Updates and Questions

I think ovarian cysts do come and go depending on your cycle. I remember my daughter going to the ER at about 16 with pain that was attributed to a ruptured ovarian cyst, but nothing was ever conclusive, even after ultrasound. Great that there are no actual signs of prolapse. What a wonderful wakeup call to have at your young age.....I truly do hope you will take this posture knowledge to heart. It has so many potential long-term health effects for the pelvis, hips and spine. Perhaps after menopause your hips will still be strong and stable, and you will remain prolapse-free. Thanks so much for the follow-up post. - Surviving

Hi larougefille,
I googled ovarian cysts symptoms, and it did come up with most of the symptoms you mentioned here. Is your doctor going to look further into what she saw on the ultrasound? I can't really give any advice on ovarian cysts since I really don't know that much about them. Maybe someone will come along that does.
As to your constipation, what is your diet like? Many people have different diets to help with constipation, but the best thing to do is get the starchy refined junk and sugar out of your diet to start with. Eat plenty of veg and include some fruit. That always helps me.
Working on whole woman and changing my diet has helped me tremendously with the constipation issue.
Great preventative measure too!! I hope you can find some answers soon and wish you the very best!

Larougefille,
You are definitely at the optimal age to start this work! I only wish I had know about it when I was your age and was told I had a tipped uterus. I couldn't even feel my cervix back then, now I have the more profound uterine prolapse. So if you are experiencing some mild prolapse symptoms, starting this work at your age will certainly give you a better chance of reversing them. And, then just keep on with the posture work. It will help you for a lifetime!
Best wishes to you!!

To be honest, the details you describe do sound like mild prolapse to me. You know your body best, you have done research, and quite frankly, doctors are not a great help in this area. If a prolapse was diagnosed, the suggested "treatments" would not be helpful anyway. I've been here almost 4 years and have never had a medical assessment of my prolapse, nor do I seek one. You have seen a doc presumably to rule out something serious, which seems to have been accomplished. So just go on with the postural work. That's the way prolapse is best managed. Attention to diet, exercise and stress management will help. For example....prolapse does not cause gas, so right there you have something specific to work on that can start you on the road to easing your discomfort. Cystocele and rectocele (I have both) act in tandem to support the uterus and keep the cervix in a reasonably good position.

Can you think of anything very strenuous that might have caused this feeling? Childbirth itself does often cause a prolapse that resolves on its own, at least for the short term (that's why adopting the posture can help avoid a return of the prolapse later in life). So in much the same way, a really really bad bout of constipation and straining could have been enough to do it. - Surviving

Hi Larougefille, I would echo what Surviving says above: aside from ruling out something more serious, there might not be much the doctor can help you with. They mostly do their assessments when you are lying done. I never feel symptomatic when I lie down - so there's a reason that might miss diagnosing your prolapse. You could request that she examines you in the position that you can feel it, but again, how much help is that going to be?

The other thing I would add is to rule out thrush or a UTI. My cystocele goes from hardly noticeable to quite severe (a lot of pressure, urinary urges, the feeling of having something in my vagina) when I have had either of those (with the cystocle being in the same position).

And constipation: until you can get rid of that, I don't think you can really assess what your prolapse baseline is. Your bowel is going to push down on your bladder and make it feel so much worse. Dealing with constipation seems like a really personal thing, and a matter of experimenting with your diet. There are lots of suggestions in these forum pages if you search, but you'll probably have to arrive at your own solution for this.

Hope this helps and all the best

Stress and constipation are two of the worst things for prolapse, so getting those under control would be the best thing you can do for yourself. Anti-anxiety medication does not affect prolapse, but getting your anxiety under control, so you won't have to keep taking them would be very beneficial for you. I was on anti-anxiety for a couple of years and slowly weaned off it through diet and exercise.
Cut out the sugar, caffeine, and alcohol, foods with hormones. These all can trigger anxiety. Meditation is also good. I was never very good at it, but just slowing down and doing some deep breathing helps, and nice long walks. It takes time, but if effort is put into it, it can be done.
You are putting yourself into a tailspin right now. Slow things down, start working on your diet and constipation. Start working on the whole woman work, just delve into it.
You are probably only at the beginning stages of prolapse, so you have plenty of time to take this all in. Take it easy on yourself. This is all doable.

