Moving Organs Around

There are no dumb questions. I too have never 'felt' my organs moving back into (or out of!) place. But I have a rectocele - there may be other prolapse types that feel different.

Hi w2k - I believe I have made that comment specifically in reference to firebreathing. I have cystocele and rectocele myself. Uterus I think being in a relatively normal position for someone my age who has given birth and has 'celes (meaning that it is probably lower than it used to be, but not anywhere near the opening). When I do firebreathing I can feel the organs moving forward. It's like the uterus is pulling them. Trick of course is to keep things that way as much as possible, and that's what this work is all about. But I guess I can't really answer your question about what it should feel like if a " tilted" uterus has become any less tilted. All these things are really just different types and degrees of prolapse, and I know my organs are "on the move" all day long! - Surviving

It today your b-day? Have a happy! It's true w2k, the fibroid does complicate the process of trying to figure out where your organs are or should be at any given point in time. It's all part of the fun.......Enjoy your day! - Surviving

Happy birthday :-)

Haven't posted in a while, very busy working on putting posture in "muscle memory",not a small feat at my "younger than springtime" age of 75. I have less time than you youngsters so have to work 3X as hard. . Now to my question. I still have to urinate all the time, does this indicate that I don't have the organs forward enough? No incontinence present and no difficulty emptying huge amounts each time. The weird thing is that all happens in the mornings. When I go out in the afternoons I can go-4
hours without having the urge to find a restroom. It doesn't seem to matter if I have one cup of coffee or no coffee in the a.m. I know Christine says coffee can effect frequency so I tested it both ways. I also can sleep all night without having to get up for the loo. Any thoughts on this Surviving60? P.s I am doing fire breathing 2X daily and the beginning exercises in the book for 4 weeks. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon and just need to practice more patience.

I have to admit that I'm stumped. It doesn't really sound like it's prolapse related; you simply are manufacturing lots of pee in the morning hours with no real explanation that you can identify. It's not just a feeling of having to go, right? You really do have to go and you have no problems emptying. Yet it seems to make no difference what you drink or don't drink. Very strange, I have no answers but maybe someone else can take a stab. - Surviving

First I want to say Happy Birthday to W2K before it is over!!
And then I wanted to tell Free2be that I wake up with the opposite feeling, with my large uterine fibroid and my little bit smaller but still big uterus I tend to wake up achy and stuck, sometime the urine is slow but mostly the bowel. Anyway after reading your comments I thought it might have something to do with prolapse in your female organs and the pressure of what is going on while you sleep, so that when you awake you are urinating so much, maybe everything moves towards the back? I am not sure but just something to think about??

So I presume you think it might be my uterus pressing on my bladder? What I am trying to figure out is, is it normal when you are in the WW posture to have this feeling of always having to go to the bathroom all the time? As to your issue with your bowels,I want to relate that I take 2oz of "distilled" aloe Vera every morning and every evening. This is excellent for the digestive system . If you are not familiar with using aloe Vera, and want to try it, be sure to get "distilled"' the regular is very bitter. Thanks for responded to my inquiry,

Is it normal when you have prolapse and are in WW posture to always feel like you have to go? Could it mean I am not in the posture correctly?

I can tell you first hand Free2be that with a moderate grade and onwards degree of uterine prolapse you will need to pee more frequently and even sometimes more urgently in the morning. Very normal. However, once you alter your diet to make sure there is nothing irritating you bladder or urinary tract you should not feel like you have to go once you have urinated maybe twice and after that making a conscious effort to relax. It comes back to Christine's basic advice of making sure that you empty completely and that this often requires leaning forward and putting most of your weight onto your feet when you hover over the toilet bowl. The posture will only help as it is doing its bit to pull the uterus upwards along with the bladder. There is no doubt that the organs affect each other. Don't forget too the age factor, this also plays its part even though you are not incontinent, are alright for the rest of the day and can sleep through the night. Age can still make the bladder more sensitive than when you were younger and manifest itself in this difficulty of the morning.

Thank you Fab for responding to my issue. Now that I know this is normal, I can move forward and implement your advice. When you suggest a non irritating diet are you referring to a completely bland diet, ie nothing spicy at all? I do take plenty of rest time. Perhaps a full body scan meditation in the morning might be in order for the relaxation bit. I do follow the book regarding toileting. I truly appreciate your help.

