Pt 7 (Feb13) Any old prolapse! Uterus/womb prolapse, rectocele, cystocele, enterocele, urethrocele, incontinence, pelvic floor, anterior and posterior repair, TVT etc

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

This is thread 7 (again - see below) of a long-running series of posts from ladies suffering from pelvic prolapses to support each other through the process of diagnosis, repair and recovery.

With apologies for confusion in thread numbers - the previous thread was called part 7 but it was actually the 6th thread.

Here are the previous threads:

Thread 1
Thread 2
Thread 3
Thread 4
Thread 5
Thread 6

Info from BBC Health

What is a pelvic prolapse?

As the muscles, ligaments and supporting tissues in the pelvis become weaker, they are less able to hold in the organs of the pelvis such as the womb (uterus) or bladder.

Gravity pulls these organs down and, in the more severe cases, may appear through the entrance to the vagina.

A variety of problems can occur, depending on where the weakness lies and which organs are able to descend, but in every case there is some degree of prolapse of the vaginal wall, which begins to invert (rather like a sock turning inside out).
Prolapse of the womb or uterus is the most common prolapse, affecting as many as one in eight older women to some degree
Prolapse of the bladder, known as a cystocele, is less common.
Prolapse of the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the bladder) is known as a urethrocele.
Prolapse of the intestines is quite rare, and known as an enterocele or rectocele.

Symptoms

Symptoms depend on which tissues descend, and how severe the prolapse is.

They may include:
A sense of heaviness or pressure in the pelvis.
The appearance of a bulge of tissue in the genital area, which can be quite alarming, and is often red and sore.
Urinary problems, such as having to urinate more frequently, feeling the need urgently, being incontinent (losing control of the bladder) or, conversely, being unable to pass urine when you need to.
Pain in the pelvis or lower back.
Sexual problems, including pain and decreased libido.
Constipation.
Vaginal discharge or bleeding.

Treatment and recovery

Once a prolapse has developed, surgery to fix the affected organs is usually the only way to cure it effectively.

However, another option is to use a device known as a vaginal ring pessary. This is rather like a contraceptive diaphragm or cervical cap. It's made of silicone or latex, and placed in the vagina to push back the prolapsed organs and hold them in place. Many women happily manage their prolapse this way.

Hi, Kotinka. It is indeed early days, and it is best to use whatever works for you. I still use the suppositories on occasions, but I think I have piles and they do not help with that :( Movicol does it for me.

I have oats, all bran and kiwi fruit for breakfast. And plenty whole meal things and vegetables the rest of the time. If I can keep to a 'type 4' or 'type 5' on the Bristol Stool scale, things seem to work properly, with a little push (not strain) to get it going. I have to take movicol about once a week to maintain this though.

Have you checked out the michelle kenaway website?

Kotinka - you still need to be getting as much rest (lying down) as possible at 8 days. You probably haven't done any damage but really do need to lay off the chores for a bit longer if you possibly can, especially anything that involves pushing, pulling or lifting. Hope you start feeling a bit better soon.

Good news for me today, just been back for my follow up with the gynae physio (had first appt 2 months ago, which was 4 months post-rectocele repair). My PF is much stronger now and my cystocele has reduced to the extent that it is not apparent at all when lying down. She says provided I keep up my PFEs and general exercise everything should be OK going forward.

Good news, whoknows :)

Kotinka - I second the advice to rest. My physio told me to rest (horizontally) each time I did something and not wait to get tired. I will never forget the desperate need to get horizontal after 20 minutes on the computer, following a shower, 5 days post-op!

Thank you ladies for your feedback on the recovery time. I also wonder, what kind of pain medications have you been on after the operation? Here you get sent home with 2 Tablets x3 per day of paracetamol and some ibuprofen for 3 days. I am thinking it can hurt far more than this. It's also a day operation meaning you go home the same day (if you can pee) here.

I'm going to try to opt for an earlier operation, I know they have some time even if it's summer. I really need to be ok until early september.

Great to hear you are feeling well now WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes!

I was fine with just paracetamol and ibuprofen after the first night Rebels - I stayed in two night because my surgery was in the afternoon and they wanted to keep the packing (a wodge of bandage that they place in the vagina) in for 24 hours, then I had to pee three times before going home. I was in moderate pain while the packing was in and had one dose of tramadol and one of morphine but once the packing was out it was more discomfort than pain. However from this thread I know that some people do suffer with more pain. Our hospital would have sent medication home if needed, but it would have taken longer to organise (several hours). I stocked up with paracetamol, ibuprofen and laxatives at home beforehand.

I had paracetomol and ibuprofen at home.

In hospital, I had oramorph twice the first night and codeine the second night. I came home with codeine, but did not need it. I did not have the vag pack, so wonder if there was more swelling as a result.

I was on regular paracetamol, ibuprofen and tramadol for about 2 weeks. Whilst I was in hospital I also had morphine top ups when I needed them. They dosed me up on morphine to get me through the car journey back home too. Marvellous stuff it is.

Tr0ubled I just wanted to get it over and done with so to speak, that sounds awful doesn't it? So sorry to hear the poo situation is ongoing, but hope the massage helps. 10 weeks after all the procedures you've had done strikes me as still being relatively early days.

rebels I was in for 4 nights after my op, but as edwinbear said I did have quite a few procedures (cystocele, rectocele, entrocele, perenium rebuild and a hemorrhoidectomy!) all done at the same time. I had paracetamol, Diclofenac and Tramadol to take home and 10 weeks on I now take ibuprofen and paracetamol and occasionally a Tramadol too - I have my period at the moment and even the Tramadol isn't enough to numb the pain.
I really wanted morphine whilst in hospital but they never offered it.

Okay, it seems it differs a bit how much pain you're in. I'm really pain-sensitive, I think my fear comes from that. I live with chronic pain from my tailbone which seems to have made me really sensitive to any pain. I will make sure I get some decent pain medications with me home just in case :-)

Doctors are funny, I'm supposed to get rid of my constipation but no doctors want to stop the medications I'm on (which make it worse) but instead I now have 3 differnet kinds of laxatives at the pharmacy to pick out. I'm taking movicol atm and it's going so-so, I think I need to up the dosage.

I'm sory you're in such pain by the way Tr0ubled! How odd that they did not give you morphine in the hospital.

Yes I'm on laxido atm. I got inolaxol and laktulos too to take. I will try two bags of laxido first. :)

[Grin] rofl, indeed!

No - bleeding should gradually stop.

Have you called your doctor's surgery? I would ask for an urgent appt or phone call.