Hello! Just found out about my prolapses.

Submitted by anewsurvivor_86 on September 9, 2013 - 10:04am
Body: 

Hello Everyone,

It gives me great solace knowing that I am not going through this alone. I am so grateful that there is a community of women out there ready to support me and vice verse. My story goes like this;
First and foremost I am 8 months postpartum and have not had a pelvic exam since birth until a few days ago. I have two children both delivered vaginally and am still breastfeeding my 8 month old. I have also had my menstrual cycle since my 2nd was 4 months old. At the beginning of July I was hospitalized for a very bad UTI. I took the antibiotics and felt much better. About three weeks after I felt that I had another UTI but it turns out I didn't and then it happened again two weeks later. The symptoms were urge to void A LOT!, dull pressure, and symptoms seemed to increase around my period. Low and behold the doc thought I had interstitial cystitis. This past Friday I went to my doctor to talk further about my options, thinking I had this very vague dis-ease, and during my pelvic exam she asked to to squeeze and then informed me that she couldn't feel the musculature of my upper vaginal wall and could feel my bladder a little bit. She didn't seems too alarmed but thought I should go to a PT who specializes in the pelvic floor. On Saturday I felt an uncomfortable bulge in my vagina. I put my fingers up and felt a small spongy bulge at the beginning of my vaginal canal and when I put my fingers up higher I can feel a bulge that is smooth and feels round. When I bear down nothing seems to protrude out of my cervix or my vaginal opening and I am wondering if these are the beginning stages of prolapse of my bladder and uterus? Also, I just started my period on Sunday so maybe that is why I feel my uterus a bit more?
I just purchased the First Aid DVD and book to get on this issue and am so excited that it exists! I am feeling positive in recreating my posture and strength. One more question, can I still have sex?? I mean, I know I can but what should I look out for or are there any tips? Also, do prolapses act up around menstrual cycles?

Thank you all so much!

Forum:

Surviving60

September 9, 2013 - 12:41pm

Hi survivor and welcome. Basically I would give a “yes” to all your questions. Yes, it does sound like early prolapse, but you are young and still in PP recovery, and much can still happen to affect this. Adopting WW posture now will help you train your organs forward at a time when they are most trainable! Yes, prolapse probably does act up more around your period, and a big “yes” regarding sex! You shouldn’t need to do anything special, and if you do have any discomfort, it won’t be anything a little extra lube and some communication can’t solve. In fact, as reading around this forum will show you, sex can actually be good for prolapse and men often don’t notice anything different. Overall I’d say you have your head in the right place over this. I have been doing this for 3-1/2 years and if there was one thing I’d change about my life, it would be to have known about this when I was having babies myself. This posture correction has affected every corner of my life. - Surviving

anewsurvivor_86

September 9, 2013 - 9:42pm

Thank you so much for your reply Surviving! I really appreciate you answering my questions and furthering my confidence on the quest of healing. I do have one more question. Do prolapses cause mild aching pain? I've read a lot that most people don't even feel a prolapse until it bulges, but I do feel aching sometimes. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Surviving60

September 10, 2013 - 4:47am

My prolapses don't ache, but you may find different answers on this, and the pain might come from different sources. Where exactly does it feel like it's coming from, and what kinds of things make it better or worse? You may find this changes with diligent posture work, because spine, hips, and pelvic organ support are all greatly affected. - Surviving

Aging gracefully

September 10, 2013 - 6:59am

I did have an aching feeling inside, for a lot longer than I would like to admit, as my prolapse got worse, I also had a burning feeling way up inside. It wasn't until my cervix popped out that I put two and two together, and had my aha moment! In the beginning, everything felt swollen, like everything was rubbing together, but only a month into actually doing the whole woman practices, all that aching and burning went away. My hips even ached, and I went to the chiropractor on a pretty regular basis, but I don't anymore. Hips don't ache either. Whole woman helps a whole lot more than prolapse I have found. I had always worried I would be one of those ladies that would have hip trouble the rest of my life. I don't feel that way anymore.
I think you are going down the right path. Whole woman has done wonders for me. I still find it amazing!

cleo

September 11, 2013 - 3:20am

Hi to everyone. I am feeling a lot better now but still have some trouble with prolapse. I have had this now for ten years and it won't get any worse. An operation might make it worse if I tried that I think.

Surviving60

September 11, 2013 - 3:36am

Hi Cleo, it is great to hear from you! You are so right, maintenance not surgery. I am so glad you have been able to stick with that philosophy through the ups and downs of life. Please post more updates on how things are going. Love and hugs to you. - Surviving

anewsurvivor_86

September 14, 2013 - 2:56pm

Haven't been able to write since there is major flooding where I live. Just received the WW book and workout and am feeling positive. I did notice that it seems that I am having mild/moderate prolapsing of everything down there and that just feels a bit overwhelming and scary. Ugh. I did the workout this morning and noticed how tight my legs are. The WW posture is great and I do feel very beautiful when I am standing and sitting in it, although it is hard! I am feeling so vulnerable today as I felt one of the prolapses coming towards the vaginal opening, but the key is to stay positive right? How long did it take you guys to notice a difference in the positions of your prolapses? Thank you again... SO glad to have this as a support system. I do feel aching and pressure and I feel like it does have to do with the prolapsing. I have also felt nerve pain. Also, has anyone tried the Mayan Abdominal massage for support? I think it is just interesting and wondering if anyone tried it and saw improvements. XOXO

Surviving60

September 14, 2013 - 7:47pm

Christine and others have written about this; you can search for posts in the Search box up above. The main point being that it can feel good and certainly won't do any harm, but doesn't address the loss of support, which can only be stabilized and reversed posturally.

Results in this program will vary widely depending on lots of things. Remember this is not a cure, because there is none. But you are young, you are still post-partum, you can potentially see more reversal than someone like me who started this work after menopause. It took me into my second year of doing this work before the posture became natural and second-nature. It is hard at first just to stay in it until your body has committed it to memory, so to speak. My 'celes can be up and down as I go through my day, but I know my organs aren't going anywhere and that if I feel heavy one minute, I might feel just great in 5 minutes. That's just the way things are.

I urge you to really commit. It is totally empowering when you realize you don't have to be afraid. You will thank yourself more and more with each passing year! - Surviving

anewsurvivor_86

September 19, 2013 - 10:21pm

Thank you so much AGAIN, Surviving. So lovely to have such good, grounded advice. I go into the Doc next Thursday to do a pelvic exam standing up to access the stage of my prolapse/s. I got a referrel for a PT and am hopeful that they are good. Otherwise I'll move on and find another helper on my road to recovery. Everyday is a series of emotions, feeling very crushed to forgetting altogether and enjoying my life. I will check back in with my progress or when I am feeling lost. Again, I don't know what I would do without this forum. SO much love!

Surviving60

September 20, 2013 - 4:05am

Survivor, yes it is a roller coaster at the beginning, but it really does level off as you learn to understand what you're feeling. The ups and downs balance out and life goes on! I continue to work hard at this consciously, and the reward is that I have no fear and can do anything I want.

Beware the PT approach. In general they subscribe to the same wrong notions of the orientation of the pelvis and concept of what constitutes the "pelvic floor" (the old "organs sitting in a basket" view of things). If they do give a nod to posture, they stop well short of what correct spinal shape really is. And they are big on kegels. Click over to the Blog and search on "kegel" to read Christine's articles on the subject - I'm quite certain that my decades of kegeling did WAY more harm than good. Well - good luck and keep posting! - Surviving