I would like to share this very insightful and inspiring video chat that I had with Glenys who was kind enough to agree to talk about her prolapse and the decision she took to have a surgical procedure carried out to fix it once and for all.
I’ve known Glenys all my life. She is one of my mum’s oldest friends and just a couple of years younger than my mum at 83. They were both born and raised in a row of terraced colliery houses, which were affectionately known as ‘The Puzzle’. The people who lived in The Puzzle were called ‘Puzzlers’. Glenys and my mum carved their names into a brick wall when they were young girls and this graffiti can still be seen today. I have heard so many stories over the years about the wonderful friendship that Mum and Glenys have enjoyed. So many tales of the simple pleasures they shared as young girls. Suffice to say, Glenys is a very important figure in our lives.
Glenys had a hysterectomy in 2019 after being diagnosed with a uterine prolapse in 2015, and years of UTIs. The hysterectomy helped stop the UTIs, but then she began to get pelvic organ prolapse, where one or more of the pelvic organs, in Glenys’s case, bladder and rectum, were prolapsing. Glenys was struggling a lot and surgery was the only and last option. Glenys needed what is known as a colpocleisis procedure – sewing up of the vaginal walls – only offered to women who are no longer sexually active.
By March 2023, the pessary rings that Glenys was using stopped working and the prolapse became increasingly debilitating, impacting everyday things like sitting, getting up, bending, reaching, vacuuming, sweeping, and she couldn’t even think about carrying heavy shopping or doing little jobs in the garden. The prolapse was ulcerating and she felt more and more miserable, although she still kept walking and still went on holiday. Getting out and about is a non-negotiable for Glenys. Unfortunately, her health was suffering and nothing was moving forward with the NHS due to the strikes.
She is not a wealthy woman by any means, but she decided to dive into her savings and pay just under £10,000 to have the surgery done privately. Professor Radley at Thornbury Hospital, Sheffield did the procedure, in just over an hour under spinal block, with Glenys listening to Elvis on the anaesthetist’s phone. She was in hospital for three days, where she was treated like a queen and received her discharge papers in mid-November, 2023. She says it’s the best decision she’s ever made and feels like a new woman. The only concern she had about the op was if it would affect her bowels, which it didn’t.
Glenys has been taking For Women probiotic capsules for several years, initially to help reduce her UTIs as a result of the uterine prolapse and pessary rings, then for general bladder, vaginal, gut and immune health.
Please watch the video to hear more about how Glenys has got her life back after taking this radical and very brave step to rid herself of years of debilitating symptoms. If you are worried about an upcoming surgical procedure or have been putting off having one done, I hope that Glenys’s story will give you reassurance and encouragement to take back control of your own health, just as Glenys did.
If you have any questions about a digestive, gut, vaginal, bladder or urinary issue, please get in touch and we will be happy to help.
