Does this sound like a prolapse??

Hi 20032003 and welcome. I would venture to say that you do indeed have some prolapse going on there. Doctors don't always do a good job of diagnosing this, and after all those negative tests for whatever, I think this would be the logical conclusion. A history of heavy lifting is certainly a relavant factor here. But most women end up with prolapse eventually, so welcome to the club. I hope you will check around the site and consider getting started on the work. Here are a couple of things to get you going:
https://wholewoman.com/newpages/video/ww101.html
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RvGROzIYN6w

You can manage this just fine. - Surviving

Hi 2003,
I have had the symptoms you describe, along with the retroverted uterus all my life, heavy lifting, and straining on the toilet, perimenopause, and it it lead me to a profound uterine prolapse. I was prolapsing all during my forties, ignoring the symptoms until I hit fifty and a full on uterine prolapse. Not trying to scare you, but it is definetly time to start making some changes in your life.

First of all, stop straining on the toilet, that is so bad for prolapse.

I realize you can't avoid the heavy lifting seeing that you work with horses, but if you can try to minimize some of it for starters, that would be good.

The very best thing you can do for yourself right now though is to learn everything you can about whole woman. Christine Kent has brought us astounding information about what is happening to us and what we can do for ourselves to improve our symptoms. It's all about our posture, and the sooner you learn this, the better you will start to feel.

This journey with Whole Woman has been an eyeopening experience for me, and such a saving grace for the kind of prolapse I have which I manage very successfully by following Christine's teachings.
Best wishes to you.

And yes, the retroverted uterus does make it very difficult to have a bm, especially right before your period. I have actually been able to pull my uterus away from my rectum with this work. It takes time, but it is time well worth spending.

Not quite sure what you are asking, but you can google the menstrual cycle to better know what your body is going through during the month.
I did notice increased constipation during the latter part of the month as my period was approaching, with extreme constipation a couple of days to the day of my period. Once my period started, I would get some relief. After much reading and getting a better understanding of my body, I realized that my retroverted uterus had a part to play in all this. But, like I said, the whole woman work and very positive dietary changes has helped me get much relief in that department after years and years of constipation.
Have you had a chance to look around this site and read about Christine's work?

Hello 20032003,
Christine explains the menstrual cycle and what is an inflammatory process in her DVD - The Whole Woman Way to Vulva Vaginal Health.

I think there can be noticeable swelling, because of the thickened lining and the uterus also changes position for menstruation.
It makes sense to me that there is some water retention as the body needs it to help purge the uterus lining and impurities to prepare the body for a healthy environment for a possible pregnancy... that could explain along with hormonal changes, constipation at the time, hence keeping hydrated is helpful, and elimination was easier & sometimes a bit urgent for me, upon starting menstruation, as if making way for the uterus to do it's job...

Posture and uterus position, food that works for your digestion and elimination, and I find Whole Woman exercises & being a bit more active, really helps with elimination.

Hope this helps,
Aussie Soul Sister

2003,
The best way to get a really good understanding of Whole Woman posture is by investing in some of the materials. Saving the Whole Woman book and First Aid for Prolapse DVD are great to start with.
Christine can explain all these things so much better than any of us. It's her work, we are only here to help guide you through it, if needed.
if your cervix is a finger's length up there, then as far as I'm concerned, you're lucky. And, please stop bearing down in anyway wether it be on the toilet or not. That is so bad for prolapse.

I have the most bowel problems from ovulation until my period starts. I think ovulation swells things up in there and kind of blocks the bowels from moving enough, then when the period starts, everything can move again. Rectocele bothers me most, or just poop does really :/

Yes, I agree. The lining starts building right away and by day 14, it should be ready for the egg during ovulation. When I was younger, I could actually feel the pain of ovulation and I was especially horny during that time. I also notice more swelling during the latter part of the month and used to have extreme constipation by the time I was ready to have my period. Now that I am on the tail end of perimenopause all those symptoms have softened quite a bit.
Christine explains very well about the menstrual cycle and what the hormones are doing at the different phases. Very much well worth reading her account on the subject.

