Thanks so much for your feedback ladies, I truly appreciate it! As Pamela B mentions, uterine prolapse is one of the five kinds of POP, there are 5 altogether. The other 4 are cystocele (bladder, most common type), rectocele (colon), enterocele (intestines), and vaginal vault (vagina caves in on itself after a hysterectomy-I wonder how many physicians bring this up prior to hysterectomy although mine didn’t and I am so glad I had my hysterectomy. I felt better 2 weeks after surgery than I felt the 2 years prior.)
Kegel exercises are one of many treatment options for POP, and they must be done properly to help, a health discussion I posted at the following link goes into Kegels in detail. Other treatment options (typically 2 or more treatments are utilized at the same time) are pessaries, pilates/pfilates core strengthening exercises, electrical stimulus, biofeedback, hormone replacement therapy, and support garments.
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Womens-Health/KEGELS-AND-KEGEL-BREATHING/show/1133?cid=591
The biggest cause for POP is vaginal childbirth, closely followed by menopause. The other causes are chronic constipation or coughing, heavy lifting (think about how many times you pick up your babies and then grandbabies, repetitive heavy lifting), that genetic factor that Pamela mentioned and jogging or running (don’t stop running, just make sure you have internal support in when you do it).
The choice of whether or not to have surgery is a very personal one, every woman brings a unique set of circumstances and symptoms to the table and there truly is no right or wrong answer about whether to have surgery or not-it is the right choice if it is the right choice for you.
I am hopeful we can change the awareness curve for POP, this is something that will not go away on its own after you have it and so many women are not familiar with the condition, symptoms, or causes. Once we create some recognition, women will be able to detect POP at an earlier stage and get less aggressive treatment.
Typically POP is not caught in routine exams unless patients are complaining about symptoms, most physicians do not routinely check for POP. I speak with so many women on a daily basis who like me, had never heard of POP until they were diagnosed at an advanced stage.
So do your Kegels and pay attention to the signs your bodies send you ladies!
sherrieP