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Original poster

Oh dear - I've just self diagnosed a prolapse. Anybody else with experience who can advise me

26 replies

ProlapsedWoman · 04/01/2008 17:34

...sheesh, at the tender age of 39 too (usually they occurr in 'later life' for post menopausal women)

I have a sensation similar to that of a tampon slightly started to dislodge (as if it needs another good shove up to get back in position) and when I inserted a finger to examine what was going on, I can feel a sort of soft fleshy obstruction.

Shit.

I do have some of the risk factors (have googled) - children in quick succession, not having done my pelvic floor exercises!, overweight, and a recent prolonged bout of coughing (over a few weeks)which puts on added strain

Key question - i think this is a pretty mild prolapse currently (not yet all 'hanging out') - is it earlier enough to sort of reverse it with major pelvic floor workouts?

...and can I continue to go running?

OP posts:

belgo · 04/01/2008 17:37

if it's caught early, it can be treated by pelvic floor exercises. What you should do is ask for a referral to a specialised physiotherapist who can teach you to do the exercises very effectively.

Original poster

ProlapsedWoman · 04/01/2008 17:37

OP posts:

Original poster

ProlapsedWoman · 04/01/2008 17:38

Thanks belgo. I think it is early so I will get a referral to a physio.

Everyone take note - do your pelvic floor workouts! In fact I might post a thread to that effect

OP posts:

belgo · 04/01/2008 17:40

yes, and several times a day, every day, for ever! for example, do them while mumsnetting

belgo · 04/01/2008 17:42

I had a friend who had this, and it was treated by physio alone.

jalopy · 04/01/2008 17:46

The trampoline test is a helpful aid to self-diagnosis of prolapse .

Seriously though, hope you're not in too much discomfort and manage to sort out your undercarriage soon.

Original poster

ProlapsedWoman · 04/01/2008 17:47

Treated by physio alone - I hope that's me.

I am now a late convert to pelvic floor exercises.....Am going to set specific time aside to concentrate fully on doing them and record it in a notebook to make sure I do sufficient!

OP posts:

kittywise · 04/01/2008 17:49

Bloody hell, better start squeezing, 6 kids in v quick sucession. Actually I'm amazed it's not fallen out.
But pf exercises are so very boring , ho hum.

Sqeeeeeeeeze.....

Original poster

ProlapsedWoman · 04/01/2008 17:54

Honestly kittywise - joking aside you really must do it. Don't leave it too late!

OP posts:

SpawnChorus · 04/01/2008 17:54

I should probably namechange for this as it's quite grim, but hey ho.

I too self-diagnosed a prolapse with the same symptoms as you. I've also has two large babies in quick succession. The fleshy obstruction was near the entrance of my vagina and I could feel it when bending over and in certain seated positions. It was painless, but increasingly noticeable. One day it was feeling particularly noticeable and I pressed on it through my knickers. There was a distinct popping sensation and a gush of fluid (slightly cloudy and pretty much odourless...like normal discharge really). Anyway the sensation of something at the entrance of my vagina has gone.

In retrospect (and googling) I think it was a cyst. I wonder if yours might be the same?

thegravityofthesituation · 04/01/2008 18:04

Specialist physio very good plan (they might refer you to a gynae first and then via that to the physio after they've seen how mild you are), definitely do pelvic floors but still don't go mad - 3 x a day, 10 of each kind, something like that, and look at wholewoman.com for more ideas about diet, exercise and posture. Am in same situation as you, same age, slightly worse but still mild, and planning to manage it nonsurgically with the exercise etc. for as many years/decades as I can before I let anyone go near me with a knife - have three older rellies with same who had surgery and all relapsed within 5-10 years (and now have less hope of managing it nonsurgically because they've been rearranged a bit inside) - the surgery's really not all it's cut out to be (scuse the pun) - so the exercise and so on is not temporary, it is for life like belgo says! But if it's very mild and you've caught it early you've got a good chance. A warning though: when the 'tampon starting to come out' feeling goes away, you'll find it very hard to remember to do the exercises and so on, until suddenly you have an off day or a cough again and it's back worse than the first time - so try to build exercises into routines so they don't get forgotten when you haven't got the discomfort to prompt you!

PS Don't try skipping with a rope e.g. to demonstrate to a child how it's done - quick way to make it worse! Definitely avoid jumping and be super careful with lifting etc. - avoid it or be doing a pelvic floor each time. (My other half is doing all lifting of dds over Christmas here - I'll have no choice but to do it again when he's back at work but every break from doing it is good IMO.)

Good luck!

Original poster

ProlapsedWoman · 04/01/2008 18:26

i'm seeing a doctor on Monday spawnchorus to confirm diagnosis (so will find out if it is a cyst rather than prolapse)

...thegravity - I'd better not go running then

Sex (don't feel like it right now!) - that can go on as normal?