Aging gracefully, when you had the ovulation pains, did they last for a week? I am 39 and I am having this problem pretty bad. During the "bad" ovulation week, I barely go and then it's bad poos for a long time. Did you have this ever? I am thinking of taking birth control pills to stop it to see if this is causing the blockage.

I don't remember it lasting for a week, but I had it more often in my twenties. Seems like it did last a few days though. Hard to remember back that far sometimes, but I had read and talked to other women who had similar symptoms, so I just didn't worry about it.
What do you mean by bad poos? Constipation? I had really bad constipation that lasted for many years, especially right before my period. I actually didn't start to solve that problem until I found Whole Woman. Doing the posture, exercises, and really cleaning up my diet helped me tremendously in that department, unkinking my bowels and getting my uterus off my rectum.
Also, really not trying to be dense here, but what kind of blockage are you having?

I was just reading around the web about ovulation pain. I found one site that said if you are having ovulation pain for longer than three days, it may be a sign of endometriosis or other conditions. I, of course, am no expert in this area, but any prolonged pain should get checked out.

I see Christine gives a link in this thread:

https://www.wholewoman.com/forum/comment/25574#comment-25574

I see from reading back that you have had this for awhile. I wouldn't know what else you can do for it, but maybe someone else will come along that does.

I think that everything you are experiencing is fairly normal, and you have been to the doc to rule out anything abnormal. So I wish that maybe you could just stop worrying quite so much, and making yourself nuts. You will get through it. No need to keep pushing to see if your cervix comes down or not. It does, and that's OK. As I said in my first post, the majority of women will end up with some degree of prolapse. It's natural to obsess over the idea at first, I will grant you that. You can accept that your periods are changing, and continue to track it all with your app, though I'm not sure where that's leading, other than to more obsession! Relax, you are fine and normal and I HOPE you are going to start learning this posture correction. Your time and effort would be much better spent on that. - Surviving

2003,
Yes, it is good to take note of symptoms as they arise, but for no reason, even if a self exam tells you to, should you bear down, wether you have prolapse or not. Take it from someone who did that her whole life and ended up with a profound uterine prolapse, don't bear down for any reason. I cringe every time you say it!

I agree with surviving, everything you describe sounds normal. You probably are approaching perimenopause. I went through some real crazy making when I first went into it, and then I found whole woman a year later. I had all ready been working on my diet, cutting out caffiene and alchohol, processed foods and sugars were a big part in relieving some of my worst symptoms. The Whole Woman work was only an added benefit, the exercises soothing, and the posture getting the rest of me straightened out.

It's all a process and takes time. But, it is time worth spent.

I'm not discouraging you from tracking your periods....I think most everyone does that. I certainly did, right up to the end. But if you are looking to determine whether your symptoms are related to perimenopause, or prolapse, I think it's perfectly fine to assume both! Because you'd probably be right. - Surviving

If your uterus is retroverted, then you will feel some pressure on your rectum, especially the latter half of the month before your period. I always had that feeling, even when I was younger, but didn't know that's what was causing it. You could also be developing a rectocele.
So all this just means it's a good time to start making some positive changes in your life, and throw yourself into the Whole Woman work. That was the saving grace for me during my worst time with all this.

I can totally relate to the observations you're making about your cycle. I'm perimenopausal and it's been affirming and sort of a sacred experience to acknowledge the changes happening.

I too have struggled with anxiety from time to time, worrying myself by asking, "Does this mean something horrible?" when I would experience a new symptom.

You've been checked out and from what you've been sharing, you seem to be on a fairly typical path. I believe that you are the expert with respect to your own body so you might find it liberating and empowering to honor your truth despite the opinions of those who have checked you out.

I'm glad you're starting the posture work and I hope you're listening to AG, no more bearing down! No need to worsen things. You're already a member of the club :-)

Snapcracklepop

As a side note, I just want to add that Christine does explain everything about prolapse in her book Saving the Whole Woman. Reading it really helps cut down on some of the confusion, and answers many questions.

