MY FORMAL DIAGNOSIS

Good for you, Sevilla555

Yes, well it doesn't seem fair if you haven't had kids, but apparently that is how things are. There are a lot of variables with prolapse. I think it reasonable to assume that young post-partum mums will fix their celes quicker than an older post menopausal woman mainly, I think, because their body is still so brand new. But again you are going to hit a new set of variables, what degree of prolapse they have, what has caused it in the first place, how long have they had it, what condition the woman is in re her ligaments and connective tissue (some is suspected hereditary), is there any on-going condition that will contribute to its worsening, if they go ahead with surgery, if they get quickly pregnant again with birth interventions, are they able to breast feed, even how soon they get to do Wholewoamn posture. The list goes on.

Your prognosis is looking good. Rectocele means no straining on the loo ever, a good diet that maintains soft stools and making posture and exercises a habit. You have your work cut out for you. Be diligent and you will be finally so pleased with yourself.

Yeah, well sex is important in relationships and for your own well-being. Now that you know it should not affect sex, you can decide whether to tell your partner you have prolapse or not.

Don't ever hesitate to tell us something important just because you may thing we know. We probably don't. I didn't.

best wishes, Fab

Hi Sevilla - congrats on a good doctor visit. Can you clarify, your first post says cystocele and no rectocele, but further on down you speak of your rectocele. - Surviving

With the mix up of terms, rectocele would be on your mind because it often comes with cystocele. So along with making sure you really empty your bladder, posture, exercise to build strength also making sure your diet etc is the way to go in any case.

My husband did not notice my prolapse, never mentioned anything in that regard and then when I eventually told him, still didn't. I think the women here have talked about this and shared similar stories.
I think you can safely not feel embarrassed. Now, if you knock him back that might be another story. But it's up to you.

And why shouldn’t you envy those women who don’t have prolapse? Envy, as long as it does not cause somebody else harm and is channelled, can lead you to reach for what you want and need.
Rather than worrying about whether prolapse can be completely reversed, for the answer is probably not. Wholewoman concentrates on managing it to be able to do, within sensible limits, what you need to do.

I think what you are really asking is can you get your cystocele to the stage where you won’t become incontinent, and where you can continue to lift your husband when needed at the grand old age of mid sixties? Just to put that age in context, as far as mending a broken hip goes, that age is considered young by the medical fraternity and they will put the hip back together rather than give you a hip replacement.

First off, incontinence is a common difficulty; the figure I have is one in two women at some stage in their lives will experience some form of incontinence. The risk factors for women over 45 for stress incontinence (happens when you cough, laugh or sneeze) or overflow incontinence (the passage of urine when the bladder becomes too full) is being overweight and hysterectomy. These two things you can avoid.

Urge only incontinence; an intense, irresistible urge to urinate, resulting in passage of urine (caused, it is thought, through nerve damage in the bladder or urethra) in older women over 45 is thought to occur purely through aging.

The risk factors for stress and overflow incontinence you can do something about and for urge incontinence following Wholewoman principles does certainly help. Not every old woman becomes incontinent. And don’t forget the figure, 1 in 2 women (women of all ages) some time in their life. Cystocele may and the emphasis is on the may, may cause incontinence.

As for lifting your husband: Are there ways that you can get around that? Is it possible for him to lift himself from bed into a wheelchair, etc. I’m sure you have looked at all this, but now that you know where you are, it might be opportune time to take another look, for I don’t see the wisdom in you doing further hard lifting in the short term, but sometimes means must.
Best wishes, Fab

A cystocele develops when the bladder drops back and down the vaginal canal and protrudes into the front wall of the vagina. To diagnose it, I would imagine the doctor would have felt it. Only way to know for sure would be if the woman herself can feel it.

Re several bottles and not looking for restrooms is fantastic and doesn't look anything like the possibility of developing incontinence, ever. Glad to know you are not worried about it. I get it wrong sometimes, make that often.