Pessaries with stage 3 prolapse

Submitted by justpeachey on January 28, 2008 - 11:37pm
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I did have a donut pessary for 3 months. It was the size of Rome and only the gyn could remove it and it basically turned me into a nun too. I asked her for a different type that I could remove myself. She fitted me for a ring with support. I use Estrace 3 times a week to pump up vaginal wall. I also use a vaginal mosturizer called Ky Long Lasting or Ky Silk. Anyway after a couple months the ring with support is hurting and not enough support so I have to go back to the donut. It hurts when the gyn inserts and removes the donut but it helps to relax, do Lamaze breathing and take an advil or Ibuprofen when it is going to be removed. Since I have a huge 5K deductible on private health insurance the pessary fittings were costing me $300 a visit I could no longer afford, I decided to literally get my butt in gear myself and found a medical supply house allegro medical that sells a red rubber donut pessary for 30 dollars. I already knew my size. You cannot use a rubber pessary if you have latex allergy and frankly the Milex silicone ones are better but you can only get them through a docs office. . Interestingly pessaries were the business of female mid wives for hundreds of years and only in last hundred years did the doctors get involved in prescribing pessaries. With any pessary you have to be sure that it is not rubbing and causing ulcers or sores and that is why the doc wants you back for a recheck. Other than being painful to insert and remove the donut never hurt and it gave good support for 3rd degree prolapse with cystocele. I understand with time I will get better at removing it myself.

louiseds

January 29, 2008 - 12:58am

Hi Justpeachey

I was just looking at your other posts and noticed that you didn't mention amending your posture or clothing at all, as things you had tried. I think my prolapses are stage 3 if I stand the way I used to stand and sit. If I use Wholewoman posture my cystocele and rectocele aren't really detectable or rubbing in my vagina and my cervix is now nearly a whole knuckle inside my vagina. They are in these positions most of the time. With my pelvic organs resting over my pubic bone on my relaxed lower abdominal wall they would have to fall almost uphill to get to the introitus. As long as I don't wear clothing that compresses my lower belly there is no reason for them to get pushed out, unless I sneeze or cough without warning. Then they just slip back in again after a bit.

This posture thing and your clothing may be key elements for you. I am nearly 55, and I know that I have been conscious of my sizeable belly for many years. However, I no longer feel that have to wear a bikini to look cool so I just wear clothing that drapes loosely and I can look smart with the belly God gave me when I needed a baby house. It has been a bit of a head adjustment but I now stand much more proudly with more boobs, so my belly looks less anyway.

You might like to try getting Wholewoman posture sorted out and amend your clothing style. It may even mean you can get rid of the pessary sometimes.

There is also an external support garment called the V2 supporter belt which some women find useful for times when they are involved in heavy exertion or standing for a long time. I have never needed it but it does seem to be a godsend for some women. I imagine being tied to a pessary would be a bit of a bind, even if it does work OK. Maybe you don't have to use it all the time?

Cheers

Louise

justpeachey

January 29, 2008 - 9:40am

I understand that a posture could redistribute weight off your pelvic area and that is a step in right direction (any weight off pelic area is good) but a different posture is not going to lift dropped organs or stretched ligaments in a 3rd degree prolapse with cystocele. A correctly fitted pessary does provide needed support for a 3rd degree prolaspe. I am looking to order the Fembrace supporter. It is more expensvie than the V2 but it looks like it would not give you serious pant line issues. I would appreciate any comments from anyone who has tried both products. As far as your comment "I think my prolapse is stage 3-"-your doctor would easily be able to diagnose what stage prolaspe you have. Standing differently is NOT going to change the degree of your prolapse. It is what it is.

mommynow

January 29, 2008 - 5:34pm

Wow you sound pretty sure of yourself that posture won't change it when there are women that have done the posture and physically seen a difference in the height of their prolapse??? Me for example, the posture has helped my cystocele get smaller. I understand that it won't cure the prolapse but it does either stabilize it or have little improvements because if the pelvis is being used again properly to support the organs then they could get better a little. That is my opinion anyway.

