When I first “cracked the code” on stabilizing and reversing prolapse, and wrote and published Saving the Whole Woman, I set up this forum. While I had finally gotten my own severe uterine prolapse under control with the knowledge I had gained, I didn’t actually know if I could teach other women to do for themselves what I had done for my condition.
So I just started teaching women on this forum. Within weeks, the women started writing back, “It’s working! I can feel the difference!”
From that moment on, the forum became the hub of the Whole Woman Community. Unfortunately, spammers also discovered the forum, along with the thousands of women we had been helping. The level of spamming became so intolerable and time-consuming, we regretfully took the forum down.
Technology never sleeps, however, and we have better tools today for controlling spam than we did just a few years ago. So I am very excited and pleased to bring the forum back online.
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Christine Kent
Founder
Whole Woman
Aging gracefully
May 25, 2016 - 6:12pm
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Sounds like you are throwing
Sounds like you are throwing a lot of different stuff into your mom's digestive system. I worked in the nursing homes for years, and one thing I noticed is that not everyone had a bowel movement every day, mostly because as we get older our bowels just plain slow down. Many of our patient's did well on a stool softener, or some stewed prunes. They were never left to go over 3 days without a bowel movement though. And. we were encouraged to make sure they were drinking water too. Many elderly people either forget to or just don't want to drink water.
Many elderly people do well on a softer blander diet as well, because another thing that happens with age is that our gastric juices diminish, making it harder for us to digest a lot of foods we formerly ate.
My advice is to give your poor old mom a rest, and maybe ask her what she wants to eat.
chickenfeet
May 26, 2016 - 12:34am
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Are saying to succumb as opposed to find the root cause?
Why give mom a rest if she loves walking. Resting and immobility speeds up disease and creates a lag in motility? So are you saying we should not prolong the inevitable? If my mom had her way, she would only ask for nuts and be forever backed up a constipated. Thanks for the first hand experience. That helps.
Surviving60
May 26, 2016 - 4:54am
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Chickenfeet
What AG is suggesting is that you try a simpler diet with some basic measures to help regularity, and maybe not worry if she doesn't move her bowels every single day, as that may be her "normal" at this stage. Exercise, reasonable hydration, and a simple balanced diet including things she likes should do the trick. I myself eat a lot of nuts and have never found them to be constipating - quite the opposite in fact. I think you're trying too hard and your stress surely makes things worse. And there's nothing wrong with supplementing some magnesium. Hardly any of us get enough of that - I'm sure your mom could use it. - Surviving
Aging gracefully
May 26, 2016 - 5:35am
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Surviving hit it right on the
Surviving hit it right on the nose. What she said is exactly what I am suggesting, and our elderly people were very mobile, so I don't know where you are getting that from.
The one thing I do know from your history here on the forum, is that you have this tendency to go overboard where your mom is concerned. All I see is you scurrying around trying this thing and then that thing until pretty soon none of it is working anymore.
When I say give it a rest, I mean try to enjoy your time with her. Because that time is precious.
Surviving60
May 26, 2016 - 6:58am
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My own experience
I have been responsible for my elderly mother since 2010. She is now going on 94, extremely frail with very poor appetite. Though initially I experimented with other foods she might like, ultimately I've settled with keeping her on the basic diet she was following on her own, prior to that time. Simple and relatively well balanced (though certainly not what I would choose for myself). She also uses liquid supplements - I'm not a fan of those, but they seem to be well-tolerated. She gets enough fluids and moves around enough during the day, to keep her fairly regular. It is quite normal as aging progresses, for food preferences to change and quantities to decrease. I've found that reading and watching Barbara Karnes on the subject, has been most helpful for my overall perspective on all of this. - Surviving
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PPx-qpos57g
Aging gracefully
May 26, 2016 - 7:59am
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Beautiful video, Surviving.
Beautiful video, Surviving. That was very much my experience with people and family members when I was working in hospice.
Acceptance of age and death are very hard for people in our society. There was a quote I recently saw that said that in America, death is an option. We try so hard to prolong life at any cost, and that is a real shame, when we should be really focusing on what we have in front of us right now.
Go out and smell the flowers and run your toes through the sand!
chickenfeet
June 26, 2016 - 1:00am
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mom would have been gone 10 years ago if i accepted death
Maybe I am misunderstanding you or I haven't clarified the situation with my mom. She was going downhill health wise. SO are you saying that having an urgency to stop and restore the decline is prolonging the inevitable and that is wrong? I do smell the flowers, and dance, and we do lots of things so no worries in that area...
Aging gracefully
June 26, 2016 - 8:05am
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No, chickenfeet. That is not
No, chickenfeet. That is not what we are saying, but on the other hand, using your mom as your own personal experiment is just wrong on so many levels. Geriatric care has become a booming business, and much has been done to prolong life. And that is fine as long as that person is enjoying the life that is being prolonged.
