Colpexin Sphere

Thanks so much for writing and no, I hadn't heard of the Colpexin Sphere until I just looked it up on google. Some percentage of women might have luck with it, but it's hard for me to envision how a smooth, round, plastic ball could be of much benefit over the long run.

Please let us know how you do!

Wishing you well,

Christine

HARRY:Hey Fred, what are you going to do with those shipping containers of polycarbonate balls? They're all different sizes. They won't all fit in the same sized holes. You could have stolen a shipping container full of something useful, like laptops or something.

FRED: Oh I dunno Harry. Can't think about it now. I have 3km of fine, braided polypropylene string to offload before I start worrying about my balls (canned laughter).

HARRY & FRED (together - light bulb comes on above their heads) Hey, I've got a good idea!!

Cheers

Louise

Crazy8s - Did you end up getting a Colpexin sphere? If yes, how is it working? Or did you try another pesary?

I was thinking of trying the sea pearls also. I have stage 2 uterine prolapse, but I'm not sure that they will be strong enough to hold it up.

Are these the same as sea sponges, or something else again?

Louise

I believe they are one and the same - someone on the forum mentioned a web site called http://www.jadeandpearl.com/catalog/index.php. They sell Sea Pearls, which they describe as completely natural sea sponge tampons. I'm not sure these would hold up a uterine prolapse, and I don't have the money to spend on them if I'm just going to end up throwing them away because they fall out too easily. My gut feeling is that they won't work.....

Well, tomorrow is the day. I have to go to my gyn to decide about the Colpexin Sphere. I am so torn. Some days I feel like I don't have a uterine prolapse - other days it bothers me so much I can't stand it. I have decided that diet (light and right!) makes a big difference in my day. But standing alot (like I do on weekends) also makes it feel worse. I practice my 'sitting' posture every day as well as I can in my office chair. I really don't want to get the sphere, but it's what my doctor is pushing on me at this point. He's probably going to have a fit if I decide to say no. Please wish me luck - I really need it at this point. Thanks.

Dear GF,

Good luck tomorrow, but please don't let your doctor talk you into something you're not ready for. I often think some of these doctors have an agenda to which we "ladies" are supposed to heel. Kind of irritating...

Please remind him that it is YOUR body and if he is going to have a fit, tell him he can use it himself. Thank him profusely for his undying devotion, and smile and leave.

Be thinking of you tomorrow,

Judy

Change what you can change; be happy with what you cannot.

Is you doctor pushing this sphere thing over all the other pessary possibilities? Have you tried any others? Does he not have a variety on hand to fit you and decide which one is best? Is it really necessary you wear a pessary at all? And if he does "push" one on you, is that such a bad thing? It's not like surgery, irreversible. You can always just let it languish in your drawer if you don't like it.

I agree...just trying it can't hurt - if it's affordable for you. If you do try it, I will look forward to your feedback on this newest pessary. I read a comment somewhere that pessary designs are changing all the time, but is that really true? There has been no innovation at Milex that I'm aware of in the fifteen years that I've known of pessaries.

Well, it didn't go very well. The fitting kit had six different sizes of the spheres. Each sphere is attached to a rigid wand, so the doctor can put it in to measure, and then pull it out. We started with size #2. It hurt so much going in, but once in place (at the cervix) I couldn't feel it at all - which meant it was too small. He removed it and tried the next larger size. I was off the table with the pain and stopped everything then and there. The device is supposed to be used to strengthen the PFM with exercise. So once it is in place, there are specific exercises from the manufacturer to do. You are supposed to be able to contract the pelvic floor muscles and maintain the sphere in place during physical activity. However, my dr. told me to wear it to bed at night, and just being 'in place' my muscles would react to it and strengthen(????)

Oh my...I don't think so. The literature shows pictures of cystocele with the sphere and how it can help, but no mention of uterine prolapse.

I guess the terrible pain I experienced when it was being inserted would be the same as I would experience with the use of any other pessary. So I guess pessaries are out of the question for me.

Not sure why I feel such pain. The dr said it is my vaginal tissue and that I should use the Estrace cream. S*x is terribly painful also.

