Bladder symptom relief?

hi needadvice:

though i haven't had this partiular symptom, i would think the posture would be especially helpful in easing this. after all, if it is from pressure on the bladder from the rectocele, getting the posture piece and thereby the structural component of your pelvis stabilized, i would think, would be really helpful with this.

have you looked at the posture on the faq section? check it out and see how it feels, even just standing still and getting your body in a proper alignment. i know the first time i did it, just standing in from of the computer and slowly moving through the steps one by one, i totally felt the shift in how my rectocele felt. also, do know that this is still a work in progress for me and i often struggle to be patient with myself. so reminder to you, needadvice: please be patient with yourself. :)

really glad to hear you have decided to postpone your surgery. you have NOTHING to lose by trying to work with your issues in this gentle yet (in my opinion) very effective way. the surgeon and surgery is always there, there is no expiration date on when you can have that if you choose to. for me, though, knowing there is ALWAYS a choice is remarkably soothing to me.

susan

Hi Needadvice,

Have you tried leaning forward with your elbows on your knees while gently resting on the loo, or alternatively crouching on all fours over a bucket after you pee, and peeing again to ensure that you have fully emptied your bladder? Women with cystocele often have issues with residual urine, as the bladder has dropped lower than the urethral opening. This causes the bladder to not empty fully, and leaves the feeling that one still needs to pee. (It can also cause frequent uti's as the residual urine attracts bacteria, and can cause infections). It may or may not be this, but definitely worth a try. Experiment and see what helps the most with this along with the posture! :)

Michelle.

that helped my cystocele symptoms were the posture and peeing on all fours first thing in the morning. if I don't pee on all fours first thing I will pay for it. since doing this the cystocele never bothers me. oh ya I peed on all fours everytime until my symptoms went away and now I only have to do it first thing. also take probiotics.

I also have cystocele, but have not experienced the continual urge feeling. I had the first UTI of my life just about the same time my cystocele was diagnosed. As others have pointed out on the forum, this is because the prolapsed bladder is not properly positioned to empty completely. After urinating on the toilet, I lean forward placing my hands flat on the floor just to be sure everything empties. I also drink cranberry juice daily - not much - as little as an 8oz. glass (supposed to help prevent UTIs - perhaps because its acidity creates a hostile environment for bacteria). It has been over a year, and I've not had another UTI. I attribute this to the two things I've just decribed as well as posture and Whole Woman Fire Breathing - and maybe just pure dumb luck!

I recommend trying Christine's posture, exercises, fire breathing and maybe cranberry. Certainly can't hurt and just might resolve some of your issues - what have you got to lose?

Also, my nurse practitioner pointed out that it is normal for women with cystocele to have a higher than normal bacterial count in their urine. She advocates not treating this unless it becomes symptomatic (or unless the levels are exremely high). I am very happy with this because I hate taking antibiotics. I am apparently allergic to the -cillins and sulfa drugs, so I have to take potent drugs with nasty side effects.

By the way, when I travelled abroad last summer I took cranberry supplements with me (available in the drugstore).

Best wishes to you in finding relief from your symptoms!
Jean