Herbal Approach to Rectocele?

You can use the search box up above to look for discussions. I don't think you'll find too much. I think Gillian52 has been using these herbs. - Surviving

Hi Justdandy,
Soz - don't know about this. Anyone else had some experience of this?

Tomorrow I am going to search out some TCM herbs for prolapse. I live in a relatively small Italian city, so we'll see what I'm able to come up with! I'll let you know how it goes.

But I read it and it's very interesting. I can't figure out who conducted the study or who published the results though.
I'll copy paste some of it here for you all:

Etiology:

Rectocele and other forms of pelvic organ prolapse are the result of women attaining an erect bipedal posture. Etiologically, most cases are the result of abdominal childbirth and chronic increases in intra-abdominal pressure. In some patients, rectocele is thought to develop as a result of congenital or inherited weaknesses within the pelvic support system. A number of iatrogenic factors may also contribute to pelvic organ prolapse, including failure to adequately correct all pelvic support defects during surgery. Additionally, procedures that alter the direction of pelvic forces can cause areas to prolapse that had been supported adequately. Examples include ventral suspensions of the urethra, uterus, or vagina that increase the exposure of the cul-de-sac to increases in intra-abdominal pressure; posterior fixation of the vaginal apex; failure to detect and correct an occult enterocele; and excessive shortening of the vagina.
Chinese medicine & rectocele:

The common clinical symptoms of rectocele clearly correspond to the Chinese medical pattern of central qi falling downward, and the standard internally administered formula for this pattern is Li Dong-yuan’s famous Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang (Supplement the Center & Boost the Qi Decoction). This formula is empirically effective for the treatment of various types of organ prolapse, including uterine and rectal prolapse. On pages 42-43 of issue 11, 2004 of the Hu Nan Zhong Yi Za Zhi (Hunan Journal of Chinese Medicine), Jun Jian-bao published an article titled, "The Treatment of 86 Cases of Rectocele Treated by Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang Jia Wei (Supplement the Center & Boost the Qi Decoction with Added Flavors)." Because this protocol was reasonably effective, a summary of its contents is presented below.

Cohort description:

All 86 patients enrolled in this clinical audit were seen as out-patients at the Dong Kou County People’s Hospital and all were female. These patients ranged in age from 30 to 76 years old, with an average age of 41.5 years. All these patients had suffered from rectocele for 1-25 years, with an average disease duration of 6.8 years. All these women had also given birth from 1-4 times. Clinical symptoms included constipation, difficulty defecating, lack of force in defecation, a sensation of incomplete defecation, relatively long periods of time between defecations, a feeling of perineal falling and descending or sagging, and, if severe, dyspareunia. Chronic colitis, colorectal cancer, and bowel obstruction were ruled out. Colorectal examination showed varying degrees of rectocele in all patients. In terms of disease degree, 17 patients suffered from slight rectocele, 58 from moderate rectocele, and 11 patients from severe rectocele. Sixty-seven of these patients also suffered from uterine prolapse.

Treatment method:

All 86 patients in this study were administered internally the following version of Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang:

Huang Qi (Radix Astragali Membranacei), 30g

Dang Shen (Radix Codonopsitis Pilosulae), 15g

Bai Zhu (Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae), 15g

Chen Pi (Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae), 10g

Sheng Ma (Rhizoma Cimicifugae), 10g

Chai Hu (Radix Bupleuri), 10g

Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis), 15g

He Shou Wu (Radix Polygoni Multiflori), 30g

Niu Xi (Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae), 15g

Rou Cong Rou (Herba Cistanchis Deserticolae), 15g

Zhi Shi (Fructus Immaturus Citri Aurantii), 15g

Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis), 5g

If there was emission of heat, Dang Shen and Bai Zhu were removed and 10 grams each of Huang Bai (Cortex Phellodendri) and Huang Lian (Rhizoma Coptidis Chinensis) were added. If vacuity was severe, Zhi Shi was removed and 30 grams of Nu Zhen Zi (Fructus Ligustri Lucidi) were added. If defecation was not difficult, Rou Cong Rong, He Shou Wu, and Zhi Shi were removed and Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan (Golden Cabinet Kidney Qi Pills) were added. One packet of these medicinals were decocted in water and administered per day, with 15 days administration equaling one course of treatment and results analyzed after two such courses. During this time of treatment, patients suspended the use of any other medications.

Study outcomes:

Cure was defined as smooth, easy defecations with no sensation of incomplete bowel movements, no sensation of perineal falling and descending, and return to normal of all signs of rectocele as confirmed by repeat colorectal examination. In addition, there was no recurrence on follow-up after one year. Some effect was defined as freely flowing and smooth or easy defecation, no sensation of incomplete bowel movements, a marked decrease in feelings of falling and descending in the perineum, and improvements in the signs of rectocele on repeat colorectal examination. No effect was defined as no obvious improvement in any of the signs and symptoms of rectocele from before to after treatment. Based on these criteria, 21 cases (24.4%) were judged cured, 60 cases (69.8%) got some effect, and five cases (5.8%) got no effect. Therefore, the total effectiveness rate was given as 94.2%. In general, time to seeing an obvious effect was 10-15 days.

Copyright © Blue Poppy Press, 2005. All rights reserved.

Prolapse can come and go, but it is not "cured" in the normal sense of the word. Given what we know about the postural elements involved (which Chinese medicine appears to ignore), all of this seems largely irrelevant to me. Herbal treatments are wonderful and there is a whole host of them described in Christine's latest video. But as a treatment for prolapse itself, I hope anyone using these is also fanatically working the posture side of things too. - Surviving

I started this herbal blend in Feb. 2013, while doing acupuncture treatments and in the beginning I thought it really helped. After a few months in, it seemed like I could feel the bulge most of the time. Now 7 months later I was feeling it every day. I still take it the herbs and am going to finish out my treatments, but I've seen some definite improvement in the severity of the feeling of the falling after I started the WW Yoga and First Aid. I'm not sure I'm doing all the movements correctly and am much stiffer & weaker on one side due to a mini stroke some years ago, but I am going to continue with the exercises. Thank you Christine.

Chihuahuamom, are you able to maintain Whole Woman posture while you exercise, and the rest of the time as well? Being post-hyst we realize it can be harder to adopt this without discomfort so you have to go at a reasonable pace. But it's true, taking a bit of pressure away from the vaginal space as you coax the organs forward can make a difference early on that you can actually feel. And you become less afraid of the bulge.....attitude is everything in this game! Keep going. - Surviving