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I'm trying to help my wife. She has POP. I've been reading the other posts, and conclude that she needs to see a specialist in this area, such as a urogyn. Looking in the phone book, I see uros and gyns but no urogyn or any specialist in this area. How would you find such a specialit in your area? This is a good forum. I used a similar forum when I had prostate cancer. Absolutely invaluable! Anyway, what I have found is that there are exercises that can help, there are pessaries that can help and can be used while exercising or working and can be taken out, I think? Also, support garments may help. And any kind of unsupported straining can be bad. But, I think what she really needs is a good specilist to do some tests to determine exactly what the problem is and how bad it is, and what course of action she needs? Does anyone know such a specialist near Tallahassee, FL? What kind of tests would she need? MRI, ultrasound, CAT, etc.?
Did you ever find a specialist in the Tallahassee area? I am looking for a physical therapist who knows how to handle prolapse. I'm not done having kids and would like to avoid surgery anytime soon if possible. I am 29 and have 2nd degree rectocele & cystocele and 1st degree uterine prolapse. Only 8 weeks postpartum, but grandmother and aunt had to have extensive prolapses surgically corrected after age 45
Hi George159. Great to see you are looking through the posts as there is so much valuable information on the site. I hope very much you and your wife find what you need to know on here to be able to take the next step. I do feel if your wife has only seen her local doctor that it is essential to get a good Urogyne opinion, and I know you feel the same. Remember to put key words into the MedHelp search as well for specific messages historically that could also help you. Good luck with this. You know we are here for you if you need us.
Thanks for your kind response. I didn't realize there was an ask the dr site as well. I found some valuable info there. In viewing other posts, I find that many are asking the same questions as I would have. By viewing these posts and the responses, I can find many answers to my own questions. Thanks, George
Hi George159. I did respond to you on the same day you put your message on. We always try to get back to messages as soon as possible and are completely happy to answer questions from men. It is great to hear how supportive and proactive you are being with regards to your wifes POP condition.
I believe you are correct in stating that it is important to find a good surgeon and you can talk to them about their success rates. I do feel it is important to go to a Urogynecologist and ask them how often they do the procedure as well. Many people suggest that a good surgeon will be performing the procedure required 5 to 7 times a week, although I can only go by what others have stated. There are web sites that help like ratedmds.com but I have not used this myself. Most people including myself have seen more than one Urogynecologist and in the USA you can look for a Fellowship trained Urogyne. It is important to feel happy with the surgeon and also the procedure decided on.
I hope you have success in supporting your wife to be involved in the process of finding a Urogyne she is happy with. On each step of your journey you will find out more. Try searching on this site as well with key words to find out specific answers to each question as well and get back to me if you need to. There is a lot of information on the site and an ask the Dr side as well.
I believe you are correct in stating that it is important to find a good surgeon and you can talk to them about their success rates. I do feel it is important to go to a Urogynecologist and ask them how often they do the procedure as well. Many people suggest that a good surgeon will be performing the procedure required 5 to 7 times a week, although I can only go by what others have stated. There are web sites that help like ratedmds.com but I have not used this myself. Most people including myself have seen more than one Urogynecologist and in the USA you can look for a Fellowship trained Urogyne. It is important to feel happy with the surgeon and also the procedure decided on.
I hope you have success in supporting your wife to be involved in the process of finding a Urogyne she is happy with. On each step of your journey you will find out more. Try searching on this site as well with key words to find out specific answers to each question as well and get back to me if you need to. There is a lot of information on the site and an ask the Dr side as well.
Thanks for the response. I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get a response. I guess this forum is mostly women and they don't really like conversing with men about this problem. I can understand that. That's OK. I'm just trying to find out as much about this problem as I can. I know my wife is not going to do anything (except complain) unless I coerce her. It seems to me that with as many people as have this problem, there should be a good surgical procedure (high success rate, low complication rate) to correct the problem. My experience has been that it really is dependent on the surgeon of choice. Certain surgeons just have high success rates. Finding that surgeon and finding the real success rate is the difficult part.
Hi George 159 and welcome. You seem to have been doing your homework pretty well. In the USA Urogyn's can do all the prolapses at the same time, and yes it is important to find a Urogyne who does these operations very regularly. There is a Urogynecolgist who answers questions on the ask a doctor section on the site for POP and Urogyne. I think he is in Florida and you can go to your doctor and ask him or her to refer to a local urogyne in your area as well.
Most Urogynes will do a urodynamics test as well as other tests depending on what type of POP is present. You can also ask your doctor for support from a Physical Therapist as well who is trained in POP. I use support underwear which I find helpful for sitting, standing and walking. A combination of cycling shorts, fembrace and normal tummy control underwear depending on what I am doing. I also spent most of my time lying down before I found support wear.
Pessaries are a good idea but normally if the prolapse is outside of the body then the pessary will not help at that stage.
I do feel that since all these options are dependant on whether your wife is willing to go with them that maybe to begin with this is your biggest challenge. She may be frightened. I was terrified when I first found out. Perhaps you could suggest she reads some of what you have found out first and try to understand that this could be a step by step process for her.
It really is a bolt out of the blue for most women to begin with and can be very uncomfortable.
Many women choose to have an operation. However, POP isnt seen to be life threatening, which gives women time to look at the options.
I hope you have success supporting your wife to find the best solution.
Most Urogynes will do a urodynamics test as well as other tests depending on what type of POP is present. You can also ask your doctor for support from a Physical Therapist as well who is trained in POP. I use support underwear which I find helpful for sitting, standing and walking. A combination of cycling shorts, fembrace and normal tummy control underwear depending on what I am doing. I also spent most of my time lying down before I found support wear.
Pessaries are a good idea but normally if the prolapse is outside of the body then the pessary will not help at that stage.
I do feel that since all these options are dependant on whether your wife is willing to go with them that maybe to begin with this is your biggest challenge. She may be frightened. I was terrified when I first found out. Perhaps you could suggest she reads some of what you have found out first and try to understand that this could be a step by step process for her.
It really is a bolt out of the blue for most women to begin with and can be very uncomfortable.
Many women choose to have an operation. However, POP isnt seen to be life threatening, which gives women time to look at the options.
I hope you have success supporting your wife to find the best solution.
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