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My name is Natashja. I am 23 years old and have had prolapse for the past five years....
I was around the age of 18 when I first noticed my prolapse. I remember one night asking my housemates if having a bulge protruding out of your vagina is normal. They responded with questions like maybe it’s your g spot? Are you sure it’s just not just a spot? I was so embarrassed and to be honest I had no idea about anything regarding my genitalia so I just left it hoping that it would go by itself. I was also experiencing pain during intercourse, problems inserting a tampon and had issues emptying my bladder completely, problems which I also hoped would go away with time.
Later that year I was about to go on a backpacking trip and still noticed it was there and so I went to Boots beforehand to buy some femfresh thinking this would somehow miraculously fix it (I assure you it didn’t). Looking back now that was highly ridiculous and I should have gone to the doctor sooner however I was just so embarrassed to discuss that part of my body that I just resulted to self-treatment and diagnosis.
Another year later and I am about to leave for my year abroad in Denmark and I finally discuss my ongoing concern with my mum and show her a photo of the unknown bulge coming out of my vagina. She looks back at the photo horrified and demands we go straight to the doctors. That’s when I knew that I shouldn’t have left it this long and should have gone to the doctor beforehand instead of just hoping it would fix itself. However, I personally feel a lot of girls similar to me feel embarrassed to discuss or explore their own bodies due to the lack of education at school and potentially at home about their own genitalia. To be honest, now I feel very comfortable and open to discussing my vagina and my prolapse with a doctor as I now know this will not only benefit me but also that it is their job and they specialise in this subject and so I shouldn’t feel embarrassed. I really hope that we get to a point where this is what all young women feel able to do and I am hopeful that my blog desensitises the discussion of both prolapse and women’s vaginas and enables women who think they have prolapse or have been diagnosed with it to openly discuss their concerns and experiences.