Can anyone relate to cystocele

Submitted by Jenstubb on October 29, 2006 - 4:09pm
Body: 

I was diagnosed with a stage one cystocele after having my son. Most of the time I don't have problems with it and wear a pessary only when I exercise. On three seperate occasions the cystocele has gotten worse for a couple of days at a time where I can spread the vaginal lips and see it. These episodes are not often. My son is almost for and this week is the 3rd time it's happened. It's been three days. For three days I have been laying on the couch and it goes back up into place but even from just standing in the shower it drops back down. I'm stressing that it will never go back to where it was. I am trying to get into gynecologist this week and maybe she will have some answers. But I would appreciate it if anyone can relate to this or talk about if this has happened to them.

somer

October 29, 2006 - 4:34pm

Hi Jenstubb, I can relate to your experience as I believe many women on this site also. At first it was difficult for me to accept, but with time that has come. You aren't alone. Thank goodness for this website--it is filled with all kinds of encouraging information. Read some of the posts and see how true this is. Welcome here.

louiseds

October 29, 2006 - 8:26pm

Hi Jenstubb

Yes, it is a pain when you think you have it licked and it gets worse. I don't know how familiar you are with this site, or Christine's work, but posture is the most important factor in living with this annoying condition. You can find out about the Wholewoman posture on www.wholewoman.com, the main website. Just go to the FAQ section and expand the ones you want to read. There is a whole heap of stuff there.

The other thing to remember is that the things we do here will not cure prolapse, but will help to keep the pelvic organs in good shape, and positioned as close as possible to where they should be. I am seldom even aware of my prolapses during the day after 12 months of Wholewoman posture, amended clothing choices, some exercises, some attention to diet and some changes to regular seating, eg car and office. If I slump forward enough and bear down I can still take a peak at my cervix, but it disappears again when I am seated or standing correctly. Of course, this is not something I do very often, as it is this sort of position that leaves all the organs hanging over an abyss, where the fascia are the only thing preventing their further descent. Close to a period it all becomes more droopy, but it goes away again, and is definitely stable now. Hopefully these practices will also prevent further damage. Hope this is some encouragement for you.

Cheers

Louise

UKmummy

October 29, 2006 - 8:44pm

Hi Jenstubb,

I too am struggling with a similar thing these past few days after lots of coughing which seems to, (temporarily I hope), have worsened my rectocele. I will keep you posted as and when I see improvement after this cough is gone! :) I know it can be quite scarey to think things are getting worse.

I have actually noticed that things do shift around quite a lot from day to day for me too, but they have always in the past maintained a pretty stable baseline for the most part, and haven't looked quite like they do right now. My uterus which was ironically the worst initially, is now staying put all the time so that is good. :) I feel sure things can get better with some work for you and for me too!

I am so encouraged to hear that you use a pessery for exercise! I too plan to do this as soon as I can make time for an appointment to get one! It is so good for us all to share this stuff.

Take care and don't get too down on yourself!

Michelle.

Jenstubb

October 29, 2006 - 10:49pm

Michelle, when your prolapse worsens do you feel pain in low back, low abdomen and sometimes in groin area? I have had this today. I am going in to doctor to make sure it isn't a uti, kidney or some kind of infection. As I also have a low grade fever.. Thank you for replying and thankyou for your kind words. When you get fitted for your pessary don't get discouraged. I tried a few different sizes and eventually learned that I can put it in correctly when I lay down to do it. Just a thought. I also tried stress incontinence rings but they were very uncomfortable. Since I had a TVT surjery I only leak a minimal ammount of urine when I exercise and only have to wear a small poise pad. But am comfortable and don't notice my pessary most of the time...

Jenstubb

October 29, 2006 - 10:52pm

Thanks Louise. I will check out website. My cystocele worsens around my period also. I just finished though so I am not sure what I did specifically that caused it. I am having low back and abdoomen and groin pain today now. I dont know if it is from everything being pulled or if I have an infection because I also have a low grade fever. I am going to go to doctor tomorrow to make sure. Thank you so much for replying. It means a lot to me because I have no one around me that understands.

UKmummy

October 30, 2006 - 7:39am

No Jenstubb, I have to say that I don't get pain relating to my prolapse, even right now. It seems like a good idea to get this checked out as you are doing to rule out a UTI or something else. Good luck with that and I hope it is something entirely unrelated to prolapse!

Thanks for the tips about the pessery too. I feel lucky to be in an area where there is a center dealing with non surgical management of prolapse and incontinence. They have a great nurse practitioner specialising in pessery fitting. I will let you know how I get on and please, let us know how you get on!

Jenstubb

October 30, 2006 - 11:24am

Well, I was having so much pelvic pain and low back pain I went to the ER last night. Urine test were negative for UTI or kidney infection. I had to wait 5 hours to see the doctor! It was awful. He said the cystocele is definitely evident and that may be causing the pelvic pain or I could have an infection. They did cultures but it is 24 to 48 hours for those results. So they gave me antibiotics and I am trying to get an appointment with my gynecologist this week. I feel awful. He also mentioned Cysts on the ovaries could be causing the pain and that I should have an ultrsound done. There was no way I was hanging out there for another five hours so I will let my gynecologist decide on that. So here I am in limbo. I thought I had a handle on this whole cystocele thing. It's awful to feel it drop every time I stand up and now I have abdomen and low back pain along with groin pain to. I wish I knew if I did something specific to cause this mess. Anyway..thank you again for replying. Will keep you posted on what doctor says.

Christine

October 30, 2006 - 12:02pm

Dear Jenstubb,

It seems there’s an elephant in the living room neither you nor your doctors are acknowledging. Migration and erosion of urethral slings are more common than anyone is talking about. This should be first on everyone’s list in trying to rule out causes of your severe symptoms.

Wishing you well,

Christine

AnnW

October 31, 2006 - 8:56am

Hi Jenstub,

I'm so sorry to hear about all that you're going through right now. I hope that you're feeling better and your spirits (and bladder) are lifted.

I can totally relate. I went to my PT yesterday and found that, while my pelvic floor strength had REALLY improved, my bladder was much lower than it ever has been. I was devastated because I've been "working at this" for fifteen months now. Then I remembered that I am a few days away from period and that that's when things usually sag again. So, I just wanted to pass on that you are not alone in dealing with the back-and-forth nature of this condition. Also, I would definitely take Christine's suggestion to your Doc to see what else might be going on. Good luck!

Oh, and just to put this out there...I tried a pessary once and it was really hard to get out. Do you find that putting it in and pulling it out regularly is causing and problems? Could this be irritating the urethra? Just a thought...
Ann