Prolapses feel worse

Hi angle2me
Sorry to hear that things are getting worse. I have all three prolapses and yes I would assume it makes things move around more. Some days I feel the bulgy feeling all day and other days I don't. My hormones play a role as does the lubrication element.

Since my consult with Christine I have confidence I have my posture correct so I can operate with the blulgy feeling in the background rather than having it control my day.

Re things feeling worse after a BM I actually find it is fine after now. Christine gave me a tip about twisting that is like magic. I use the LoPo position that Louise put on here a few years back. I do this and then twist to my right by tucking my chin, stretching through my crown and lifting my right shoulder as I twist to the right and then the left. It's the right side that really helps BM's come out. I don't quite know the mechanics of what is happening but I guess it just lengthens everything and takes away the need to splint.

Re the gas I don't have a problem with this but I find when I am on my hands and knees rocking side to side that I always get some gas out.

https://wholewoman.com/blogpix/CAKonfloor.jpg

Hope this helps.

I do this twisting thing too, and it helps. I discovered it on my own, but I thought someone else had posted about doing this, sometime in recent months. I thought it was SH but I guess not. - Surviving

PS: SH it was you. Here is the thread:
http://www.wholewoman.com/forum/node/6351

Practically speaking, "slowing down" on your bulgier days is not always possible or even helpful. To me, it's a call to pay a bit more attention to posture, to do a little extra firebreathing, to just be more mindful. If I can rest, sure, that's great too, but that isn't always going to be an option. So make a more practical plan for how you will deal with those more symptomatic moments. We all have them. - Surviving

I first came across Christine's website a couple of years ago and I worked with the posture and the First Aid for Elders exercises. (I'm 72). I'd only been aware of my uterine prolapse for a few months. I never got the hang of the fire breathing at that time. Over the 2 years I stuck with maintaining that lumbar curve (I trained for many years as a dancer and we had" tuck your tail under" drilled into us so not so easy to change) but other elements of the posture I thought about only intermittently and the exercises fell by the wayside after a few months. I also have severe arthritis especially in hands and feet, wrists and ankles as well as many other joints which limits my capacity to exercise but I did my best using a firm couch to lie on as well as a chair and adapting some exercises. During these 2 years my prolapse got worse. My uterus was protruding significantly. I guess that's a stage 3. I was also feeling a lot of the time as if I wanted to wee but then when I went to the toilet it often took me ages to be able to do that. I thought maybe my uterus was pressing on my bladder and urethra. Maintaining the lumbar curve didn't seem to improve things. I wondered if this was because I don't naturally have much of a curve. A couple of months ago I decided I must get more serious again and revisit Christine's work. I started to worry about my uterus coming out altogether! What on earth would I do? The problem was starting to interfere with my ability to do things I wanted to do like attend festivals where I was going to have to walk or stand a lot of the day. I got a better understanding of the posture and practised it religiously as well as doing the exercises daily. I also explored the fire breathing again and now I think I've got it but at present I only manage about half a minute at one sitting. I felt great doing all this but the result? Zero!! The bulging if anything is worse with the exercising. The posture is doing nothing. I've tried walking around with as exaggerated a lumbar curve as I can muster but that doesn't help. I hate this feeling of something hanging down between my legs and wanting to wee. I absolutely can't go on like this for much longer and at the same time I take on board all the negatives about hysterectomy and I don't like that option either! I've discovered that if I can't wee that if I bend my knees and bend forward so that my forearms rest on my knees that after a bit I can often feel that uterus ascending and then I can wee. So I think a lot of that problem is indeed the uterus pressing on the bladder and possibly partially blocking the urethra as well. Last week I developed also terrible constipation although I'd just spent 2 months on Sandra Cabot's Liver cleansing diet. I've managed to sort that with taking molasses every day but I don't know if it was connected somehow to the prolapse or if it was related to sig. bloating I'm getting with a new arthritis drug I've gone onto. The LCD hasn't helped with the bloating. If anyone has any thoughts about why I'm not getting results in improving my prolapse or any ideas about other things I could try I'd be grateful. I'll have to make a decision soon about what I'm going to do. Thanks.

Hi sunny,
I also have the profound uterine prolapse. Just wondering if you have Christine's book Saving the Whole Woman also? Very practical information about living with prolapse on a daily basis. It is more difficult to improve symptoms as we get older, but we can manage them to some extent. Christine once told me that my uterus was not going to fall out, because I was worrying so much at first. She said that it is held by very strong ligaments. Mine can also bulge severly at the opening of my vagina, although uncomfortable, I don't have the fear it will go any further than that anymore.

