Pessary Newie

Hi patti and welcome. I've never worn a pessary and I would never consider doing so, in light of the knowledge I've gained from Whole Woman and the experiences of others on this forum. They really can aggravate prolapse over time, especially rectocele. Most of them hold the vagina open, which is exactly what you don't want when you have prolapse.

That being said.....I wonder if, instead of forcing yourself to get used to an uncomfortable pessary, you might consider that you don't have a good fit. Pessaries are notoriously tricky to fit and you may need to try more than one type or size; or you may simply not be a good candidate for one. In any event, please don't sleep in it! I really think your body is trying to tell you something, so please pay attention to it.

When you say "vaginal prolapse" do you mean the vaginal vault? Have you had hysterectomy? - Surviving

Thanks, Surviving, and everyone else who wrote, for encouraging me to avoid surgery. I listened to you and opted out of the idea. Because of my active, demanding lifestyle, I was in emergency mode. I was desperate to do something more than constantly trying to maintain Whole Woman Posture. The posture was helping, but maybe I'm not doing it right. I don't know. I have watched the video many times and I think I'm holding the posture correctly. Anyway, I was desperate. The posture alone was not helping me to be able to function as I needed to function. So I had a pessary inserted. It was a perfect fit on the first try. It has been seven months now, and I am able to walk, stand and sit without being constantly irritated by a water balloon hanging between my legs. I have it changed every three months. The drawbacks are that there is a constant white discharge because the body doesn't like having a foreign object to deal with, and there is sometimes a little pain (especially at the beginning). I know pessaries are not meant to be a permanent solution, but I cannot afford to go back to the way it used to be! Comments?

Speaking as someone who has a severe prolapse, an external support device is not the solution here. The forum was so nice when you weren't here tempting people with them, tanglefoot. However subtly you work them into the conversation, let me remind you that Christine has banned you from peddling your product on this forum.

Sattvicity,
If you are getting the results from the pessary that you want, then that is up to you if you want to wear one. We are only here to remind those that do may have some issues with them eventually.

But also, don't give up on the whole woman work, because those of us with the severe prolapses can benefit from this work too. It does take a little more effort, extra jiggling and firebreathing throughout the day, for example, can mean the whole world of difference between that heavy dragging feeling and a much lighter feeling. And, keeping your bowels lighter certainly can make a big difference between a good day and a bad day.

So, wear your pessary, but still work on that posture, because it helps so much more than our prolapses. Our hips, spines, and all over body gets great benefit from this life changing work.

Your history dictates my response, Tanglefoot. You start out with the casual mention of this garment, and then become more insistent until you start to hook people in, and then the advertising starts. By this time all people want to do is talk about support garments with much encouragement from you. Guess what? The five months you were away from the forum, people were actually asking about the whole woman work, not the quick fixes that you are definitely trying to sell.
That is not and should not be the focus of this forum.
What floors me is that you are still allowed to come here when you have no interest in whole woman in the first place!!

For other readers, Tanglefoot does not represent the Whole Woman work. Her responses should not be taken as advice, when she has shown no clear understanding or desire to understand this work.

Hi Tanglefoot - Just a reminder that the WW work is indeed the focus of this forum. You can read this for a refresher on our purpose here:

https://wholewoman.com/newpages/forum.html

There is much, much more to the WW work than simply avoiding surgery. Christine and Lanny have had several very generous sales in the last few months; wondering if you ever got around to picking up a copy of the book or any of the DVDs? If you have still not taken the plunge, the Fundamentals series is a good place to start learning about posture:

https://wholewoman.com/newpages/fundamentals/

We hope you will take a serious look at this work. Your contributions to the forum will be of much more help to other women if you do. Until then, you'll just have to put up with our persistence! Wishing you the best - Surviving

I was overjoyed to use Gellhorn pessaries for nine years and thought it would be the solution forever (I'm 73 and live in Australia).....Sadly pessaries stopped working a year ago and no other style could replace the Gellhorn. I then had my uterus prolapsing out inches between my legs, making life difficult and UTIs frequent. In desperation I've taken my chances with having a hysterectomy a week ago. If I could do it over again I would have mastered the WW Posture (which I haven't yet, though I do the elders' exercises).

Choosing between rocks and hard places! So if you do use a pessary, realize it is of limited use and actually makes matters worse in the long run, at least that's my experience.

Thankfully for those who want alternatives, Christine's work will one day be widespread and eventually I'll use her new post-hysterectomy material.

Thanks so much for checking in with the forum. We appreciate the insights and wish you a speedy and uneventful recovery! If you are gently but consistently working on WW posture now, you are giving yourself the best chance for post-hyst quality of life. It is most definitely not too late for you to benefit hugely from this work. And the timing is perfect with the pending release of one of Christine's most important works ever. Wishing you great success! - Surviving