Uterine Prolapse and Urgency?

I was having that all the time when I first found my prolapse. 'course mine was a cystocele, but really, its all so closely related. I think its a definite possibility that the sense of urgency is related to the prolapse.
its obviously impossible for me to know if your bladder is also prolapsing, but its not unheard of, to develop a second prolapse soon after finding the first.
so yes, I've had that. yes, the urge to pee has subsided. but not on its own. I'd like to think that all my hard work (posture, exercise, diet) had something to do with it. your uterus *might* be sitting on your bladder and/or your bladder might not be in its optimal position anymore. and yes, this can be so depressing.

and one more thing.....make sure you are fully emptying your bladder at least once a day. sometimes the position of the bladder changes, making it hard to completely empty in a seated position. hands and knees helps tip things so that all the urine can drain.

ok, one MORE thing.....7 weeks pp is so early. too soon to tell if you will have chronic problems with this. so be good to yourself, try to learn the posture to help things go back to where they should be, and try not to let this get you down. really, I was at my worst at about 2 mo pp.

Hi Bunny

Granolamom has once again nailed it. You are still very early postpartum with your fist child, and probably feel a little vulnerable as well, apart from needing to go pee all the time. It must be driving you nuts.

Your body will be recovering from this birth for at least a year, so don't do anything invasive at least until your body has had a chance to do its own healing. You will be amazed at how much your body reverts over the next year, all by itself.

By then you will be well-established with Wholewoman posture, and have a lot of other food and lifestyle factors sorted out. I think at that stage you may be laughing at the fact that an obstetrician told you that your uterus would have to go. That uterus and its related ovaries will be useful to you until the day you die, whether or not you have any more babies, so hold onto it. It is a vital part of the structures of the pelvic region.

One other thing, if the bladder keeps bothering you after you have given the posture a good go for a few months at least, it is probably worth seeing a urologist or urogynaecologist to get your waterworks checked out thoroughly and find out what is going on in there. Get Christine's book under your belt first, so you are well acquainted with the language of the pelvic area, and really can understand what the Uro is talking about. I hope it doesn't come to this because some of the tests they do are pretty uncomfortable, but I wouldn't like to think I am encouraging you to ignore a legitimate medical reason why this is happening. It is important to keep other factors in mind. This WW stuff can work really well, but straightforward prolapse, while likely, is not the only possibility. A good uro will find out exactly what is going on and won't even suggest surgical procedures until maybe a year postpartum anyway. So your body will probably recover by then anyway, to be workable enough for you in the long term. You have time on your side. Keep Granolamom's words in mind.

Keep calling back with questions and comments. You can also use the Search box at left to search the Forums for the many posts on similar topics.

Cheers

Louise

Hi Everyone

I'm brand new to the site and glad to be here. I hope I can be of some help to someone someday. Right now I am struggling and fighting back tears on a regular basis. I'm a 52 year old mother of two adult boys one of whom lives with me and has a condition that has left him paralyzed so he uses a wheelchair. I also care for my two aging parents who live with us in an attached apartment. I work full-time as well. Many nights I come home and just want to retreat to my bedroom and sleep. The only problem is that doesn't even work - I still dream about it and wake in the middle of the night worrying. My husband is doing all he can to support me but I feel so guilty having to put this extra stress on him. I believe I'm going through a sort of grieving process for my old life and health. Rationally, I know I have alot to be thankful for - a loving family for one.

I was diagnosed approximately 3or 4 years ago after going to the doctor for what I thought was reoccurring bladder infections. At the time I had no other symptoms. My GP sent me to GYN and he basically said I had a very serious uterine prolapse and the uterus was causing my bladder to move out of place. I asked him what my options were and he said you can do nothing and suffer with it or have a hysterectomy and bladder repair. I remember saying what about kegels? exercise? He said nothing would work except the surgery. I was devastated at the time but had no major symptoms and continued on with a pretty active life. He said there was no point in giving me a pessary as it probably wouldn't stay in. I have always biked, kayaked, and done some running.

In the past 6 months though things have gotten much worse. I have had a really bad week or so and I'm going to another GYN to see if he will help to diagnose the problems as they are now and possibly work with me to try and stabilize the condition. I believe my uterus is prolapsed as well bladder and rectum. I have purchased the book and DVD and learned how to do the self-exam. I started the exercises last week but then ended up having to stop as I thought a bladder infection was coming on and wasn't sure if I should continue with exercise.