My heart goes out to each and every one of the young women who are on this site with any number of prolapses. I feel so thankful that this didn't happen to me until I was 58. I can't imagine what they must be going through at such a young age.

I have decided to treat this myself by doing as much as I can using Christine's book, exercises and diet. And this site - I have picked up so many tips already from other people - such as the post regarding turning your body to the RIGHT when having a bowel movement to help in not pushing. That is so cool - it works so good for me!!

I read every post, whether or not it really applies to me at my age. But the supportive comments that are given to other people also make me feel more powerful and more confident.

Thanks again to everyone. I'm sorry I can't offer other prople advise and help - I still have way too much to learn. But it helps so much knowing that there are others who will listen, care, offer advise and just be there.

GF,

What many people, including doctors, don't realize is how much the body and the emotional fields change after menopause. I suspect you have at least entered menopause.

What you were once willing to try; what once seemed like stepping off a sidewalk suddenly seems like stepping off a cliff. What once seemed painless and adventuresome suddenly feels strange, painful and causes a lot of fear and anguish.

A lot of women begin to see life differently including medical attention. What once seemed "helpful" now seems insidiously threatening.

I completely understand how you feel and can sympathize. There will probably be a time when you won't feel this way.

Judy

Change what you can change; be happy with what you cannot.

Not sure I understand your doctor. Not sure your doctor knows what he is doing. The size that was in that you didn't feel sounds about right to me. I don't think you're supposed to feel a pessary. And how on earth would it help you while you are sleeping? That makes absolutely no sense.

Not sure what the pain was when it entered, but if it was at the opening (NOT deep toward your cervix) and the ball was rather big then it was just the normal vaginal tissue stretching. It hurts something awful, REALLY pinches, when I insert and remove my pessary. This is NORMAL.

Did you happen to get up and walk around with it inside you? When I was first fitted with a pessary, as I was on the table, once it was inside, I felt nothing, but after I got dressed and drove home, I realized how much better my pelvic organs and vagina felt. No bulging out the door anymore. It was wonderful. It is well worth the "pinch" of inserting it and removing it to me.

Hi Goldfinch

Hey, an important question. Did you try saying no first? And did he do his 'nana? You were a bit scared, weren't you. Rightly so. Like 'going-to-the-school-prinicipal's-office' scared. Might be an commendation for exemplary work or a ticking off for bad-mouthing the school in public?

I think you just got had. As this is a new product my Cynical Meter (which works along similar lines to my Bulls**t Meter) has just gone off loudly in my ear.

If I wa$ the marketing manager for thi$ pe$$ary I would make $ure every gynaecologi$t with good contact$ in the gyno industry wa$ $ent a fitting kit for thi$ new product, probably at a va$tly reduced price (if not free) as "a $pecial introductory offer for progre$$ively- minded gynaecologi$t$". How could he re$i$t a bait/compliment that?

My Thought Penetrating Goggles picked up some signals too. He had something to gain by trying it out on you, regardless of your reservations. And he potentially had something to lose, as nobody yet has much experience with Colpexin sphere fitting, not even him, and he probably was not forthcoming with information about how his other patients experiences matched up to the blurb that came with the kit. He was probably a bit scared too, I guess. Scared of stuffing up fitting an unfamiliar product, and showing his inexperience, and scared of hurting you too. No doubt this affected your perception of the situation and you tensed up a fair bit.

You didn't say whether or not he used plenty of lube? I would have thought that pretty important with a woman of a certain age, as most women of our age (I am 54) would experience vaginal and vulval dryness to some extent. OMG, how big is this thing?? It looks pretty small and inoffensive in the picture on the website, but that's only one size.

It's not only vulvas and vaginas that have to stretch for body workers. I always apply plenty of lip balm before I go to the dentist. I think Wholewoman Vulva Balm before the gyno visit should be standard practice for all women!