That is all we were saying.
I took care of some really healthy elderly people in the nursing home, some of them over 100, and their lives were simple. We didn't fuss with them, but just took care of their basic needs. And, they were happy people, but at the same time I would hear them say "Why did I have to live so long" or "Don't ever get old". I found over and over again that people that were 90 plus years on this earth had enough and were looking forward to the end of it.
Is that such a wrong thing to think?
Surviving60
June 26, 2016 - 8:15am
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Agree
I care for a relatively healthy but very frail 93-year-old mother who cannot be left alone. AG's post describes her to a T. There are many, many things I could and would change about her routine, in the interest of better health long-term, but I've found that the less I mess with the status quo, the better off we both are. In your mom's case, I'm not convinced that you couldn't teach her some simple steps to help her empty her bladder more completely - that's more than enough. - Surviving
chickenfeet
August 9, 2016 - 12:48am
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personal experiment?
No Aging, It is not such a wrong thing to have had enough and want to die. You make a good point.
If there is no family and no kin or significant others who want the person alive nor does the person have the ability to contribute, or is considered a burden on only one person or a bunch of unrelated hired strangers, then i too would want a quick and speedy exit.
National Geographic did a large study called Blue Zones and within these blue zones, (areas of the world where there are large pockets of active mentally and physically healthy centenarians)Their longevity is a result of good food, continuous physical activity and being integrated into their community where the elderly are still contributing and have a purpose. They are mobile at 100. Why not strive to implement that higher model of aging into our culture? Why not try to find out why there is inflammation and not just bandaid a health issue with an antibiotic?
Aging gracefully
August 9, 2016 - 9:04am
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Yes, I have heard of the blue
Yes, I have heard of the blue zones, and if you read my first paragraph again, you will see that I did say that as long as the person is enjoying the life that is being prolonged. And, I do mean prolonged naturally, by good food, family, exercise, community involvement, etc. The people I did take care of had very little invasion into their lives, and they were happy people, at least the ones that had that involvement.
My husband and I were actually talking about getting that old, and I wondered after seeing things repeat so much over and over through life that a person wouldn't just get bored of the whole thing at that point. I am sure there are those that can keep themselves busy enough with new activities on a continuous basis to stay happy, but sometimes there are those that just want to take a rest from it all. They are content with the life they have lead and experienced.
The one important thing that I learned while working in hospice is that the people that had unfinished business, things they so wanted to do but didn't, were the ones that had the hardest time accepting death. That was a very important lesson for me to get out there and do those things.
chickenfeet
August 10, 2016 - 8:54pm
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what are you referring to when you say invasion
I don't consider myself "prolonging" my moms life. I feel I have a duty to provide accurate toileting management of her prolapse when the posture cannot be maintained and preventing urine retention when the cognition and comprehension is not allowing the particular position for emptying the bladder. It is that simple.
. You are sharing wise observations and i appreciate the insight which i can reflect upon.
But what are you referring to when you say invasion?
Aging gracefully
August 10, 2016 - 9:27pm
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I wasn't even thinking of
I wasn't even thinking of your mom when I used that term. I was referring to all the maintenance drugs that they put so many elderly people on, which probably aren't even necessary in the first place. I think we can agree on that.
I hadn't realized how unnecessary so many of them are until I started working in hospice. People would come into the hospice and given the choice to go off the drugs, and they would actually start feeling better. It was amazing to watch!
I also remember my husband's grandmother going on one drug and then another to offset the effects of the previous, until she was on so many, they would take her off all of them and start over. Drug companies and doctors are just so out of control.
chickenfeet
August 10, 2016 - 9:37pm
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my folks are off 7 drugs combined and doing just fine
I agree
Stewardess
August 11, 2016 - 11:12am
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Caring for Aging Parents
I am the sole caretaker of my 93 year old mother and I have also worked with Elders in a retirement community. I have had great results for my mom and myself with supplementing whole foods with extra nutrients, like magnesium citrate, particularly, for better bowel movements. I also feel that too many prescription drugs end up causing more problems, long term, than they help. Of course, certain medical treatments, long term, are necessary, but even though everyone has different needs, we all benefit from a natural, healthy lifestyle and loving support from our family and friends.
chickenfeet
August 11, 2016 - 1:29pm
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the PROLAPSE ISN"T THERE...!!!!! OMG
My mom had two good bowel movements 2 days in a row and the prolapse is not there...!
Yes.. i did the magnesium citrate but that does not always work for what ever reason. But today it did along with some other concoctions....Hope it continues ....
chickenfeet
September 26, 2016 - 10:22pm
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Stewardess, how much magnesium worked for your mom
Thank you for your input. Can you tell me the time that you gave the magnesium? Was it first thing on an empty stomach with soley plain water or did you make a mixture of that and other supplements or with ACV ? Did you find that giving it one way worked better than another?