Pt 8 (Oct13) Any old prolapse! Uterus/womb prolapse, rectocele, cystocele, enterocele, urethrocele, incontinence, pelvic floor, anterior and posterior repair, TVT etc (994 Posts)

[gottagetthroughthis]

Welcome to thread 8 (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 - an earlier 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
Thread 7
Thread 8

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 haven't posted for a while. My gp diagnosed a "half" prolapse. I didn't have much discomfort, but was struggling with tampons. However recently my diet has been quite poor and I've been a bit constipated. Tonight when I was wiping after a wee it felt different and I realised there was a "lump" at the entrance I think it's my cervix! Not knowing much about prolapses, is this the next stage? My gp referred me for physio and my first appointment is 21st july. Is there still a chance that will help? Should I go back to my gp first?

Forgot to ask, how do you all deal with constipation? What sort of things do you eat? Is heavy lifting (basket full of wet washing for example) likely to make a prolapse worse (my gp gave no advice)?

noordinarygirl thanks for the info. So glad things are going well for you.
My surgeon is NHS old school and although he does do laproscopic work he does sacrocolpopexy as open surgery (laparotomy?). Probably always done it this way and no practice doing it Laproscopically LOL.
He has been doing this type of surgery for over 20 years is very confident and made it sound on par with having my toenails cut. Hmmm...
Will pm you if I think of any questions etc. thanks again

Izzy so upsetting for you being messed around like that . Really hope you get a new date soon. Might be worth giving your surgeons secretary a call to make sure she knows what happened to you and to make her aware you are available at short notice. My op is still 25th of this month at the mo. I have to ring the day before to check it has not been cancelled due to urgent cases taking precedent LOL. With NHS no guarantees- been sent home on the day once !. If it does go ahead will report back in case you have any questions etc. Is your surgery open or Laproscopic?

kazza sound like your prolapse has got worse. They usually do IME.
Your gp will probably still want you to try physio but do tell physio about the change. If it was me I would visit GP again and report the change. When my prolapse worsened 2 years ago I thought it was my cervix at the entrance and it was in fact my bladder. I had rectal, bladder and uterus prolapse but bladder was the worst. x

Thanks for your reply Jessandme. I told dh last night and he wants me to ring my gp tomorrow.

I feel like I've lost my femininity I feel old. I'm nearly 50, but I didn't expect my body to have so many problems so early.

jess the Secretary has been made aware. I ended up being on the wrong surgeons list a D I was thinking happy to let a surgeon I'd never met operate on me. In fact it was down as a registrar doing the surgery with this other surgeon supervising. No thanks! Mines is open surgery too. My surgeon feels that she can access things for the mesh insertion easier by doing it open. She explained everything very well and I'm happy with her. She did say if I preferred a laproscopic approach she could get someone else to do it as she prefers to work open.

no ordinary good to 'hear' from you. I remember you from the thread a whole ago. Glad things went well for you. I'm nervous about the mesh but I do think for my circumstances and history it's the best idea.

Izzy Looks like our surgery is very similar. After my 1st surgery two years ago surgeon said mesh would be best option if it failed. Agree for both of us mesh is a risk worth taking

kazza think your DH is right. Perhaps ask your GP for a referral to get a proper diagnosis and discuss options with a consultant. Physio is good even if you go surgery route eventually. Physio before and after will strenghten your pelvic floor, probably not a cure but will help.
I unusually never had constipation issues. I was giving movicol for a few weeks pre and post surgery. Sure someone will be along with advice though x
As for lifting, probably will make it get worse more quickly. I carried on as normal as far as possible pre-surgery as there are so many post surgery restrictions. If I had decided not to have surgery would not have picked up heavy things if I could possibly have avoided it. x

Thank you I don't exercise apart from walking my dog and also in my lunchbreak, I presume walking is ok?

I have suffered with ibs and constipation for years and years. If I'm very careful with my diet I'm ok, but I have to be careful what I eat. I don't want to take anything to help me go in case it causes stomach cramps.

For the last couple of years I've had a lot of irregular bleeding which has meant I rarely had sex with dh. That stopped 6 weeks ago, but now I don't feel like dtd again due to my prolapse

jess yes it does sound like we'll be having similar. Will be good to 'know' someone else going through it at roughly the same time. I just want my op date through so I can organise stuff. I've got 2 children and will need to organise help for them

Just popping back after a long absence from the threads. I had a rectocele repair without mesh in Sept 12 and have an unrepaired cystocele which doesn't cause any problems. So far, it is all holding up well, I occasionally get a bit of acheyness in my groins if I've been on my feet all day which may be related to the prolapses but otherwise fine.