There are lots of things that can make sex painful. Most women don't find that a prolapse makes sex painful, but I guess some do. No idea why, as everything just moves out of the way during coitus. However, note AnneH's comment about where the pain is. I don't find coitus painful in itself, but DH has to be careful about the entry angle as the edge of my perineum is very sensitive, particularly if I am not very aroused and have used no lubricant or balm. He is a bit of a hurrier in that regard, but I just beat him off with a big stick and ask for some more foreplay at that point (just kidding about the big stick!). I am wondering if some finger work around the entrance to your vagina before inserting any pessary (or coitus) might help the process a bit. Not easy when you are in a hurry to get going, I know, but this may be only the first step on your pessary journey.

There is also a medical condition called vaginismus, where the vaginal 'muscles' literally contract with tension and cause pain with penetration. This is a psychological disorder. I cannot see how it happens but I suspect it is another word for 'virgin's tension', not really relevant at our age, but it could easily surface again in the guise of a dry vulva and vagina at our age. With me, all the good bits seem to be shrinking! Or expanding in the case of the waistline! It could also be a medical name for 'not enough foreplay' or 'no libido resulting in fear'. S&M practitioners may get their jollies from pain, but I think the rest of us would rather be without pain during sex! Pain is a real turnoff for me, so I can understand your reservations. The pain during sex may or may not be connected to the pain you experienced during the fitting.

Estrogen cream is not the only thing that will help the vagina and vulva during menopausal years. Wholewoman Balms have a very real role here, before, during and after sex, as well as everyday dressings to stop the tissues from being stressed, stretched and rubbed during everyday movement. Christine also developed them as safe products to help insert pessaries.

I think movement and irritation of these tissues are major causes of discomfort during menopause. I have found the Vulva Balm to be really good. It is solid at room temperature, but softens to almost liquid on skin that is warm, like the vulva, so it is really gentle and soft, not draggy like many of the nappy rash creams that are designed as a barrier, rather than as a slippery product like the WW balms. The sesame oil in it makes it smell toasty.

If you want a pharmaceutical product, Replens is a vaginal moisturiser which is used several times a week. There is some pretty convincing medical research showing that it can work just as well as estrogen cream because it does have an enduring maturing effect on the vaginal epithelial (surface) cells, without the hormonal risks and complications. I might add that I do not yet know who paid for the research but both articles are in peer-reviewed mainstream medical journals. I have only seen Abstracts, free on the Net, and have not used this product, yet. It may be another weapon in my arsenal of tools for maintaining enjoyable sex, that I can keep up my sleeve for later, as I am still menstruating at this stage.

Well, I have had two periods since the end of May, so I guess I am still menstruating. I'll be able to tell you in a couple of years, I guess.

Good luck with your pessary search. Don't forget to try sea sponges, which you can try by yourself, and ask your gyno about other pessaries when you have your vulva and vagina in better shape. If he doesn't fit other pessaries, find another gyno and make sure they have some realn fitting experience.

If you are really keen to find a good fitter you might like to try the search box for pessary fitting posts, find a Member in your general area who has had some success with a practitioner, and see if they will accept email from you, or just post again, giving your general geographical area. Somebody may come out of the woodwork who has used a good pessary fitter within a reasonable journey. There are 1586 of us to date, all over the world, and you wouldn't be the first to find a practitioner through another Member. Many women swear by their pessary (strange thing to swear by, but we are a strange species!) so it may be worth your while to persist, despite this first very painful and unsuccessful experience.

Cheers

Louise

I second the comment about going on Oprah, Christine!

After my experience, my sister went to her prenatal classes and pried for info about prolapse. The response was that it's so rare, they're not going to talk about it. Then off the record was told that pregnant women have enough fears, they don't need to hear about prolapse as well.

I was mortified when I read this, Goldfinch, and I certainly take back my statement, “It can’t hurt to try”! The experience you describe sounds just dreadful.

What’s more, there is absolutely no logic behind the selling points of the device. I would like the company (based in Poland) to demonstrate how a round plastic ball sitting in front of the pelvic wall is supposed to “exercise” it. It is a male-conceived notion with absolutely no basis in anatomical fact. Not to mention that polycarbonate is not without a certain level of toxicity. It looks like they won an FDA approval, for what that’s worth.

