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[Twirl]

I feel quite embarrassed asking about this condition,  I don't think its the same as vaginal atrophy.
I do not have dryness or soreness but something weird has happened to my lady parts.
Looseness, absolutely awful, its all happened so quickly.
Prolapse and  laxity.
GP don't seem to want to talk about it, just want to fit the pessay for the prolapse and off you go.

Thank goodness I have been able to book an appointment with a pelvic floor physiotherapist,  hopefully they can help. Seeing them next week.

When I had the pessary fitted, the nurse did suggest an oestrogen cream,  so I have just started estrinol cream.

Has anyone else struggled with this but has achieved some form of improvement with oestrogen cream and physio?

Thank you

[Taz2]

Hi Twirl. Do you know what has prolapsed?

Taz x

[Twirl]

I haven't been told but think its womb and think the bladder is slightly prolapsed.
Hopefully pelvic floor physio will be able to give me more info.

[Taz2]

I had womb and bladder prolapse but no looseness. In the end I had hysterectomy and front wall repair for the bladder symptoms. Have you been given advice on how to stop things worsening? It makes you feel so horrible when you first discover that things are sliding down a bit. It took me a while to accept it. Mine happened when I came off full HRT (not my choice) for a while. I'm back on it now. The cream should help a bit. Pelvic floor exercises are what's needed too of course.

Taz x 

[Twirl]

Thank you Taz for your reply.
Its been a shock to find out that things are going wrong down below. I have always been such a fit person.
This is also taking me some time to accept.

My gp has been so unhelpful.
I haven't been told anything apart from, "you have a prolapse, lets fit a pessary"
Its me that asked who I needed to see to help with this.
They told me to refer myself to a physiotherapist, they gave me a form, I referred myself to be told 2 weeks later that I was in the wrong department,  GP needed to refer me to a womans health, pelvic floor physiotherapist,  after another telephone call to GP, whose only answers to my questions was, "unfortunately gravity and getting older can contribute to a prolapse,  they can't do any more for me in primary care.
So I had been left on my own waiting for an appointment to arrive from nhs pelvic floor physio, not heard anything in 7 weeks, so I have booked to go private.

Its very scary when your GP doesn't seem concerned or even supportive and helpful. I was even crying and saying how the menopause has come to a head, that after 8 years of no bleeding, I am now 57 and still struggle with night sweats,  joint pain, no sex drive and generally feeling like my body is yearning for something to help it feel better. And everytime I have asked for HRT they have said that I am post meno and that the menopause is a natural part of growing older.  One doc told me that she disagreed with the likes of carol vorderman and davina McCall medicalising meno, she said she would be concerned to prescribe hrt patches but if thats what I wanted then she would!!!

I have asked so many times what I can do to help the situation I'm in, I was told to do pelvic floor excercises,  which I had been doing for 9 weeks from when I first felt the bulge, but the urgency to wee and awful dragging feeling got worse, so I decided the pessary would probably help to prevent things getting worse and then I asked for the oestrogen cream, which is helping with the awful feeling of urgency to wee.

Who did you see to find out what was the best treatment for your prolapse's.?
Sorry for long reply.

Thank you
Twirl x

[Flossieteacake]

Twirl, I am so sorry to hear how rude and dismissive your GP is. For you to open up about how you feel and have her not take you seriously is negligent in my eyes. I actually think you should make a complaint and not see them any more but I know that may not be straight forward.

I totally disagree with her outdated ideas towards menopause and suspect she has never struggled and therefore has no idea what it is like for some of us. I am glad you have found this forum. It is sad you feel you had to go private but no wonder with the awful service you have had.

Sorry, I do not have any advice but just wanted to let you know I am thinking of you.

[Twirl]

Oh Flossieteacake thank you for hearing me.

Its been such a lonely place i had been in until I found this place. I am beside myself and do not know where to go for help.

My Mum said I should complain because it took such courage to break down and show such vulnerability to the doc to have them be so dismissive and no empathy, when I saw the nurse practitioner who fit the pessary, i was so distraught that I had to resort to a device to hold up something that was slipping inside my vaginal,  she just said  " yes its sad what us woman have to go through,  she asked if I'd had vaginal births" when I said yes, she just said, yes that can cause a prolapse.

I said do you think hrt could help, she said, not really. 
She dismissed my emotional outburst and said  it would be good if I tried to just get used to the pessary.

I feel so let down by the medical profession.

Thank you
Twirl x

[Flossieteacake]

Oh Flossieteacake thank you for hearing me.

Its been such a lonely place i had been in until I found this place. I am beside myself and do not know where to go for help.

My Mum said I should complain because it took such courage to break down and show such vulnerability to the doc to have them be so dismissive and no empathy, when I saw the nurse practitioner who fit the pessary, i was so distraught that I had to resort to a device to hold up something that was slipping inside my vaginal,  she just said  " yes its sad what us woman have to go through,  she asked if I'd had vaginal births" when I said yes, she just said, yes that can cause a prolapse.

I said do you think hrt could help, she said, not really. 
She dismissed my emotional outburst and said  it would be good if I tried to just get used to the pessary.

I feel so let down by the medical profession.

Thank you
Twirl x

I think your Mum is right about making a complaint. It is cruel to dismiss you and especially after you opened up. This put you in a vulnerable position. I am always hearing about medical staff who do not understand HRT or meno but I do not understand why they do not refer people to meno clinics or even try to find out information. To just dismiss HRT is ignorant.

I can totally understand why you feel alone. Meno can be such a lonely place and even more so without medical support.You were so brave to open up and tell them how you feel. I hope they have not put you off expressing your feelings for good. It took so much courage for you to do that.

[Twirl]

Thank you x

[Flossieteacake]

Thank you x

You are very welcome.

[KaraShannon]

Hi Twirl

so sorry you've had this awful experience.  The doctors are entitled to their views of course but there are enough doctors out there that embrace the use of HRT and, this is just my view, I don't think you can know the extent of your prolapse until you've had HRT, as well as the oestrogen pessary or ring. 

People have different views and you might not want to try it, but I am just sharing my view, I would want to get my system back in balance and then see how much of a prolapse is left after that and after some work with physio etc. 

You're not alone.  I get prolapse symptoms during my cycle, they come with my period and go away afterwards, but they are significant when here.  I am still trying to get my treatment right first.  Unfortunately I am getting a lot of dizziness and headaches everytime I attempt any vaginal treatment, but I think that's because my oestrogen levels are already too high, so working on getting those down first.  I have a blood test in 3 weeks.  Once my oestrogen levels are at a good level, then I will try to have a regular regime with vaginal oestrogen. 

Hang in there.  You're in the right place here 

[Twirl]

Hi KaraShannon,
I completely agree, I think its certainly the way forward to see what can be done to get my system back in balance. I really want some support and advice to see what i can do myself with any medication and pelvic floor exercises.

I am seeing private physio on Monday, so I'm hoping she will have a wealth of experience to discuss with me.

Sorry to hear about your prolapse problems,  I hope you can get your treatment right soon. X

[Dierdre]

I reversed my prolapse with local estrogens and physio. Ask for Vagifem and Ovestin, these will strengthen your pelvic floor and the physio exercises will gradually pull everything back into place. Local estrogen is not just for dryness it replaces the estrogen that keeps the pelvic floor from going loose and weak. It will take months to reverse but can be done.
Local estrogens are completely safe and your doctor should not be refusing you this treatment. You can even buy this over the counter, it's called Gina.