I have found that I can only firebreath successfully once I have gotten my uterus shoved up in there first. I will bend over, give it a shove in, jiggle and bounce up and down, and then go on all fours for the firebreathing. I can now do the standing firebreathing also, but it took some time to build up to that.

I pee pretty much like you described. Any pressure from the toilet seat can put more pressure on my uterus and then my bladder. This is also a good opportunity to bend over and jiggle, and do a little firebreathing. It helps lift the uterus off the bladder for better flow.

Constipation is just hell on prolapse, so getting a good diet going and drinking plenty of water is really very important. Getting all the processed foods and sugars out of your diet the best you can is a big plus.

You may want to revisit the principles of posture. From what you are describing, it doesn't sound like have it completely down yet. It really shouldn't be exaggerated in any way. I really had troubles with that early on, just not overdoing any aspect of it.

You may want to look into a V2 supporter or other supportive device for your walking. I wear one on my walks. It doesn't make the bulginess go away, but it does help keep things feeling more stable.

I just want you to know that there are other people out there with severely prolapsed uteruses and we understand what you are feeling. There really is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it does take some real dedication to the work. Doing the best you can with what you have.

p.s. I just wanted to add since you have the rheumatoid arthritis you may want to look into the hips book and dvd. The exercises are done very slowly, and seem like they would be a great help for someone in your situation.

Thank you so much for your response and your suggestions. I do feel less anxious about my uterus coming out completely now. I did want to ask you how much improvement you've had since you started using Christine's posture and exercises. And what I can expect at best? I had hoped that maybe I would be able to reach a point where my uterus was no longer protruding hugely for large amounts of time and maybe even not descended at all beyond the vaginal opening. I do have Christine's book and have been reading sections of it again. With regard to the posture I do also have arthritis in my spine and am wondering if that may also be hindering my improvement. I was a bit confused when you said that the fire breathing worked best for you when you first pushed the uterus back up before you began. I thought the whole idea of fire breathing was to help the uterus to ascend. Is that not correct? If not, what is the purpose? Thanks for the tip of using it when on the toilet to take some pressure off the bladder. I hoped when lifting my chest in the whole woman posture that that would take pressure off my uterus and bladder but it doesn't seem to help in stopping that feeling of wanting to wee - so far anyway. Do you get that feeling too? Have you had improvement? Actually the one thing that did improve quickly for me when I initially started using the posture was I stopped getting abdominal pain rather like period pain and I've only very rarely had a mild version over the last couple of years. You mentioned V2 to help with walking. What is that and where can I get it? Do you find that your uterus will descend further at the slightest thing? If I cough or sneeze or even breathe out strongly I can feel that happen. I try to bend over if I want to sneeze or cough and that helps. I also have great difficulty having a bowel movement without the uterus descending. Recently I tried physically stopping the uterus with one hand and that seemed to help. Sometimes I wish I could just wave a magic wand! Thanks again for your support.

Hi sunny,
When I first started doing firebreathing my uterus was pretty squished at the opening of my vagina with cervix protruding, and seemed to want to stay there at first. When I tryed firebreathing, nothing happened with it. After reading around on the forum and talking to some of the ladies with uterine prolapses such as ours, I learned a few things. Shoving it in and jiggling was one of those suggestions. At first, it would come right back down, but after time, I started to get more movement, and it would stay in for longer and longer periods of time. But it did take time for me to build up to that.

The V2 you can google online. I bought mine from Amazon. It is not a cure all, but can come in handy for certain activities that you really want to still be part of, like walking around at these events you are talking about.

I had that problem too with bowel movements, but after doing the exercises and posture work, and really working on my diet, things straightened out inside. My rectum feels better placed and longer and stronger, and my uterus doesn't get in the way as much. That was one of the biggest reliefs with this work for me.

My uterus would drop for any and all reasons, still does once a month heavily right after my period, but then I just get right back at the work, and my symptoms are relieved again.
Most of the time I can get around without that real heaviness that we can get with the uterine prolapse, and for the most part, I can keep my cervix inside. That may be as good as it gets for me, but I'll take it at this point. I finally just learned to accept this as part of my life now, and have adjusted to doing whatever I want to with Whole Woman in mind.

As far as your arthritis goes, I was thinking the hips dvd might help you. The exercises are slowly done and methodical, but I am no expert on arthritis, although I saw a lot of it working in the nursing homes. My heart goes out to you. You may want to contact Christine or another whole woman practitioner. They may have some great tips or insight on how to proceed with your arthritis in mind.