I have spent many hours on the internet with this condition and have found that there is so much you can do to help yourself with posture and exercise, also lifting correctly etc. I do pilates and a pelvic floor health exercise DVD called Hab-it and have a much stronger core and PF than I've ever had before, I now find I use all the right muscles out of habit during my day to day activity and it makes me much more confident my repair will last.

I haven't read right through the thread, but thought I would pop back as a long termer, I had so much help from these threads a couple of years ago and still think about prolapses a lot!

Hi all I know this thread is from March but am finding navigating this site so hard!! People tell me which threads to join but I just can't find them grrrrr.
All I'm after is a little advice.
Quick back story, had first child 18 months ago, barbaric forceps delivery. Left me with prolapsed bowel, bladder and I suspect uterus although they kept saying that was fine! (I could feel my cervix very low down)
Anyway a year of physio and multiple consultant appts.
Finally told only surgery would fix it.
Had posterior and anterior repair 12 days ago.
Right, I'm wondering A) is it normal for large stitches to come out after only 9 days?
B) is it normal to still have the "something coming out" feeling when standing like I had before the op, 12 days after?
C) when I cough or sneeze the movement in my pelvic floor feels just the same as before the op.
And lastly (if tmi I apologise) I have had diarrhoea ever since I came home 9 days ago.
I'm only 38 and am terrified it's failed as it was ruining my life.
Any advice would be great.

Hello imp sorry you've had to find us. I'm not sure what to say. Unfortunately my surgery for cystocele failed very quickly. However I've read many of these threads and wouldn't be too concerned. You'll still be very swollen and things will feel odd for a while I'd think. Try not to worry until you know you have something to worry about. Easier said than done!

Hi impala I had a rectocele repair back in December. I had one stitch come away early on, spoke to Dr she said it all looked fine. I got that dragging sensation too, I think it's due to all the swelling. Did you have perineum repair. As the swelling went down from this my stitches felt as if they were pulling.
Are you taking anything for your bowel movements?this can cause loose motions. My consultant said at this stage it's best to have very loose bowel movements as it helps to avoid too much straining and pushing. Hope your recovery goes well :0)

Thanks for the replies, Yes I had my perineum rebuild (that's how it was described) things I've read say that it's very rare to have a bowel and bladder prolapse without a uterine prolapse, i'm worried that now the lumps are gone perhaps my uterus has fallen further down and thats what I can feel.
Would the surgeon have checked for that? She didn't tell me much afterwards and I was still a bit out of it. I wanted a hysterectomy (I've done having kids and my periods are awful) but I was told I was much too young!! I'm 38 not 18.

Also forgot to say I was taking lactolose but have stopped it in case it's making the diarrhoea worse.

impala My initial surgery was for bladder prolapse only. Surgeon told me my uterus has dropped too on the morning after surgery. I was painkillered up so didn't ask any questions. In my case the uterus has then pulled bladder back down and caused a rectocele. However that's just my own experience. I was 29 at that surgery and at my 6 week post op appt told I needed a hysterectomy. I decided to seek a 2nd opinion as that felt drastic and didn't address bladder or bowel prolapse. I'm now waiting on further surgery. Hope you're feeling better now.

Hello all,
I've posted a couple of times, but am now post-op so thought I would update in case it is helpful to anyone. I had a marked uterine prolapse and mild to moderate bladder prolapse. I've had a laparoscopic mesh sacrohysteropexy (mesh from cervix to bottom of spine, no hysterectomy) and an anterior repair.

Its early days (11 days post-op), but so far so good. Excellent consultant in Herts and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed it all keeps going well. I'm busy reading up on aftercare and using the websites pelvicexercises.au and hab-it and have brought an ebook on pelvic floor by Sue Croft- Pelvic Floor Recovery Essentials, so hopefully I can minimise recurrence!
Good luck all,
Kate

Hi everyone,
Kate thanks for that encouraging post. Glad things are going well.
I have surgery tomorrow open Sacrocolpopexy. Scared but the posts on here have helped to calm me. Thanks to you all x

Good luck jess I hopefully shouldn't be too far behind you. After an NHS mix up I'm back on wishing list. All the best.

jess good luck will be thinkin bout you xxx

Home now girls. All went well. Don't worry izzy its not too bad. Tired and feeling a bit like Ive been kicked by a mule but painkillers are working and well worth it if it worksx

How long did you stay in jess? Did you have hysterectomy as well?

I just wanted to throw a question/ make a point here.
I had a repair almost 25 years ago after DC2.

I would love to be able to run and do more exercise, but after a mini scare when I thought everything was descending again, the physio said no high impact exercise- so that rules out anything other than brisk walking.

I see women with 3 and 4 kids running marathons- or at least 10K runs- and just wonder why our PF are so different that they can do this and not suffer and effects yet if I did it would all start to fall apart.