Poise tampons for prolapse?

Hi Felicity,
The problem with tampons, pessaries, and such is that they hold the vagina open when it should be a closed airless space. I don't think the occasional use of them would hurt anything, but long term use with them keeping the vagina open could cause worsening prolapse.
Just some thoughts for you to consider.

One of the signs of a developing prolapse is when tampons start to push themselves out. I have rectocele and was experiencing this quite a bit during the end of my fertile years (for reasons I did not understand at the time). When I joined this forum and heard someone suggest a tampon to support prolapse, I tried it, and it was awful. So just be aware that you are more at risk for developing rectocele if you have something like that holding the vagina open, and you may know by the way it feels. I don't think there have been many on this forum who have used tampons extensively or for a long period. - Surviving

That's a good point surviving. I couldn't keep a tampon in either because of a descending uterus. It was only after I found the whole woman work that I learned that was the culprit! Glad you brought that up.
I think learning to accept that we have prolapse can be hard, but once you do, you can really live a very fulfilling life. Along with the whole woman work, and the tricks we can use in those more uncomfortable situations, living with prolapse is doable. I don't expect to get back to that completely prolapse free feeling, but I have gotten pretty damn close. As we know those pelvic organs are always on the move, but over the years, if I have been symptomatic, it not only is not as severe as it was in the beginning, but with the tools and dedication to whole woman, I can get to a comfortable place again.
Keep working at it ladies; it is so rewarding.

Same thing happened to me - by the time I got to the car after putting in a fresh tampon, it had started to work its way out....

Aussie Soul Sister

I have tried the V2 brace and it does work quite well for support. I also am wearing a "brace" from Hideaway and that works even better. There is no band going across the tummy. I have had prolapses since 2000...no surgery. I exercise my pelvic muscles by lying flat on my back. On exhaling I keep my body's muscles relaxed and pull in and up my pelvic muscle. Hold however long you can and repeat. It does work for me.

Hello Christine...Sybille here. Was with you at inception of your site. You have come a long way. GOOD FOR YOU!!!

Hi AC - do you practice Whole Woman posture? Hard to tell from your post if you are doing the WW work, and given your long-term relationship here, it seems like a fair question, right? There is more to prolapse management than support garments and avoiding surgery. - Surviving

The posture has become a part of me since learning it years ago I look at a toddler and that is the posture I adopted. At first it was hard. Shoulders down. Toes pointed slightly inward when walking. I am 70 and feel that more has been needed, therein pelvic exercise and a special garment, worn when I do exceptional physical demands.

Just relating my experience, in case anyone has, or is, experienced anything similar.
I have had a mild Rectocele and Cystocele for 6 or so years, the only problem I have had is a life-time tendency to constipation and resulting haemorrhoids. This Christmas I planned a walking holiday to Madeira , I had a persistent attack of haemorrhoids plus an (unaccustomed) mild cystitis on my way out. Within 4 days, bang, an extremely weird and disconcerting sensation in my vagina. Heaviness, dryness and a feeling of collapse. Self-examination was equally alarming, I could see a large, inflamed structure, nearly an inch in diameter right at the edge of my vaginal opening (introitus).
Alarmed, I flew home. Many days of hospital visits and I eventually saw a urologist who said it was a Urethral Caruncle. Unfamiliar with the term, I wasn't able to ask the right questions, but my basic understanding of the diagnosis was a haemorrhoid-like situation on the urethral, or a type of prolapse. Although the specialist was clearly knowledgeable, I didn't find the consultation helpful or re-assuring. The doctor who did the ultrasound scan said he had never seen a urethral so large and distended before.
I am still waiting to see a urogynocolgist, appointment scheduled for later this month. The upside is that in the meantime I have found this site and all the excellent self-help contained here!
I am practising the WW posture, have daily baths in salt & lavender, have started the exercises for first aid and have adopted the toileting posture. My symptoms have improved! I no longer have the urgency and the urethral is less swollen and inflamed, although far from normal. I am optimistic that I can manage the situation and might even be able to say, some time hence, it has resolved. Fingers crossed!!!!
Anyone going through anything similar, or any further tips for recovery very welcome? Thanks everyone and especially Christine!!!

Hi AC - your description of posture seems lacking in some of the major elements, and I am puzzled by your exercises....exercising the "pelvic muscle" while lying on your back isn't anything that you would have learned from WW. You might want to give a look at some of the items in the Store. It is never too late to really delve into this work. - Surviving

Hi Sanguine and welcome to WW. If I were you, I'd stick to the great routine you have established....soothing baths, WW posture, prolapse-safe exercise and toileting, possibly a little raw honey around the tissues (especially helpful if you are post-menopause - you didn't mention your age). I think you will be fine. The urogyn is a surgeon so you will want to beware of any fixes that might be suggested there! Give it time, keep working on it, let us know how it goes! - Surviving

PS - you may also want to consider possible irritants in your diet - try to stay on the anti-inflammatory side.