In the meantime though, do what you can. Every little bit helps.
Best wishes to you.

Hi Aging gracefully
Thank you so much for the information and for sharing with me. I've paid a lot of attention to diet for many years now and especially since the start of my arthritis in 2000. I've had a major interest in complementary medicine and alternative treatments and am always researching. In the earlier years I found resistance exercises helpful for my arthritis but now I am much more limited in what I can do. However I had been considering having a consult with one of the practitioners and in fact did try to get in touch with Louise in Western Australia where I live but got no response by SMS or email. I may try the person in the Eastern States or even possibly Christine. But it's also been useful to talk with you and thank you for taking the time. Best wishes

Hi again Aging gracefully
I still don't understand what you mean by V2. I tried to google and all I got was stuff about clamps, electronic cigs etc. Went to Amazon and couldn't find anything. Is this something you wear? Regards, Sunny

Hi sunny,
Type in V2 supporter. It comes up as a pregnancy and prolapse supporter. Like I said, it is not a cure all and takes a little adjusting, but I find I get more confidence in keeping things stable down there when I take my walks.

You may want to contact Lanny if you are having trouble getting hold of a practitioner.

Hi Aging Gracefully. Thanks for that. I've also been reading the post by Unbrella about blafdder prolapse and the responses which has been interesting. I don't actually know if I have a cystocele and/or rectocele. I've just assumed I just had a uterine prolapse and no-one has told me differently. I initially went to a GP about 18mths/2years ago now because I was getting bulging from the vagina but at the time of day I went (about 1pm) nothing was protruding. She did examine me and thought I had a more minor prolapse but as I explained to her the bulging became much more apparent as the day went on. She sent me for ultrasound to make sure there was no mass in the abdomen causing this bulging to occur I got the all clear. No-one said anything about cystocele or rectocele. How do I know? Now as I told you before the bulging is much worse. Also I often feel a moistness which is a sensation like I have wet my pants which is most unpleasant. I also wanted to ask that in one of the posts someone mentioned nauli if I've got that right. What is that? I don't seem to have info about that. Also a DVD was mentioned and a dictionary of movements. What is that DVD? I have Christine's book and the First Aid for Elders DVD but don't remember anything about nauli or a dictionary of movements.

Hi Sunny - the First Aid for Elders DVD is for women of any age who have very limited mobility. You would benefit greatly from having the original First Aid DVD, even if you have to modify or skip certain of the moves on it.....because it contains so much more information.

There is a self-exam chapter in Christine's book which you can use to figure out what kind of prolapse you have. A cystocele presents as a bulge on the front vaginal wall, a rectocele as a bulge on the back vaginal wall. With a uterine prolapse you can feel the tough muscular cervix with the little indentation in the middle, and you can circle your finger all the way around it.

Doctors are not a huge source of useful information when it comes to prolapse. Having ruled out some other kind of growth, you can start immediately to learn to manage prolapse. I myself have never had a formal Dx. Learn and train your body in the basics of Whole Woman posture, and you'll be "exercising" all day long. The moves on the DVD are simply to help you lengthen and strengthen the important body parts. It's your ongoing posture and body awareness that will get you there. - Surviving

Hi Sunny

I also had trouble getting Louise by email but she has been on here recently so you could try a post to here from here. I ended up having a consult with Christine by Skype which was wonderful. I only didn't try Christine first as know she is so busy and I was not sure if the time difference would be an issue. I also didn't know if the consult was Skype with Christine or just phone.

I am sure all the practitioners are great. I've heard Lousie is going great guns over in Perth with her WW business so she simply might be full up but if you are reading this Lousie can you let us know of your availability as some of your posts and anatomical descriptions are quite legendary on here.

Thanks for the info AandL. Good to know we can use Skype.

Thanks Surviving60. I do understand that the posture is the most important thing but I've not had results with that over at least a year apart from better carriage so that's why I want to have a consult soon because I don't get why! I do have very limited mobility when it comes to exercises and have modified some of the First Aid for Elders so I can do at least a version of most of it. However I might get the other DVD just for the extra info.

Are you getting the hang of firebreathing? This is demonstrated on hands/knees in the Elders DVD, though the additional explanations in the book and regular DVD may help you get the breathing sequence sorted out - that's critical. Everyone needs extra tools in addition to adopting posture, in order to see results. This is especially true in the case of a significant uterine prolapse. - Surviving