New thread for those having/had posterior or anterior repairs, TVT, rectocele and all the other down below stitchups

[MissingMySleep]

Hello ladies, I hope you find this, I don't want to lose my pre-op and post-op buddies!!

Hello everyone!
Blue I do hope your antiB's will help with some of that pain, and I wholeheartedly applaud the use of chocolate for mood enhancing :)
Rect what a fantastic mine of information you are! It was me that was asking about the 'fingers in vagina' thing. My consultant recommended it. He didn't say anything about cucumbers though. I had a tentative feel myself a few days ago and was quite squeamish about the sheer amount of stitches in there.. How long ago was your surgery? I can't imagine a speculum exam for a while yet.
Footle I'm in the UK and have a follow up with my consultant (NHS) but whether this is because he does it routinely or because I had complications after surgery I do not know.
I am feeling a bit crap today to be honest, period has come and everything feels swollen again. I am medicating with plenty of painkillers and chocolate though!

sorry Footle should clarify that consultant is the surgeon who did my op.

Footle indeed I am lucky to have the dr I have. I was referred to him by my GP and he has been great. The fact that he is the surgeon and does follow up even better and as long as I see him every 6 months, I won't need to be referred to him again. So you did Zumba, my friend goes to that and she loves it. I think that is great, so when you're feeling up to the impact, I would go back. I know I am not really very good right now with the jumping. To ask about tap dancing was a bit optimistic on my part. There really is no way I could jump around very much. I am just anxious to test out the TVT and see if it worked.
teedee when I went to the dr and found out that he was putting a speculum in, I was almost in tears. I in fact started begging him, "please no" I said. He promised me that it wouldn't hurt and he is good with his promises. My husband just told me to lie down and he would hold my hand. The dr used a small speculum on me as he thought I was too tense. I really got scared when the dr took his scissors out, but that was to clip three of my stitches that were not dissolved but causing me some grief as they were pulling the perineum and causing some bleeding. I was healed, but the stitches were still intact. I feel relief now from not having them there. I don't really feel the internal ones bothering me at all. I feel energized about the fact that I am healing up really well. I thought it would be so much worse than it turned out. I am tired today though as I did too much after all the promising news. I am not super woman and have to keep that in mind. After all still only 2 and 1/2 weeks post op. IO think the fact that my husband and kids did everything for the first two weeks, I really had a chance to rest up and get well, I really owe it to them.

I hope you ladies have as good a post op visit as I had. Like Footle asked, are there any follow ups with your surgeon? Were any of your gynecologists surgeons? Well I better go now, want to have a little rest and do some knitting.
Talk to you soon.

I think the hysterectomy news hit me quite hard because i found out how bad may conditions were within 24 hours of each other, one appt after the next, it was just one bit of bad news after the next, to have a hysterectomy wouldnt be hugely bad no, but that would mean a third operation, they each have a 12 week (so have read) full recovery, please correct me if i am wrong. That means for 9 months of my life i will not be able to be there properly for my kids, my youngest being 21 months old. My husband, runs his own art business where sometimes he has to travel, unfortunatley i dont have much family help.
My closest is my mum who is over an hour away in london, she works full time and after she walked out when i was 13 we dont have the best relationship.
My sister is due her first baby in september and is over 2 hours away, cant expect anything from her, would be wrong to even consider it. My nan is ill, and the rest of my family are up in yorkshire. I live in kent, right at he end of it.
I am not a winger btw, am just replying to comments etc. I cope very well with life without their help though, my 8YO was diagnosed with epilepsy just before her birthday in march, still trying to remember that not everything is as easy as it used to be, but she has handled it so well. I have a good network of friends that i can depend on where i live though, all have offered their help, but i dont like to take the p*.
My mum,aunt and nan have all had to have repairs, but none of them have been as bad as mine, lucky me. The reason i may have to have a hysterectomy is because my bowel has collapsed on to my womb etc, that collapsed on to my bowel. I had my bladder scanned to see the damage and they checked my residual amount, i had 500ml left in my bladder after going to the loo. They are thinking that my bowel may have done too much damge that even after repair my bladder may just need more room so would have to make space by giving me a hysterectomy, is basically what i could make of it. Like i said, i get alot of info thrown at me and i have to digest it all and then try to remeber the important words etc.
In 24 hours i got this news:
Long intussussception (they are going to have to remove part of my colon)
3.5 inch rectocele (not tragic)
can only empty 70% of my bowel on a very soft stool
vaginal prolapse
bladder prolapse
possible 3 ops not just the 1 i was thinking of
hysterectomy (not too bad but wouldnt i have to have hrt etc?)
self catheterization up to op and maybe rest of life (am 27)
I just wanted some good news,had heard enough. I dont want anymore kids, i know i have enough, and besides my body cant take it.
I do loads of research, but sometimes i wonder whats right and whats not, strangely i am looking forward to seeing my consultant to clear all this up and get my answers of what i need done re bowel. Have seen gynae and he says i need op but wont touch me until bowel is sorted, understandably.
So tired, manic school run at 8.20, should be asleep by now

