Classic prolapse pain?

Submitted by Po-Ji on September 14, 2013 - 4:58pm
Body: 

Hi All

I have been following Christine's principles for nearly three years and doing pretty well until I developed nerve pain which has been slowly getting worse. The pain began around the hip joints and then I started to feel it in the lower lumbar region and around the hip joints. Just recently it started creeping into and down the legs. The doctor told me that I was experiencing 'classic prolapse pain' and encouraged me to have the operation to fix my cystocele. I am very dismayed by this because I was doing very well with the exercises otherwise. I know that there can be pain due to pressure on the prudendal nerve and this is most probably the reason as the doctor says. I don't want this to be the case because I don't want the operation and am hoping the doc got it wrong. I am wondering and hoping he might have made an assumption after seeing cystocele written on my notes and that this condition could be possibly due to something else like trapped nerve, but can any one comment on whether this can be considered to be 'classic prolapse pain.' I understand pain is rare with prolapse and I never had pain at the start.

Any comments received with gratitude, thank you.

Forum:

Surviving60

September 14, 2013 - 7:31pm

Hi Po-Ji and welcome. I've never heard of "classic" prolapse pain. I think it is a cop-out on the part of your doctor. And he thinks this classic pain will be fixed by surgery? This guy can't help you, it is not within his power.

Many people have no pain with prolapse, and of those who do have pain, the types of pain and the possible sources are varied. So I agree with your mistrust of this statement.

Have you been practicing Whole Woman posture diligently for these 3 years? You mention that you have been doing very well with the exercises, but when I hear "exercises" without hearing "posture" I always have to ask if you are in fact living in the posture all day long, or only when you exercise. This posture does a great job of stabilizing the hip joints and it seems strange that you are suddenly having pain in that area, so maybe we need some more background on your story. - Surviving

Po-Ji

September 15, 2013 - 6:15am

Hi Surviving 60 and thank you for your prompt reply.

Yes, I have indeed been practising the posture diligently (as well as I know how) throughout the past three years in everything I do, walking, sitting, cycling, swimming. The sitting posture was always very comfortable, could do it for hours (not so now) and quickly became embedded in my subconscious, never do it any other way if I can choose. I purposely bought myself a 'sit up and beg' style bike and am always conscious of posture whilst using it. I have made sure (when things have been running smoothly) of getting around 1.5 to 3 miles walking almost everyday. Living close to the town centre is a wonderful opportunity to save time by combining exercise and postural practise with
shopping etc.

In 2011 I went to see Whole Woman UK to check out my posture. I hope she will remember me, I was her first client. She said I had good posture. More recently, when these pains increased and I was beginning to feel some what immobilised, I had 8 weeks of body work treatment with a lady experienced with Rolfing / Structural Realignment techniques. Her particular interest lies with women's gynaecological issues as well as oriental healing and medicine. Her approach to posture is spot on with Christine's.

She was very impressed with my posture and thought my awareness of this was the reason why my body was responding readily to the adjustments she was working on. Which were, the pelvis slightly static when moving, on the right side, and some inflexibility in the spine on the left side of it whilst bending from side to side. I also had as part of the treatment Acupuncture and Chinese herbs but that was more for emotional and physical well being, and helped on another level but is not entirely relevant to what I am discussing here right now, so I will leave that. She neither could find any reasons from external examination for my problem. She did point out that what I was experiencing was like the pain some pregnant women get, which again would seem to indicate the prudendal nerve or some other nerve perhaps. So perhaps my doctor should have said 'classic' pregnancy pain.? Which of course would have seemed a joke..!

Maybe WW UK could throw some light on it. I know she worked with pregnant women and that she also had pain but this was early on and more like sciatica I think. Would be nice to hear from her too.

It seems like I must be one of the unlucky few of which the prolapse is the cause of pain.
The sad bit for me is that it gradually was increasing during when I was seemingly doing everything right. Having said that though, there was a lapse period over last winter, we all get them, right? I didn't do so much, but did do some, and always posture.
I just don't believe that period could have opened the door to 'so much' damage. At present I am managing the actual bladder positioning side of this really well. I use the all fours position when peeing whenever I can at home, to make sure there is no build up, and what I have recently found a god send is an idea someone had on this sight of making a support device with a rolled up sanitry pad tucked inside the gusset of my knickers for support and held up with a thong. Excellent ! I have only been trying it for a few weeks and now wont go out without it. Do that and I can go all day without being always conscious of my bladder as long as I remember to keep it emptied. It feels like a new lease of life, but perhaps only to be recommended once one has posture well and truly embedded in the subconscious. None of that is an issue now and is pale in comparison to these pains. I must add that using the support device is not an excuse to mask what is going on down there. Things are pretty good in that department at present, I think it just keeps it better placed for longer.

Sorry this is long. Trying to present all the details. Thanks so much for listening.

sevilla555

September 15, 2013 - 2:47pm

Hi Po-Ji

I too have never heard of such a thing as ''classic prolapse pain''.