Hi Free2be

It sounds like you are in pretty good shape. I wouldn't worry too much about not getting up during the night. Most elderly women would kill to have this problem. ;-)

Yes, you will pee a lot in the morning if you don't pee at night, particularly if you haven't peed much the previous afternoon. That makes sense. Do you have a big pee before bedtime?

However you may not pee very much in the afternoon if your bladder is hanging back a bit. This puts a kink in the urethra so its inside end kind of folds over sharply, and might prevent the top opening slightly, which might mean that you don't know that your bladder needs emptying, ie the sensors that pick up fullness and need to empty are not being stimulated normally. I can go for hours and hours without a pee when I am away from home, and not be aware of having a full bladder. However, as soon as I wriggle around to get out of the car when I get home the urge comes on. Weird. Many women find that a while after they realise their bladder is falling back they no longer experience stress incontinence. It may be the same thing.

Have you started firebreathing yet, Free2be? Is it possible that your pelvic floor muscles are not very active? My research indicates that it takes about six weeks for them to start improving with Kegels or Tantra PC squeezes, so you might need to turn on your patience a bit more.

Louise

Hi Want2know,

Yes, moving the organs around will probably be relating to firebreathing. However, you can get an appreciation of your organs moving around by inserting a finger deeply in your vagina and have a feel around to identify your organs by feel, then get yourself into a few different positions (in private of course) and keep your mind on your finger and what it feels as you change your posture, lie on your front, on your back, on your side, lifting both legs while lying on your back, or straining etc. You will be amazed how much movement happens and the effect of an increase in intraabdominal pressure. I suggest that you do this strange little experiment inserting the finger both from the front and from the back. If from the back you will have a lumbar curve in place. It is easier to do this if you are an ape of some sort, which I presume you aren't because you have written your posts in a very articulate and human manner. Oh, to be an ape. ;-) Go, go Gadget arms, eh?

Just wondering where your fibroid is? You say the front. Does that mean the front when you are lying on the examination bed on your back, or on the fundus, or somewhere else? How big is it? How do *you* experience your tipped uterus? Does it give you symptoms? In particular, does it press on your bladder when your uterus leans forwards?

If it is any consolation I had a really retroverted uterus with my cervix pointing straight upwards out of my back vaginal wall all through adulthood, at least. I was a zipper and tucker for about 35 or 40 years. It kept going back to retroverted after each of my three births. I stopped bleeding at nearly 56 in 2009. About three years prior to that my uterus suddenly flipped over to normal. This was about 4 years after starting WW posture. Suddenly my periods became less painful, shorter and with less loss. What a relief!

Could that be why my periods have gotten so much shorter? Thought it was just menopause approaching, and never gave a thought to the fact that my uterus may just be getting more and more into its proper position. If so, that just makes me smile!!

The whole of our reproductive life is a transition from childhood > reproductive life > cronehood. There are no firm boundaries. I really have no way of telling what caused it, but mine definitely did flip. Before it was on the back wall, then quite suddenly on the front wall. Before, my periods were painful and lots of flow, afterwards it was all less. Was that because my uterus suddenly changed? Maybe. But it did suddenly flip.

Yes, it is a cause for smiling! Menopause Transition is by no means all negative. :-)

Dear Louise-- so kind of you to respond to my query----
You are the first person to refer to me as "elderly". I got a real charge out of it as I live in a retirement community of 18,000 people and more than 12,000 of them are women, a great percentage of them being over 80' so they consider me a "youngster." In regards to your comment that most elderly women would kill for that problem; funny thing is that until I got the prolapse
( bladder) I used to get up once or twice at night to pee. I think your explanation of why we can go all afternoon without needing to pee is so right on. Regarding the Kegels, I have been doing the CK's
( Christine Kegels) for 2 weeks now and am up to 3 min. I will have to look up the Tantra PC squeezes. Isn't that similar to the 'bad' Kegels? I am definitely having to practice patience with the beginning exercises from the book. I am making slow progress as in the beginning I had to lie down and rest for 10 min. between each exercise. Now 6 weeks later I can make it through with only 2 rest stops. That beautiful baton sits in front of me, but I'm wondering how much longer I should wait before easing into the advanced exercises? Also does one drop the beginning ones when ready to advance or do both sets?? I am making good progress with the posture, it's definitely challenging to stay focused on it at all times. With all the help from all you giving gals I feel truly blessed.

