Retrocele/Posterior repair - Desperate - How can I get one?

[Nannasylv]

I'm 55, and this problem has been worsening for the last 20 years. It was diagnosed as Retrocele (by a colorectal surgeon) last week, - one of many appointments I have attended over the years. He told me the cause, then said he didn't need to see me again, just use Glycerine suppositories/digital/manual evacuation, daily. I suffer constant pain (back, buttocks, thighs), embarrassment (some incontinence, which I work at keeping to a minimum), very limited social life, no sex life, exhaustion, and it's making me very depressed. Should I complain, re: quality of life effects, or do I just have to put up with it?

Thank you, Footle, I was beginning to think I was getting it wrong, not them! I feel like it's now ruling nearly every aspect of my life.

It is a pretty crap timing for you Nannasylv.

You may already be aware, but there has already been one poster with a similar problem today, and they had their thread pulled. Turned out to be troll.

What is a "troll"?

Somebody who invent a story or problem for their own amusement/gratification.

Usually a sad individual who needs real life help and support, possibly a mental health worker.

My problem is genuine, and I posted on this site, because it is something I have discovered happens to many women, as a result, sometimes, of childbirth, and, therefore, I thought I may be able to find answers here. I got fobbed off by a colorectal surgeon, last week, on Tuesday. If anyone can offer me genuine advice, it would be much appreciated. I am in considerable pain, and resent your implication QuintessentialShadow.

I didn't read QS' post as implying that you were a troll, though. I think she was pointing out - quite genuinely - that it is bad timing for you as, after the other thread, you will likely get fewer replies than you might at another time.

I don't know anything about this condition but it sounds ghastly. I am surprised that the surgeon sent you away, though. Go for the gynae option as Footie suggested.

Good luck.

Please don't jump on quintessentialshadow. There has been someone trolling this board pretending to have bum-and-bowel related problems (you'll hear the person referred to as "the poo troll") and had a lot of people concerned about them and taking a lot of time to post and help. This is the third thread today started on this subject. I was painfully caught up in it by innocently posting a meant-to-be lighthearted thread on a similar problem and caught it in the neck but good. It hurts to be accused of trolling when you're genuine, however, MN has suffered a lot from trolls in the past, several of them quite malicious. So a lot of posters are understandably gun-shy at the moment when they see yet another person with a very short posting history start a thread on a subject that has been extensively trolled.

Let me steer you in the direction of this thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/777985-Continued-support-for-SPHINCTER-INJURIES-FISTULAE-and-other-CHILDBIRTH-INJURIES. It is a long-running support thread for this kind of issue, with any number of posters who have suffered similarly and are in a good position to offer advice. I post on it when I can, and everyone on the thread is lovely.

Strange how many doctors seem to be unhelpful concerning this condition...

A gynae told me that if you're having to insert your fingers to stabilise it enough to help you poo then surgery is the only option. Get a second opinion.

(still wondering why the other poster on tge other thread would troll about poo - beyond weird!)

Sorry, I did not mean to come across as unsympathetic to your condition, and I did not think you were not genuine. I honestly just wanted to let you know it was bad timing just a few hours after the other threads that got pulled. I meant to come back to the thread to suggest you post again in a day or two, when people are not so caught up in the troll saga. Lots of people posted genuine experiences and were very sympathetic, only to realize it was not real.

Quintessential, I am sorry that I misinterpreted your reply, I was in a lot of pain, at the time, and just desperate for help. I was so relieved that someone has said I can push for surgical repair, and have booked yet another appointment with my GP, on Tuesday. Last week's appointment WAS a second opinion, in this spell of pursuing it again, (the earlier ones, since 1996, kept saying there was nothing wrong! The previous specialist just said "your bowel doesn't work properly (which is why I asked to be referred in the first place!), take Movicol every day", which just rendered me incontinent! I can't believe I have been left so long with this problem. It's impossible to have a sex life, as fear of embarrassing moments takes away the pleasure of the moment, not to mention that my H is afraid of making things worse. Just getting through each day is, at least, uncomfortable, and, frequently, downright painful. I feel exhausted much of the time, and have become depressed, and frustrated (in more ways than one!). I just want to be fixed, and able to work, socialise, and do all the things a fit 55 year old can do. Thanks to everyone who replied. I hope that my GP will be able to push a surgeon somewhere, ANYWHERE, to fix this. I need a life that is not entirely based on the availability of my toilet (you can't do what they have instructed away from the privacy of your own home!).

Hi NANNASYLV. Ive got that problem 2. Im seeing a gynie and colorectal consultant. Yor Gp shouldnt of accepted that!!!! Go back and be re-referred to c another consultant and u need a gynie. Get A 2ND OPINION- YOR INTITLED 2 IT. my c.consultant said i mite need surgery as the bowel can fold back on its self. Im now goin 2 kettering hospital, he is lovely. Going back end of January, as i had a proctogram test done in London and hes waiting on results. They will already know about yor quality of life and in my experience i was bangin my head against the wall! I tried laxatives, orally taken i had the runs and the g. surpossitries made the bowels slow down and i was in alot of discomfort and i paid out for a private irrigation and its helped loads with the constipation, but the evacuation problem remains. Ive been like this 4 3long suffering yrs b4 i found the rite gp and consultant-- theres a lot of cowboys out there!!!!!! Please please dont accept it. Ive been through hell, i even OD, it seemed i was never going to get it the rite treatment. But im here and now i know im on the rite track. Good luck and let us know how u get on

Thank you, WHIFFY, your reply gave me hope. I saw my GP again yesterday. He's referring me to a Gynae surgeon, in the hope I will get the right treatment. I was so grateful that he prescribed the Anusol (despite the colorectal surgeon's advice) as it eases the pain loads. My normal waste is not a problem, so constipation is not really the issue, it is the stuff coming from an offshoot of my bowel, which is very hard, and sharp, like gravel, which is the issue, and that's been going on for over a year! The colorectal surgeon said he thinks it is just a small Rectocele, but the trainee doctors I spoke to yesterday (with my GP), thought it sounded like a Fistula, possibly branching off the "small rectocele" he had identified. If anyone out there can offer guidance/advice, my ears are VERY open. I had 5 bad days, to 2 reasonable ones, last week, and felt like there is no point living? (more like just existing) as it is now!

I forgot to say that when I asked the colorectal surgeon why they hadn't done the test which shows dye/gas in the bowel, on screen (I don't know what it's called), he said they only use this if they think it might be cancer, or something serious. However, I don't see how they can know if a rectocele/enterocele/ fistula is present without this, or why they think this is not a serious condition? Can anyone enlighten me?