I am 30, never pregnant....and pretty much did this to myself....

hi there and welcome to the site

if it makes you feel any better, I did a similar thing. I'm sure my cystocele had already begun to develop, though I didn't know it at the time. I went to be fitted for a diaphragm and couldn't get the thing out. looking back, it was probably lodged behind my small bulge, but who knew I had a bulge? so I prodded and pulled and bore down, all the while pulling my bladder down ahead of the diaphragm. yes, when I think about it I get pretty nauseated.

I think the PA is probably right, you probably had the beginning stages of this, or you wouldn't have felt the heaviness and thought it was a forgotten tampon. and really, who wouldn't try to get the forgotten tampon out any way possible?

ok, so now you're here. this really doesn't need constant monitoring by a dr, though you can and will learn to monitor your own body and progress. read through the faqs here, and see if you can't start learning the posture. since you haven't had any children yet, you probably don't have some of the trauma issues that some of us have, like tearing or episiotomy scarring, etc, so that's good news for you.

this can and often does get better, but there's much you can do to help that happen. first is to get in posture to better position everything. avoid constipation adn straining on the toilet.

many of us do find that symptoms worsen right before/during a period.

jogging while in posture, probably won't make it worse. as with anything, what I do is try and see. if it gets worse, stop for a bit until it goes back and try again. personally, I'd start with learning the posture and then brisk walking (in posture).

there's been some threads here about losing weight and how that affects prolapse, you can try searching for those posts with the search engine or maybe someone else will chime in and point you in the right direction.

take a deep breath, and spend some time reading here. ask any questions you have, there's no such thing as TMI here.
you can learn to live with this will no ill consequences. and it just might even get better.

Hi MeNanny30

Granolamom is absolutely right. I'll just add a couple of things.

I doubt that it is a deformity, but there are quite a few young women who have never had babies, who have reported cystocele. We think a lot of it is caused by constipation issues, sometimes many years previously. I am sure this is a factor in mine.

While the non-existent tampon episode might not have been the best practice, the cystocele was obviously already there (hence the sensation). While you say you feel stupid and embarrassed, don't blame yourself. It can happen to any women, and it certainly does! It is the silence surrounding POP that is so unnerving because it is difficult to find out about it, and you can't just chat about it with anyone. You can chat about it here.

The overweight posts might not tell you a lot. The presence of extra fat in the torso might create more intraabdominal pressure and stretch the fascia supporting the pelvic organs. Weight loss is also sometimes associated with worsening of prolapse, presumably because the fascia, just like the skin, cannot shrink back quickly enough and it sags for a while if you lose a lot of weight too quickly. Your weight loss sounds quite big. Well done, and hope you manage to lose some more, for the sake of your overall health. I am sure your body will eventually adapt, if you use your body in ways that utilise the body's natural support. This means some fundamental posture adjustments to move the bladder and uterus forward, where they are supported by the pubic bones, rather than being suspended over the vagina and the pelvic floor. Read the FAQ's on the main site for more info.

Don't be put off losing further weight. It is really important that you do this. It is amazing the difference posture makes, even if there is little perineum left after childbirth trauma and surgical intervention at birth, as some of our Members have experienced. You will be fine as your outer genitals are still in their pre-childbirth condition. If you have babies you will probably not end up any worse off.

There is a theory, which seems to be borne out by our Members that prolapse is almost inevitable at some stage in a long well-lived life. For some women it is brought on by a situation like yours, for some women it is birth trauma, for some it is the constant coughing of asthma, for some it makes its appearance around menopause, as part of the oestrogen wind down and general ageing. So don't worry.

As for specialists, POP is not like a heart condition, or diabetes. It does tend to be progressive, but more like an injured knee which, after healing the initial injury, might change the physical exercise you choose and the way you go about tasks that might require knee work. It is not life-threatening, and once you are managing it the way we manage it, you can do almost anything you like, with attention to how it is affecting the pressure on the genital organs. You might choose not to do some things at all from now on, and find other ways of accomplishing the task instead. I lead a very active life, but I think carefully before doing heavy tasks by myself. I have not seen my gyn for five years, but I get my annual checkups done at a Well Women's Clinic. POP is not even mentioned by me, cos I know they cannot do anything more then I am doing, and I don't want surgical repairs. They don't mention POP either, cos they know that there is not a lot, apart from questionable surgical repairs, that medical world can offer me either.

Having regular POP checkups with a gyn is probably one of the worst things you can do for your POPs. It is too easy to become obsessed with it. Just make the body changes, the diet changes (which you may have already done, the clothing changes and the lifestyle changes, learn about how your anatomy works, choose your exercise carefully, and you can monitor it yourself!

You will eventually learn to trust your body again. We will hold your hand while you do it. As long as you have internet access in Guatemala, or Madagascar, or Transylvania, or Australia, or wherever you end up, you will be near us. You will be helping others in no time! Hope you get your posting.

Cheers

Louise

Hi and welcome to the site.

Louise and Granolamom have told you so much. I just wanted to add in about weight loss. It really does make everything feel worse for a certain amount of time. I have lost ALOT of weight over the last years. 8 stones (112lb) in all so far - I am 5lb off my ultimate goal but I am not stressing baout that now LOL. Things get worse for a while and feel more saggy as you stand differently, everything inside has to 're-balance' itself.

My weight has been lost in 'slow-fast-slow-fast' times, and I have noticed when I have dropped say 8lb in a month or two - I felt a tad saggy - Then all of a sudden abut a month or two later I felt OK again. You have lost alot of weight in a short time, and have gone through the tampon-thing so your body will need to readjust to that... Do not worry - Our bodies are amazing things and the body sorts itself out in the end...

Just read what you can read on here - Do not let yourself get constipated, take care of your body - Whether you have had a child or not - You need to look after yourself - So it's kind of a good thing you are here now, as if you wanna have kids in the future - you will have all the tools at hand to look after your wonderful amazing body :-)

You are in the right place to get help, comfort, and friendship - And I welcome you to WW :-)
♥

just that : )