It is very scary and not sure if you are the uk because I kept getting told it was not a prolapse and they will be very much that way because of your age, but in fairness it doesn't make any difference, you will be upset and worried but it gets better. Just start with the posture straight away and if you can get a DVD and you feel better for taking some action. You will get there and it will be less scary. Take care

Larougefille,
You need to understand that prolapse is not a emergency situation. Yes, it can be very uncomfortable, but that is why we try to alleviate our symptoms through whole woman work, diet, and bowel management.
What are you currently doing to try to lessen your constipation?
If you type constipation in the search box, you can find that woman have tried many things.
Some suggest certain supplements, but since you are on anti anxiety medication, I would check with your doctor before trying any of those. I personally don't like to take pills, so I have worked on my diet to help, and I had years of constipation. Are you eating too much starchy food? Bread, potatoes, even rice, processed junk foods all bind me up. The anti anxiety medication not only slows down the central nervous system, but it also slows down the bowels. These are things to think about.
Lentils, bulgur, stewed prunes, apples, berries, lots of veg can help keep the bowels moving. Some people cannot tolerate these kinds of foods, while others do just fine. You will have to figure what kinds of foods help you by experimenting with them.

You have to actually start putting some work into this to see results, and it doesn't happen all at once. This takes time and patience, but it does happen. Of course, your rectum is going to feel sore from hard stool going through it, mine always did.
Start really working on it now, and your body will feel so much better for it.

Duplicate post

Another good thing to work on would be exercise. Do you have time and a good place to walk? Lots of walking in very mindful WW posture was, in my case, the key to really starting to "get" the posture and help my body to memorize it. In addition, there is nothing better to clear your head and calm your nerves than a good long walk. It also helps keep things moving down below. It's a win-win-win! - Surviving

Larougefille,
I know from personal experience that anxiety is hard to deal with, that everything feels like it is spinning out of control, that what should just be a little aggravation really feels like the worst thing that could happen in the world. I do get that. People that haven't experienced it just think you are mad or something, but you really are not. I am sorry you are going through it at such a young age.
I am sure you are doing the best you can with it. A good support system with someone close to talk things over when things feel overwhelming is good, meditation as I have mentioned is good, cutting out those foods I mentioned in a previous post is very good, lots of walking as both I and surviving mention is really good too for the whole body!
I wanted to ask you if you have Christine's book or any of her DVDs? She explains everything prolapse so well, that you really feel like you are in a good place. Understanding prolapse is the first best step for any of us, because we then realize that this isn't life threatening. It is a big pain the ass, but we can do things to make it feel better. I like that!!
Also, when toileting, try to stand in a half squat hovering over the toilet, in whole woman posture. This really puts the rectum in good position for a good bowel movement. It is hard at first, so just start by leaning forward while trying not put pressure on the seat of the toilet. The weight should be more on the legs. The whole woman walking and exercise really helped me strengthen my legs, so I can half squat quite easily over the toilet.
Take care, larougefille. You can do this. Give yourself time. There is no hurry.

If you have heard of Psyllium husk, you only need to take a teaspoon in water or juice, but have plenty of water as we'll through the day,you will notice a difference. Hope it helps.

In my mind, I don't agree with remedies with a laxative affect on a daily basis. Yes, they may be useful from time to time, but I think they mask underlying problems within the bowels themselves. Healthy bowels have good peristalsis and are full of good bacteria. Our modern day diets have taken this away from our bodies. I have always believed that food is the best medicine for our bodies.
Fermented foods really give you the best chance at building those healthy bacteria back into the gut.
Beet kvass happens to be my favorite right now, and is so easy to make. Fermented cabbage and other veg is a really close second. There is also miso, tempeh, and many other choices that really work well. I took probiotics for years with no noticeable benefit, but once I started on fermented foods, I felt a whole lot better, less bloating, more energy. It is about letting your intestines absorb that food, so the nutrients can actually get into your body.
Sorry, I am on a rant again. But, I do feel very strongly about good bowel health equally good body health as a correlation, because I spent years of self abuse that could have been avoided if I had only taken the time to find these things out.
Wish you all well!!