Anne's prolapse experience
PelvicToner exercises cured Anne's prolapse
Anne Yates was so delighted with the outcome of her 'self-help' research that she dropped us a line. We hope that here experiences will offer encouragement to the many sufferers of pelvic organ prolapse.
It wasn't cystitis!
At the end of last October, after four weeks of what seemed like constant cystitis being treated by various courses of antibiotics, I finally persuaded another doctor to give me an internal examination. I felt like something wasn’t quite right in my vagina and was so fed up that I didn’t seem to have the energy to live my life in the way I wanted to. She gave me the examination and said to me “aha, we seem to have had a bit of a prolapse here”…..apart from the fact my mother had suffered a prolapse at the age of 79, I didn’t know anyone else who had had one. I asked the doctor for more information, but she just replied, you’ll have to talk to the consultant about it when the appointment comes through….All the way home, I started to think about the effects of having a prolapse. I already knew that it was uncomfortable to walk very far as I felt as though everything was dropping out…I also knew that it felt as if I would never have sex again….I felt so vulnerable in a part of my body that had given me so much pleasure in the past. The thought of never having that pleasure again was so disconcerting and I wondered how it would affect the love of my life that I had only met two years previously. Not in a good way, I thought to myself….
A cause for depression
The closer I got to home, the more depressed I felt. Why didn’t I know more about having a prolapse and how it would affect me. I knew it wasn’t life threatening but part of me felt very threatened…..
As soon as I got in, I went straight on to the internet and googled “prolapse” and saw the various ways it could be caused and how it could be treated. It wasn’t looking good….what if I needed a hysterectomy or how would a ring being inserted affect my sex life. The more I read, the more I got depressed. And me, a therapist!!!! I started using all the tools I knew, but this feeling of not knowing what had caused it and what the right treatment for me just got worse and worse and I had no idea how long I would have to wait to see a consultant.
Could pelvic floor exercises be the answer?
I remembered the pelvic floor exercises I had been taught after having my first baby….damn it, why hadn’t I done them consistently over the last 25 years! As I delved more and more into it, it seemed to me that the walls to my vagina had become weakened due to the menopause and the oestrogen leaving my body. I had been piling creams on to my face and my body to stop the sagging muscles because I saw my face and body every day. However, I hadn’t given my vaginal walls a moment’s thought! Why would I….I never saw them to remind me!
I googled “pelvic floor exercises” and came across the Pelvic Toner…..it looked just like a vibrator with springs but without the motor….and I read some brilliant comments about it…..and, best of all, it seemed that it wasn’t too late to start doing my exercises to help myself! I immediately ordered one and couldn’t wait for it to arrive.
My PelvicToner changed everything
I felt so positive that it would help me and it did. Three weeks later, when my appointment came through to see the gynaecologist, I had my internal examination and she told me that whatever it was I was doing, was helping to improve my muscles. I obviously needed to do more exercises, but I had started down the right road and I have found it so easy to build the exercises into my daily regime. I now easily do 180 pelvic floor muscle exercises every morning in ten minutes and my new nickname for myself is “Tigger”….. when you listen to the song “the most wonderful thing about tiggers…”, all becomes clear…I’m highly sprung every day.
I seriously cannot recommend the Pelvic Toner enough. And I am writing this story for all those women who are diagnosed with having a prolapse and who, like I did, feel as though they are suddenly getting past it…..in their physical and sex life. I truly think more women should share their experiences about having a prolapse. It would have helped me so much in my hour of need. That’s why I’m sharing my story. Maybe it will start the ball rolling. It may not be life-threatening, but, and if it happens towards the end of the menopause, it can cause real depression!
No operation necessary
I haven’t had to have an operation and I haven’t had to have a vaginal ring pessary fitted. And every day, as I’m doing my exercises, I use the fabulous affirmation “Every day in every way, me and my pelvic floors are getting stronger and stronger”.
Anne Yates. Cheshire February 2013
