Have a pessary ring to support

Thank you,no suggestion of another pessary,would certainly consider one,are there many different types that the NHS would provide?

Yes there are a few different types. Which one have you got at the moment?

I have the ring type,and as my question to Matron above,had no idea there are different ones,am intrigued by the "shelf" one.Any way I could check these out on the web,can you fit it yourself,as I can the ring?

No, the shelf is one of those that needs an expert to put it in and take it out every four months or so, and doesn't allow for penetrative sex.  BUT it does work like a dream.  My gynie tried some Gellhorns (if you look up prolapse pessaries you'll see the variety) and they stopped me weeing completely.  If you want the ability for penetrative sex then there are a few that you can take in and out yourself.  The cube is one of them, but have a look on the pessary sites and that will tell you which ones you can take out yourself if that's what you want to do:-))))

Thank you Chris,no am not keen on in and out myself,prefer the nurse!

Are you in the UK on the NHS,if so does your GP provide the service.No the sex bit is not the problem! Am trying not to have an op.as I am happy with a pessary works well,but the painful sciaticia might force me to reconsider,have friends whose ops have failured.

Sorry missed the bit you have a gynie,no offer to let met see on!!

Judith there is something you can do yourself that may help your sciatica. If you lie on your side, the opposite side to the affected leg. Lie on the edge of the bed and let your affected leg dangle over the edge of the bed. Let it hang over the edge for about 10 seconds and repeat as often as you can. 

Thank you Matron, will try this out tonight.

My thoughts exactly Judith LOL!  Initially I had a gynie do my ring pessary but then the clinic closed and the GP took over but the ring pessary they were using then was supposed to be washed off before use because it had an abrasive powder on it but they never did that and in the end it caused abrasion on the cervix, which actually saved my life - the GP had been overdosing me by three times the recommended amount on vagifem for 16 months and because the abrasion had caused bleeding from the cervix they sent me for a scan and to cut a long story short, I'd got endometrial cancer.  Probably from the overdose of the vagifem.  But because I'd got a closed cervix there had been no bleeding from the uterus!  But if your nurse is using the milex cooper ring and not rinsing it off first, do get them to check if they're supposed to.  But after the hysterectomy, when they also repaired the bladder prolapse bit, and that failed (connective tissue disease was most likely the reason but that wasn't diagnosed until after the ops) I was told at one of the cancer checks that the prolapse was back and they referred me to a lovely lady at Lincoln hospital BUT I was going to have to wait about 4 months, so I opted to see her privately within a week at Lincoln BMI hospital and she fitted the pessary for me.  I'll keep the NHS appointment when it comes through and continue with care under them.

If you can afford to see a gynie privately just for the initial bit, the cost of mine was, we THINK (not had the bill yet) about £200 for the consultation, which actually went on to three visits to get the right one, and about £35 roughly for each pessary tried.  To me that was SO SO worth it!  But you'd need a letter of referral from your GP if you've not been there before.  Alternatively ask for an appointment at the hospital and wait for the NHS one, to see the prolapse specialist.  But you shouldn't  be left in pain!

If you're still having a problem with sciatica when a different pessary is fitted I'd suggest trying a TENS.  Because of a spine problem I had horrendous pain earlier in the year and I bought a good TENS on the biggest online place there is in the UK and using it for a few days actually stopped the pain permanently until I went for physio, when it started it again, so I used it again for a few days and it sorted it again and I've not used it since!  It was the best £25 or thereabouts that I've ever spent in my life!  It was little short of miraculous!  It seemed to just switch the nerves off!

Just another thought Judith - sometimes some women seem to get a heavy discharge with one type of pessary but not others.  They can be made of different things, so one product might suit you more than others if you do find you get a heavy discharge, so it's worth asking about your choices if that happens.

I should have added as well Judith - the hospital asked if I'd like the pessary changed by my GP.  I said no thank you - I'll stick with the experts!  It's only about three times a year so I'd sooner travel to the hospital to get it done.  So if you can get that referral initially, you can stick with the hospital if you want to:-)

Thanks for this exercise tip,have been doing it seems to have eased the pain.

Do you think removing the pessary might help relieve the pressure on the nerve,also prove the point an op might be worth it ?

Thanks Chris for your more than helpful advise,am going to read it again,it will help decision making..

It was my GP who showed me how to do the exercise for sciatica 37 years ago when I was pregnant I've advised quite a few people to do and it's worked. I think there's a strong possibility removing the pessary will help. I suppose it's worth testing because sciatica is so painful. 

Chris,my ring is a Portia PVC ring (am allergic latex) no other ring/pessary was offered this was about 7yrs ago.For the last year I have Vagifem (estradiol 10mcg ) use on alt.nights which cause me to have painful breasts and was cancerned about cancer which the consultant told me was not proven to cause it.I only use it once weekly.

I do have vaginal erosion and some bleeding when having bowel movements,discharge and odour which is horrid!,when I remove pessary I am incontinent.

Having had good health,never been in hospital am not sure whether having an op. for sciatica is the way to go might not cure either.

This is the position I am in and need to make a decision how to procede!

This is the first time I have been able to discuss the issue with people who have been there and understand,thank you all for giving me this space.Thoughts/advise welcome.

Hi Judith,  Have a look on vagifem's prescribers information - novo.pi with the w's in front of that - that tells you the warnings about it, by the company who make it.  So then you can at least make an informed decision about it.  After I got cancer after using  vagifem for 6 nights a week for 16 months I did get a second opinion from a professor who was well up on hormone issues and he said that I shouldn't have been overdosed on it at all and the service I'd had from my GP (it was the GP who put me on it at that does) was definitely sub standard.

Do they know exactly where the bleeding is from? Has anyone checked out the bleeding?  If they haven't, then I would request that was done.  I know that generally they say if there's bleeding from the pessary it should be taken out while the skin heals but when it leaves you incontinent, I don't know what they'd suggest but I think this is something you need to ask about.  I'd be inclined to ask what other pessaries might work for you that you might not get the discharge with, too.  As I said, there are so many types of pessaries, made of various different materials, so if one isn't suiting you they might be able to find one that will more.  Personally I think pessaries offer a wonderful solution if surgery isn't possible or isn't wanted, but it's important that you get the best one for you.  But I would suggest getting the bleeding checked out if they aren't sure exactly where it's coming from, and if/when they do know, find out what they're going to do about it.

Do you have vaginal atrophy?  There's a brilliant group on this site for that if you do:-)

Have spent a large part of today trying to find a gynie who will fit and try different pessaries privately with no success!!

Any suggestions how to find someone,wanted to have someone that I felt would give me options before asking GP for a referral to them?

If I put in on google 'prolapse specialist, Lincolnshire' then I get a list up which includes the lady I saw.  So try doing that, for your area, and then Matron knows of a site where you can check on them.

Judith, the site I got through to was Private Healthcare UK. That gave me a list of specialists.  If you check that against those in your nearest hospital you might find there's someone who can take over your treatment on the NHS if you first see them privately.

These are the same consultants I have spoken to no help! Fed up with their unhelpful advice!!

I'm a bit lost on what to suggest then really Judith!