Female gynecologists and prolapse

When I first discovered my 'bulge' 6 years ago, I brought it to the attention of my family physician who referred my case to the male gynecologist who delivered my second child and in whom I had trust. This gynecologist was honest in informing me that the corrective surgery options were largely ineffective and would inevitably result in revolving-door surgeries every few years. He didn't seem to keen on the use of pessaries and didn't even suggest it as a partial solution. He seemed unwilling to even have to deal with this and to my dismay simply sent me off to a urologist in the hopes that he could offer me a solution.

This male urologist subjected me to a cystoscopy and after a total of six total minutes of office time in the two visits that he could spare for me (he triple-booked patients into 10 minute time slots!) I was directed to "not drink fluids after 6 p.m." That was it. In retrospect this curt dismissal was a blessing is disguise as this is the local "mesh" expert -- but I didn't qualify because I experienced no incontinence.

This was leading me nowhere, so I crossed the border into the U.S. and spent big $$$ to seek assistance from a male gynecologist there who was also on the staff of a nearby medical school. I thought I would be in better hands there. Two appointments later I was given his 'solution': do Kegels every day (sound familiar?).

Disappointed by this outcome I returned to my family physician who reluctantly referred me to another local male gynecologist. When he performed his initial internal exam he exclaimed, "You have a cystocele and a rectocele. That's too bad." (as if I didn't already know this). His solution: take birth control pills. ???? I never have and never will and I never went back to him for another appointment.

At this point I came to the conclusion that male gynecologists seemed really reluctant to deal with prolapse. I presumed that this was because they had no ability to truly understand the nature of the symptoms and that it is difficult to treat and therefore not worth the time and aggravation to them. That's when I decided to demand that my family physician refer me to the local female gynecologists. At least two of them had glowing reputations among women of my acquaintance.

To my dismay, ALL of them refused to take me on as a patient. One of them used the excuse that my initial gynecologist was a business associate of hers and that it was office policy not to provide a second opinion to that offered by her colleague. Another cited that she was taking no new patients. The third refused with no reason given.

Ultimately, I was truly disappointed that female gynecologists, who might have better insight into the symptoms I was dealing with than the males, wouldn't so much as give me (and probably many other prolapse sufferers) the time of day. I felt betrayed by members of my own sex.

Perhaps this is a testament, after all, to the difficulty in obtaining good outcomes utilizing the traditional treatment methods. I just wish that I hadn't been let down to this extent by the professional women from whom I sought help.

In any case, in the ensuing five years I have not returned to any allopathic practitioner and have dealt with my health in a holistic manner with some assistance from a naturopath. Discovering this novel WW approach to living and dealing with prolapse has provided me with more prospects, information, and expectation of stabilization/success than any gynecologist ever has. And there is some redemption for women... that this is the product of a woman's (Christine's) insight. Thank you for that much!

Any one else find that female gynecologists are shying away from prolapse patients?