breakthrough!

How are you going with Wholewoman posture? I can understand your necessity to get your bowels moving as straining with constipation is certainly not going to help your rectocele and the detrimental effects of constipation and straining and /or diarrhoea is most immediately obvious to the woman with prolapse. Perhaps, whenever elimination comes up from now on you will see and feel in your mind’s eye the positive process which you have reported above, and throw away all thoughts of the difficulties experienced previously except as an unconscious correction .

Concurrent with this work you have achieved on successful elimination, it would be most beneficial to you if you also work on Wholewoman posture, walking and strength building exercises.

The research which Christine has done points to the cause of rectocele as being inappropriate posture i.e. pulling the shoulders back, flattening the stomach and tucking the bum. This widely encouraged, but female anatomically inappropriate posture, allows “the uterus to pull back, loosening the tension on the back vaginal wall and allowing the uterus to slide back and the rectum to slide forward and bulge into the vaginal space.” Do you understand what you are looking at here? How the delicate balance becomes upset? The lady does not fall over, but her organs do. And why Christine suggests the Wholewoman posture as the essential management tool to redress that imbalance and retrieve the fallen items?

To make Wholewoman posture an essential part of your deportment is the way to manage your rectocele, and your best bet of stopping prolapse in its tracks from developing further. You must work on both your diet and your posture. No cop outs.

Best wishes, Fab

Gotta agree with Fab's post......you do have many bowel issues and complications from the past, and it's natural to want to throw a lot of different potential solutions at the problem. It's hard to tell at this point whether or not you are really giving WW posture a chance. It has to be an all-day, every-day thing. Not just when you think of it, or when you take the time to work out to a video. Lumbar curvature takes time and work to restore, and a full-out effort to make it a habit. It took me into the second year to get to that point, simply because the mind was busy understanding the concepts but the body was being lazy about implementing them. I can't even imagine where I would be today if I had not pressed on. We appreciate the interesting links that you have posted from various PT websites that you frequent. But at this point, it's time to talk posture. - Surviving

Here is an interesting thread with some insights from Christine on squatting to eliminate:
http://www.wholewoman.com/forum/node/4643

And, yes, the woman who made the comment about Pilates being male-oriented is exactly correct. Traditional yoga and pilates were designed for male bodies, and many of the positions are killers for women's pelvic organs. This is what Christine has been saying all along, and why she developed her own yoga program for prolapse. Once you have completely adopted WW posture (sounds like you are working on it, but not there), you'll be able to tell what's good and what's not. Until then, I'd recommend more immersion in WW knowledge. Remember that if you aren't in perfect WW posture while doing WW exercises, they aren't really WW exercises. If you are still hanging out on the machines at the gym, you might be doing yourself more harm than good. - Surviving

Yes, it is important to factor into your experiment that the second time you tried to defecate was after a meal. It is an important factor, for eating, frequently stimulates the elimination urge. That is why it is suggested that one forms a toileting habit about twenty minutes after a meal, most frequently breakfast.

The lifting off the toilet into a half squat pose is recommended for women with cystocele so that the bladder is emptied every time you urinate.

This is why it is important that you buy Christine’s book and read it when you are considering the management of your prolapse.

If you have read through the threads Surviving has offered you, I think you understand why the ladies on this forum do not encourage squatting for elimination purposes especially after prolapse. You are doing a lot of cherry picking with the remedies you are applying, although I think I have caught on that you are trying to relieve your constipation as naturally as possible. But what is wrong with small, slow steps? This indicates to me someone somewhat in panic. And your panic is caused by pain and discomfort. Why not ask Christine for a phone/email consultation? It would seem to me the best investment you could make.

The concept that one must use one’s thighs to press against one’s abdomen in order to defecate is an unfortunate one. One has to wonder what muscles are for. That the right thigh pressing on the large intestine allows what is in the rectum to be released through the anus appears the same to me as if you massaged that area without the necessity for a deep squat and without the possible implications of the deep squat in a body where there appears to be intestinal, muscular and connective tissue weakness.

You have not been fortunate enough to attract someone on this forum who has had experience with intussusceptions. And the longer it is left untreated the less likelihood there is for a non-surgical solution.

Best wishes, Fab

Thanks Fab for reminding us on this thread that we are really talking about intussusception and the absence of an urge to poo (are these related?)....I think intussusception has been discussed in threads on the forum, searchable in the search box up above. However, all of this is a little bit beyond the scope of this forum, and what I fear is that some of 3canyoudoit2's suggestions might not be in the best interests of most of the members here (and likely not in her best interests either). - Surviving

Wholewoman work has a thoroughly researched basis,and this forum augments this with anecdotal examples. We do our best to be authentic.

Hi Youcandoit

If it works, it works. I am so glad that you have come so far in such a short period of time. You sound so much less anxious now you have this solution. It could also be that just getting over your anxiety to some degree and realising that the solution is within your grasp means that your gut is no longer in 'seige' mode. There is nothing like a big worry session to put the stops on my gut function.

Rectocele improvements have gone on for years for me. Now, I would not even know I had it. Hopefully you will be the same. I hope you can manage the inusseption OK. Smooth bowel emptying has to be a positive move in this direction.

Louise

Hi Canyoudoit - It is so wonderful that you have come this far and are seeing so much improvement. I sincerely hope that I have not made any comments that you feel do not affirm what you are doing. My purpose was to make sure that someone reading here, is aware that you have some medical issues that are a little beyond ordinary prolapse that greatly affect your elimination. This isn't, after all, an intussusception forum. We need to make sure that anything posted here is giving the right kind of advice to the most women possible. That's all. Your'e doing great! Keep it up. - Surviving

I think all the things you mention will have a role in your health, but we don't give medical advice here. You will need to talk to the doctor about these risks and the risks and benefits of ongoing monitoring. You might even be able to find a Community Forum for people who have intersusseption and gluten intolerance. Google coeliac disease too.

As you have had a positive result for gluten intolerance this might be a good place to start. A dietician can help you to amend your diet to exclude gluten, and see what happens.

The WW exercises will help your pelvic and abdominal organs to reposition. Doing the posture while working will be beneficial. The other thing in your control is the way you breathe. Diaphragmatic breathing into a relaxed belly will give all your abdominal and pelvic organs plenty of room to expand to their full length, and a gentle push into their correct position with every inhalation.

Louise

I follow a strict gluten free diet. I had all kinds of tests, and they came up with nothing. So, I follow it and watch everything I eat. If I eat too much, it's like my body can't keep up and everything gets all stuck and pasty.

I couldn't believe how much better I felt going gluten free. It only took me a few days to feel better. Just make sure you don't eat all that processed junk, that will clog me all up too. I eat plain yogurt with nuts and honey every morning with a hot green tea. I eat meats, veggies and maybe a little brown rice pasta with it. I make a gluten free pizza with lots of fresh veggies on it. I do love ice cream and coffee. I just keep all balanced (mostly)!

Glad to hear you have found solutions and are coming along so nicely, mom30.