More Advice for Cystocele please.

I don't know much about pessaries, having never used one myself. I would however, be sure to get one you feel comfortable taking out/putting in yourself, and take it out as much as possible (every night would probably be ideal). reason being, you don't want to irritate the vaginal walls that hold it in.

exercise recommendations would remain the same, take care not to do anything that would squeeze your pelvic organs and push them down. try to maintain the posture while exercising

getting back to a healthy weight is always a good idea. while I could imagine being severely overweight wouldn't be good for prolapse, I doubt that losing weight would cure it

and, no youre not a fruitloop. now that you know you have the power to help yourself, you are feeling the flip side of that responsibility.

My mother has a pessary and she says it is fantastic and has stopped the dragging feeling for her. Her pessary is Ummm maybe 5cm accross (her worst cele is rectocele)

I had a pessary fitted - My doctor is EVIL INCARNATE. Originally I was told I had a uterine prolapse - My Dr fitted this agonizing HUGEMUNGOUS 9.5cm ring, that I really did not need I was told by another gyno later on. After this I found I had a rectocele cyctocele and uterine prolspe - I do wonder did her very rough handling of me (This pessary lasted less that 18hrs before moving) But I feel in my heart my Dr did this - But have no proof about it.

So - Personally I would NOT in any way shape or form let just a GP do this - I would want a Gyno to do it as it is their job and they only deal in womens stuff - A GP who has a special interest does not specialise (Like my Dr)

But - other than my evil Dr - I know in UK they put a pessary in and it remains here for 4-6months then they change it for a new one.
And the ring pessary I had fitted was like a bracelet (tho larger) I still have it actually - lolllllll
Mums is like mine but smaller and with thicker edges - like an onion ring but a lil bit larger lol There are many different types - You should be allowed to try different ones and see what fits best.

Mum tells me the terrible dragging feeling she always had is a lot lot better now :)
Sue

Look into the eyes - They hold the key!
http://www.bringmadeleinehome.com/img/maddy544x150Banner.jpg

Hi Zoe

I used to work as a voluntary, trained Breastfeeding Colunsellor.

Losing weight on purpose can only be good for you once you finish with serious breastfeeding. Reason being that your pelvis has a more or less fixed volume. If you have a look at a whole body scan of an overweight person (there was one in a National Geographic earlier this year) you will see that fat also accumulates inside your body, round your organs. Overweight people often find it more difficult to breathe properly for similar reasons, apart from the extra load on the heart. This will contribute to increasing intraabdominal pressure which is not good for prolapses. Your body will be dealing with increased intraabdominal pressure all the time, rather than just when you cough, sneeze, jump etc.

If you are breastfeeding you may find that you have a large appetite, to make sure your body feeds itself so you can produce sufficient milk. This will probably decrease once your baby is weaned. On the other hand some women lose weight spontaneously during lactation and have to battle to conserve bodyweight during lactation.

Whichever way it works for you, when the time comes to regulate your weight you might need to do a double check on the portion sizes you eat vs what is regarded as OK, and just eat according to appetite, ie don't eat if you don't feel hungry, then when you do eat, eat slowly so that your body can tell you when it is full, then stop eating until you feel hungry again. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are having a meal and tell you how full your stomach is, so if you gobble down a meal you will not know when your stomach has had enough.

Don't get too serious about it while breastfeeding though. Your body is in a completely different metabolic state while lactating. All our bodies contain environmental contaminants that we pick up in everyday life. Many of these are fat soluble and are not readily excreted, so they just keep building up until you die. However, one of the ways fat soluble nasties are excreted is via breastmilk, which passes your accumulated contaminants on to the next generation.

There are so many benefits to Mum and baby in breastfeeding. This is only a tiny, minor hazard of breastfeeding if you are the body type that loses a lot of weight while lactating, but gross mobilisation of fat soluble nasties by purposeful weight loss during breastfeeding is unnecessary and not good practice. Just wait until baby is weaned before getting serious about it. In the meantime, you will probably lose a fair bit of weight spontaneously over the next few months. I know it feels gross when you have a lovely new baby and a floppy overweight body but it won't be like this for long. It's just nature taking her time getting over the enormous change from 9 months pregnant to not pregnant at all.

Cheers

Louise

Probably better being the nurse - They do this more than the Dr!

If you are unable to defecate after - And need to remove it you hafta get your fingere wayyy Up there and turn it - Once the edge if facing down you punch hard on the edges so it goes oval - This is the only way to get it out... But it didn't hurt :)

Mum has hers changed every 4mths and says its fine...

It is not holding the introitis open all the time - It is kinda wedged on the bone inside I think - Outside is no different

Sue

Look into the eyes - They hold the key!
http://www.bringmadeleinehome.com/img/maddy544x150Banner.jpg

Zoe, You were saying about losing weight. Don't worry about it until you've finished breastfeeding. But once you're ready...I can thoroughly recommend the book 'The 30-day Fat Burner Diet' by Patrick Holford. The title sounds gimmicky, but PH is the founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, so he knows how food works for the body. The book was a real eye-opener for me, he shows how all calories are not equal!

I put on loads of weight when I was on medication for postnatal dep, but once I came off med and then started the diet, I lost 4 stone in 15 months. It comes off slow and steady with this method of eating and you don't go hungry. And cos it's from the ION it does your body good not harm.

I put on a bit after moving house, but I'm back on the 30-day FBDiet again as losing 10 lbs or so will probably put less strain on the POP.

Enjoy your babies and keep your strength up! Good luck!

Beejay

Zoe, I also meant to say that what Louise said about the 20 minute rule is very good, too. If I'm tempted to eat more than I should, I keep reminding myself about the 20 minute rule. It works!

Beejay

Hi Zoe
my main thought would be that I know you want to lose weight, but take it easy. Your body has been through a lot (prolapses aside!). My POP have been a real lesson for me in taking it easy. It really wasn't until no. 2 was 5 months that I started exercising, and even then it's only walking. I spent the first few months lying down as much as possible, and trying to let my body heal. For everything I did, i would first think "is it healing?" And at first, walking too much made everything drag more, so I didn't do it. Now it's fine, so I do it.
So be careful! We live in a "you had a baby...now go run a marathon!" society. I know it's hard, as we want our bodies and our lives back. But this really taught me to step back, and look at what is important, and put healing as no. 1 on that list--above my waistline, above going lots of places, clean house etc...
in the end, it's a short period of time...