Hi Sybille all All,

It’s always great to hear from you, Sybille!

Sybille was a regular on one of the early prolapse forums, primarily dedicated to women who had or were undergoing surgery. The staff and members did not take kindly to me telling them prolapse is a postural problem for which there is no surgical cure!

Women have to do what makes sense to them, but one cautionary I would offer here is that it becomes even more important as we age to protect wide-radius lumbar curvature. A little story…

I got sick (first time in years!) in the late fall - three days in bed and two weeks of little activity and a lot of lounging around. I actually welcomed the time to read in bed and on the couch. It was starting to get cold, so much of the time in bed I enjoyed a heating pad under my lower back. In just that short period of time I lost the strength in my lumbosacral spine. To this day I cannot lift my head and feet off the floor in a prone position (locust pose of yoga - which I have always done effortlessly). And I am experiencing significant back pain - particularly turning over in bed at night. The excessive heat and flat back seriously compromised my spinal ligaments, where most pain receptors are located. I am now on a program to rehabilitate my spine, which has everything to do with strengthening around wide-radius lumbar curvature. Something like lying on my back and kegeling would be counterproductive to restoring the natural shape and strength of my spine, not to mention my pelvic organ support system.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Sybille, and for your well-wishes.

Christine

PS Thank you Surviving60 for your warm welcome. I am 61, I am keen to visit the urogyn only to get clarification about the situation, it is rather difficult to self-examine, and each day my symptoms and sensations seem to shift slightly. One day I can be better and more confident, the next uncomfortable again and very worried. I would not want surgery and am aware it might be all I am offered, but hope for a bit more in the way of explanation.
I will definitely try the honey and address my diet a bit more. I am already an advocate of wholefoods, but there are always areas that could be inflammatory and thank you for highlighting that for me.
I have re-posted my original message on a different thread as I realised too late that I had posted it on a thread about pessaries! Learning fast...

I'm always interested in seeing your posts aginggracefully because your problems with a severe uterine Prolapse are so similar to my own. I have been on the Forum for 7 years now - try to keep to the posture, have tried fire-breathing and jiggling but just can't keep my uterus inside.
It's a problem if I have to travel with my teaching because of pressure on my bladder. I like to do yoga but when sitting down, I am actually sitting on my protruding uterus, this is uncomfortable and sometimes causes chafing. To try to overcome this problem I resorted to pessary use, just for these odd hours. I was always careful to moisturize but still developed sore patches which bleed. It always takes a few days, if not weeks, for these sore places to heal. How do you manage situations like these?
Daphne recommended getting the V2 brace which I have now purchased but not used yet.
I would like to avoid the pessary use if at all possible because of the other problems it causes.
Thank you so much for all your help and comments over the years.

Hi pompom12,
I know you have been dealing with these issues a long time. How much of your uterus sticks out? Is it just the cervix, or is it actually the fundus or body of the uterus that sticks out too?
For me, it is only the cervix that sticks out. At worst, it will fold over on itself and really make itself known outside my vagina, but this usually only after my periods. My periods always have that affect no matter what I have been doing.
But, for the rest of the time, I can successfully keep mine contained inside.
The lubricating sounds like a continuing good idea though, and of course honey for its healing properties.
You may want to have a consult with Christine to see if she has any other insight that may further help you.

Hey Aginggracefully
In my case it is the fundus that is exposed . It sits nicely in my hand and with soft pressure I can push it right back but it never stays, as mentioned. So I do have a different condition than you to deal with.
Now I am really depressed because there is possibly nothing else I can do to help myself. In a way that explains why I have never managed with WW posture to keep my POP inside, or am I wrong? If it were only the cervix, it sounds like there is more chance of keeping her in. I realize that birthing 7 children has altered my uterus and all the ligaments surrounding it. Is it still a no-go situation regarding hysterectomy in my case or are my symptoms such that I would benefit?
Do you think contacting Christine personally might provide some insight into what to do next?

Hi pompom12,
I know one thing about the whole woman work is that it will help in managing a prolapse so it doesn't get any worse, so at worst, I am hoping for just an occasional cervix sticking out, while maintaining keeping everything inside most of the time. I would also hope that the dynamics of this work would keep the entire uterus inside, but from what you have been telling us, that hasn't been happening for you, so I would have a consult with Christine.