When I first “cracked the code” on stabilizing and reversing prolapse, and wrote and published Saving the Whole Woman, I set up this forum. While I had finally gotten my own severe uterine prolapse under control with the knowledge I had gained, I didn’t actually know if I could teach other women to do for themselves what I had done for my condition.
So I just started teaching women on this forum. Within weeks, the women started writing back, “It’s working! I can feel the difference!”
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Surviving60
September 22, 2012 - 4:57am
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Transplants
Yep, heard that on NPR while driving to the office. I just couldn't wrap my brain around the concept, knowing what I have learned these last couple of years about how everything in there is so connected with everything else. If doctors truly understood this, they wouldn't be performing hysterectomies all day long on women with perfectly healthy uteri. It will sure be interesting to see if this catches on. - Surviving
Surviving60
September 22, 2012 - 5:27am
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On the other hand.....
........might this ultimately lead to a better understanding on the part of surgeons as to how things truly work in there? And more respect for the uterus as something we shouldn't just discard after we are done having children? That maybe we should be leaving well enough alone in all the but the 2% of hysts that may be truly medically necessary? Hmmmmm, the mind races....
fab
September 22, 2012 - 6:45pm
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Wider picture
I must admit a bias here. Although the first report I read talked a little about the two young women and having to be on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their life etc, the two donating mothers were said to be up and about and would be discharged in two to three days. And I thought poor women and what real choice did they have? But when you think about the tremendous pain and near despair of a young woman so desperately wanting to have children, it is terribly hard to remain judgmental. And of course for the older women the possibility of having a grandchild would outweigh anything. I remember on an unforgettable occasion when I was asked to be a surrogate mother at one stage in my career, I am afraid I reacted very indignantly.
And your wider picture on what benefits it may lead to is of course a wise reaction. We all look to the NASA Space Program as a prime example for the many benefits gained for all humanity just from the technical advances as a by product of the endeavor alone.
Was it in the novel 1984 that they had babies on an assembly? How about external clear plastic uteri like a kangaroo’s pouch?
On a more serious note, I read recently that research at the CSIRO is working (and I quote directly) “on using a woman’s own mesenchymal stem cells (a type of adult stem cell found in bone marrow, fat, and in the uterine lining, which is known as endometrium). Endometrium is a highly regenerative tissue that grows each month and is shed at menstruation.
Mesenchymal stem cells can produce connective tissues cells – fat, bone, cartilage, smooth muscle, and tendon – and have healing properties when transplanted into the human body. They promote blood vessel growth and tissue repair, reduce inflammation, prevent excessive fibrosis, and promote adult stem cells in the body to proliferate and produce new tissue. All these processes help repair injured tissues.
Combining endometrial mesenchymal stem cells with new mesh materials to treat pelvic organ prolapse has the potential to regenerate damaged pelvic tissues and provide a more durable solution for the condition. It’s currently being tested in pre-clinical animal models and is most likely about five years away from being generally available.”
It was exciting until I read mesh materials. At that point I shrugged it off, but she, Caroline Gargett, did say “new mesh material”. It’s still operations of course, which is another shrug off for me, but as you say the broader picture is what it may lead to. As well as the imperative to make new babies, there may grow a deeper imperative to preserve our womanhood.
wholewomanUK
September 26, 2012 - 8:24am
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the moral maze
Hi fab,
Thanks for informing us about the uterine transplants and the mesenchymal stem cells research. These kinds of research and developments create so many moral mazes, questions and debates.
I must admit, I personally was a bit disturbed by the uterine transplants. For one thing, it seems the older women were sacrificing what, from the WW perpective, is an essential organ for optimum health. This is a reality those women are probably not as aware of as we are fortunate to be. But also, there's something around acceptance of limitations... That if we are unable to have a baby, we are unable to have a baby. A ciris can also be an opportunity sometimes. There are alternatives.. we live in a world of over-population and of babies in dire need of loving parents and households. But - perhaps the biological urge is so, so strong for some women, they desperately desire to have their own biological children. In which case, the lengths women will go to fulfill this deep deep desire, is no doubt immense.
Re the endometrial mesenchymal stem cells - sounds like much potential good could come of that research. However if 'pre-clinical animal models' means tested on other mammals or apes, I have strong qualms around animal testing. I also share fab's concern re the potential use of mesenchymal stem cell regenration in combination with mesh material and further research and development of pelvic organ surgeries.