Jo Well I guess that it a lot to take in at once. I woudl be very scared nad upset too. I know when I had my first consult, things looked a lot worse than they actually were. I was supposed to have a hysterectomy, bladder repair, bowel repair, and enterocele repair, which is when you have Enterocele is a protrusion of the small intestines and peritoneum into the vaginal canal. The surgery was going to take 8 hours and they would have to enter through the abdominal muscles and have mesh put in to support all the problems. As it turned out, things didn't end up being as bad as the first consult. The dr decided that because my utrerus was not prolapsing enough to be taken out vaginally, he would just leave it in and offered me an ablation to stop my periods. He could then go in through the vagina to fix the bladder and bowel and also put the TVT in. He has left the enteroclel for now as it hasn't caused me too much problems so far. So I was quite relieved when on the second consult, there was an entirely different option of approach available to me. Now, I am 45 and my parents have been dead for years, have no siblings or relatives besides my kids and husband. I live in the country and had to be stranded here as I couldn't drive until yesterday. To be honest with you, it wasn't that bad at all and I had it in my head that I would be bed ridden for weeks and all that, but really, it is nothing like that.

If you have a hysterectomy through the vagina, the recovery is 4 weeks max. My friend had her hysterectomy done that way and she was playing baseball in two weeks time, she was 30 at the time of her op. You younger ladies really do heal up faster. You will likely have your hysterectomy through the vagina because it is already prolapsing. Where as mine is not low enough or lose enough for that. Now I would think that if you have the work done vaginally like most rectocele and cystocele repairs, your recovery time is not going to be that long. I mean when they say fully recovered that is feeling completely 100%. I am almost 3 weeks post op and had three surgeries done at once and I feel about 80% right now. I can manage just fine. I think 12 weeks to recover from each is really long. If you only had let's say a bladder repair through the anterior vaginal wall, you would be feeling great after probably a week, my dr says that is usually around a two week recovery time, but lifting and all that is still not allowed for 6 weeks. So to be honest and put your mind at ease, the recovery time does vary for each individual, but I would really think at your age even with the clotting disorder, you will be up and going in no time. I know I am not your dr and don't know the ins and outs of your situation, but I am basing my opinion on what I have heard from my friends and dr and from my own experience. Even if it did take a total of 9 months to recover, it is not all done at once and it really is a very short period of time compared to a lifetime. In your case quality of lifetime. I wish I could say something to help you feel better because I would not want to be in your shoes and don't pretend to even know how you feel. Our own troubles always seem so horrible because they are ours and we must deal with them whether we want to or not and that just makes us feel so powerless, but things could always be worse. My friend's best friend was just diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer three days ago and she is only 34 and has a 6 month old daughter. When I hear that kind of thing, I just feel awful and thank God for all the great things in my life.
I wish for you to have some peace of mind and to feel better about things. Take care and I'm sure in time the reality of this will settle in more and you will likely be able to deal with it in a better frame of mind. Keep posting and expressing your thoughts.

Hi all,

Jobo, sorry to hear you have had this diagnosis.. I had the anterior and posterior repair and hysterectomy plus cervix removed on 26th april. I am now 5 weeks post op. My story is on the other thread, you should go back and read that thread if you can, I have read lots since having this done, prob not as much as I should have before

Well it sounds like you will need to go for it at some point, question is when? How badly does this affect you in your day to day life? Have they said you can put it off? My surgeon/cons said I could put mine off for around 5 years but I chose to go ahead now as I knew I was losing my job and that I could slow my life down for a little while. You cannot slow down young children though.. so you will need to make your decisions based on that. I am 40 and have found it hard but not too bad. Ups and downs. 5 weeks post op and I have now begun to feel like me again. You will certainly need help with the school run etc for at least 2-4 weeks if the other mums would help. Why not ask them now?