OP posts:

loopylou6 · 04/01/2008 18:34

hi PW, i ahve a prolapse and im 25 infact it started in my 2nd pregnancy when i was only 21 sex helps i find it sort of pushes it back in although over christmas i had an awful cold, was coughing really bad and now my prolpase is playing up again and i think something else has prolpased to, towards the back area...

crimplene · 04/01/2008 18:58

I've also got a prolape ( or possibly two prolapses - both front and back). Only one middling sized baby and I'm only 32 - but am very overweight. Have also heard that surgery's not that great in the long run and have been trying to remember to do PFEs. I heard somewhere about some kind of electronic PFE thingy that sort of does them automatically and more effectively - I keep menaing to find out about them if anyone know anything?

I want to avoid surgery although I've heard that it has got better since they started using 'tape' thegravityofthesituation - so it might work better than for your relatives, although I'm also worred about things being rearranged by the surgery to the point where surgery is the only option thereafter. The gynae I saw was actually discussing the test match with the nurse while examining me, so there's no way any tosser like that is going near me with a knife. The physio I saw was pretty positive (but long waiting list) - much more so than the gynae and thinks that I could get quite a lot better with PFEs. I want to go running again once I've lost some of this weight as I used to really enjoy it - will look into getting a pessary if the prolapse is the only thing stopping me.

belgo · 04/01/2008 19:02

here is an interesting article

TheBlonde · 04/01/2008 19:05

definitely see a physio - it is possible to do PFE wrong!

loopylou6 · 04/01/2008 19:08

crimplene, can i just ask the symptoms of your "back prolpase" it started for me when i noticed a hard lump "in my lady bits" naturally for me i got scared and the first thing i do when i get scared is go the toilet (just happens like that for me, very handy for constipation lol) anyway i noticed that the lump had mysterioulsy disapeared once id emptied my bowel, this carried on over the years and i came to the conclusion the lumps where actually poo (sorry tmi ) anyway since my recent cough this has got alot worse, does this sound familiar?

belcantavinissima · 04/01/2008 19:08

am doing my pelvic floors now

crimplene · 04/01/2008 19:27

Very much TMI, but if you want to know:

For me things just felt very very re-arranged after DS was born it took me some time to work out what had wound up where but (with the aid of a mirror)I worked out that the thing sagging across the entrance to my fanjo and bulgin out on occasion was the front wall of my vagina. then sometimes there seems to be something bulging from the other side, sort of propping up the front wall so it's didn't hang out all the time - but softer and not so easy to see or feel apart from when I can feel lumps of poo on the other side - so what you describe does sound very like it to me.

Some people have to put their fingers in and push the prolapse back in place to be able to poo. I don't seem to need to and the front wall is better than it was and I can genarally choose when I pee (I didn't have so much choice to begin with) and it doesn't come down to the entrance anymore. So it is a lot better.

loopylou6 · 04/01/2008 19:29

wow crimplene, thanks so much for that, was actually beginning to feel a little worried about this, that sounds exactly what i have and like i say has become worse since coughing, will get squeezing like mad as i really dont wanna have to bare my lumpy bulges to a gp thanks again for sharing, ur a star

Original poster

ProlapsedWoman · 04/01/2008 20:09

crimplene i feel that I have a small cross to bear compared to yours - poor you!

OP posts:

crimplene · 04/01/2008 20:35

Nah! I think it's more a question of getting used to it, maybe like stretchmarks. I was very very upset at first and I get the impression that most women are. I wonder if many choose surgery during the initial freaking out stage? Men don't seem to notice, I don't have an incontinence problem which really would upset me and I'd more or less accepted that I wasn't going to have the genitalia of a 17 year old after I'd given birth anyway. I also have a tear that hasn't quite closed up (probably should have had some stitiches) so things are looking seriously different down there from the way they used to. Sex is fine (or would be if I hadn't just split up with DP )

The bit I don't like is worrying about what will happen in the future when I do hit the menopause - or the thought of any kind of surgery. But otherwise I'm not bothered and I try to talk about it, when appropriate , as it can be a bit like a conspiracy of silence.

Original poster

ProlapsedWoman · 05/01/2008 11:00

You're right about the conspiracy of silence. It is one of those taboo subjects, which is silly when it affects so many women at some stage of their life.

Sorry about your break up with your DP

OP posts:

kittywise · 13/01/2008 11:31

PW what was the news from the doc?
Having posted here I've now decided I might have one too

bamzooki · 13/01/2008 19:19

Just to add some terminology here to aid googling for anyone interested - the bulging of the front wall is called a cystocele, and the one from the rear wall is a rectocele. I know this becasue I have both, in varying degrees!
I have seen a specialist physio who was very good at ensuring I was doing the PFE's correctly ( I wasn't). She also told me about other factors that can exacerbate the condition :-
Lifting, especially babies in car seats. (She was very passionate about car seats being left IN the car)
Being overweight - increases the intra-abdominal pressure in the same way as lifting apparently. (ie this is something you want to reduce)
Breastfeeding can slow the healing process due to hormonal effects on tissue tone, ditto contraception with hormonal elements.
Avoid constipation like the plague and don't spend ages sitting on the loo (ho ho like we get time...)
My mum has just had corrective surgery and that is not something I am about to rush into for sure. My situation is manageable, and would be better if I could remember to do enough of the damn PFE's, lose weight and because I have a mirena coil which I am not about to surrender just yet!!!

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