Hi Free2be, I was taking senna to ensure regularity when I was laid up with a broken hip. I wonder first before I talk about the other things whether the aloe vera juice you are taking for similar reasons may be the thing we have in common which has led to this need to go and go again in the morning. (aloe vera, senna and cascara sagrada are all laxatives). (That of course is not to dismiss the impact of uterine prolapse.) It would be the aloe vera leaf rather than the inner filet which contains the latex (aloin) which is the laxative. Yes, the diet I was alluding to definitely meant the absence of spicy and sweet. To be crude, chilli burns the mouth, burns all the way down and all the way out. There I’ve said it, as I said crude, but accurate in my case. Unless you are used to it from childhood, you probably don’t have the intestines (guts) for it which I don’t any longer, love chilli thou I do, although I have some South American contemporary friends who also lament they no longer have the intestines for it. The coffee issue is that it is a diuretic, makes you quick to pee. I gave it up totally for some months and I walked around in a numb fog for all that time. Trouble is I am not sure that I was any dumber that anyone else noticed, but I sure felt I was. So naturally I don’t recommend you do similarly when you have already said it does not make any difference. For me the point was to quieten down my bladder, make it all calm after years of abuse with tea from the age of three and coffee as a teenager onwards and then menopause and copious amounts of tea. So to the point, what I did: stopped the laxative, took a probiotic (as many multi strands as you can find) in the morning. Not only does it introduce helpful bacteria which our old guts have lost somewhere along the way of life with anti biotics and years of fiber, but they introduce a certain acidity when we are becoming more alkaline. A possible reason why apple cider vinegar works for indigestion now rather than an antacid. I also started on magnesium at night, which Christine to her eternal credit suggested would make the stool a decent consistency to pass easily. Along with that disgusting stool image I have given you, I gave up chocolate. Why chocolate would constitute stool that is too soft and sticky to pass is beyond anyone’s ability to guess, but it did. If you want chocolate have it in a chocolate cake as a desert, (altogether with a meal) and the cake is to be made with dextrose not sucrose for that is the next thing to give the flick to: sucrose. This dextrose thing sounds all very much like the latest fad; but believe me in only a short time from now it will be boring. Now I am getting even more controversial because us old babes are supposed to get dotty and not drink enough and so become unknowingly dehydrated in the summer time, but I limited how much I drank. No more than 5-6 glasses a day on average. The more you drink, the more you want to urinate. The more you want to urinate the more problematic it can become. It is much simpler than defecation. With urine: it’s liquid in and liquid out. The more you drink the more you urinate; the more you eat the more you urinate because most foods are largely water. Now you at 75 and bright and highly intelligent to be here on the internet there is absolutely no condensation in me when I say, I know you will not become dehydrated if you limit your liquid intake. It is a matter of if you are thirsty then you drink. You do not as we did in our long way back in our fifties drink all the time because menopause gave us tremendous thirsts. So that’s what I did; gave the old kidneys and bladder and urinary tract as much of a break as I could and stuck to water for about three months. Now, that is being drastic because my morning problem had become a most of the day problem, so you possibly don’t need to be so scrupulous. The other important thing was to include fats in the diet. So when I gave away fiber, I started eating bacon for breakfast again (although to be factual there is not much fat left in well rendered bacon, although yes there is some fat), and when I reintroduced my one cup of coffee, I added whipped cream to it. If I get a cold or flu I splash out on a second one. I read on the internet site; fiber menace and bought the book and bought the products and I learnt from it that to defecate neatly and easily I needed calcium, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium. So I make sure I have foods that include those things every day. I tell people here on the site eat a cucumber for potassium and they say I don’t like cucumber, but cucumber is just one food which contains potassium, eat anything which contains it; but do it daily and likewise the others. Now to relaxing: what you call a full body meditation scan sounds wonderful. What I had specifically in mind was that when you are more or less standing on your feet over the bowl to urinate when you start to come to a stop do the deep relaxing diaphragm breathing: breathe in with the tummy pushing out, breath out, or release breath, with the tummy relaxing in. Now when you urinate in the morning and you know it is one of a possible many and yet you have to get out of the house for some appointment or whatever, just assume you will need to double dip. Go and do something else, make the bed or whatever and then return to the bowl and wait to go again and although it will only be a little, it means you will be fine when you go out. You will make it. So to recap: scrap the laxative replace it with a multi strand probiotic and magnesium, , try to give your bladder et al a break: knock off spicy and sugary foods, fewer diuretics, make sure you include the necessary vitamins, minerals and fats each day, avoid any foods that you think might inflame your intestines/ bladder, basically stand to urinate and look forward to three months hence when you can buy yourself a bottle of soda and let rip.

