Not yet diagnosised

Hi Sarah,
Welcome :) Nothing like a uro/gyno appointment just in time for the holidays!
Do you think your bulge is your cervix /uterus or could it be your bladder?
Yes, 'they are complicated' but there is also an endless capacity for us - as women - to uncomplicate it all within our understanding of our own bodies. Have you had a good look and feel around to see what is bulging and where? Do you know what your 'norm' is (or at least have an idea of how things are these days)?
Good luck!

HI Sarah,
So glad you found WW. Sounds like you have found out all the info you need to go armed to the doctor with. word of warning--don't expect a great response about WW, but i always think it is worth sharing as it only takes on pair of open ears to start a dialogue...and you never know, it may sink in somehow ;-) i'm lucky in that i live in teh UK, and they seem overall much less surgery oriented here, so i've never been pushed (quite teh opposite--the surgeon said best to live with it if i can--how refreshing!).
(actually, i just noticed you said GP too...are you in the UK?)
let us know how your appointment goes and keep us updated!!!
Kiki

Hi Sarah

I am 56 and my mother (now 97yo) had 'twilight sleep' during her labour with me. It has always struck me how ill-informed that generation was regarding their bodies and their health. I guess they didn't have the internet, and many had limited access to books, less education, and less permissive attitudes about their own bodies. It was as if many of them lived only from the waist or neck up, and they didn't see it as their right or responsibility to explore their own bodies and understand their own health and sickness. That was all up to the doctors and (often untrained) midwives. Of course, many of them knew a great deal about their own bodies, but to admit that would not have been proper!

We forget that our generation was probably the first to be able to choose when and whether to have babies. Contraception was pretty hit and miss before The Pill, and safe, early abortion was non-existent. Thankfully, the cat is out of the bag now, at least for women in the rich world. Hopefully literacy and knowledge will eventually come to the rest of the world, the quicker the better.

I am quite sure you will handle this just fine. I am assuming that you are post-menopause. Perimenopause seems to be a time of so many changes, and many women seem to discover POP at this time. I think women who find POP post-menopause have just as much chance of managing it themselves, the turmoil and confusion of perimenopause being behind us.

I hope this is the case for you too.

Cheers

Louise

HI Sarah,
thanks for the update. so glad to hear doctor was good and not pushing surgery. hurray! glad you are still smiling ;-)

I was wondering why the fluid restriction as well? I can only imagine it's either to keep your bladder lighter or he's worried about leakage. well, if you don't drink enough you are more prone to bladder infections and to constipation, both not good, so i'd make sure you don't get dehydrated. just pee if you feel you need to though you don't want to get in the habit of peeing all the time (i don't know if you've had the frequency feeling with this--not fun, but is shiftable). re leakage, with a past cystocele you usualy won't get it as the urethra is kinked.
just thoughts...

curious about why you are thinking an MRI would be useful? i'm in the land of no tests unless really necessary (national health), so nothing was ever offered---so just curious about POP and MRI.

re your holiday, i'm sure you'll be fine. but horse riding or horse into the search--few good threads on that. a nd christine always says you can do anything as long as you are in posture, which by then should feel much more natural.

keep us updated!
kiki

Hi Sarah

I am no doctor, but I figure that once a doctor is in the loop they want to watch their back, and often put you through all sorts of tests to ensure that they detect everything they can, relevant or not.

I would think that you would be able to tell whether or not it is a cyst. I would palpate your bladder/cystocele via vagina, standing and lying down, then empty your bladder as efficiently as you can and palpate it again. Use plenty of lube both times. I would think it will be quite firm when full, but floppy and soft when empty. If there is a cyst in the bladder there it be a firm lump not a soft lump after emptying your bladder.

Can anyone comment on this test? I just made it up. (L shrugs)

I wouldn't think that hormones of any sort will affect your POPs much, one way or the other. Vaginal dryness yes, continence perhaps, mood and disposition probably, but POPs are structurally caused. Where you carry your pelvic organs, ie how they are supported, will determine how much you notice them. If you are depressed or anxious, and slouched or closed in, your posture will suffer. Consciously opening your chest and making yourself tall will reposition your organs, and might even make you feel 'better' and less vulnerable.

L

Hi, Sarah:

The physical therapists who conducted my pelvic floor rehab sessions taught me some things about the bladder. They actually encouraged me to drink more water during the day. I had been holding back from fear of incontinence, which I was experiencing about once per day. The PT's taught me that when one is a bit dehydrated, the detrusor muscle, which wraps around the bladder, can go into spasms. So staying on the "dry" side physiologically may actually make incontinence worse.

They also said that as we age, our "fast twitch" muscle fibers become less responsive, so the detrusor doesn't necessarily do what we want it to do. When one feels a sudden urge to urinate, a series of rapid Kegel contractions, followed by relaxation/distraction exercises, sends the message to the detrusor to ease up. I learned a lot, and it helped me.

It doesn't sound like you've experienced any incontinence, which is great. I would recommend being aware of your body while exercising. You might want to try wearing a sport tampon for high-impact activities like horseback riding, just to give the bladder a little more support. I've suspended riding for now, hoping to get my cystocele symptoms more under control. I also found that sea kayaking placed my pelvis in a really awful position (that was shortly before my prolapse showed up). I don't think you mentioned that in your vacation activities, but just FYI.

Best of luck to you. One thing that seems to be true is that most health care professionals know very little about prolapse and how to manage it. You'll know more about your own body than they will.

Cheers,

Saddleup

Sarah, not sure what you mean by the first two sentences. Could you please clarify?

Yes, the whole concept of prolapse is pretty scary for younger women. The more women we can demystify it for, the better. And having a positive attitude about managing it is always a step in the right direction. We are role modelling for our daughters everything we do as women. I think it is almost inevitable that a women who has a baby will experience some degree of slackening of the internal pelvic structures. For some it is negligible, but for others it turns into POP. If they see us managing it OK, they are less likely to run off to the doctor for a 'little repair'. I just wish the world were more open about information on POP. Burying your head in the sand and hoping it doesn't happen to you will get women nowhere. We all need to show our daughters proactive ways they can maintain the integrity of their bodies, and manage their bodies if and when prolapse occurs.

L

Hi Sarah

Yeah, that's what I thought you might mean. I think your understanding of HRT is correct. They say there are some other benefits too, especially re reducing the incidence of heart disease. I have never taken hormones for menopause symptoms, so I really cannot comment.

We think we can avoid POP by looking after our bodies well, exercising, eating well and maintaining a healthy weight, but POP doesn't heed those measures. It it is going to happen it will! As the doctor say, some women are probably more prone to it genetically, but there are so many other factors at work, particularly earlier in our lives, and factors outside our control at the time, that really the only option at any point in our lives is to deal with the damage that has been done. I am glad you are finding ways that you can minimise your own symptoms and prevent it from getting worse by avoiding using your body the wrong way.

Cheers

Louise