anyone had posterior repair/ rectocele repair

[flourybaps]

Hi, got to have surgery at the end of the month, rectocele repair and posterior repair. Have done a search in the archives but found very little about this prob.......

surely I cant be the only person with this problem? Anyone out there? Just wanted to know a little about the recovery. I have an 8 month old dd to look after so im a bit concerened as my Dr said avoid lifting, well thats easier said than done!

Hi Kazimodo, Thanks for your reply. Really hoping it works for me as well! What dosage of lactulose do you take and did you start taking before your op?

Thanks again

Thanks Meg and Alexandra. I didn't take lactulose until after surgery but prior to op I was taking senna daily to help me go anyway. I take 10 mls morning and night and no senna.

Hi from Australia. This seems the most informative website yet, even though my kids (youngest 16) are not an issue! After years of incontinence and cystitis, no sex for 2 years, I finally had TVT plus anterior and posterior repair two weeks ago today. Four days in hospital, trouble using bladder after catheter out on day 3, OK by day 4. BM a problem until enema: I was prescribed pear juice to follow up and wish I'd known that it could all be so easy as a cup of pear juice a day when I was pregnant!

Problem: I still cannot stand or sit for very long without sudden onset of jabbing pains in and beside my vagina. It's like a needle and takes my breath away. It is usually preceded by a feeling of heaviness in the whole genital area, as if it's all going to fall down again. This then generates fresh red blood spots, but no heavy bleeding. When I lie down for a while, there is no pain or pressure: then I get up, and it all starts again. I am usually very active but am spending most of my time lying down. Can someone please tell me that this will go away?

Hi all
found this thread before I had a 'large rectocele' posterior repair on the 11th March.
I've learnt more from this thread than anything else.

Mainly lying in bed, not doing much of anything since the operation, but Gilligan - are your pains do to with needing a bm / emptying your bladder? I am finding a sensation of 'fullness' that is quite extreme before I poo / wee - maybe that's what it is?

I have to say - the worst thing about my op was the constipation. Excuse my language, but what the F*CK did they give me codeine for - opiates can constipate. PLEASE PLEASE do not have any codeine for pain relief if you have this op. It took me three days to have a bm after I came home - making five days in total - I lost 2lbs straight off and I thought i was going to rupture all the work - that is the worst aspect.
Don't worry about being tired, all of you - it's very usual I think and every day is getting a little bit better!

Hi all. Just a mini update.
I have got my pre-op tomorrow although I still do not have a date.
Apparently the consultant I originally saw in Feb has left and I am being reassigned. I said I was happy to have a cancellation and do not mind which consultant does it.

I have been told to have pre op tomorrow then phone the admissions lady on the 31st so we shall see.
I have a holiday looming at the end of May so the sooner I get this done the better or I will have to postpose till after which would be awful as I am in such a lot of discomfort.

Thank you Kazimodo. Im not taking anything at the moment cause im not really constipated in a medical sort of sense. Just in a rectocele sense! If that actually makes sense! Lol

Hi Gilligan, A glass of Pear juice. havnt heard of that one. might stock up on it if you think its good.

Hi MegGriffin. I too have my pre-op tomorrow, but do have a date of 28th. x

Thanks for the feedback, Pinski. Ditto on the constipation post-op - I am still worried that I did damage by straining. I have no idea if I had codeine - it was a bit of a blur; I do remember though having a morphine injection with the nurse saying that they avoid pethidine after this op. At that time, I didn't care! I guess I try to do too much, but sometimes (as others have shown here) there is no choice. My stressed-out pre-exam 16yo is madly trying to finish an essay before going to school, so that left me to clean up cat vomit and then mop the floor - ouch, that hurt!

Alexandra, the pear juice apparently works for almost everyone, although I seem quite sensitive to it and have had to cut down to 1/2 cup a day.

For those about to have the op, for all of this discomfort I must say that I am realising more every day that I was living like an animal before it. My genitals no longer reek of urine, and my haemorroids have disappeared. I am a university lecturer (who can't spell haemorroid). I was scared of the op and only went to the specialist after I had a full bladder accident in front of students. My husband gave up on sex years ago after it just meant changing the sheets each time, and I was so humilated by this all. Now I can't understand why I ever let it go to that point. Good luck with your ops. I will keep watching the site. :)

Good luck with your ops ladies.