See what things you will absolutely 'have to' do post op and if you can factor in definite help with those things. How long will the gaps be between the ops? Maybe ask for longer gaps? The main thing to avoid is lifting but your youngest will be at least 2 by then so you can prob avoid lifting him/her.

They have left my ovaries in place so this will delay onslet of early menopause. No reason they cant do that for you too. I am not ready to be a dried up old lady just yet (even tho I may end up with a false too/partial denture soon, yikes, and I also now have a shopping trolley and dont mention to anyone but I have a cat too) Hopefully this will keep it at bay. You are even younger than me (Im 40) so Rect is right, you will heal quickly. Rect has given you lots of good advice and info so soak it all in (isnt she amazing?) and ask questions when you can. I found they didn't give me lots of info so I found out what I could for myself. Several ladies where I used to work had had stuff done so I spoke to them in private. They were happy to share, as is everybody on here and there are others forums too.

Hope once the news sinks in and you analyse your options you will feel better and clearer on what needs to happen. I found once I got to the point of surgery I was pretty calm and ready (even tho I nrly cancelled in the waiting room, but I think we all did that)... Coming on here and discovering those feeling and fears are normal will help you no end. Its tough being a female but we are and have to get on with it. Luckily we can find others we have been through it and who will hold our hands as we go.

Big hugs from me too xoxox

Flowers and Footle you both are such kind ladies. You have such compassion for people. I like that you offer hugs and understanding to Jobo. I tend to get factual about things and that doesn't always come across as compassionate. Jo forgive me if I sound too cool about things. I am as emotional as anyone else and I forget that sometimes listening is better than advice. I hope your are feeling better today and I want to offer you hugs also.
Flowers you sound great! I am so impressed or shall I say proud of you for getting along as you have, under the circumstances. Question for you, was your uterus removed vaginally? How are you feeling at this point of recovery, on a scale of 1-10?
Footle how are you feeling on a scale of 1-10? You are only 4 weeks post - op correct?
So ladies, I must say that the vaginal stretching exercises are not going to be easy. I have just asked my husband to help with the whole thing and just using his index finger to try and stretch is not very comfortable. I really don't know how long it takes to get back to a place where you can have intercourse again, but right now it seems far off. Lubricant stings the area so bad it feels like itis on fire So I had to scrap that idea. When trying to stresch it, I begin to feel like soemting is going to tear and it feels bruised, so afterwards I feel similar down there to when I was 1 week post-op. I took some pain relief and feel pretty good this morning, no swelling or anything like that, a little achey, but very tolerable. What a strange thing to talk about, "stretching the vagina"what we woman have to endure, Lol...
On another note, I am trying to wean myself off the laxatives. I quit taking the senna ( bowel stimulator) as that is the one my dr said will create a dependancy in order for the bowels to work. I am still taking the stool softener though, but only half as much as before and loads of fibre and water. The end result (haha) well it was not as easy to go as it was before. I found it a bit frustrating and wondered if it would ever happen, but it did and it wasn't too painful.

That's all for now,

Hi rect,

Thank you for your kind comment, and for all of you for your support and nice stuff you say... its so touching

On a o-10 scale would say I am a 7 today as bit sore again, but that is because of the classic overdoing it last 2 days following on from the wknd where I felt great and almost like my old self.. As has been said many times on here it is the mistake it's so easy to make, so hard not to think you are 'better' now and launch into normal levels of activity and then pay the price..

Yes my uterus was removed vaginally. To those who were asking, I also had the same guy as consultant/surgeon and I have a follow up with him early in july. Footle I cant believe you dont get a post op check at all, that beggars belief... I need mine cos need to hear it has worked and not re-prolapsed etc, cant you somehow request one?

Interesting ideas re cucumbers etc, how far post op are you again rect? I dont feel ready to try that or anything like it tho as I said before I do poke about when in the bath..

Rect I got constipated yesterday, first time since op, god it scared me half to death and was quite painful... I stopped the laxative couple of weeks ago cos it tasted yuk

speak later ladies xox

Flowers, I am 3 weeks post-op tomorrow. It was a recommendation from the dr to begin stretching the vagina. You and I both have had the anterior and posterior done, this makes it even tighter than just having one or the other done. you will start stretching whne you feel up to it. I am not sure I am up to it yet after last night, so I plan to take it quite slow. It seems to hurt the most at the opening, that is where it is tightest according to the dr. I also find it painful near the top of the vagina as well.