You mentioned that you're having pain in your hip area. Possible arthritic pain perhaps? Maybe a scan of some sort or X-ray would show if your hip joints are arthritic and to what extent, or perhaps some other issue such as an inflamed ligament could be causing the pain, and a scan could show that as well.

I have some arthritic pain in my left hip joint (not a lot according to my X-ray), and I walk regularly which seems to help relieve it.

Was the doc who suggested you have ''classic prolapse pain'' a gyn, urogyn, or your primary? Was medication suggested to relieve pain? I have found that wrapping ice-paks around inflammatory areas of my body helps no end. Around 20 minutes at a time. I have 4 in my freezer so that I can exchange them when the one I'm wearing becomes warm.

sevilla

Surviving60

September 16, 2013 - 5:51pm

Hips will be the hot topic in a few more weeks when Christine's new book starts to ship. Meanwhile maybe WWUK will see this post if she comes on. Why not contact her directly? - Surviving

Po-Ji

September 24, 2013 - 4:23pm

Sorry, been away and was unable to reply sooner. Thanks for the suggestions.

The doctor is just a general practitioner. . He told me he has had lots of past experience attending prolapse operations with a very good surgeon and that the success rate is high. He said his wife had one 20 years ago and she has been very pleased with the result. He assured me that he could refer me to the same surgeon that he was recommending and the importance of a good surgeon. He started to rave on about the new wonderful mesh sling until I told him I have a friend who's sister is almost disabled now after such an operation recently, and the prolapse is not fixed either. Attempts to get the mesh out were not successful.

I asked whether there where other ways the surgeon could operate without mesh and whether it would be open for discussion by that surgeon. He seemed impatient, said yes but reeled off a lot of technical terms for different operations rather impatiently which wasn't helpful. It felt like I had trodden on his toes a bit. The things that put me off were his rather 'blanket approach' to the diagnosis, (assuming that the prolapse was the cause of the nerve pressure) then it seems, misnaming it (classic prolapse pain) his impatient reply to my enquiry and raving about the wonderful mesh sling. He offered strong pain killers, for if I wanted a day off from pain and told me that swimming and yoga is helpful if not going down op route and that some kegels wouldn't hurt. I didn't argue with it. When I told him I was doing exercises for posture he said he couldn't see anything wrong with my posture.

However I came away with the positive hope that someone, his wife, had an op 20 years ago which has caused her no problems. Though, 20 years ago it is unlikely mesh would have been used I think. I did not want to ask him more questions because of his general manner. Does anybody know of anyone who's prolapse op has been successful, or less symptomatic than what they had experienced before having the op? Mesh or no mesh.

Surviving60

September 25, 2013 - 5:47am

Po-Ji, i have one very close friend who has had prolapse surgery, and she doesn't talk about it with me. I don't know what her issues are, but she spends half her life in the bathroom.

If you have been following Christine's principles for almost 3 years, yet you are still considering surgery, it might be time to go back and reread the book. Surgery is an enormous risk and the damage is permanent. If this GP has you convinced that your recent pain is caused by the cystocele that you have been managing just fine for 3 years, and that there is a surgical solution for this pain, I hope you will get other, more informed opinions before you consider getting sliced and diced. - Surviving

rose54

September 25, 2013 - 10:23am

Hi Po-Ji, I totally agree with Surviving on this, if I was you and you feel you need medical support I would go to another doctor, perhaps a gyn. Something does not 'vibe' right with this guy.
Be careful and be safe.

sevilla555

September 27, 2013 - 7:14pm

Just curious. Was the doc who diagnosed you with nerve pain the same one who said you had the so called ''classic prolapse pain"? And how was the nerve pain diagnosed? Were any scans or XRays done? Were you ever seen by an orthopedic specialist for the nerve pain in your hip joints, or given a regime of physical therapy exercises? If I were you I would get a second opinion. It would be interesting to know whether an orthopedic doc would agree with the ''classic prolapse pain'' diagnosis. And although I'm against surgery for prolapse, very much against it, just for the heck of it, why not go to a gyn, or urogyn, and ask whether THEY have ever heard of ''classic prolapse pain" and whether they think it could be connected to your hip joints! Just DON'T let them talk you into doing pelvic surgery, that's one road you don't want to go down. No, just go to hear what different docs think.

Po-Ji

September 28, 2013 - 4:06pm

Yes I agree with you all 3. No Sevilla, none of those things were suggested or offered at that stage. No doubt once I got to the gyno who he was referring me to, I could have asked those things and I expect I would have got the Xrays but I just didn't want to go that far with a gyno who believes in fixing my prolapse just yet. The Doc just seemed sure of it through his own experiences which is why I wanted to put it past you people first. Now I feel more ready to seek and push for another opinion, perhaps with an orthopedic doctor fist as you suggest. But also I think it's of interest to expose these kind of situations. When I finally become more enlightened I will report back and let you know the outcome. It might be some time. Thank you all.