Menopause and Pelvic Floor Prolapse

[gig46]

Is Pelvic Floor Prolapse common in women in Peri-Menopause/Menopause phase of life?

Once this occurs what are the options to correct problem?

I have had this happen recently, have appointments with a Urologist and GYN over the next 4 weeks. Was wondering if anyone has been through this and has any suggestions or personal stories of how they got through it. I am in the
"Oh my goodness, this is really disgusting" stage and need some advice.

[PerimenoWorried]

Yes, pelvic floor prolapse is very common in perimenopausal and menopausal years.  Very often, our pelvic floor muscles become weakened by childbirth, heavy lifting, being overweight and then, when our estrogen levels begin to drop, it furthers the weakening of our pelvic floor muscles even further, causing prolapses.  Many of us have them but, a lot of us are not aware of it because they generally, if mildly prolapsed, cause very few problems.  

I have a prolaped uterus and bladder.  Depending on your degree of prolapse (mine is moderate...meaning cervix drops down to almost the opening during normal situations and without straining and right down through the opening during bowel movements).  

The suggestions for treatments can vary, depending upon the degree of prolapse as well as the patient's comfort levels.  Surgery to tightened up the ligaments holding the organs is the most sure-fired way to repair this situation (as is a hysterectomy if there is a severe prolapse and you are at a stage where you don't want anymore children but, that's not always done to correct prolapse unless there's other factors that warrant it)  but, if you are overweight or you do a lot of lifting of heavy objects in your daily life, this may need to be redone down the road as it can weaken again.  Next to that, again, depending on the degree of prolapse, are Pessaries.  These are plastic rings that are placed up into the vagina and hold up the uterus.  They are custom fit by a gynecologist and must be taken out and cleaned every so often.  This can be done by you at home or by your gynecologist if you are having trouble inserting or removing it yourself.  Do a search for vaginal prolapse and pessaries and the types will be shown and more talk about them.  Lastly, if your prolapse is mild to moderate, Kegel exercises (do a search on that as well as it's listed step by step how to do it and you can do them anywhere without anyone knowing you're doing them :)) will help keep these muscles tighter.  It won't reverse the prolapse but, it can help to keep it from progressing further.  

The bottom line is that it's all up to you and what you can live with or not live with.  It's not life threatening so, there's only really your own comfort level to think about.  Unless you are getting urinary tract infections frequently, or vaginal/uterine/cervical infections frequently, the treatment options are usually left up to you.  Do a search on prolapses and you'll get more detailed info.  In the meantime, while it's rather unsettling, it's not a disease nor, is it an emergency. :)  Take your time, do your research and talk to your gynecologist/family doc about this and your options, then make a decision as to whether to leave it alone ( more women than not choose to do this as I did) or whether to choose a treatment plan.  

Best wishes and hope this helps! :)