I am afraid of getting constipated and after your experience I am going ot do my best to try and prevent that. it is difficult though, I get tired of drinking so much water and drinking the fiber suppliment and watching everything I eat. The better I feel the less cautious I am about all of that.
I hope your bowels get back in order, I find bowels are an obssession since surgery, would be nice to ge them back to normal.
Take care everyone xoxo

Thanks Footle, I will try to find a different lubricant. The only kinds I have really noticed are KY and that was the one that burned on application and the knock-off no name brands. I will look closer at the store and see what they have. Do you find it a bit frustrating that your surgery has made it seemingly so tight that it feels impossible to see sex in teh future? That is how I feel right now, somewhat discouraged I guess. I am also waiting on the cucumbers for now.
Sounds like you had quite a tiring day yesterday, I can relate to that also. Try to take it easier, but I knwo when you get out and feel pretty good, it is hard to control the level of activity, especially when you don't really know how much is too much until the next day.
In regards to getting in to see the surgeon for follow-up, perhaps try making an appointment right away, so in case it is a long wait, you can be a couple of weeks ahead. I don't know how the health system works there, but in Can. it can take a very long time to get into drs.
Today I am really tired and feel quite down. I am frustrated with my husband now because he is just going on like life was prior to op. On Monday, he has asked me to go with hiim to do an estimate for his reno project. and I said, "why, I am not working on it with you, " He still wants my help, he actually asked me to go to work with him yesterday to help with a granite tile job, can you believe that? I stayed home and did housework and stuff like that. I did not sleep well last night as I was uncomfortable from the stretching incident. I woke up at 2:00 am and couldn't sleep. I only slept 3 hours total and I had a nap today from 11-1:oo. Hubby call s and asks me to go to town and get some tools he left at his last job. I told him I wasn't going to town, too tired to drive. He asked me what I did all day and I told him that I had a nap. He sounded disappointed and then said, "well maybe if you would get up and get the blood flowing, you wouldn't be so tired." I told him I had to go, said bye and hung up the phone. I just want to cry now, I am so upset with that comment. I feel like being a purposeful bitch now and not making dinner or doing anything. I am probably PMS or PMT right now, but I really am tired. Well enough whining, I better go and do something I guess. Have a great evening everyone.

I am not sure why the giant smile emoticom came up in my last post, as it was supposed to be 1 pm., so that is what that means.

Hello Ladies
It's been a while because to be honest I have had nothing to say!!!
Last week was so busy so didn't have much time and now tings are pretty much back to normal so I don't have much to talk about!!! LOL!!!
The boys went back to school on Tuesday and I had a wonderful day. Was lovely to have as silent house! My mood was high and I made lots of jewellery!
Today however I have an 'end of period' stonker of a headache that has made me wince when I move but I have struggled through because yesterday felt so amazing, having a purpose again and not being a cabbage on the sofa!
Fortunately the awful pain I had last Friday did seem to all be linked to my period as by Sunday I felt back to pre-period again.
My stiches aren't really causing me any problems now at all. I don't have any pain or stinging, I guess my only moan is that the stitches are still there and I am getting bored of waiting for them to go!!!!
My hubbie and I were a little bit intimate last night and I am overjoyed to tell you that the AWFUL pain inside (when aroused (SORRY I'm blushing!))was not there this time. Phew!!! Obviously I was only partially involved and TBH I felt very unsatisfied! Damn these stitches!!
I must admit I was horrified when Dawn started talking about putting things inside her woohoo! It's only been three weeks that seems so scarey! It makes me shudder to think of anyone going near it! But then now you've made me worry that I might be really tight in there and never have sex again!! LOL. Perhaps when my period has completely finished I will think about it but even then it seems so wrong!!! Didn't realise I was so squeemish!
Anyway, as you can see, all is fine with me!!
Sorry I have nothing more interesting to talk about!!
I would quite like some of the ladies from the old post to talk about how long it took their stitches to go. But I don't think any of them have come over....

HAS ANYONE lost any stitches yet? FLOWERS how about you? You're a little ahead of us......