I'm due a smear test. Been putting it off. Know they've seen it all before, but worried that if I haven't been to the loo for a few days that my rectocele bulge will get in the way. :(

Mrs Bonkers, I avoided smear tests for years for much the same reason, but had other bulges as well so was extra sensitive. I actually refused to let my GP examine me and she referred me on just based on my account of what had been happening to me! When I finally got to the specialist, he still had to persuade me that he'd seen all sorts of things before I let him examine me. When he did so, his eyes filled with tears. He said 'oh, sweetheart, you must have been through hell. We can fix this'. With those words, I let years of humiliation go. If your specialist is empathetic and you have heard good things about them, then give them your trust - and have the smear without regret.

Hi all
Well, I 'went under' two weeks tomorrow - and I think that all in all, I am doing pretty well. My bowels have really regulated themselves and i have noticed that my bladder function is much better - I think I had a sensitive bladder before hand - I now go MUCH less and there's much more of it - quite a result as I'm a teacher so can't be nipping to the toilet every five minutes.

One question I do have - wasn't given any post op guidelines - has anybody else been doing, what I guess what must be, Kegel exercises? Otherwise I'm not sure how else I will tone up my internal muscles? Advice would be good.

I can only echo Gilligans comments - I am so happy I had this done. I am getting more energy every day and using a mirror, I can see that I am SO much 'tidier' now than I used to be. Apparently I had a 'large' rectocele and considering the amount of surgery I had done, I'm feeling very well and fit. Please don't hesitate to get yourselves seen to - just make sure you do the research beforehand so that you know what questions to ask!

Well, here's the problem.
I have been aware that the wall of my vagina at the back is "a bit thin" since I was teenager, I have since had two kids and a fairly long pushing stage with the second one. I have had problems opening my bowels, having to use a finger to push down the bulge in my vagina for many years. I now realise that my vagina dosen't close properly, there is a bit of the back vaginal wall visable and this bulges when I go for a poo.

Anyway I have had vaginal soreness since August last year. I did see the nurse at the surgery because I thought it was thrush, but the usual treatment wasn't working. She did a swab and the result came back clear. Anyway I have been too embarrassed to go back since. I am now wondering if these problems are linked.

Reading these posts has inspired me to do something but I am mortified to go back and suggest that this could be a rectocele, could the soreness be linked. Has anyone else had this problem?? - and how do you get over the embarrassment of saying what the problem is??

I think once I realised that rectocele was a 'proper' medical thing and not just me having a weird body it was easier to go to the doctor. Also I found researching it helped me concisely put into words what the problem was otherwise I might have just looked at the floor and mumbled something about not being able to poo properly.

Obviously coming on here and realising I wasn't the only one was a massive help too.

Gilligan thanks for the support I will be brave and book for a smear.

Dear Low Maintenance
I really don't wish to offend, but you shouldn't get embarrassed about this? A long time ago (as I remember, a doctor was fumbling around whilst I was flat on my back, having a smear....) I just came to the realisation -to the medical profession, we are just pieces of meat - really, we are! By the time they get to the stage where they are diagnosing, investigating, doing an internal etc.. they have seen SO many women with different bodies, lumpy bits, problems - whatever... I just don't think that they find it weird - probably vaguely interesting and worth sorting out from a Hippocratic point of view!
I just wouldn't be embarrassed about it - and I tell you something else - EVERY time I have dealt with a doctor or nurse, being clear about what I want, able to use correct terminology and sound like i've got half a brain has always seen me right .... they seem to step up their game and talk properly and treat me more as an equal, not just some woman who has surrendered her body to childbearing and left her bloody brain back on the tracks somewhere!
It's their chosen job to help you - you are NOT weird for having some kind of difficulty - get the help you deserve, m'dear...xxxxx

I'm at 2 weeks and 5 days post op, and went backwards the last couple of days. I went to the shops with my husband, and he wandered off, and I suddenly felt like fainting. A workmate came past just as i was grabbing at something to hang on to, and looked after me. I had been feeling fairly good up till then. Since then, I am really tired, get dizzy standing up for more than 10 mins, hence have been back to bed and not checking email or anything. I found last night that I have a black thread hanging from my vagina. I gave it a little pull but it's attached to something and didn't budge. I'm hoping it will go away - I had a stitch abscess years ago anbd they're not nice! Anyone else had this thread hanging?

