toilet paper plug

Submitted by Kat1 on February 9, 2014 - 11:23am
Body: 

Hello everyone. I have newly turned 60 (!) and have dealt with "moderate cystocele" (doc. says it's normal for my age) and retention for two years. Sometimes I notice it a lot--with discomfort and/or leaking-- sometimes very little, and I always wonder why that is. I tend to leak a little bit, noticeable to no one but me, I guess, but it bothers me. It has changed my life, but not drastically. Still, I don't want to run--though I rarely did--don't want to resume tennis--though I hadn't played. I've become more sedentary. I am a decent weight, so that's not a problem. I just feel somehow restricted. I am a schoolteacher so am on my feet a lot. I did have a hysterectomy, complete, in my early 40s. I take a Premarin pill every two or three days and use a little vaginal cream, which I'm told can help, every few days. What I do every time I go to the bathroom is plug a folded square of toilet paper up to kind of push things up a bit and catch any leaks. I make sure it's soft so always carry some squares in my pocket so I don't have to use cheap squares. Occasionally when I feel very droopy, I insert a tampon. I keep fastidiously clean there so haven't had a UTI in two years, thank goodness. It just seems like a rather peculiar thing to do, and I wonder if anyone else has tried this. I suppose I could request a pessary, but from what I read here--I've been reading this forum for 1 1/2 years and just figured out how to get on--they are often unpleasant. I guess I am not damaging myself, since I have not had infections. Anyway, thanks for listening.

Forum:

sevilla555

February 9, 2014 - 2:02pm

One can get a UTI in spite of being fastidious about personal hygiene/cleanliness. One can also have ''symptoms'' of a UTI, without it actually being a UTI. This has happened to me several times over the past 6-7 months. Even though I was having the ''typical'' UTI kind of symptoms - burning, feelings of ''wanting to go'' to name a few - and after having had my urine tested via urinalysis and culture, no specific infection was found. The urgent care doc who treated me suggested I go to my gyn, who did further lab tests, and when these came back negative, suggested I use Premarin vaginal cream twice weekly for a couple of months. Even though the cream stung at first, it no longer does and my UTI ''sensations'' have now completely disappeared. This Premarin cream should only be used for a short duration and I have now ceased using it as I feel so much better. The risk is minimal compared to oral hormonal meds, as it's inserted vaginally and while it ''may'' enter the bloodstream in minimal amounts, in my case at least, the benefit far outweighed any possible risk.

Kat1

February 9, 2014 - 6:01pm

Thank you for your input on UTIs! I didn't know one could have one and still test negative for it.

sevilla555

February 9, 2014 - 7:33pm

Hi Kat1

I think you kinda' misunderstood my meaning. I was saying that one can have the ''symptoms'' of a UTI but just because a person has those symptoms doesn't necessarily mean it IS a UTI. And that's why the Premarin cream helped me. If it HAD been a real UTI I'm willing to bet the Premarin wouldn't have worked. Post-menopausal hormone imbalance can often mimic UTI symptoms. Well, such has been the case with me.

fab

February 12, 2014 - 1:26am

for your information here Sevilla555. These hormonal imbalances mimicking UTI symptoms; the burning and the constant urge to go are an interesting take. I can't say I have heard of this before, but there have been ladies addressing the forum for help with just these symptoms and who have stated they did not have a UTI. So, maybe they fit somewhere here. For alternatives for Premarin I think you would have to look at a pea sized amount of honey placed directly into the uterus as it is a good bacteria and and red clover has estrogen. But check carefully for I am not familiar with Premarin.
Kat1, my only objection to the wad of paper and the tampon is their ability to dry the vagina or for other women their uterus. I know that Christine experimented in just the same way with cotton wool and MeMyselfandI found the tampon placed sideways (((( )))) thus was very helpful, but they both had their uterus. I find that my uterus won't hold a tampon. Perhaps, because you have not reached menopause and you are placing these things in your vagina and because you take Premarin then your vagina is moist enough to tolerate these things? But I certainly can't see you damaging yourself from this practice. And thanks for this info. We do have ladies post hysterectomy who are interested in all these aspects.

willhealmyself

February 12, 2014 - 4:27am

Hi all I have been having what I thought was a uti every few weeks for about the last 6 months, I just need to ring docs and they always got me to pick up antibiotics, they always cleared up in a day or two, but I usually finished the course. Now I realise from coming here that they were just the symptoms of uti and I have been taking antibiotics for nothing. A glass of water with baking soda always soothed my symptoms but I finished the course as I read that an untreated uti can lead to kidney trouble. So now I have sent for urine strips that are the same as the docs where you test your urine and it tells you if you have real infection. Waiting on them coming from ebay, I think its nitrates or something that shows up. You just match the colours on the box with the strip you dip in your urine. If I had found WW earlier I could have saved a lot of bother. I haven't had a uti since I started using the loo as suggested here. I feel really positive about my pop now that I know just how much I can do to help myself. Thank you WW.