Hi girls, I have just signed up to this page and wanted to greet everyone and just let you know I am here.
I live just out of Sydney, Australia and am very new to all things 'prolapse'. I have not yet been diagnosed, but after seeing a medical show "Embarrassing Bodies" on tv the other night, I believe that I have a rectocele. I have 4 grown sons, the last being a Caesarean. I was curious to read about 'tilted' uteruses (uterii ??) . I have always been told that mine tilts backwards since I was young. It hasn't given me any problems. I believe I am in perimenopause and have always been a firm believer in herbs and supplements. So I am against surgery. I am curious to hear if this program has helped any of you with your physical symptoms - I feel a little bulge in my vagina when I empty my bowels - sometimes I have to 'hold it up' to support the area while I go..
Next step is to order the book....
Good to be here...
will read you all soon!

Hi girls, I have just signed up to this page and wanted to greet everyone and just let you know I am here.
I live just out of Sydney, Australia and am very new to all things 'prolapse'. I have not yet been diagnosed, but after seeing a medical show "Embarrassing Bodies" on tv the other night, I believe that I have a rectocele. I have 4 grown sons, the last being a Caesarean. I was curious to read about 'tilted' uteruses (uterii ??) . I have always been told that mine tilts backwards since I was young. It hasn't given me any problems. I believe I am in perimenopause and have always been a firm believer in herbs and supplements. So I am against surgery. I am curious to hear if this program has helped any of you with your physical symptoms - I feel a little bulge in my vagina when I empty my bowels - sometimes I have to 'hold it up' to support the area while I go..
Next step is to order the book....
Good to be here...
will read you all soon!

Hi Mannii and a big welcome to you. I have been here 3+ years, having discovered my 'celes at 60. I myself have never been officially diagnosed, but I was fortunate to find my way to this site right away and learned pretty much everything I needed to get my life back on track better than ever. So do get the book as soon as you can, it has been my constant companion for all this time. This is a great community here and it's so empowering to come to an understanding and appreciation of my body at this stage of life. This posture has done a lot more than stabilize the prolapse. It has given me a quite different attitude about heading into my golden years and it has touched every corner of life for me. I hope it will do the same for you. - Surviving

Thank you so much S60!
Good to read your reply..
One book order coming right up!

Dear Mannii,
I have rectocele also, & was able to manage for about 17yrs,
while avoiding surgery which was the only option offered,
until I found Christine Kent's alternative approach, last year.
I will say this has changed my life...
I have found that WWPosture helps with allowing the pelvic organs
more freedom of movement, & to function more easily without being squashed.
Rectocele management responds to diet, WW exercise, walking, relaxing...
Fab's suggestion of a magnesium supplement is something I am trying.
I found one that contains Magnesium chelate.
I also have Epsom salts baths - (2 cups dissolved )
Both are recommended for their muscle relaxant effect.
Read everything on this site - there is a wealth of knowledge & support here.
All of Christine's DVD's & book ( plus pending hips book) are invaluable.
Best wishes from across Sydney,
in our journey together,
(((hugs)))
Aussie Soul Sister

