AIBU to discuss prolapses and hysterectomy with you all?

[OopsDearyMe]

Hi

I am off to the GP tomorrow to get myself checked out, ever since the ordeals of labouring for three whole days with all three of mine, I have had a grade one uterine prolapse, but I was wiping today and noticed something the size of a tennis ball protruding from the vagina.. So I did the stoooopid thing of googling and the NHS choices says if its severe, which I would say this is pretty bad, usually it requires a hysterectomy !

I'm a single mum with no family, It says I'll bed in hospital for 5 days and then I'll need 6-8 wks to recover.

But I want to know if this is really how it is and what can I really expect?

This sounds like what I have. Try not to worry, I had a small outpatient surgery to repair it slightly, and although i need a hysterectomy ultimately, I can survive without one until my very young children are older.
Go get some advice, but don't despair, it may not be as bad as you think

I can only advise that you see your GP. Take it from there.
Yes, the recovery from repair is long, but worth it.
Find out if you need it! Good luck.

I've had a hysterectomy (though not for a prolapse), and I was only in hospital 2 nights, and was up and semi-mobile within 2 weeks. Feel free to PM me!

I had a hysterectomy last May. Slightly diff as was for ovarian cancer so had chemo before and after. Which wiped me out
There are 4 types of hysterectomy and 3 surgery options. They all vary and so this will have an impact on recovery.
I was in hosp for 3 nights and yes about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks before I was potterring. But certainly no heavy lifting, bending, driving etc. I'd say 5-6 weeks and I would have been pretty much recovered had it been just the hysterectomy. Obviously you need to have a good chat with gp and then if you are referred, the consultant. They will give you lots of help and advice and I'm sure will be able to point you in the right direction for help with DC. Good luck op and feel free to pm me to.

There's a hysterectomy support thread over on General Health.

I'm considering one at the moment. The consultant I saw on Monday said recovery time it depends whether it's done by laperoscopy or in the traditional way. With a laperoscopy the recovery time is very much reduced. Problem is it can change from one to the other depending on what they find during surgery - whether you have any adhesions or endometriosis. That means for me it's hard to plan for.

it can also be done vaginally, which also reduces the recovery. Age and fitness also has an affect. I was in my late 20s and had a traditional radical hysterectomy, but i think the fact i was so young helped a lot.

I had one about 18 months back. Major surgery, fibroid the size of a 7 month pregnancy, and I was discharged after 2 nights! I was disappointed, I was enjoying being waited on,not having to get up even for the loo (catheterised) and most of all lovely morphine lol.

It is a tough recovery, I was off work for 3 months after it. I had a UTI a couple of days after discharge which needed antibiotics.UTIs are par for the course after hysterectomies unfortunately. You do need to make sure you've got a lot of help after as for the first couple of weeks you're not to lift anything more than a kettle. You can't do anything like bending etc so hoovering, changing the beds etc need to be done by someone else. You do get better every day.

I get occasional pelvic pain now which I understand are probably adhesions (scar tissue) but this is barely noticeable are really just twinges.

Anyway don't worry about it yet.....you haven'tneven seen the GP but you're going straight to the worst possible scenario!

Just to give some balance please be aware that a hysterectomy, whilst recommended by health professionals as a solution, may make your prolapse worse.

The delicate arrangement of pelvic organs will be further disrupted by a hysterectomy.

The wholewoman website (the book but mostly the video exercises) saved my life. The solution to prolapse is correct posture and realignment through yogic posture exercises not kegel ones.

Check out the wholewoman website because that contains a lot of good information and PM me if you want to borrow the DVD. I too am a single mum and cringed at how expensive the DVD was so am happy to send it to you because I know that it works. I have been managing my prolapse for years and it only affects me on the days I don't do these posture exercises- in fact I'm doing them now!

When I said I didn't have to get up, they do encourage you to get up and take short walks round the ward the day following the op and to sit up in a chair....it's not good to stay in bed 100% of the time. Still a good rest lol.

Discuss away

I have global pelvic floor descent which basically means everything has prolapsed including bladder and bowel. I also have virtually no perineum. I guess my journey is a bit further on than yours, I'm awaiting my next appointment with a "sphincter specialist" (nice) to see if there's enough muscle to do a repair for the back end of a bus

If there is then I'll undergo repair. Not sure if the urogynae and colorectal surgeon will do it together or separate.

If there isn't then it looks like a colostomy

OP you'll have a better idea when you've been examined etc. Look for the APOPS facebook page, loads of advice there. Good luck 🍀

I had a hysterectomy last year. I was in hospital for 2 nights and my mum stayed to help for about a week. I was tired and wiped out for that 1st week but not too bad after that. You will need someone to help with driving (5-6 weeks) and lifting anything reasonably heavy (limited to a kettle with enough water for a cup of tea at first). Lifting shopping and baskets of wet washing I left to my husband until about 6 weeks post op.

I actually found the recovery easier than I expected and I'm so glad not to be having periods anymore. I've kept my ovaries so no early menopause.

I had an abdominal hysterectomy, including removal of ovaries, last year - I was in hospital two nights; couldn't do much for the first week but by the second week I was doing light housework and making short trips out (not driving). I went back to work at 6 weeks.

I'm 42 and not very fit - in fact, my fitness before the op was probably the worst it's ever been as I'd been in pain for months and unable to exercise.

GreatFuckability you must have had keyhole surgery then. This is a fairly simple procedure and you are up and about within hours of the operation. My sister looked nine months pregnant. After about a year, she found that she got out of breath just climbing a few stairs, was unable to bend, and could not walk more than twenty metres down the road. When she contracted influenza, she developed a continual cough. Within a few days she was in agonising pain in her stomach. She thought she had pulled a muscle while coughing. An emergency doctor had her taken to hospital where she underwent many tests. Result was an emergency hysterectomy. My sister had an ovarian cyst that had grown to the size of a melon, 30cms x 14 cms. There were complications because this cyst had twisted around six times strangling the blood supply to it, and which was causing the severe pain. The operation took four and a half hours. Although she was able to get up the next day, she was not fully fit until five weeks after the operation.