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.

I agree with Kotinka, very little indeed, only the lightest of lifting which didn't include dishwasher loading or baskets of washing. More like picking odd socks up off the floor really. I stuck to the very light stuff as much as poss for about 6 weeks. I was still resting a lot too. It will pass.

Thanks for asking after me :)
I'm trying not to dwell on it all too much, although can be hard not to when I spend 20 minutes at a time on the loo without any success. It gets to the point I'm scared to leave the house as the need to go is there I just can't do it and I'm scared of then being caught short while I'm out, with nowhere to go.

MrsC 2.5 weeks is still very early days to be doing anything. I really held off any sort of housework until 4 weeks and even then it was very light duties. I know it is very frustrating, especially at this stage when you no longer feel like you should be lying in bed all day, but you'll be amazed how quickly the time passes. Before you know it everyone expects you to resume all normal activities and you'll wish you'd spent more time relaxing when you could!

dahlia that is my only positive at the moment - visually I'm looking way better than before the op, almost virginal!

Hi thanks for the advice, I think I did overdo it yesterday. I just find it hard with a 2 year and a 4 year old, there are always so many jobs to do. My mum is here now so hopefully that will make things a bit easier, I could tell my DH was getting a bit fed up.

Hey ladies, sending healing thoughts your way.

Can I ask if any of you have been told your weight has contributed/made it worse? Mine has got worse as my weight has gone up.

Hi, I have not been told anything about my weight by a doctor but in the leaflets they give you it says to help make the operation a success try to maintain a healthy weight. I just about fall into a normal bmi. I noticed mine got a lot worse over the course of a year but put this down to having a toddler who I was lifting into a cot, highchair, car seat etc. Luckily now he is almost 3 and can do those things himself.

Love - I was told (by a considerable higher BMI than me surgeon by the looks of him) that maintaining a healthy weight was a good idea tp maximise the long term chances of the repair holding. I am 2-3 stone overweight and trying to shift the pounds. OTOH, my gynae physio told me (after I had my repair) that it is better to lose the weight before surgery because losing lots afterwards can alter the layout down there too and mean that the repair isn't optimised for your new body shape.

So very sorry to read your update troubled, thinking of you x

Loving the idea of a PFE App whoknows that is just brilliant!

Loves my cons advised maintaining a healthy weight, doing pfe's and other good behaviours to look after the repairs and the weight one was top of the list. I agree though that this damage can be there regardless of weight. I had large prolapses and have a bmi of 24 which could be better but was def not the cause. It does make me more aware of keeping an eye on my weight because I don't want the repairs to fail.

Feeling low and can't seem to snap out of it somebody give me a slap

I can give you a hug ((())) and a smile :)

Hi, thanks for the concern kotinka. I didn't get much of a chance to rest yesterday as my eldest was off school ill so had both of them at home all day and even though my mum was here she can't look after them and look after the house aswell. But I have managed to get my 2 year old into an extra session at pre school each week till the end of term which will help out and my eldest is back at school today.

bladderama really sorry to hear you are feeling low, big hugs xxx

I am starting to feel a bit concerned things might not have worked as well as they could have. The bulge has definitely gone but I am still getting up once or twice in the night to go to the toilet, going lots in the day and when I feel like I need a BM, I feel like I need it straightaway and I'm starting to worry what will happen when I have to do the school run. When I drop my DS off at school, then my other DS at pre school I am out of the house for almost an hour. Do you think this is something that will settle down over the next few weeks?

Hi, I'm so glad to hear it's gone for you!

My eldest is back at school today, I'm a bit worried about him though, they said he had blood in his urine at school, we took him to the doctors and he gave him some antibiotics but he has had lots of infections this year so he has got to go and have a scan on his kidneys in a couple of weeks to check they're okay.

He isn't actually much trouble now, he loves his lego and spends most of the day playing with that but my youngest spends most of his day saying "I want a cuddle" and is still quite needy. But I'm having a nice rest this morning as everyone is out of the house!

