Ladies/Gentlemen I don't have a question so much as it is a statement. If you don't have a copy of Sherrie J. Palms book, "Pelvic Organ Prolapse, The Silent Epidemic," please get it. I ordered mine from Amazon.com. You will be amazed at the knowledge she has compiled and the "hands on" advice she gives is superb for the "before and after" surgery questions/care because she has lived through it. Reading her book was like having one of Oprah's "AHA MOMENTS." I've marked, highlighted, and made comments in the margins of most of the pages as it related to me. It was like I was walking in her footsteps.
I am 60 and had a stage III Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP). I had my surgery (cystocele, rectocele and mid-urethral sling) on Jan 21, 2011. I'd been diagnosed back in June 2010 by my gynecologist and referred to a urogynecologist at the Washington Hospital Center. After a few visits and some urology tests, I was diagnosed with Stage III POP in July 2010. Never heard of it! Come to find out it was almost as common and "apple pie." Women just did not want to talk about it because it was so embarrassing. WELL I WANT TO SHOUT ABOUT IT! I am 10 a year breast cancer survivor and I feel I'm a POP survivor too!
I was "flapping in the wind" trying to find as much information as I could about POP. I was all over the internet trying to find information about it. It was sheer luck that I stumbled upon Sherrie's first internet video. She was asking the same questions I needed answers to regarding POP. Some questions, I didn't even know I should be asking. She was starting a grassroots advocacy for women suffering with pelvic floor health issues. I followed every search engine leading to anything she had posted on the web. I found a web page www.sherriepalm.com and found her book.
Although I was extremely anxious to get the surgery done, I held off until because I had a pre-paid planned trip in late August 2010. And I wanted to wait until after the holidays once I knew it was "life altering" and not a "life threatening" condition and the recovery period would be 6-8 weeks. Although it sure felt like it was "life threatening" when I first heard the diagnosis. I wrote to Dr Oz and asked if he would do a segment on POP in late November 2010. I gave him my surgery date in hopes that something would be aired before them. The second week of Jan 2011 he did a segment on POP and it was titled "women suffering in silence." I almost cried. That's it in a nutshell so to speak. I'm in my 5th week of recovery after surgery and doing fine thanks to my urogynecologist and Sherrie J. Palm's book (or should I say POP Bible).