Is it necessary to get a medical evaluation?

Body: 

Hi. I've never had a doctor check out my prolapses and am wondering if there are merits to doing so? I don't need a doctor to tell me what I have. I know my body very well. In summary: a few years ago I noticed I had a bit of a rectocele. I don' t think it has got any better or worse over that time. However, about 9 months ago, I noticed I was also getting a new bulge at the front so I guess that side has some issues too. In terms of grade, I would say they are closer to a 2. My pelvic floor is in excellent shape so I'm not concerned about that. However I think I need to acknowledge that there is obviously some weakening of the internal structures if this is happening.

Surgery would always, always be a last resort for me. That's just how I am. I do have the DVD but have yet to watch it (I'm hoping to have some space to do so in a week). The reason I'm wondering if it is worth talking to a doctor is that maybe there are some other therapies that are less invasive that can help? If it worsens I would definitely get it looked at. If it stays the same I can live with it. At the moment the only impact is having to make sure I keep my fiber up and having to splint sometimes.

Any thoughts on the value of my having an evaluation by a doctor at this stage? Or can I manage the condition on my own without involving doctors (accepting I'll go get it checked if it worsens?). Thanks.

Hi newtothis - I can only speak for myself on this one. I have never had a medical diagnosis of my prolapse and I don't have any plans to. I know what I need to know, and what I need to do, and I don't want to hear what the doc has to say!

Read the book, watch the DVD, and start working on this posture today. Today! It will very likely worsen if you do nothing. But if you are looking for the most effective and least invasive way to manage prolapse, you are there. Good luck to you - Surviving

Thanks for your reply. It's good to hear from someone who is managing this on their own and that it can be done. I'll be watching the DVD in a few days and will monitor myself for now.

I agree with Surviving, you already have the most effective and safest way to manage your prolapse. I think you are on the right track in learning more about it. I had a horrible experience of not knowing what was going on (rectocele, strained on toilet for months, laxatives, yada yada yada), and was finally able to do something about it when I went to my OB who diagnosed me with a rectocele and made it possible for me to find this website. So I would actually say, if you feel like there is something else going on besides obvious prolapse symptoms, a doctor's opinion can't hurt. But in the mean time the DVD, book, or whatever you eventually take a look at, is a perfect idea. However, I would advise against deciding to live with what you have now without changing posture and life style because without those positive changes advised by whole woman it could get worse over time. I don't even know if that's what you were thinking, I have just experienced for myself some occasional laziness to my posture due to my improving prolapse. Good luck with everything!

Since I wasn't having unusual symptoms or pain, I didn't feel I needed a doctor's opinion to confirm the self-diagnosis I was able to make from the book, Saving the Whole Woman. It wasn't hard for me to believe that Christine's account of her experience and research was more useful and credible to me than the opinions of the ob/gyn's I was familiar with. I did see a doctor to get a prescription for a pessary only because I couldn't get one at that time without a prescription. Of all the posts I've read on this site, I haven't noticed one woman saying a doctor had given her any better information for treatment or advice for management than the kind of information we find here. I think the reason not to expect to find a therapy (other than surgery) through the conventional medical practitioner is that they haven't understood the problem in the first place. If you don't have the book, please try to get a copy to read. It is invaluable in understanding the factors that helped develop and that do exacerbate the problem....and in explaining why Whole Woman posture works.

Best wishes,
Bebe

Thanks everyone. It's good to hear your experiences and not feel like I'm being silly not going to get it checked out. My hope is, as I learn more, I'll manage to improve things but as long as they don't progress further, I'm ok with managing it as I have been. I'm very much a take charge of my own health person. :-)