Hope DS's scan goes well MrsC. I'm in hospital with my DS today, he broke his arm at half term and is having to have it pinned this afternoon, we have spent hours in and out of the fracture clinic, x-rays etc the last couple of weeks. It's 7 months since I was in here for my rectocele repair, was hoping not to see the place again for a longer time than that.

Ah poor thing, it's so horrible when your kids are ill. I told the doctor that my mum, my aunt and my grandad all had kidney stones and apparently you can try to prevent getting them these days by changing your diet. He didn't add any more details but I'm not looking forward to that as my DS1 is quite fussy.

I think it's quite fascinating these days with all the work they have done on genes and they are finding that more and more things run in families. I would have loved to have a daughter but I suppose one of the things with having boys is they won't have to suffer through childbirth and all the problems that seems to bring!!

He came round in a lot of pain an hour ago, but has been dosed up with painkillers and is snoozing now. This is more traumatic than my op was! I agree about the genetics MrsC, I'm studying the subject as part of an OU degree at the moment and it's fascinating.

Hi how is everyone? It's all gone quiet! I am looking forward to the weekend when my dh will be around. It has been quite hard this week to get as much rest as I need to, for anyone lurking who has got small children and is considering the op I would say only do it if you have got lots of help.
We are slightly nervously waiting to see if my 2 year old is going to get chicken pox, its 2 weeks today since he spent time playing with my next door neighbour's girl who came out in spots 2 days later. Plus it is also going round at his pre school!
Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Thank you for the hugs it does really help knowing that there are people out there that understand x

Kotinka I am nearly six months post op for the second one and still amazed at the results and improvements never mind the relief.

Whoknows so sorry to hear about your DS and hope that both he and you are recovering x

MrsClaret hope that your little one doesn't come down with the chicken pox and that you are starting to feel better.

Hi All

Not been on for ages, but as I have now been seen by the very unfriendly colorectal consultant I thought I would post an update. The consultant does not think I have a full rectal prolapse, which I think is good, she thinks it is the lining coming down and that I will need the Starr procedure!!!! Have googled it, it does not look nice. But anyway I have been booked in for a protogram next month and I already can not sleep over the awfulness of having to have it done :-(

Troubled - I feel for you, I knew my operation had not solved my problems on my 3rd BM, and I remember just sitting and crying. But I hope you are feeling better and that the consultants can sort you out.

Have not read through all the posts, but thanks for the kind words about my son.

Take care all, will try to pop on more often and keep up this time.

Morning everyone :) I'm confused about rest.. It was 3 weeks yesterday since the op... I'm sure in the literature it said 2 weeks not driving which I did avoid... But since week one, I've been doing dishwasher, washing machine, even the odd lift of washing basket, since week 2 popping in tescos for 4 pint milk etc... Last week had period or at least I think it was, and the yesterday started to bleed again after a 5 day break... This isn't normal for me period wise... Does it sound normal to you? So I phoned the harley nurse who suggested I can start taking shorth baths without any bubble bath etc, so I squirted in the antibacterial body wash I had... Today I've cancelled the haircut I was going to do as I'm finding it hard standing for an hour, and I'm laying in bed... If it said mostly chair/bed rest for x amount of weeks that's what I would have done... Thanks in advance for any rest advice x

It sounds to me like you have been doing a bit too much. The nurse did say to me you might get more bleeding at 2 weeks and that was normal, I think it was something to do with the stitches? I have been finding it hard to not do stuff aswell as I have got a 2 year old. It said in the leaflet they gave me no driving for 4-6 weeks, no vacuuming or ironing for 6 weeks, lifting children and pushing trolleys should be avoided for 4-6 weeks.

I will be 4 weeks post op on thursday and from monday next week will be on my own with my 2 DCs which I am a bit worried about. I have lined up help with the school run for every day but if I want my 2 year old to go to pre school I will have to drive him. I am not really in pain anymore so am slowly doing more but will then sometimes have to go and have a nap. I would say definitely try to avoid anymore lifting for a couple more weeks, the 2 times I have put on a load of washing myself I carried it in small piles so I wasn't having to lift the whole lot at the same time. I read somewhere that 25-30% of women develop another prolapse at some point in the future and I think the advice about lifting etc is to try and prevent this.