guess what?

Hi B,

I don’t know about fair, but it’s extremely common. My best guess is that when one wall is prolapsed the vagina can no longer flatten completely against the forces of intraabdominal pressure, so the opposite wall succumbs.

We have no way of knowing yet, but it seems that a mild to moderate cystocele/rectocele is a natural progression of sorts – like the most common way the vagina “settles out” with prolapse.

There’s a topic on the 4th page of the Pelvic Health forum titled, “2½ years later and still doing great” that you may be interested in. I remember that member, Lynn, posted a few weeks into working with the posture something that could’ve matched your message word for word.

Christine

B:

I have written, deleted, and rewritten my post to you several times. I am having a really hard time trying to find the right words to say to you. I want to say I'm sorry but that doesn't seem quite right. I agree, its not fair because it isn't. Infact, I can relate to all that you say in your post. I understand about feeling that this is a death sentence and that your body has betrayed you. I wrote those same words a few months ago.

I can't promise that tomorrow will be a better day but I hope that it is, for you and for me. I can however let you know that you are not alone. I am here for you and so are many wonderful strong women on this site. We are all here to support you. We are all along on the same journey.

B, I tried my best to express myself to you. Even if I didn't choose the right words, please know that my heart is in the right spot. I truly hope that tomorrow is a better day for you!

You are in my thoughts!

-Hugs Lilly Anne!

Yes, your uterus IS tied in to all of this, as it is connected to both the bladder and back vaginal wall. Although total eversion of the vagina is possible in a woman who has all her organs it is exceedingly rare and we have not heard of such a condition here.

Lynn was one of our early members and all the posts from that first year are gone with the previous forum software. You might try emailing her.

I can’t tell you exactly what to expect, or whether a pessary will worsen your condition or not. We can only share what women have experienced in hopes of accumulating a body of knowledge that is, at its most fundamental level, applicable to us all.

(((B)))

when I joined this forum I had a cysocele. pretty small, in fact. shortly after joined I noticed the cystocele get bigger. not too long after, while others were posting their successes, I developed a rectocele.

I know what you mean when you say its just not fair! it isn't! yes, it felt like a death sentence, I too, felt betrayed by my body. I had just wrapped my mind around having the cystocele when boom! now I had a rectocele too. and then I'm sure you can guess what happened next......I was feeling around and yup, my cervix was a heck of a lot lower than it used to be. I'm telling you, I was tempted to march right into a surgeon's office and say 'put it all back the way it was. NOW!'

but I'm chicken and I'd rather deal with the problems I have than those I might develop due to surgery. and truth is, I just needed more time and support. the firebreathing was the first real success I had. I did see immediate change in my cystocele, at first it lasted a few hours and after a few weeks of the breathing it was a sustained change. then I got pg, so who knows...but back to you.

remember that your body has put up with years of stress and strain, you have only begun to heal. the continued development of prolapses may have been inevitable due to stretched out fascia and ligaments. I'm sorry you're in such a tough place right now, I know that 'I was there too' doesn't really help. Please don't lose confidence in this work just yet. 2 months is not that long when you think about how long the prolapse was in the making.

the good news, and it took me a looong time to appreciate this as 'good news' is that now you have a built in pessary should your uterus begin to descend. all three organs cannot 'get out' at the same time. I forgot which member used the phrase 'nature's pessary', but I like it. makes me feel like this is a normal healthy process of childbirthing/aging.

I wish there was more I could do to help you through this. {{{hugs}}}

oh sweetie:

really, we all get it. we do. when i was first diagnosed, it was just with the rectocele. when about a week later i recieved my doctor's prescription for the pt and it had rectocele AND cystocele written on it...my heart dropped. seriously. it did. and i was SO PISSED OFF! plus, when i went through that horrible bout of constipation recently, i definitely had thoughts that weekend about surgery, that it would be my only option...and it all panicked and depressed me so so much.

i have to say, especially with the pt, the cystocele is really not problematic at all. i had been leaking sometimes before i started that, and now it's completely stopped. and, can i suggest that you TRY to not feel around in there too much? i mean, does it really do anything for you? i find i do it when i just want to torture myself, you know? it's something i'm really working on because it just makes me TOTALLY NUTS so i'm trying to break that habit (and operative word being "try" as that's a real work in progress for me, but i know it only makes me crazy.)

also, from what i have read the rectocele/cystocele is pretty common. but honestly, HONESTLY, i believe with this work, things will stabilize for you, if not improve. i just do, because it makes sense.

and speaking of sense, it gives me a greater sense of integrity of THIS work when i look on the hystersisters site and read about all the women who have had bladder/rectal repairs and are just SUFFERING with the consequences of the surgery. it's really heartbreaking. so although the impulse to "fix" it is one i, for sure, understand, i also see in those incredible women's posts the heartbreak of having these invasive surgical procedures and not only not having things "fixed" but having far far worse problems.

please take care of yourself. mourn and feel angry and sad as you need to. we all get it. but once things start to feel more stabilized and, i suspect, improve, i know your faith not only in the work but your own body's ability to handle this and navigate it will improve, too. but, again, until you get to that point, just take good care of yourself.

hugs, susan