Prolapae

[Spanielgirl]

Hello everyone, I’m a 66 yr old newbie who clearly is not on my own. I’m so glad I’ve found this site. Diagnosed 10 yrs ago with Grade 1 Cystocele,life has continued, no real problems other than the usual peeing ones, until a week ago, clearly a prolapse , bladder, maybe more, that is giving me grief as well as caring for a 92 yr old Mother who is in later stage Alzheimer’s. Self help options, including coconut oil and sea sponges not solving the feeling of being on fire and now bleeding , so it’s a call to GP first thing in the morning. Was looking forward to the ‘ Golden Years ‘, how naive of me .

[bantam12]

Sounds like vaginal atrophy, a topical hormone like Vagifem might be something to ask your Dr about.

[Spanielgirl in reply to bantam12]

Hello bantam12 thanks for your comment. I’ve managed to get an emergency appointment with Gynaecologist in next 2 weeks.

[Ekks]

Good luck it must be so difficult with your mum and this sending hugs

[Spanielgirl in reply to Ekks]

Hello Ekks thanks for your kind thoughts, much appreciated. I’ve managed to get an emergency appointment with Gynaecologist in next 2 weeks.

[Pessary62]

So sorry to hear about your worsening prolapse, especially with caring responsibilities as any sort of heavy physical work would definitely not be helpful for your condition. Hope you have help for the physical burden of caring.

[Spanielgirl in reply to Pessary62]

Hello Pessary62 thanks for your thoughts it makes a big difference when your feeling down. Good news is that I’ve managed to get an emergency appointment sometime in the next 2 weeks. I’m now being really sensible about what I do in the way of lifting and am lucky to have my son to now step in ( he is my Mums live in carer ). There are 3 of us caring for Mum. My daughter and I who both live 100 mls away, share the caring between us, travel and stay over 3/4 days each. There is always 2 of us on duty. I have been on the Alzheimer’s journey for nearly 10 yrs, my Father ( now deceased ) also had it. Mentally and physically I’m drained, you have to live it to know it. Maybe you too have been on a similar journey.

[sally46]

Hi

Spanielgirl

I'm really sorry to hear what you're going through at the moment.

Four years ago after having a difficult bowel movement I suddenly discovered a lump protruding from the front of my vagina. This was totally unexpected and as you can imagine I was really concerned. I was 70 years old and have always lived an active life, including being a very keen gardener, growing most of my fruit and vegetables. Cutting a long story short. My GP said as I’d had two fairly difficult births it wasn’t uncommon for a woman of my age. She said I could have an operation but I didn’t like the idea of that and would rather try to “fix” it another way. She suggested some pelvic floor exercises. She referred me to a physiotherapist and I also started one to one sessions with a pilates instructor. I changed my eating habits, making sure my bowels were moving smoothly, not lifting anything heavy etc. I also purchased a Kegel8. I found the Kegel8 to be a total waste of money for the severity of my prolapse. I did all of this for about 12 months but I still had a lump the size of a golf ball permanently protruding from my vagina. I’m fortunate that I haven’t had the pain that some women in a similar situation have reported and reminded myself that it’s not life threatening. I returned to my GP and again she offered an operation but I was still keen to avoid that. The alternative was a pessary ring. It took several attempts to find the right size over several months but once that was sorted out it’s been fine. I return every six months to have the ring changed by my GP and a check to make sure everything’s ok. That was about three years ago and up to now it’s worked really well. I’m still sensible about keeping my bowels moving well and I don’t lift anything heavy and I complete my pelvic floor exercises every morning but I’m able to still live an active life and continue with my gardening.

I sometimes have slight bleeding and as bantam12 says, my GP prescribes Vagifem and that clears it up.

A couple of books that you might find interesting are Holding the Ball by Julia F Kaye and Inside Out by Michelle Kenway.

I hope this helps, take care of yourself and let me know if I can give you any more information.

[Spanielgirl in reply to sally46]

Hi sally46, thank you for telling me your story, which I’m sorry to hear. I’m beginning to learn that there are so many women suffering, it just doesn’t seem fair. Your advice is helpful for me at this stage, particularly as I try and stay clear of any medical intervention. Tomorrow I hope to have a better idea of what’s going on. Hospital called today offering me an appointment, not bad considering I spoke to my GP on Monday ! I’ll continue with pelvic floor exercises, coconut oil and natural sea sponge and try and be sensible.