Prolapse

[39meridian]

I’m 74 and have a prolapse cervix. I’m just doing pelvic floor exercises at the moment. I have a Well woman appointment in a week. Any advice as to what questions to ask?

Not in pain but tummy and back aches!

[charlee4]

I think you mean a prolapse uterus. Listen first to what the doctor suggests.Ask what your options are. If he/she mentions surgery first, maybe ask if a pessary ( a ring inserted to hold the uterus up) would be an option. This would preclude surgery if it is used. Ask about you age factoring in. I am older than you, and I mean no harm about that.

[39meridian in reply to charlee4]

Thanks charlee4

I’m attending a Well Woman appointment next Wednesday so will let you know what advice I get. I’ll ask all the questions you said and more. Does a prolapse ever go away in time or am I stuck with it forever!!?

Thinking about it I’ve had it for a while but I’m not in the habit of checking ‘inside’ my vagina, it was only the fact that I was sore and red around the area and I investigated with a mirror. I was shocked and then I thought about the past year. As a keen gardener I just thought the stomach and back aches were because I had overdone it! I do feel uncomfortable when a sit with a sensation of sitting on something! I feel a bit stupid not thinking anything was wrong. I put most things down to getting older!! I

39meridian

[charlee4 in reply to 39meridian]

Please do as little lifting and bending and stooping until you find out more. The additional pull on your body can cause the problem to get worse. You will have so much more information once you have a chance to chat further with the doctor. Just write down your questions and ideas before you go for the visit. When you leave you will know what your options are.

[masa65]

i doing them as well,, if you having problems sitting or walking, or going to the loo then disscuss them with doctor..let me know if they want to do surgery , i got to do them for 6weeks with a phyiso person before i see the GA then in jan see if my problems got better, be interested to know how you get on keep in touch i am 56 and no sign of the menopause yet!

[masa65]

find out how far done it is in cms ok and what level it is at 1-4 and can it get worst...the pessary dont always stay in if the prolaps is too low , i found that out....four steps to the door and it was hanging out...

[charlee4 in reply to masa65]

Yes, I know some people can't wear the pessary, but it a possibility the doctor will mention it and it would be worth a try.

[beatitude]

Hi, Meridian, I'm 62 and have had a prolapsed uterus for one year this very day! Anything that involves squatting pushes it out, mine hangs out of my body by over an inch when I squat, so gardening makes it worse. But now that I've been given a folding ring pessary, it does actually do the job of keeping it in even though the prolapse is quite big. I know some people say exercises help, but personally I do not believe a prolapse ever goes away. I try to do the exercises when I remember, though! Either of those has got to be better than anything as drastic as surgery. You're not stupid at all - I had no idea there was anything wrong with me, either, until the day it popped out. It takes time to adjust to the fact it's there before you make any irreversible decisions. Good luck.

[39meridian in reply to beatitude]

Hi beatitude

Thanks for your reply. Very helpful and boosted my confidence somewhat!

My prolapse doesn’t hang out but I can clearly see it in the entrance of my vagina.

It does go up a bit when I lay on my back at night, so it got me thinking.

Don’t know whether it’s a good idea or not, but because I could ‘push it up’ slightly I’ve inserted a tampon!! To help the prolapse to stay in place for a while. I’ve researched the subject and am thinking that a ring pessary might be helpful?

I’m 74 so of course I don’t need tampms for periods anymore but the pains in the tummy and back are so alike ‘period pains’ of the past, worth a try? I will continue to do the pelvic floor exercises, sit with my legs up (I have a recliner armchair) for the rest of the day and see how it goes. I also have taken a pain killer, just to keep me a bit more comfortable.

I’m lucky I have a husband who will get me a cuppa ocassionaly!

I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m attending the Well Woman clinic next Wednesday. As a recent patient I’m finding the uncomfortable pain draining but don’t want the ‘mask’ pain altogether as it’s important to recognise what my body is trying to tell me!