I am sorry for the pain you endured and hope you find some comfort in knowing that you are undoubtedly better off not having your vaginal walls held wide open by a non-collapsing sphere for surrounding organs to be pushed into.

Thanks Alexasmom...I'm waiting for her call! :-)

Christine you hit the nail on the head with your comment about no logic behind the device. That has been my problem ever since I looked at their website. It seems like a gimmick to me, the way they keep inventing "new and improved" and more technologically complicated toothbrushes, when all you ever needed was a plain brush. The point is to just brush your teeth. The point of a pessary is simply to hold stuff up. You don't need an applicator, you cannot convince me that "exercising" with the thing is going to do you any good. The problem isn't muscle strength; it is supportive tissue breakdown. There are some things that simply cannot be improved upon past a point, and this thing strikes me as just trying to sell itself by billing itself as a new twist, but an illogical and unnecessary one.

Thank you all for your comments and genuine support. 24 hours later, the tissue around the opening to my vagina is so red and irritated as a result of the dr trying to insert and remove the 'magic' sphere. I must admit, I did agree to go ahead with the exam with the attitude, what do I have to lose, I might as well give it a try. Wrong decision on my part. I agree that he probably didn't have any experiece. I had to wait for the appointment so he could meet with the sales rep, get the fitting kit and learn about the product. I was the guinea pig. He did use lubrication, but I can't believe how red and tender I am even today.

I made the decision today to change doctors and am moving forward with what needs to be done. This I feel very relieved about. He and I were like 'oil' and 'water'. We just didn't mix.

I did buy Replens and tried it - it's OK. Probably need to use it for a longer amount of time to give it a chance to do what it is supposed to do.

I also went to my local health food store, and unfortunately they did not have the sea sponge and didn't even have a supplier that they could order it from. So I'll try the Internet. I really want to give that a shot.

I know that Christine sells some different balm products. My question is - which one should I use: If I walk alot, the prolapse 'rubs' against my vaginal opening and causes irritation similar to (but not as bad) as what I have today as a result of my exam. Hopefully, my new doctor will be able to guide me towards a more appropriate pessary, and I want to be ready with a 'balm' before the fitting day.

Bottom line - I would not recommend the 'magic' sphere. Maybe if someone else tries it out they can share their experience.

This is in response to the question about the Whole Woman Balms, Goldfinch. I developed them because I needed them desperately and wanted them for other women after realizing there is a severe lack of quality salves out there specifically formulated for issues of the vulva, vagina and anus.

The Vulva Balm is a mild antimicrobial and is soothing as well as anti-inflammatory. But the Peri Balm is more of a strengthening and protective salve. Both are firmer than the Bliss Balm (lubricant) and so provide a good barrier to secretions, which at menopause can sometimes turn alkaline and rather caustic.

Hi Goldfinch1,
I hope you are recovering from your horroble experience.
The device sounds like an instrument from a middle ages torture chamber. What next a "chastity belt" disguised as a support belt???
Take care and I hope you recover soon.
Regards ,
Flora.

Thanks, Flora, I'm doing better today with regard to the irritation. It is still there but the redness is subsiding.

And thank you, Christine, for the guidance regarding your Balm products. I believe I'll start with the Peri balm. Can't wait to get it!

What a learning experience this has been. I read a quote recently attributed to the late Eleanor Roosevelt:
"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself"

As strong women, we will support each other, guide each other, and utilmately help each other to deal with and overcome our unique and common problems. How wonderful is that!

Christine - just wanted to let you know I decided to order the Balm sampler. This way I can try all of them! I also bought the Whole Woman bundle. On looking back, my life has been a series of challenges. Some I have embraced - others have been unexpected. I am trying to deal with THIS new challenge head on and appreciate this forum more than you know... God Bless.
Goldfinch1

Thank you so much for your support, Goldfinch, and I know you’ll love the products. There is no substitute for women supporting each other, although I had no idea we were going to have to reinvent women’s health too! lol

and it went very well. He is kind, gentle and a 'team' player. He didn't push any opinions on me, but patiently listened to what I had to say. I told him about this forum and the wonderful support I have received here. I also ordered the Sea Sponges from JadeandPearl - they came last Friday, and I brought one with me to show him. He was most interested and was very supportive that I should definitely use it if it worked for me. His only concern about the sponge was making sure that it was kept as clean as possible since it is porous. I left the appointment feeling like I have found someone who respects my opinion about my own body and is willing to work with me as a 'team' player when it comes to making decisions about my health. I am so relieved.

