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Cube Pessary

Posted , 8 users are following.

DorryC
DorryC

I have a large rectocele and my doctor just fitted me for a pessary.  I have a cube pessary with drainage.  I tried to read up on it when I got home and I was a little surprised as I kept seeing things about this being the pessary of last resort and it seemed like it had more side effects. The study I found was small, but 5 out of 6 people had vaginal erosion.  They may have been using it longer than I will but I find that number disturbing.  She didn't give me any estrogen cream but I think this is meant to be a short trial, not permanent so maybe that is ok?

She told me I could leave it in for 2 weeks until my next visit but looking online, it seems like you are supposed to take them out and clean them every night so I am going to do that.  It is really difficult to remove as it has suction cups on 4 sides. I'm struggling with the mechanics and also concerned that I wasn't given this information from my doctor.

Has anyone else used one of these?  Care to share your experience?  Any useful tips?  Did you leave it out while you slept?

0 likes, 35 replies

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  • chris00938
    chris00938 DorryC

    Posted

    I've just got back from my visit to the prolapse specialist!  She was fantastic!  She's fitted a pessary that will support the bladder, bowel and vaginal vault.  It looks like a saucer with two holes in and a door knob which is used to help pull it out when it needs to come out.   The door knob is on a short stem because I've had a hysterectomy, so the whole thing sits lower than it would if everything is intacts.  It's flexible which makes for easier installation:-)  She said pretty much what we expected - surgery wasn't an option because there are too many contraindications, especially the connective tissue problem, but I'm quite optimistic that this is the answer for me (as my last one before the failed repair was).  It feels SO much better and it was lovely picking up 2 litre bottles in the supermarket with no worry at all, after.  She did tell me that if I did pelvic floor exercises until the cows came home it wouldn't help but that was individual to me because of the connective tissue aspect, so it wasn't a weakness in the pelvic floor muscles that were relevant here.  My pessary will stay in for four months and then she'll take it out and check everything and then put a new one back.  I did ask for her to use non estrogen cream to place it, which she did (purely because I'd had the endometrial cancer).  She said if I wanted to use any pessaries for moisture then the hyaloronic acid ones or the e pessaries were fine, or anything like that.  (I took them both with me for her to see).  Yes, we had to pay to get an appointment before February, but it was SO worth it!  VERY happy with the result!
    • DorryC
      DorryC chris00938

      Posted

      That's great!  I think you have a gellhorn pessary from your description.  And I think I've been reading too many articles about pessaries smile

      I really hope the pessary helps with your symptoms.     I like the idea of a pessary but the cube (at least the size I had) didn't work correctly and caused problems.  I'll update you after my next visit.

  • Weesue
    Weesue DorryC

    Posted

    I have just got one but only had two weeks and now have an infection told can only keep it in for 8 hrs maximum. But I can only handle it for four hours at the moment had to go to doctor's today as getting married next week and want to be able to walk as can't without it I have three prolapses and I'm very sore every day x

    • chris00938
      chris00938 Weesue

      Posted

      I've got a shelf pessary and have had this for what must be coming up for a couple of years now - it gets changed every 6 months, but if you're wanting to have sex then this isn't the one for you.  Three prolapses sound awful - I'd got three too.  But with the shelf pessary it's totally taken the problem away.  I think it can stop things getting worse as well.  I hope you can find something that suits you better!  Congratulations on the wedding - I wish you lots of happiness.

    • Weesue
      Weesue chris00938

      Posted

      Thanks Chris yeah I still like my sex so this was the only choice for just now will persevere with it till I go back to clinic or see the gynacology xx and thanks for the wishes xx
    • DorryC
      DorryC Weesue

      Posted

      Oh no, I'm sorry you are having a hard time.  

      I was told to take it  out and clean it every day and things still got a bit odd.  I had more discharge and it smelled off.  I didn't get a bacterial infection but it wouldn't have surprised me if I would have if I had used it for a long time.  I also think I only wore it during the day as my symptoms didn't bother me laying down.  

      I ended up having to stop using it as I couldn't have a bowel movement while wearing it so they said to just stop, instead of refitting it.  Not sure why.  Maybe bc surgery was the planned solution?

      Maybe once the infection is better you can wear it for enough of the day to manage your symptoms acceptably?  I hope they can come up with a plan   to help you.  It must be so hard to be dealing with all of this with your honeymoon coming up.  I'm so sorry!

    • Weesue
      Weesue DorryC

      Posted

      It is hard but with mmy partner Bering so supportive I can still smile and plod along one day at a time xxxx no need to be sorry I have to just get on with it. Hopefully I won't have to wait to long for the gynacology to see me .Hopefully all these meds will help ohhhh getting excited now next Friday can't come soon enough xx

    • chris00938
      chris00938 Weesue

      Posted

      A supportive partner is everything in this situation:-)))  You've chosen well:-)))

  • t22839
    t22839 DorryC

    Posted

    I know this post is very old but it popped up in my search of what is going on with me. Any chance you had surgery to correct? I have your exact symptoms, have to insert thumb into vagina to evacuate bowels etc. It feels like the are gas bubbles in my vagina all the time.

    Doc was brief and said you have prolapse use stool softeners etc

    That was it

    Friends mother had surgery and she is rooting for me to get surgwry stating it cant get better on my behalf so let doc operate and pull ot back.

    Did you do surgery and how did it go?

    Tracy

    • chris00938
      chris00938 t22839

      Posted

      I had surgery.  It was SO wonderful.  I still remember those first steps walking when I got out of bed.  It was the best thing ever.  BUT it failed 10 months later.  BUT - I had a bowel AND bladder prolapse, and also have hypermobility that tends to lead to weakness in collagen.  So after that I went on to a shelf pessary (I'd also had a hysterectomy at the time of prolapse surgery and the vaginal valt was on it's way down too by then!).  The shelf pessary sorted it for years but now getting the odd minute bleed with that, so trying a new one that's just come out.  Fingers crossed!

      I never had problems with going to the loo though.  But there are various pessaries to help that.  It's an option worth thinking about and if you want to continue sex then there are options in pessaries there too.  If you don't want to continue sex, then there are lots that just get put in by the doctor, you don't feel they're there, and they get taken out and replaced between every 3 and six months, depending on the doctor.  I THINK the figures are (but check studies online) a third of prolapse surgeries fail but I can't remember over what period that was.  If you've got one prolapse (bowel OR bladder) it's less likely to fail than if you've got two, I gather.  But do look up studies online.

    • DorryC
      DorryC t22839

      Posted

      I had surgery about a year ago and I am doing much better now.   I hadn't a rectocele (only) but it was quite large (5.4 cm). The recovery was slow, but for me it was definitely worth it.

      fwiw - I found Sue Croft's book on recovering from gynecological surgery to be very helpful, in terms of what to expect and als how to take care of myself.  These forums were also incredibly helpful.

    • DorryC
      DorryC

      Posted

      I *had* a rectocele, not hadn't.  Autocorrect keeps doing that to me.

    • t22839
      t22839 DorryC

      Posted

      Thank you so much for reaponding. I'm getting a second opinion after reading all these blogs. My doctor doesn't seem very proactive. Stay tuned.

    • chris00938
      chris00938 DorryC

      Posted

      I think if you've only got one prolapse, you've got a far higher chance of it not failing, so pleased yours went well Dorry. 

      I'm going in on Tuesday to get the hard plastic shelf pessary changed to the newly out silicon one that is more bendy, so I'm hoping it won't give me bleeding problems.  Having said that I've only had VERY slight bleeding three times since Christmas, so perhaps I'm worrying too much but don't want it to get worse!

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