Pessary ring

 That’s an awful experience.  I had one fitted a week ago by a consultant, it has to be removed by a specialist nurse not myself.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with the GP. Can you ask for a referral to the hospital to see a specialist? GPs are all well and good but they are generalists, not specialists. Best of luck

Oh Christine I am so sorry to read this. Why do people work in these professions if they haven’t any empathy.

Is it possible to make an appointment with another GP at your practice?

Let’s hope this lady never finds herself on the receiving end of our misfortune!

If you cannot see a dr perhaps an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss your needs and concerns. How can you be expected to remove this with no tuition or information!

Please let us know how you get on and I hope another more Carine g member of the profession will assist you. 

I also forgot to ask, what kind of pessary did you have fitted? They come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes it takes a while to find the one that suits  you.

Hi Christine, Id be changing my doctor if mine treated me the way you were treated. Perhaps you should hop on the internet and research the fitting and removal of the pessary ring. I had a ring for years and used to take it out to clean it. Interestingly it didnt seem to bother me when I had sexual relations with my husband. I'm sure the pessary ring gave me years of comfort before my prolapses became so bad that even the ring didnt work any longer. Once you have the right fit you shouldnt even notice that you are wearing it ie you cant feel it. It takes a little time to get used to it and it took me a few goes in the early days to remove it myself and refit it. Ive had my operations for prolapse repairs now 15 months ago and Im doing really great, All parts are mended and holding well Kind regards Kath 

Christine, I had to be very blunt with my gynecologist before he referred me to a specialist which is a urogynecologist.  I had a severely prolapsed bladder (cystocele).  The Dr I was referred to immediately wanted to do a hysterectomy.  My uterus is fine, my bladder is falling out!  Went on line and after much research, I found another urogynecologist.  U.S. insurance requires Drs to try alternate "fix"  before surgery so I was fitted with a pessary.  The PA Nurse made sure it was comfortable and that I knew how to insert and remove weekly for cleaning.  Don't settle for treatment by anyone who acts as if they are doing you a favor.  There are many wonderful caring Drs and Nurses out there.  Good Luck

Hi Christine, I am so sorry for your experience. I also had a ring pessary fitted for Cystocele and Rectocele. There does seem to be a lot of misinformation from the medical profession about these pessaries. One GP told me I was wholly unsuitable as I was sexually active, well actually sex was not on the agenda with 2 prolapses blocking the way. Fortunately another GP advised me that it would be a good idea for me to try to provide some relief and may be a long term solution if I wished not to have surgery. She also said depending on the type of pessary required and personal choice, it could be left in for sex. Ultimately I saw a urogynaecologist to be properly assessed and consider my options. I did have one of those huge polo rings fitted. He offered to show me how to put it in and take it out but also said it could be left in place if comfortable and just removed and checked every few months by either him, or the nurse at GP surgery. He reiterated it could be left in for sex. I only had mine in for about 3 weeks as I decided to have surgery. We did have sex with it in place and neither of us could feel the ring. If my surgery does fail in the future, I would consider a ring pessary again, but not sure I would like to be taking it in and out all the time. My consultant said it empowered women to take control and decide how they managed their condition etc. All very good, but I remember back in the dark ages trying to insert Dutch contraceptive cap prior to sex, by the time it was in place, the last thing I wanted was sex. Brilliant contraceptive. So with the ring pessary, I would rather it was put in place and I only had to confront it every 6 months for a check up and hopefully forget it was there the rest of the time! Possibly not very realistic with risks associated with vaginal atrophy and infection, but apparently it can work fine that way.