When the sponge came Saturday, I was very hesitant about trying it, but finally did. After wetting it, per the instructions, it went in very easily. I wore it for about 3 hours, and it stayed in place beautifully. It was a little hard reaching up to pull it out, but I think I'll get the hang of that part eventually. I think I have found my pessary, and I am SOOOOO happy.

Progess for me so far has been like taking 'baby steps'. Today felt like a big step, which did a lot for my mental outlook. Now I will concentrate on reading the 2nd edition of Christine's book and start learning the exercise routines.

I thank everyone here, again, for all of your support and invaluable information. This site has been my door of opportunity to take control of my situation.
Goldfinch

wonderful that you found a good dr, wonderful that you found a good pessary, and most of all wonderful that you're feeling more postive.

thanks for sharing, I feel all smiley now

So happy things went well for you, yes I have been thinking of you with my fingers crossed you sounded so down in your last post. I have twisted my ankle so I am taking it easy you know feet up and what a difference it is making to my prolapse, I hardly know it is there. I am on my feet a lot always active and moving around. Maybe it is time to slow down a little. Keep me posted on how the sea sponge works I know nothing about them. I am also looking forward to receiving the book just don't know how long it will take to get to Aust.

Awesome; I have wanted to try the sea sponge myself, but just haven't since I'm satisfied with my pessary. You just have to keep trying til you get what works for you, and as your story so clearly illustrates, YOU have to be the one in charge, NOT your doctor. This is hard for a lot of doctors to accept but when you find one who will listen to you, yet also give you the benefit of his experience and knowledge, you know you have found a gem. I'm sure his concern about the porousness of the sponge comes from the tampon-caused toxic shock syndrome; whenever you have something very absorbent in your vagina, it can harbor bacteria. Perhaps the sponge has some natural antiseptic properties (that would not surprise me). Until I hear of people going to the ER with TTS who have in a sponge, I will not worry about it. The doctor voiced his concern yet isn't going off the deep end over it. Sounds like a reasonable, thoughtful guy.

Hi AnneH:
Yes, toxic shock syndrome is exactly what he mentioned. I don't plan on wearing the sponge for long periods of time, and the company sends very detailed instructions of 5 different ways to disinfect it. The one I'm using is to soak it in a solution of 1/8 cup Hydrogen Peroxide with 1 cup of water, then air dry. I'm so excited because it is very comfortable, easy to insert, and I can put it in and take it out whenever I want. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Hi, I've been using natural unbleached sponges for some months now (from moon times, not too expensive). They're def. the most comfortable thing on market, but after a while causing bleeding, a bit worrying, prob due to light scratching. So am still looking for perfect solution for prolapse and front wall drop. Looked and looked, can't find right looking thing. UK NHS only does hard rings, way too painful and intrusive. In desperation tried mooncup because its soft.MISTAKE! Cdnt get it out. But where is softer ring that could come out nightly? Pls inform me!

Hi spongebob - according to Christine, the only kind of pessary that does not potentially aggravate and worsen prolapse (by holding the vagina open) is a thin ring-with-support that enables the vagina to remain flattened. Any pessary should be taken it nightly if possible, not just for cleaning but to allow the tissues to breathe. Have you had hysterectomy? I guess the term "front wall drop" suggests a vault prolapse to me, but perhaps you're just dealing with cystocele. Hope you will look into the Whole Woman work - for safe and natural prolapse management without the fuss! - Surviving

Hi Spongebob,

I think the ring-with-support also holds the vagina open to intraabdominal pressure, but not nearly to the degree that the shelf, cube, or donut pessaries do.

Just a little clarification. :-)

Christine

P.S. As Surviving has said so many times, most of us get enough stabilization or reversal with the WW postural work to make fussing with a pessary unnecessary.