very thirsty, or at least makes them want to drink large amounts of water too quickly. The only references I could find in my quick google was that drinking too much water too quickly can be dangerous to dehydrated babies and children, and to those with kidney damage.

Perhaps you know a lot more than I do about kidneys? That would not surprise me, because I don't know a real lot. ;-)

Good grief, I was not advocating 3 liters of water a day. I was asking FF Girl where that suggestion came from.

Just to add my 2 cents worth -my experience with Drs and medication for depression has been disappointing. I had severe depression about 8 years ago. I was prescribed Efexor. I don't know that it helped at all but I do know that I saw a very good psychologist. He helped me to understand that I had a physical reason for my problem- I had been through many years of hard life experiences including a very violent murder of my husband amid other life challenges. I came to understand that what I was experiencing was serotonin insufficiency. The stresses and strains of life had exhausted the levels of this naturally occurring antidepressant to the point that I was unable to cope any more. Once I realised why I felt so bad and that I had every reason to feel bad, I was a lot kinder on myself. I then started to take the baby steps needed to get me back on top again.
In discussions with some friends who have been put on antidepressants, wow, there are some really nasty side effects to some of them especially when it comes to getting off them - Pristiq is one drug I would not like to be prescribed.
Aside from that - how about swimming or water therapy - is that possible for you?
Hope you are feeling a bit better.
hugs
Di

I send you both my best wishes. Thank you for sharing your stories. Dear Funnyfoot, I don't know if the pain in your foot will allow you to rest in child pose, but that is one very good position for so many things, the intestines included. Also, if you are able to sit, then some of Christines seated exercises on the Prolapse DVD might work for you. Even just sitting with back near a wall and legs outstretched will help the hips and legs. All the best.

Hi funnyfootgirl5 and everyone,
Wow - reading this post list I really appreciate the help and support this forum offers. Such a wealth of experience, knowledge and warmth. Feels like a rel priviledge to be with you all.

I don't know about anyone else, but personally I've found mental problems generally harder to cope with than physical ones. At least everyone understands physical pain and discomfort. I wonder if some therapy for your mental health problems might be of any help. Sometimes, as gardengirl described in her post, it can help to have some strategies, resources and different perspectives on or relationship with our problems. This can really help how we feel both mentally and physically. I'm a great fan of Rick Hanson; a neuropsychologist and budhist, who has focused on simple ways to improve our mental health and how we feel and live our lives. He has a free on-line weekly newsletter (Just One Thing) with deceptively short and simple pieces of advice. I swear the world would be a different and better place if we all followed them! You can find him on google. It may also be worth investigating the possibility of some psychological therapy to try and address the psychological issues you have. Medication works for some of the people some of the time, but doesn't work for everyone. It may be worth exploring other avenues...

Re constipation, what works for me is some stewed fruit inbetween meals. Rhubarb is superb - but go easy, it can be very effective! Also, if you've got the book you'lll have seen this & apologies if I'm talking to the converted, but just in case - when you go to the loo, try not to strain and/or press down on the procelain and if you can lean forwards standing up. I don't know if this would be too painful for you with your painful foot problems. I'm wondering whether you could stand on 1 foot?? - or lean against something (sink, cabinet?). If it's not possible that's just how it is, but if there was some way to incorporate Christine's suggested way of evacuating that would probably help.

Re WW exercises or yoga. I guess any of the postures which do not require standing or any that are comfortable for you to do, would be helpful. I'm wondering about some of the lying down postures, the cat ones where you're on all fours or the seated ones (on a chair in WW psoture is fine if sitting on the floor is too much)... Maybe play around trying out what works for you.

If you find things that you can do or find things that you find helpful, please let us know. This sort of information is so helpful for other women facing similar problems.

Wishing you all the best, with love, xwholewomanuk

Funnyfoot - have you got any good music to listen to and play it really loud - if that is what you like. Perhaps you can incorporate some movement to music while sitting.
I have also made a post about my positive experience with a chiropractor. I read in your post that you walk with a limp- a limp can throw various parts of your body out of alignment. I also noted that your problems appear to have started with a bunion operation that went wrong. Bunions can sometimes have a postural aspect to their formation.
I have become very aware of so many different aspects of posture since developing a prolapse - and finding Christine's site.
I practiced "laughter yoga" for a few years to help me in my journey. If you Google "laughter yoga" there is heaps of info.
I am thinking a glass of red wine sounds pretty good too!
Has anyone had any experience with some of the gadgets advertised on TV - "ab doer twist" -
cheers
di

First of all thankyou for all your support on the forum.
Many thanks also for the Rick Hanson link - all part of the journey together.
Gardengirl thanks will look into laughter yoga as well - did a similar workshop once - tried laughter
once when not feeling well & it did work.
(((hugs))) & best wishes
Aussie Soul Sister