First and foremost Fab I send my heartfelt thanks for your recent most informative response. It brought tears to my eyes to read your most caring, thought-filled reply. I have read and reread it a dozen times and finally can think clearly enough to respond. You are a 'pearl of great price' Fab, that is a given. Now I will try to answer your questions and respond to your recommendations.
I too was laid up with a broken limb for several months, with no exercise.
For years I have had difficulty standing for any length of time but never associated it with a prolapse, until my Dr. told me I would soon be incontinent and to come back to discuss my options. That nite I found WW forum. I have not been back,to see her and as I see I won't need her advice.
I have always had digestive problems; ie gas and bloating and pain. Finally I made a big mistake and listened to surgeon tell me I needed to have my gall bladder out and all my problems would be over. Wrong--diarrhea for a whole year. Still today not regular and now that I have the prolapse it's the opposite--constipation, hence after taking 35 billion probiotics for 3 months I decided to try the aloe Vera and eliminate the fibre (ground flaxseed, ground chia seed, oatmeal, etc). Did some research and found a book by Dr. Natashe Campbell McBride called "Gut & Psychology Syndrome". She is also an advocate of the use of stronge probiotics but she goes one step further in why you have to go onto the next step which is the use of fermented vegetables as the answer to creating a healthy digestive system which includes a soft stool. She indicates that any food can be fermented even grains and that your body needs a variety of different microorganisms from a variety of foods to be healthy. This is a program that involves a gradual introduction of these microorganisms in order to avoid a purge that could be uncomfortable. Anyone interested in trying this, please read her book first. I have ordered the book and plan to try her protocol. During the first month after I was aware of my prolapse, I think I read every contribution to the forum and learned that there are many who might be able to avail themselves of this program so they can be right on spot with the WW's need to have good food to take in and to output. I myself have been eating 4 servings of veggies and 2 fruits a day and continue to look for more help in this department.
I truly appreciate your advice on the bland diet (to add to the no alcohol, no coffee, no sugar, no processed foods, no white flour, no chocolate). Life gets more exciting every day!!!!!!
Now to our bodies getting more acidic as we get older, do I need to not take fresh lemon and warm water every morning and take vinegar instead?? If so ,how much vinegar, or could I take a HCL supplement instead to supplement the probiotic???
One adjunct to the vit c, potassium, magnesium and calcium,is vit k, which I heard is necessary for the assimulation of calcium.
Regarding the full body scan, it comes from the University of Mass. School of Medicine and is a course they teach to people who have exhausted all other avenues of help for stress and pain management. This cd body scan would be wonderful for women who have found out they have prolapse and think their life is over. It brings a great calm to you and enables you to move forward with the WW program with a positive attitude. The book is called, "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD. and can be ordered with the cd which you can lie down and listen to while you
rest your pelvic floor and feel a peace you hadn't known before.
And now that I am almost in my second month with ww, I can truly say to any newbies reading this, if you do the work, things will get better. Making WW a priority does work, little baby steps at a time is all it takes.
Well that's it for now Fab. You are a very wise sage with a beautiful spirit. I truly appreciate you.

Hey Free2be, you villain, you made me cry! What lovely, kind words you had here waiting for me; like a time capsule. How wonderful to find these common difficulties. Eh! Yes I really did say that. Not only broken bones, but gall bladder (wow they can hurt, fortunately I did not need to have mine taken out, although my brother has lost his only recently, but had to give up french fries (we call them chips) for ten or more years. As you say ‘life gets more exciting everyday’, but I have reintroduced them to my diet on a casual basis, just a bit more careful about the type of fat/oil. Am reading Gary Taube’s “Good calories, bad calories” at the moment. From all the research you have done it seems we are both very much on the right track. I think I am about ready to go for more of the fermented vegetables at this stage and will get the book you recommended by Dr. Natashe Campbell McBride called "Gut & Psychology Syndrome". We can swop notes a bit further down the track on how that goes, if you’d like. Both lemon and apple cider vinegar as far as I know contain acetic acid so either would be ok. I only take it if I have indigestion (and then about a dessertspoonful with three quarters of a cup of water), hadn’t thought of taking a little each day, but then I’m pretty good at adding lemon to things I cook; lemon in a beef vegetable stew for flavouring, lamb chops marinated in lemon, lemon always on fish, lemon chicken and so on. Seems like one of those unconscious needs when I think about it. It really is good to talk to someone who knows where you are at. Thank you for that Free2be.

Fab and Free2be,
You ladies really have some interesting information going here!! Will definetly have to look into these books. It seems a lot of these techniques have been forgotten and left on the wayside when modern technology and machinery came along. I remember my husband's grandmother always took a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar every day. We never knew why!! And, I do remember relatives that had crocks of things sitting around, but didn't know what they were either!
My daughter has really taken on the fermenting thing. She is really good at it. She uses they whey from making her own yogurt to ferment most things. I have heard great things about fermented foods and better digestion. My daughter makes this fermented drink from beets. It is called beet kvass, and she swears it is the newest super food. Recently, my little grandchildren caught a nice summer cold, and then gave it to the rest of us; except her! Is that luck, or beet kvass! Lol!!
Thanks ladies for bringing all this up! Great read!

Hope you ladies are all availing yourselves of the great information and demos on Christine's vulva-vaginal health DVD. She makes sauerkraut and 3 different seed cheeses and you could totally make these yourselves just from her demos. - Surviving

Thanks surviving!! Next thing on the wish list! I myself haven't been so bold as to try fermenting yet, just working on the white sugar and white flour for now. Everything that was old is coming new again, and I can't always wrap my head around it all!! Lol!! I have been noticing though, that my digestive system as been responding quite favorably to cutting out the white flour. Still in progress with sugar. There is so much sweetness in just about everything.
Anyway, thanks for the heads up!!

