Is phenoazopyridine cheating?

Body: 

You know...the stuff like Azo or Uricalm that relieves bladder pain for a while, but turns your urine orange.
Not for regular use, I mean...but for bad days when you have to do something.

I would prefer not using anything ever, but there are times when it would be nice to numb things up a little.

Not sure what you mean by "bad days when you have to do something". Do you have a urinary tract infection? - Surviving

I mean, days when there's a lot of discomfort and I don't have the luxury of sitting at home and doing nothing. No, no uti. I check with home tests if I'm concerned about that, but I'm pretty successful at keeping utis at bay by using d mannose regularly.

But even without a uti, the prolapse pressure can sometimes be quite uncomfortable.

Emmline,
The whole woman work is what helps relieve the pressure of prolapse. Do you have your materials yet? Really throwing yourself into this work is what keeps you from sitting around. I have a profoundly prolapsed uterus and I don't let it hold me back. This work will give you the comfort and the confidence to deal with prolapse. You just have to get started.

If you have to take anything to keep UTIs under control, then you are probably not emptying completely at times. You can learn proper techniques and take the pressure off the bulge with the posture correction and other tools WW teaches. - Surviving

No, I empty. It takes a little relaxation, patience, and shifting, but I do empty. The d mannose is more of an insurance policy, to keep things clean.

What I was trying to ask is this:
Yes...work on the posture, etc. And I know it's a process, and there will be ups and downs as one works toward whatever optimum management is available.

But, on the road, there are bad days. And sometimes it is (for example,) Christmas, and you pretty much have to try to be sociable and help clean up after dinner. Or it's the day of your daughter's graduation, and you need to attend.
But you just don't feel good because of (pick any combination) pressure, urethral twinges, aches, etc.
At moments like these, maybe you want to use an analgesic such as pyridium.

Does anyone else do this or, in the philosophy of the WW program, would you avoid these things?

When I was first starting whole woman, I had a lot more pressure down there, but after a few months of really dedicating to this work, that initial strong pressure went away. Yes, I still had the bulge, but without those nasty twinges.

Get down on knees and forearms, and breath into your belly to help on bad days, but drugs aren't necessary when you have all the whole woman techniques behind you. You can also bend over and jiggle those organs forward, and then do a good round of firebreathing, nauli, belly pumps, etc. all these techniques are in the whole woman work. Christine also shows and talks about complete emptying of the bladder in her book.

You just have to study it and really emmerse yourself into it.

Can you tell us what you have been doing with your whole woman work?

Ok.
I have the book "Saving the Whole Woman," and have read it. I THINK I have a pretty good grasp of the posture, and focus on it all the time.

I do the exercises along with the First Aid for Prolapse dvd now and then, but keeping in mind the body positions, I may just move through my day using some of the walking techniques. I also use a QiGong dvd by Deborah Davis, which is very gentle, but focuses on pelvic health.

I often use an all-fours position to get things back to comfortable, and do the fire-breathing periodically throughout the day.

Sometimes it's difficult to get into a position that feels good when riding in the car for a while, or watching a movie in a theater.

So, I don't know if I'm missing something when long-timers here advise full immersion in the WW work, because apart from conscious maintenance of posture, re-aligning positions as needed, and a good non-constipating diet, I'm not sure what else I should be doing.

I assume it's a matter of going forward in life, continuing to do these things, and seeing gradual improvement.

Emmline,
It does take the time to also see results. We spent all these years getting ourselves into the situation we are in with bad posture and practices, so of course we should expect it to take some time to get our natural posture back.

Hey, if you want to take drugs to hide your symptoms, all the power to you, but it is not part of the whole woman philosophy. I think that is what you were wondering?

If you have any questions about the whole woman work, we would be glad to answer those.

I also looked up this Deborah Davis, and it appears she does "traditional" Chinese yoga. Christine teaches us that Traditional yoga can be detrimental for women because it has us sucking in our bellies and using techniques that can worsen prolapse. You may be working against yourself by incorporating this with whole woman. Check out Christine's yoga DVDs. They are fabulous.

Emmline, there are lots of things that we can do to help ourselves, and lots of ways that we can sabotage our progress. It takes time and study to learn some of the finer points of do-and-don't......not to mention experimentation. That's what we mean by total immersion. Potentially detrimental yoga and exercise positions are a perfect example. - Surviving

Yes, I'm sure that is true about some yoga, and Deborah Davis probably also teaches some of that.
Her QiGong is not like yoga though, and primarily involves gentle body movements that can be done while maintaining WW posture.

But I appreciate and understand the words of caution. I think one of the things I read either on this website, or in the book, about choice of exercise, is to do things that allow the posture to be maintained, AND that don't worsen symptoms. The QiGong feels pretty safe in that area. (QiGong is almost indistinguishable from Tai Chi.) I did try some of the Hab-it work out, and found it a little heavy on kegels. I didn't feel so great the next day.

.......please don't kegel. I'm a poster child for the futility and potential worsening they cause. - Surviving

Thank you...I think I'm learning that. I will avoid them! (As you, or someone on this forum said: If kegels helped, most of us wouldn't have this problem. Very true.)