Anyway
Much love to you all
xxxxxxxxxx

Meg / Missing - Any info on stitches please x x x

Footle that's funny! Well I talked with hubby and he thought that maybe I am PMS right now and I think he is right, but that still doesn't mean I want to be doing any tile setting. In fact I would say I am pretty much done with all the renovations stuff except job site clean up.
Jewel I know when you start to feel better than life takes over and like you day, nothing to report. I would still be very interested in hearing from you from time to time to know how you are getting along. Like you said, you wish some of the ladies from the older posts would come back and talk about their stitches, etc. I plan to let everyone know when the stitches dissolve and let them know when sex is possible again without feeling tense or sore or scared. Please keep in touch every now and then and let us know your updates.
Well I am horrified of cucumber therapy I must admit. I know the stretching has to be done though, so no pain, no gain. I will stick to hubby helping out for a while and take it very slow. I am impatient because I really am anxious to have intimacy with my husband again. well I have things to do before bed, so good night ladies. xoxo

HI

SORRY Footle!! You know I didn't mean YOU! xoxo

Hey Jewel, good to see you pop back, glad everything is ok with you.. I have not lost any stitches yet apart from the one I lost on about day 3 that I dont think I was supposed to lose... I did have a little knotty bit just this morning tho so maybe that's the start of it. Think my infection set me back a week or so tho in my recovery as it was quite bad. I'm so glad you're feeling better tho, its a relief isn't it? I felt great last wknd, the sun was shining and I lay in the garden tanning and felt so alive again

I am also reluctant to get intimately acquainted with any cucumbers or anything else for that matter... feel sorry for you ladies with loving OH's who are dying to get back to it, it wont be long now! All I can hope for in that dept is that there are some dishy spanish waiters when I go on my hols I can perv over! Plus there's always my Eric! I would'nt want anything going up there until at least week 6, maybe after that I will get BOB out from under the bed where he's been hiding.

I seem to still have a pink bulge at the opening, its just as if it has never gone away which depresses me no end. Have to just wait for post op really to see if its normal or not but I don't feel very inspired it's gone or going. Oh well, i just want my life back whether it's worked or not and will see what the cons/surgeon makes of it. Footle that is why I can't believe your'e not getting a post op, its terrible, esp if you had TVT which I believe is more risky procedure as it involves introducing a foreign object to a very sensitive part of the anatomy. Do try and get seen 'somehow'...

Oh well I better get on with jobhunt (yawn), haven't done any this week yet and it soon be friday again! have a great day all, hope your all comfy!

Morning ladies! or shall I say afternoon. I feel kind of blah today, quite sore in my joints and muscles. My arthritis and Fibro M act up near my period. I am starting to feel achy cramps down below also, which I don't think will be very pleasant this time around. Perhaps next month won't be as bad, as I will have healed more. My mood is quite sad. I feel like crying about everything. These are the days that I like to hide from people, so nobody will see me in this state of mind.
Missing haven't heard from you for a while. I know you must be back at work and managing your life again. If you come back on, I just wanted to see how you were getting along and if your stitches have come out yet.
There aren't as many posts these days, I always looked forward to reading everything, but I guess you're all healing up now and don't have the need to post. Hope I can have something to read later.
Good day everyone!

Thankyou rect for your info, your know so much, is better asking you for advice than my doctor, or bladder/bowel specialist, physio. You speak the truth and i like that, i dont want to be laid up for weeks and weeks on end, it 11.15pm and i have just stopped baking macaroons and a madiera cake. I am one of those that likes to keep busy. Thank you for all your useful information. Where did you get it all from though?
Flowers, footle and rect thank you for all your support, you are all so kind. I hope everyone is feeling ok, i have no idea how you are feeling (yet).
Day to day my condition is hard work really, i cant cough, i cant sneeze, i dont ever fully empty my bladder, and as for emptying my bowels, i have to assist myself to be able to, everything just falls down as soon as i try to go to the loo, i have been prescribed suppositries, but they give me terrible tummy ache and i have to have at least 45 mins to myself.
I do not know if i can put of the ops yet as i need to see my cons, roll on august. I would love to be able to go to the toilet without worrying tho (and have sex normally again)so will prob go ahead with them asap.
I am super tired so am going to go to bed now.
Take care all of you. xoxoxox

Footle I agree, it really is nice to poo straight. Unless you have had to deal with a rectocele, one can not understand the sheer joy and amazement we get from this fix. I hope your spirits pick up, I know somewhat of how you feel. I also hope that I will have a sex life again. I really miss my husband in that way so much. Hugs xoxo