I went to my GP today. He wasn't sure if I have a bladder infection or not but gave me a strong antibiotic-ciprofoxacin. I don't often take antibiotics and I'm a little leery of taking this because it can cause yeast infections,and reoccurring infections. I haven't taken it yet and think I will wait till the test comes back to make sure. I'm drinking lots of water and cranberry juice.

Last night I had an awful experience and I'm wondering if anyone has dealt with this. Rather than strain to have a bowel movement I decided to use a suppository-ducolax. When I finally did have a bowel movement I layed and shook on the bed for at least 20 minutes. It was an extremely painful experience. Then all night inside my rectum continued to pain. Today is a little better. It feels like my whole pelvic region is inflamed. I also have a bad back which I think is related. Has anyone ever experienced this? Thank you for letting me vent.

Shirley

Hi Shirley

You sure are coping with a lot, and it appears to be affecting your health in a few different ways. You have the immediate problem of urinary urgency and the worry about using the antibiotics, along with the longer term difficulties managing prolapses while caring for your son and parents and working full time. This bladder problem looks a little like the straw that may break the camel's back. It sounds like you could do with some TLC, with all the tears you are shedding. Hugs to you Shirley. Life doesn't seem fair sometimes.

You don't say where you are from. Are there any carer's pensions you can get so you are not forced to work full time? Or is getting out to work one of the ways you cope with everything else? Is your husband working fulltime? Can you employ somebody to help you with the heavier side of your carer duties and just give you a break? Can you talk to your husband about the difficulties you are having? Is he able to engage in dialogue with you about it, or does he just 'do what he can' and leave you to be the boss and main slave?

You also do not say where you are at menopause-wise. This could be compounding difficulties for you.

I would say there is little doubt that the difficulty you are having with bowel movement is to do with stress, though you may also have a rectocele, though the doctor didn't mention it. It is easy to miss if the uterus is pushing it back in all the time. Often women end up with all three prolapses, and when an organ is descending seems to be the time that symptoms change and sometimes worsen. Our awarensss of them seems to change too.

Anyway, thank goodness you didn't take up the kind doctor's generous offer of surgery! And you have Christine's book. Good on you. You are a woman who takes steps herself. Now you need to pay careful attention to learning Wholewoman posture. This is the first and most important step in managing your prolapses. Loosen your clothes around your lower belly for ever, eat well, plenty of vegetables and fruit, fibre and water.

You might find that inserting a thumb into your vagina and pushing backwards gently on the rectum from inside the vagina will help iron out any kink in the rectum and allow the rectum to empty itself in a straight line. It is called splinting. This may help you to overcome the difficulty with emptying the bowel. You may not have to do it for ever. I used to have to do it every time. Now it is only when I get dehydrated, maybe once every few months.

Life can get better for you, I am sure. Be patient. Baby steps, but you are the only one who can take them.

Call back with questions and comments.

Cheers

Louise

Hi Louise

Thank you for your kind words and advice. I really appreciate it.

I am from the Eastern part of Canada. I am 52 and still have periods fairly regularly, no hot flashes yet. I don't have a pension where I can take time off but at some point I may arrange to do a 4 day work week. I have 6 weeks off each summer. So far my husband has been great. He is very busy in his work but helps with the care of our son. I also have nurses coming in through the week to get my son up in the morning. It's hard to find the time to work on all this but I'm taking little baby steps as you suggested. I am so thankful I came across this website finally. I have so many questions so I'll be back.

Shirley

Bunnys,
You sound just like me! I peed at least every hour! Sometimes twice within minutes! My doctor said it's because the front vaginal wall gets stretched out like pulling saran wrap, and this allows the bladder to fall into the vagina. . He also claims it is very common (50% of vaginal deliveries, AND some c-section moms). He has assured me that within 6 months to a year, things will tighten back up....I hope he's right.

I was also at my worst around 2 months. I am now 12 weeks pp, and feeling more like myself. For now, I suggest you relax. Lay down when you can (especially late in the day). Don't lift anything heavy or bear down. Work on the posture (find it under FAQs section). Work on kegels (fast and slow twitch) several times a day. Do you have weight to lose? I feel that the pp weight I have lost has helped, and I hope more weight loss will result in less 'dragging' feeling. Are you breastfeeding? If so, your estrogen levels are probably low. When you wean, estrogen should rise, and you're supposed to tighten up more. It's way too early to worry.

Good luck in healing!