I'm with you AG....,baby steps for me, and the sugar/flour thing is the focus. But I have a hubby who is totally gluten/dairy free and currently going to a distant health food store for what he claims is the only sauerkraut you can buy around here that truly has all the benefits of fermentation. - Surviving

I am going to assume that Fab stands for "Fabulous" as that is how I picture you in my mind's eye. This forum is definitely a mutual admiration society!!!!
The chips have me drooling at the mouth. Will never say never but right now I keep trying to picture them as pure, poisenous sugar which I know you know is what the starch turns into upon digestion. I am trying desperately to rid that belly fat and as you well know is difficult after menopause. Now here is your laugh of the day. I was in the store a few weeks ago waiting in line to check out and the woman behind me asked me when I was expecting. Trying not to fall into shock, I smiled and replied, " It was an immaculate conception so I don't know the day or time I conceived". ( for newbies reading this, I am 75 years young!! I am happy to report as of today, my stomach is a lot smaller and this is from WW exercises and the elimination diet). That being said, the only pleasure left for prolapse for me is sex, and with no man on the horizon, what's a gal of 75 to do? Must I do EVERYTHING myself?
Speaking of food, Fab, I need to revisit the lemon as acidic issue. I have come to learn from very good sources that yes lemons are acidic as you hold them in your hand, but upon digestion they are alkaline. Since you said that as we get older our bodies turn more alkaline, this might mean that we need more HCL, hence the people who take vinegar every day. Now I have to say a spoonful of vinegar the first thing in the morning doesn't turn me on one iota. Please don't feel bad about not knowing about the lemons, I was 73 when I found out. Do you think I could just take a HCL supplement or is vinegar better?
Will be fun to trade thoughts and ideas after we read McBride's book. The thing that interested me that I read from her is that your body has good and bad organisms and if the bad guys overtake the good guys, your digestive health is compromised, and each fermented food adds a different microrganism and that you need a variety of fermented foods for optimal digestive health which of course means nice soft stools. McBride says most commercially prepared fermented foods are pasturized and to be avoided, hence surviving60 your husband's willingness to travel to get the good stuff. Thanks for tip about Christine's recipes for fermented sauerkraut and seed cheese S-60' I will order that CD. I always want to support Christine's work. I'm sure her recipes are great, just the name "seed cheese "makes my mouth water.
Want to add a post script to my last entry regarding the body scan mediation, that being that you can order the CD without ordering the book and that there is also a Yoga CD which I am not recommending as I don't know if all the poses are WW poses. The body scan is done lying down and is not any way in conflict with WW protocol. It is a wonderful relaxing thing to do when you finish WW exercises and for you young mothers or working gals a great treat in the evening. If you do them at bedtime, chances are you will fall asleep before the CD ends.
To surviving60 and Aging Gracefully, have you tried Xylitol sweetener? It's used just like sugar and is great for baking with gluten free flours. My grandson is gluten free and my daughter makes some pretty outstanding desserts with Xylitol. Dentists endorse it for cavity prevention and gum health.
It's been a good day for me and to you fellow newbies who are reading this post from a 2 month post newbie and are feeling somewhat overwhelmed, read my poem by Emily Dickensin called, HOPE. Never lose hope that you can survive and be that little bird who kept so many warm. The whole key to this is to never give up.
Blessings of love to all.

Free2be
I actually came across that in the health food store, but when I read the package it said that it can cause diarrhea, so I steered away from it. Does your daughter's family have any issues with it? I have actually been using coconut palm sugar with good results so far. Still playing with gluten free flour combinations. There are some good recipes online. If my hubby didn't like his sweet treats so much, I would do away with all of it, but I spoiled the man with good baking all these years! Lol!
Didn't know that different fermented foods added different good bacteria to the gut. Maybe will have to have my daughter teach me a few things.
I used to take an organic probiotic in capsule form, but stopped. What is your take on those?
You are an inspiration in your determination!! Thank you!

Hi Aging gracefully:
Thank you so much for your response. Xylitol is kind of like the fermented food, you have to ease into it. I use it myself to avoid the use of sugar. I started with using only 1/2 tsp a day and worked my way up slowly. It may not be good for everyone, but I followed the directions and have no problems with it. With regards to the probiotics, I have taken them for years but just since the prolapse started taking the 35 billion high powered ones, but now feel it is only the first step to digestive health; the fermented food hopefully will complete the protocol. I will report my findings after I have used the program. Best wishes, Free2Be