pelvic exam

Hi morningstar,
I recently had a pelvic exam, and I have a severely prolapsed uterus. I simply told them about it, and that I was taking care of it with the Whole Woman work and I wasn't going to even discuss surgery. The doctor I had was really cool about it, but did say that if I wanted a pessary at some point to come back. It actually went really well, but you have to take charge of the situation right away. Educate yourself before going in and don't let them talk down to you.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and what your situation with prolapse is?

I have bladder prolapse and have been dealing pretty well with it. Taking lots of advise from Christine and also using a pessary. The thing with a pessary is that: most women do not like to take it out themselves to wash it....personally I have no problem taking it out every couple of days, wash it, and even not putting it back for while, especially at night. What happens is that they have to visit the Dr. every 3 months or so, to have it taken out. I imagine things can get pretty messy there, with this foreign object in your body, and probably some infections will occur, so that means more visits to the Dr. I have found that I get no discomfort and I can pee more completely. I do try to do the 'whole woman breathing' as much as I can. They do help. My urgencies have almost disappeared, I use a product called "Better Woman", for the urgencies. It is an Herbal Supplement, that I found through research on the net...whatever the Dr.(gyno) gave me did not work. My acupuncturist who is a highly respected Chinese Pain Management Dr. specializing in Acupuncture, told me the herbs are safe and they are used in Chinese medicine for the same symptoms. I am not promoting anything here, just saying that this works for me. I am in very good health and stay fit. I am 75 years young and expect to keep staying in great health.

Hope this helpful to you.

Hi sunflowermaiden,
You mention that you "try to" do the whole woman breathing, but what about the posture? That is really the most important part of this work.
I do realize that you are doing what you think is best for you, and it is not taboo to talk about pessaries, but in all fairness, you have mentioned them before already. The problem with pessaries is that they are never a long term fix; women eventually do come back and tell us how they stopped working for them, but the whole woman posture is safe, noninvasive, and lasts a lifetime.
It may be time for you to dig out your Whole Woman books and/or DVDs, etc, and have another look at them. It is never too late to get started with this very important work.

I do feel it's important, in the interest of other readers of the Whole Woman forum, to point out that pessaries do have the potential to worsen prolapse over time (especially rectocele). This is largely due to how they tend to hold the vagina open (the WW postural work aims to keep that space closed and flattened to keep the encroaching organs out). There is only one type that does not do this - it's worth reading Christine's pessary chapter in the book for some background on this.

Many women at the beginning of this journey, do need a little help with their symptoms, because these symptoms can be quite scary at first. Once you learn the true anatomy, understand what's really going on, and what you can do about it to live well with prolapse, you can ditch the fear, and the pessary along with it. There are so many tools that are so much better. - Surviving

I saw sunflowermaiden mentioned doing this 'whole woman breathing' and wonder what is it?
I know about the fire breathing and WW posture, but this is new to me. Another new technique to learn?
Sounds exciting.
Please share. Thanks!

TC, I believe she is referring to belly breathing (versus chest breathing). Belly expands on the inhale, falls back on the exhale. The basic principles behind firebreathing, pelvic rocks, etc. etc. throughout Christine's work. - Surviving

Surviving60 Iam new to this forum and totally ignorant about anything regarding a pessary. However, today is my first day to have a pessary in me . I am very concerned about it. I am relying on my doctor to take it out every three months to clean it as the thoughts of doing that myself scare me bad. I am very concerned about your saying that a pessary over time worsens the prolapse due to holding the vagina open. My doctor did not say this. I don't know if she is trying to not scare me or what. You mentioned that there are so many tools that are much better than a pessary. As I said this is my first day and I can tell the pessary is in me as my abdomen feels kind of tight between my legs. I am not sure yet how to describe it. I know I am not making any sense. I am curious about what you said and what other tools might be much better than a pessary. Thank you for any help.

Hi mimi64 and welcome,
Have you had a chance to look around this site? Because it is through the whole woman work that we have the best way of maintaining pelvic organ support. The whole woman posture and all the tools presented in Christine Kent's work is where you will find your answers.
Go to the tool bar above and start looking around and find out more about this very important work, and then come back here with any questions you may have about it.

Aging gracefully thank you so much. I will :)

I have one question as I am about to find out all I can from this site. I have a pessary as of one day and I feel some discomfort. I have put in a call to my doctor. Can anyone tell me if it is normal to have some discomfort in the vaginal area since a pessary is put in. I am wondering if it is too big. I have a size 5 and I am wondering if I need a size 4. I have a different kind of pressure now and that is why I wonder if it is too big. Also if it is taken out does anyone know if I will be worse off than before, as I am just now starting to get info here. thanks much for any info

I have never worn a pessary and never will, but have learned quite a bit about them in my 6+ years on this site. So my opinion is, if it feels uncomfortable, it isn't doing you any good, and you should ditch it. The only reason for wearing one, even short-term, is for relief, and it doesn't sound like it's giving you any. You can of course try a different size or style, if you have a doc willing to try out different things. - Surviving

Surviving60 thank you much

You said you would never wear a pessary. As I am just getting started on this website I am wondering if you have a prolapse. If you do what are you doing for it? I sure don't want a pessary in me and am anxioius to get it out of me. Any information would be appreciated so much.thank you

Mimi, I have cystocele and rectocele which became very symptomatic in 2010 when I had just turned 60. I went on-line and fairly quickly found Whole Woman, watched this video....

https://wholewoman.com/newpages/video/ww101.html

......realized this was the answer, started acquiring my (now complete) collection of Christine's works, and have been managing my prolapse quite wonderfully ever since. Everything I have studied and learned has touched every aspect of my life.

Doctors are wonderful for some things, but they do not understand women's pelvic anatomy. They are only capable of recommending PT/kegels, pessaries, or surgery. Useless at best, very harmful at worst. Since you have found your way to Whole Woman, I hope you will take advantage of the wisdom available here. Get over your fear of the bulge, learn the steps to manage it, and then you can get on with your life. It's not an easy, quick fix - because there is none. You must retrain your body into natural alignment which allows the organs to be held forward, away from the vagina. It really does work, but only you can do the work. - Surviving

Thank you so much :)