Why do you think some have physical discomfort and others with POP don't?

Body: 

Hi
I am always back when I feel I need support...my 2nd baby is now almost 18 months old! I have moved over from the pregnancy and prolapse forum to here because I feel like it has been long enough after havinng her...I have also given up some of my hope that my body would bounce back so to speak...
I have a 2nd degree cyctocele and 1-2 degree rectocele and have been living with it so to speak...I am always aware that I have the prolapse because on a good day there is a bit of pressure...now on my worse days like today I feel kind of shredded inside ...like everything will just kind of rip out and I go back to being just as scared as in those early days...I guess I sometimes feel like I am crazy because some of the doctors I have seen say may women aren't even aware they have prolapse...I just don't get it! I guess I am still sorting through where I am at with this...
Any advice/support would be so greatly appreciated!
Kay

I honestly don't know, kay.
I'm one of the lucky ones, I never had real 'pain' from the POP. but I have plenty of experience with pain, and its not good.

my cystocele is probably in the same grade range as yours, and yet I don't even feel pressure unless its right around ovulation or menstruation. maybe its the way its positioned? but even so, that doesn't add up to me. its a soft bulge in a stretchy space so I'm wondering where the 'shredded inside' feeling is coming from. maybe from the traction on the urethra? or is it irritation of vulvar tissues? any possibility this pain is related to your hormonal cycles? I wish we could figure this out for you so you could put an end to it.
its hard to live with pain.

{{{{{hugs}}}}}

and by the way, I did continue to see positive change (slow, slow) even at 2 years pp.

YOU ARE AMAZING!
I go for soooo long in between posts and you are always there for me! You have really helped me throughout my time on WholeWoman. I really appreciate your kind words! I will think about the timing of this...if/when it does improve I will start to record the good and bad days and look for a pattern...again, thanks for taking the time to respond to me.
Kay

Hi Kay

The question you ask is a very fundamental question. It goes back to why pain exists. We learn very early in life that if something causes us pain we should avoid it. Maybe pain is the ultimate 'not OK' message that our body gives us, and it teaches us what our body is OK doing, right from birth. Go past 'OK' and it hurts. Obviously, nerves are involved somewhere along this process. I guess that there are nervous pathways all over our body, not just the major ones we see in diagrams of the nervous system, just as there are capilliaries all over, but these are not shown on diagrams of the circulatory system.

This would mean that if a part of the body is 'not OK', there will be pain to indicate it, and to tell us to do something about it. However, if our body has be injured in a way that prevents us from correcting the movement, or if it is referred pain which originates somewhere different from where we feel it, then the pain will continue. I think that if the 'not OK' thing continues, inflammation develops because the body takes over and brings more blood in an attempt to carry the problem away, the same as if you step on a meat ant (sorry, Bhuddists) the area will soon be crawling with more ants which have come to sort out the problem. This just means that more stuff is crammed into a smaller space and the pain increases with the extra pressure. I am rapidly learning though, that inflammation may be the root of the pain in the first place, so a vicious circle may develop.

Each of our bodies is different, both in size and proportions. This has to mean that the relationship between my body parts is subtley different from the relationship between those same body parts in your body. Our injuries are all different. There are different stresses and strains in my body to yours. And we are not our POPs. There are always other things happening in the other 99.5% of our body, both other 'not OK' parts, or processes.

When I think about the different types of pain I have experienced it makes me realise that sometimes I can stop the pain immediately. Sometimes I can take the correct action but the pain does not dissipate for several hours. Sometimes I can do nothing, and a good sleep will have the pain gone in the morning. Sometimes I know what causes the pain. Sometimes I do not. Sometimes the pain is more or less continuous and I cannot crack the cause.

Pain is a mystery, the quest is to find out the cause and effect a solution. Maybe the answer to your question is in the limbic (instinctive and primitive) system of the brain, that we have no control over.

Enough raving.

Louise