Questions about Posture & potty

Good on you for giving it a go! Yes, it takes some time to get things. Christine describes the posture on Page125 which you have no doubt found. Sticking your butt out is a relative thought. By raising your upper torso so that it is straight not bent or hunched, the lumbar curve becomes aligned into its true nature. So you are not sticking your butt out per se but lifting your upper torso comfortably and thus revealing your lumbar curve. The idea that your tummy goes out is the image you gain from not holding the tummy muscles tight. You are relaxing your tummy muscles and aiding in this is diaphragm breathing where the tummy goes out on the inhale and in on the exhale. The tummy will form a gentle curve from just above your pelvis and then slope gently back in under your ribs.

Now all this sounds easy but in fact takes quite a bit of effort for you are strengthening your muscles. Strong muscles will enable you to hold posture. Initially, we can assume your muscles are more used to holding your torso in a slouch. So it is a realignment of your skeletal/muscular network, so it will hurt a little (fatigue) and take effort and time. A little time resting is probably called for.

As for toileting, it depends a lot on what prolapse you have. Toileting in a half squat works for most (shown on P120). I found this position became easier with the strengthening of my legs which came about naturally with walking in posture. If it is your bladder then particular care must be taken to completely empty when you void and this can require going back to the bowel when your voiding may be incomplete or getting down on all fours over a bowel placed on the floor or in the shower. All prolapses require not straining, more especially so if you have a Rectocele.

So you can see it is about protecting the prolapse and trying to prevent its worsening by not allowing its distension or forcing its worsening.

Good luck and best wishes, Fab

Mary, I am quite a bit older than you but have also had a hysterectomy and would like to keep informed of your progress. Do you have prolapse or are you just trying to avoid it? My urogynecologist says my only option now is surgery and I want so much to avoid that. But my every day is becoming more and more of a struggle. Good luck and hope this works for you.

I just got fitted for a pessary so my questions are related to it. I have the DVD and would like to start exercising but is that something I should do with the pessary in or out? How about the firebreathing and the new kegels? just wondered if the pessary needs to be out for the exercises or posture to work? The doctor told me to take it out 2-3 times a week to clean but not daily because it can be rough on the tissue removing it alot. She wanted me to use an estrogen cream but I decided against it. Is there anything else I could use that would help keep the vaginal lining moist and prevent thinning and drying? I am afraid of getting an infection by applying oils, creams etc with the pessary. I did find an organic product and it comes water or oil based but it is just a lubricant. I am thinking a water based one would be better but will it keep the tissues healthy? I guess I am looking for something that would be an alternative to the estrogen cream or is that impossible?

most of us here are not really knowledgeable about the use of pessaries as we are working on skeletal/musculature realignment and strength and seek to do this without the use of pessaries.

Some ladies have recently been speaking about them so you could search for these posts in the search box at the top of the page by typing in pessary.

Also, you probably know the importance of the right fit. This of course is an individual thing and I take it that at the moment you are feeling comfortable with the pessary.

The first thing we suggest that women try is to assume Wholewoman posture and go for walks. This is the first step at rehabilitating the prolapse. If the pessary is holding firm and comfortable then you can go from there and think about exercise. Really, this is something you by rights should be asking your doctor, for she would have some idea of the intended degree of mobility and freedom of movement that this particular pessary is designed to allow/withstand.

I think we would suggest that going into posture without the pessary is best, but as we expect you to assume posture throughout the day, everyday this is not practical.

Re your request for something to use in place of estrogen crème to keep the area moist, and prevent from drying out, we find that when we have dryness (without a pessary) that something like coconut oil or olive oil, baby crème or even Vaseline can help. As to something that will prevent thinning maybe someone else can suggest something on that point.

I fully sympathise with your wishing to avoid any infection developing, but again maybe your doctor is the one to bring this up with. I suspect the removal 2-3 times a week to clean is part of this prevention.

Best wishes, Fab

Hi MaryEve - As fab says, there are a few pessary users on here (current or past) who can share some perspectives with you. Pessaries can help in some cases, but shouldn't be viewed as a long-term solution, except maybe in an extreme case (possibly post-surgery). It isn't enough just to prop the organs up so that you don't feel the bulge as much. The real long-term approach is to correct posture and retrain the body to enable those organs to move forward.....into the lower belly and taking pressure off of the vagina. Which is not to say that you cannot adopt WW posture while wearing a pessary. This posture is the correct and natural posture for everyone, and has benefits that go far beyond prolapse (hint hint - new hips research about to be published by Christine!) But alleviating prolapse symptoms without addressing the fundamental cause, will not make for long-term success at managing and stabilizing the condition. Bottom line - pessary in or pessary out, please learn and practice the posture. Feeling the bulge has its advantages (instant feedback at all times!). - Surviving

I have used a pessary for a few years and have returned to Whole Woman for support in getting rid of it. I didn't have big problems with it, no trouble inserting or removing or cleaning it, no infection, some little friction irritation from not using it continually and staying adapted to it. The reason I want to get rid of it is because it has caused stretching or widening of the vaginal opening and I can only see having to get larger and larger pessaries and things continuing to worsen down the road. Whole Woman offers an opposite hope. The pessary also helped me be dependent and lapse on posture and exercise.

That said, my answer to your questions. I've used a water based jelly lubricant and it has caused me no trouble as far as I know. It doesn't seem to have a long list of chemical ingredients, but I haven't researched it so I'm not recommending it as safe.....just that it has been convenient for me.

If you have the second edition of the book, toilet posture is on page 121. I have been too weak in my legs to maintain a half-squat, so I sit a little forward on the seat with my chest pulled up, shoulders down, lumbar spine in good curve, feet apart (pants on the ground!), upright - not leaning on my knees. It gives me a straight chute.

Surviving is right about the advantage of feeling the bulge for feedback. It helps me be mindful of posture and while exercising to know what puts stress when I don't want it and causes me to consider if I'm doing things correctly.

I use my pessary still when I feel like I need extra support - garden work which requires all the wrong kinds of bending and I haven't worked out alternatives yet, for example.

I hope this helps a little. Best wishes, Bebe

on pessary wear. Such good news on your progress too Bebe. And good compromise on the half squat. Rest assured your legs will strengthen with posture and walking. When I was eventually able to half-squat again there was an exponential improvement to my prolapse.

cheers, Fab

It's always helpful to add a definite goal to look forward to....the half-squat! Went walking today in the sunshine, but I'm expecting snow again tomorrow!

only in the fridge. 30 celsius (86 fahrenheit) here at the moment. This is our glorious autumn, bountiful stone fruits, blooming native plants, bush burn offs to keep the new growth back, warm water tides, lizards basking sharing outdoor space with humans in long, warm evenings, insects buzzing their strident aliveness. It is indeed a good time to be alive. Something else to look forward to after the snow.