Wanted to let you know that the fembrace is not good at all in my opinion because it is very high waisted and digs into my stomach. The v2 supporter is a lot lower in front and doesn't dig into my stomach. Plus the febrace is very big and bulky. You can definitely see it through pants. But that is just my experience. Goodluck!

louiseds

January 29, 2008 - 8:59pm

Hi Justpeachey

I agree with Mommynow. Yes, a doctor could tell me the degree of prolapse, but it doesn't seem to mean much, and none of them have ever described them in degrees. I have been examined by several doctors over many years, and no two agree about even which prolapses I have! I know I have all three because of the different symptoms I have had, and different doctors at different times have told me I have each of them. It is a bit of a joke really. LOL

Prolapses don't just spontaneously heal, but they do manifest differently all the time, and it may seem that they have gone. They haven't, they are just being supported better and are hiding. It is not like the dentist saying that tooth has a cavity and that one doesn't.

It is all about positioning, and the degree diagnosed by a doctor may be different depending on how hard you push for the Valsava manoeuvre, and whether the examination is done lying or standing, and the posture adopted while standing. I have proved this for myself. Try inserting a finger or thumb in your vagina from the front with your pelvis tilted back, in a slouch position. Feel your prolapses. Now feel by inserting a finger or thumb in from the back. Your pelvis needs to be tilted forwards to do this, or you can't reach in. Feel the positions of your prolapses now. Are they different or the same? Which is correct? That's the thing with prolapses. It is simply that they can move around more, and the degree of movement is controlled by gravity. Get gravity to pull them down on a firm bone and they will stop. Allow gravity to pull them down on floppy muscles and they will come as far as they can. Standing correctly will keep them over bone, AND tighten the pelvic floor so it doesn't sag. All this stuff is in Saving the Whole Woman.

Good Wholewoman posture underpins management of pelvic organ prolapses. Without WW posture you may as well be trying to push s%#* uphill. And if you wear clothing that compresses your lower abdomen at all the same thing applies.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying pessaries are wrong. I am not endorsing particular support garments - I have never used one. But doing all these things without attending to posture, diet, exercise and clothing is like replacing roof timber while termites are eating away the floor and walls! It has taken me several years to understand the hows and whys, so it will probably take you a while to get your head around it too.

First things first. You have lots of things to try.

Louise

MeMyselfAndI

January 30, 2008 - 3:57am

If you get looked at by many diferent doctors - There is an exceptional chance they will tell you that you have a 2 a 3 a 1 a 3 a 2 - All differing ideas...

I know when I came here my main prolapse was a uterine prolapse - I started posture and I was told I had a grade 2 - Then after 6 weeks of posture - I was told I had a grade 1

Now I would not normally care about that but I know it works cos my prolse was peeking and so very uncomfortable - Then after about 5-6weeks - It was inside again.

So... Alos of us here have seen results from this.

It is easy to write off something you have not tried (After all we didn't believe man could exchange one heart to another body until we managed it)

It is all about trying it out and seeing if you get results.

What have you got to lose? Doesn't cost anything to TRY

:-)

Sue

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

Bridi

January 30, 2008 - 10:27am

Hello, JustPeachy!

I, too, have a Stage 3 prolapse. I use a ring w/support pessary with KY for insertion, and use Vagifem twice weekly for keeping tissues plump. I still do Kegels because my Gyn said that while they won't make a difference in holding the prolapse up, they will still keep the pelvic floor narrowed.

I posted a note in the forum several months ago about discovering a way to keep a pessary in place (not an easy thing to do with a stage 3! - it wouldn't stay in for me and I had no idea what I was going to do) and to have it much more comfortable when wearing it.

I found an article written by two Doctors in Toronto who specialize in fitting pessaries (ring with support). They suggest that you turn the pessary when inserting it so that the large hole in the pessary is turned a 1/4 turn (and the little hole is in the front instead). Doing this turn stops the pessary from bending in on itself (there's a spring in the pessary) and expelling itself. And, most of the time, it works. When it starts to drop, I just reposition the pessary and it goes back into place (I insert and remove my pessary daily). The link for the article is: http://www.cfpc.cfp/2007/Mar/vol53-mar-currentpractice-practicetips.asp

I do sometimes have discomfort when using the pessary because I also have had very bad sciatica for years (couldn't even walk when I first got it), and sometimes the pessary presses on a nerve in my abdomen and it definitely hurts. Also, I watch my diet and try not to have too much in my bowels. The pessary pressing against a full bowel is really uncomfortable. But most of the time it's okay.

Hope this helps! Bridi