Pinski, I agree re dealing with nurses etc. As a social scientist, I have taught nurses how to treat patients for some time. Sometimes I wonder if any of them remember anything after their training: all loud voices all night in hospital when I was there, bright lights etc, speaking to me like I was a jellyfish - well, for a while. It is a pity to have to change how we act just to get some respect, but after years of dealing with students and bureaucracies, I have learned to put mousey-me away at times like this and act like I have authority. People respond immediately: so Low Maintenance, put on your imaginery Dr's coat, stay calm and state the problem - then show that you are expecting a useful answer.

I deeply sympathise with anyone going through pelvic floor probs. I'm 2 weeks post op now and have found the thread really interesting. Bowel emptying is SUCH a big problem both before and after surgery. One site I found really helpful is www.integraltheory.org

Petros takes a different approach to understanding the problems of the femail pelvic floor.
One tip I'll pass on is the Levator Plate brace to ease bowel emptying. I managed my Rectocele (post hysterectomy 18 years ago) till I developed an Enterocele and succumbed to the surgeon.. The brace consists of placing yourself so that the skin between your tailbone and Anus is in contact with the back rim of the toilet seat, you can then press on the perineum with a pad of toilet paper whilst you empty your bowel and avoid having to "fish around" inside to press on the rectocele and risk stretching to the delicate supporting tissues. It's been explained to me by a Perineaologist [new branch of medical care, only recently established dealing with male and female pelvic floor probs ] that pressure applied this way directs the opening forces in the right direction to push out a bowel movement whilst reducing straining. I'd also recommend Docusate (Dioctyl) over other bowel meds as it pulls fluid into the poo without reducing its bulk, reduces soiling and makes it easier to completely empty your lower bowel SO much more comfortable, without the looseness of Movicol or irritation of Lactulose, and you can buy it over the counter or get it prescribed
Best wishes to all :-D

Gilligan - how are you doing? I'm now 2 weeks plus 2 days and feeling good, although I do get very tired. I am hoping to drive next Friday - just a very short trip into the villlage to the garden recycling, whilst husband unloads and dumps all the garden rubbish! That'll be me driving at exactly three weeks - there's no traffic where we live anyway, so should be safe enough as a test drive - plus once or twice up and down the lane beforehand to see how I feel...

What's with the black thread? I have had one of the stitches on the perineum come away, one is still left (oooh, I thought I had threadworm, the itching I was suffering, ack!!!) but they are white. I am SO NEAT down there now i can barely believe it.

What caused your dizziness - do you think you just overdid it and put your body through too much? How are you feeling now?
xx

Hello everyone - this page is wonderful and really helpful!

I am 3 weeks post rectocele and perineal repair and things are getting easier by the day - but it was very difficult in the first wk - as things were so painful, and I could feel every stitch pulling.

I have a few questions which I hope someone will know the answers to. I am concerned that I am still bleeding post op, 3 wks seems a long time to me - is this normal? also when are you meant to start exercise the pelvic floor muscles - they didn't mention this on my discharge from hospital. I have tried - but I can barely do anything. Not sure whether to stop and leave it till I am more healed or to keep trying. And lastly - when are the stitches meant to come away?
Thanks

Suzy... I think I have two exterior stitches, right on the perineum. One came away bang at two weeks post op - other is still there. I don't know if i have any inside me.
I stopped bleeding after about a week. I seem to have a lot of totally 'bland' discharge though, I guess this is from the healing. I am not sure that you should be getting bleeding still? My consultant doesn't see women (unless something is wrong) until 6 weeks (you could DIE in that time LOL!) but I know that he expects bleeding to stop by about two weeks in - for my operation. Depends how extreme your rectocele and p. repair were?... Can you not phone the ward that you were staying on for a bit of advice? The staff nurses could maybe advise?

