Prolapsed Uterus - some advice/help please x

[CowsGoMoo]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone on here could help me understand better what on Earth my body is doing to me.

I'm 35 and have had 2 children. Both were long labours and my son was born thanks to help (Ventouse) after both labours I had to manually have the placenta removed as they had (morbidly?) fused to the uterus wall. After my sons birth this in fact was noticed and I suffered post partum haemorrhaging and then 14 days post birth was rushed back in as I had puperal sepis.

Moving onto nowdays! I have recently been suffering a lot with what felt like cystitis (the feeling of having a full bladder, but no pain on weeing) and then my last period was in August. So I went and visited my Gp, he initially gave me trimethoprim, took urine sample and booked me in for a smear. I had smear on Friday with practice nurse and then GP did an internal.

He has diagnosed me with a prolapsed uterus which is pushing down on my bladder :(
He also while doing an internal used his other hand on my stomach to try and locate my ovaries... which he said he couldn't find! To say he was hurting me is an understatement.... nurse who was with me, was actually wiping my tears away and today I am covered in bright red bruises on my lower abdo and in a lot of pain (still no period though!)

he is sending me up to our local hospital for an internal ultrasound scan to see whats happening and to have blood tests and this is where I am unsure of whats to happen? (he said it will be an emerg scan and will be in the next 2 weeks?)

He mentioned pessaries and hysterectomies etc but not in depth and I'm almost in tears at work at the feeling I need to wee all the time!

Can someone explain whats happening....
He mentioned that prolapse can be caused by extended child birth but I still thought that at 35 Im way to young for all this. I work in a school and am on my feet in the classroom for most of the day, he thought this was relevant too....

Must admit I have googled bits of info, but I'm getting very worked up and stressed about it

thanks

sorry for long rambling post

Hi- look at threads around rectocele and cystocele. Depending on what has prolapsed there are a range of surgeries and options. Make that you see a good gynaecologist that you have confidence in. It will also depend if you want more children etc.

firstly he sounds like he dealt with it all very badly, and i'm sorry you're so upset- totally understandably.

it sounds like there are 2 things going on.

1. 'prolapse'. means lots of different things. during pregnany, the vaginal skin starts to get stretchy to prepare for delivery, and is then obviosly stretched during a normal delivery, but even more so with a forceps delivery, manual removal of a placenta or if labour is very quick. this may not totallt rectify itself, esp if you're still breast feeding (you don't say how old your kids are) your hormones don't settle for up to a year or more, and the vaginal skin remains 'baggy' (for wont of a better word!)

this meansthat other stuff in your abdomen can push downwards and cause symptoms like yours. sometimes you can also feel a 'lump' or pressure in your vagina, esp if you've been on your feet alot, as this increased the pressure in your tum, or have a chronic cough (smoker?) t

it's common, cn be improved by pelvic floor exercises (i'd recommend seeing a specialist physio to make sure you're doing it right) and pessaries and sugery are a long way down the line. even if you do end up with surgery, it might just be to tighten the vaginal skin, and doesn't need to be a hysterectomy- it depends on a few different things.

1. not sure what's going on with the scan- it's not usual to be able to feel ovaries on that sort of examination (and totally wrong to bruise someone!)- so can only imagine he's ruling out an ovarian cyst (which could make symptoms worse), but in a totally alarming way.

good luck, i think your gp was a plonker.

Hi, Thanks Simbacat and littleshinyone,

My children are 11 and 6 and I didnt appear to have any problems associated with my labours until recently (never had piles etc, which I was warned about) Not bragging!! but pelvic floor muscles seem ok (I can still start stop urine midflow a number of times!)

My abdo this morning is vivid purple (bruise about the size of my palm on my right side)and is incredibly painful to touch and I've started what I can only assume is my period? but doesnt feel right.

I'm actually thinking about making a complaint about how my Gp examined me.... surely I shouldnt have been bruised to this extent? I'm not a wimp but this really was an agonising examination.

Thanks again

I have to say when I went to my gp they didn't even look- said I needed a specialist gynaecologist and refered me straight on. They did blood tests but that was it.

I've got blood tests arranged for this wed up at the hospital, did think that was strange! why not take it there and then from me?

for all my moaning....I have the 2 most amazing children x

Hi Simbacat,

looked up cystocele and rectocele. My goodness, I wasnt even aware this could happen. What a bubble I've been living in. These complications were never in any preg books I read.

GP def said it was the uterus alone that was prolapsed and (touchwood) I've never suffered any probs in the last 11 years with weeing or pooing, except this feeling of fullness that Ive had only recently (resulting in visit to gp)

I also dont have any feeling of fullness down below that I've seen mentioned in the cystocele etc posts, but did notice that not everyone mentions this, does this always happen? I have in past sometimes had very sharp pain in vagina area that made sitting in car etc, incredibly painful.

Im no longer with my husband and def dont want anymore children but was alarmed at idea of hysterectomy, I dont know why?

thanks very much x

Hi I have prolapse and I'm also 36 with two DC.
At the moment it's just being treated with physio therapy and I've seen a big improvement in my symptoms. Littleshinyone is right, prolapse can be a lot of different things and you need to get the expert opinion of a gynecologist.
Hysterectomy is the absolute last resort.

I think if I were you I'd be complaining about your GP at the least, if not taking him to court for damages. He should not have hurt you in this way and left bruises it's absolutely unacceptable and disgraceful.

Please do complain so he can't do the same thing to someone else in future.

My womb is the only bit not prolapsed. They did tell me that if it was they would try and put it in a sling and that a hysterectomy would be very last resort as I am 42 and have not been through menopause. Just make sure that you see a good gynaecologist who explains everything to you..

I thought I just had a rectocele as I had no bladder problems but was told I also had an anterior prolapse as well which I didn't know and I had no symptoms.

My gynaecologist did say that often they don't get the full picture until you are under a general anaesthetic and often they have to take a different route than planned. That is why you need to have confidence in them.

To be honest, i'd totally agree (have been pondering this over lunch...) after the way you were treated at your GP, and the way things have (haven't) been explained fully, I would totally agree that a formal complaint about the whole thing is in order- there is no way in hell you should have been in that much discomfort during the examination, and should also not have anything like a bruise to show for it.

And on the basis of that, I would have pretty low confidence in your GP...

Totally agree with Simbacat- ask for a gynae referral or at very least try to see a different (?female) GP when your blood results are back for 2nd opinion (as a female GP trainee i do dislike it when women say they wanted a 'lady doctor' but we do see much more gynae than the men, which can make their skills fade a bit!!)

it would be unusual for Just your womb to be prolapsing, which is why I assume he's being extra careful with the ultrasound etc.

poor you. Take some photos of your bruises too. let us know what happens. [hug]

How are you now CowsGOMoo?
Are you any further forward with treatment/diagnosis?

Hi Framey,

got my appt for bloods at hosp tom am. I think its just bloods and not scan as well.

I think when Gp told me about prolapsed uterus, I think I went into daze, Friend at work asked me name of the consultant I'd be under and I had no clue as to what on earth is happening.

So in prep for tom (in case it is scan too) I've written some quick q's down that I'd like answered.

Done more reading on the matter now and know more about the pessary which sounds like a good starting point (was something I do recall him mentioning) but apparently it needs changing every 3-6 months??? is this right? what on earth happens to it?

Thanks for your help will report back tom

Best of luck, you might not need to have the pessary as physio therapy might be enough.

Hope it goes well :)

Poor you. There is no way an exam should cause such bruising.

The pessary needs to be changed as it loosens after a few months.

Hope you got on well today and you are feeling better.

Hi CowsGoMoo. How are you doing now?