Hi 20032003
I am good in the mornings after sleep. My relaxed sleep breathing pulls things up a bit. I also get a BM stuck in there at times too and as I never push I just have to wait until things are ready. I call it constipation as when things are moving well they don't tend to hang around in there even though I have a rectocele. I am constantly working on my diet for constipation.

You say that you want your prolapse confirmed. If you feel things are high in the morning and then they fall after a few hours then does that not mean you have prolapse? I don't have a rectoverted uterus so cannot comment on that but as so many women have commented how WW posture have helped them with this then it seems like it must be at least posture related in some way.

I suggest if you can feel your cervix then that is prolapsed too or that is what I thought. When mine is over my pelvic bone I cannot feel it. I feel mine at the top of my finger when I check hinged forward at the hips, chin tucked and back long, belly relaxed. My cele and rectocele keep it from coming out - natures pessary.

Did you do the self exam?
https://wholewoman.com/library/content/articles/prolapseselfexam.pdf

All the best in your search for answers - I too like to have answers for what is going on in my body.

Please.....why not assume you have a prolapse (we all think you do!) and act accordingly? Learn the posture. This is the posture EVERY woman should have - if you didn't have a prolapse, it might help prevent you from getting one. Doctors are not helpful in this area, I'm sorry but they just aren't. Their diagnoses (or lack thereof) are very subjective. And if they do think you have one, their recommendations range from useless to harmful. So, enough aready.

Sleeping "in posture" doesn't do anything for prolapse. It's what you do when you are on your feet that moves the organs forward. Prolapse tends to go away when we are lying down. When upright, we use the posture to harness the forces of gravity to improve our symptoms, not make them worse.

So, quit fretting over what the doctor has to say, get on with things now. - Surviving

I did not have my prolapse confirmed by a doctor. I really didn't need to after finding my cervix actually sticking out. I also couldn't feel my cervix when I was younger, even with the retroverted uterus. Not until I was much older, that's why a whole finger's length would be no big deal to me. In fact, I am jealous of anyone who can shove their finger up that far and try to find their cervix. Mine is always there presenting itself. The whole woman work has helped me tremendously though to get it In Better positions, so it doesn't stick out of me anymore.

2003, you say you still don't understand all this yet, but as far as I'm concerned cruising around on this forum isn't going to answer your questions completey, not like actually investing in Christine's material, reading and studying her work, getting a good understanding of what your body is going through, working on posture as she describes it.

This is What the site is all about. Wether you are only in the beginning of prolapse or not, all woman need to get a better understanding of what is going on with their bodies and learn the correct posture we were always meant to have, our true posture.

And, yes lying down takes the pressure off our organs, that's why we generally feel best in the morning. It really doesn't matter how you lie down, because the intrabdominal pressure is at work when we are standing and moving about during our day.

I too have never had my prolapse confirmed by a doctor. I would have gone to one, only if I needed to rule out something else. It's safe to say that you have already done that, and now it's time for you to take this into your own hands. - Surviving

I did have my prolapse confirmed by a doctor but after I stopped freaking out ( in the waiting room) I knew I had prolapse and in that moment I understood what it meant. It did not matter what the doctors said. In fact them saying it was mild and giving me a prescription of do nothing, no lifting, no running and hope it does not get worse was not useful as I followed their prescription.

When it got worse I did not go back as I knew they would say surgery or put up with it. I don't do surgery. I found this site and slowly got going - second mistake. I was busy, moving house blah, blah, blah, didn't put myself first.

20032003 you want to throw yourself into this work as it has to be proper WW posture or things will still get worse. It takes time to learn of course but its better to learn while you don't have many symptoms than to learn when you do. Of course partial WW posture is better than none as it takes us all time to unlearn old habits and fully grasp the posture changes. I am still learning - that won't stop. Mostly it is learning where my body is involuntarily tense now (abs and pelvic area normally) so I am obviously working on releasing those patterns.

You'll get your answers when you get into this work.

It's true, tensing your stomach creates a whole host of problems, some we don't even realize.
That is one of the hardest parts to unlearn, but we must all learn to relax our bellies and breath deeply into them for the benefits of this work. It really is all based on this deep breathing pattern rather than the shallow chest breathing we grew up with and developed as part of our bad habits.