Regards

[beatitude]

Hi! Those aches are our bodies telling us everything is in the wrong place! Two reasons tampons don't work are 1) the downward push of the prolapse expels cylindrical objects easily; 2) they are absorbent and the last thing you need is anything that dries you out. I do hope you find a pessary that does the trick and any heavy, leaden feelings you might be having will be alleviated. Mine's a 'folding ring with support' which is easy to manage by yourself and gives the uterus something to rest on. I know what you mean - the prospect of stuffing things up there, years after we thought we'd said goodbye to all that, is dismal, but such is life and you are not alone! Let us know how you get on.

[39meridian in reply to beatitude]

Hi beatitude

You are right - the tampons didn’t work, although my prolapse did initially stay up a bit more but it’s again down in the vagina this morning! So I will tolerate it and when i see the well woman doctor on Wednesday I will know more. I think it’s a weakness and although I’m doing the exercises I feel the prolapse needs to be supported whilst the muscles tighten. I might be entirely wrong!!!!

I instinctively feel that the pessary folding ring with support would do the trick for me. Did you have to go through a process before getting it? And, did a doctor have to place it initially? Do you insert it daily? I would need to be able to extract and clean, as I’m fastidious about cleanliness, especially in that area!

Am i to believe this ring, as inconvenient as it probably is, has made your prolapse stay in place and the ‘period type pains’ disappear?

Regards

[beatitude]

Hi again! Do you know what? You've got the same attitude to exercises as I have! I looked at Whole Woman and they are pro-exercises but seem to be somewhat anti-pessary, but I can't see the point of exercising those muscles while the prolapse is hanging down so low that it's getting in the way of the muscles.

The pessary ought to be inserted initially by a doctor so they can check the fit. A lot of doctors say they can be left in for ages, but I, too, queried the hygiene aspect of it. The doctor who gave me the one I currently wear told me to try to leave it in for a week or two at a time, but so far the longest I've left it is one week. I prefer to do what my body tells me and go with my instincts - any gungy or itchy feelings and out it comes, to give my body a rest from a foreign object, and clean the thing. With a flexible pessary, you can be in control of it, while some pessaries have to be seen to by a doctor, which sounds awful, to me.

The pain aspect is so subjective; I didn't feel any at all until I found the prolapse, so I suppose that was why it caught me by surprise - the first I knew of it was when I actually SAW it when I squatted to pick something off the floor and felt it rubbing against my clothes! Afterwards I felt as if concrete was setting in my pelvis but I don't get that feeling when the pessary is in. Maybe I am luckier than some in that respect.

On the right of your screen you will see 'related posts'. Click on 'severe pelvic organ prolapse' if you haven't yet done so and you will find so many comments! Some of my sorry saga is on there, so I just hope you get help more quickly than I did. I didn't know what to ask for or what to expect, so am so glad I joined this site. I found it helpful to read from women with years of prolapse experience. Best of luck and I'm glad you've got an understanding partner.

[Notawoman]

Unless it will definitely ease the pain you are experiencing DONT have surgery. I have never been right since having vaginal surgery for a bladder prolapse. I had this done 2 years ago when I was 70.

[Schroedie]

I've been waiting over a year for surgery, and have been seriously disappointed with the medics I've seen. I was given no options just told I needed a hysterectomy, and went away completely shell-shocked. But I read up about vaginal prolapse when I got home and came across the idea of pessaries so went back and asked for one. Since that's been fitted I've been able to manage just about as normal.

Now, one year after my consultation, I've been given a date for surgery but I'm not sure I want to have it done - so I'm trying to get an appointment to talk about the options. It's all horribly complicated as I should be moving house soon, and I can't face being incapacitated in a new place where I know nobody - I'll be stuck on my own for weeks while my partner will be home at weekends and evenings. So I want to know whether it's really necessary.

The whole thing's been like pulling teeth as the communication has been awful. So make sure you read up on your condition, people, and don't let the medics bully you into processes you don't want!