It’s flu season, and often women with pelvic organ prolapse feel as though they are coughing their guts out.

 If you’re like me, the germ-phoebe aspect of your personality starts to ramp up around this time of year. We all start paying more attention to washing our hands, get nervous about grabbing the door at stores where we shop, walk the other way when we hear someone coughing. No one wants to get a cold or the flu. Yet despite the extra protective measures we take, we somehow manage to contract something. The majority of us are exposed to hundreds of virus infested surfaces every day; there’s just no way to get around it beyond wrapping ourselves in one of those protective plastic bubbles. Not a very user friendly way to avoid getting sick.

Heading into a medical procedure you’ve not previously experienced can be a bit nerve wracking, I don’t care who you are or what your area of expertise is. There is no such thing as a worry-free procedure with inaugural health treatments. As a pelvic organ prolapse advocate, I intersect with clinicians daily, have witnessed some relatively invasive procedures, and have watched more than my fair share of surgical videos. But being the body on the table…let’s just say the analytical brain takes the day off and anxiety comes up a tad. Did I have concerns about having a radio-frequency vaginal procedure-absolutely! Vaginal procedures in general raise anxiety for most women no matter what is being addressed. There’s something about being naked from the waist down with legs spread wide and people or machines poking at your nether regions that brings out the angst in the strongest of us.

Several years ago, I learned about myofascial release therapy (MFR) while participating in a local business meeting that included clinicians from multiple fields of practice. While the meeting had nothing to do with my personal healthcare, conversations that occurred included info share by a therapist who specializes in treating women’s pelvic floor dysfunction with MFR. My curiosity led to me to explore more deeply to better understand the treatment, but also to share it with APOPS following. To say I was shocked at the difference in my capacity to contract my pc muscle post internal MFR treatment is an understatement. Much gets lost in translation when describing MFR; you simply have to experience it to better understand the sensations that occur upon release of bunched up fascial tissue.

As a women’s pelvic health advocate, I’d be falling down on my responsibilities if I didn’t explore new avenues of treatment available for POP. That being said, as a women extremely pro-active in my health, especially pelvic health, I am extremely cognizant of shifts in my body. While I do the right stuff most of the time, my body gets a bit sassy from time to time. I’m as human as anyone else-upon occasion I do slip up. I’ve been noticing a bit of atrophy in the past 6 months. Despite having effectively balanced my hormones with bio-identicals for the past 20 years, I’ll admit I’m a bit disillusioned that I can’t seem to get the current atrophy under control despite modifying my regimen. Time for the big guns!

Last week I returned to home base following Astellas/AUA/Urology Care Foundation sponsored advocacy coalition roundtable in Baltimore. Advocacy coming together to generate positive change in policy is a good thing, especially when healthcare, industry, research, and academia participate in the process. Healthcare policy evolves slowly when one sector alone bangs the drum; it advances more effectively when voices from all sectors come together in a way that acknowledges patient voice is the cornerstone. If you want to know what the true impact of any condition is, ask the patient.