I have started pf exercises. I didn't even have any strong control over anal or vaginal muscles for the first, ohhhhh, 7/10 days? But now I do and can do a 'proper' bowel movement - I'd forgotten how straightforward it was - but I don't know whether yours is 'normal' for three weeks post op? I think you could do with talking to somebody - iIwy I'd phone your GP or womens' health ward where you spent recovery post-op and ask their advice - it's easier that way - and that's what they're there for as well! fwiw I do think I'm recovering very well, although I did pull muscles yesterday deep inside when I sneezed whilst reaching up to change a clock time!!!

You make that phone call and put your mind at rest.
Good luck
x

Just had tvt procedure and posterier repair. The repair was supposed to be an add-on, ie the tvt was what needed doing, and the repair was at my request but when the surgeon went in, he found lots more damage than expected (he said something about a large chunk of muscle that had been cut, assume this was 8 years ago when had horrendous birth) and so he spent an extra hour fixing that as well. I will have to get proper details when I see him in 6 weeks, when we spoke I was off my head on lots of lovely drugs. Op was Thursday so am 4 days post op.
I am keen to learn from anyone what to do, not to do. Had suppositories 2 days post op (explosions followd but I lived, sorry TMI) so not yet had a proper BM, and am regretting all the codeine and morphine of the last 5 days, but cant imagine giving up my painkillers as it hurts, quite a lot. Apart from giving up the codeine, is there any thing else I need to do /not do, so that I don't accidentally ruin all that good stitching? I am looking forward to not peeing myself, and to enjoying sex again, so am quite positive about these ops, despite the discomfort, but am scared I will do something daft in ignorance.
Thanks

Hi Pinski -
I have loads of stitches still, 2 exterior and the whole length of the vagina and lateral walls- and none of them have come away yet. I had a large rectocele as the result of large babies and long deliveries! and my Dr said they has to repair a lot more than they originally though. The opp itself went well, but my recovery has been painful, as I say I am still bleeding - its on and off - more so when I potter about doing things. I am not seeing my surgeon for another 6wks.... as the easter holes have delayed my appointment. So I do feel on my own a little. I did call the ward last week as I had an infection, but they said I should refer to my Gp for this! and were not very helpful.

I have been trying to work on my pf muscles - but get despondent when its so hard! As for bowel... well thats still a huge issue for me and I dread the discomfort of it. I still rely on fibogel and ex-lax every day. It feels like I am passing a thrombosed pile - horrid thought, but thats the only way to describe it. So making everything 'loose' is much easier. On the plus side - not having the rectocele and going to the toilet 'normally' is great! So I am hoping the pain will subside and get easier and I won't have to rely on laxatives. Gosh its quite liberating telling someone this. Its not something you can bring up in casual conversation to get advise over.

Missingmysleep - I would avoid all codiene related painkillers - I had morphine in the hospital and didn't have my bo for a week! (which was awful!) Lots of fruit & water and laxitives! Hope your feeling well.

thanks suzy had a bm today, good grief it was like having another baby. and like you say its not something you can drop into conversation...

I cant believe they give us morphine and codeine after the op, knowing that this is what it does to you, and where the stitiches are etc. I dont think I bust anything, but I dont know how... it was the biggest poo I ever saw...

no more codeine for me, the pain in my bits is preferable to having another poo like that, ever

can I ask some questions re when when when, thanks very much in advance.

when will i know if the tvt op has worked? I cant remember what is a "normal" length of time between wees. I have been going so often for years I am not sure how long to wait, and I cant feel things that well yet. I think I am waiting too long then rushing to the loo and having a little dribble (sorry tmi) - what is a normal time and I will aim for that while things heal up

I have no bleeding, and haven't really since the op, I think all my work is on the inside. I cant see any stitches. The bruising is amazing. How long do you wait before you start doing p/floor exercises. I am carefully not putting any strain on anything whilst healing (apart from the monster poo).

I am staying upstairs at the mo, it hurt to get up the stairs when I came home sunday. How long before I can tackle stairs without risk of popping a posterier repair stitch or busting my tvt tape out if place? I have no desire to go downstairs at the moment, as I feel pretty crap, luckily DH is home for the next 5 weeks so I can opt out completely, and he is learning how to be Mr Mum (manic laughter now, he has hardly been here for the last years cos he is in the army, he is on a massive learning curve har har har)

how long before you can have a bath?

thanks ladies

Missing.... the first few days after my op when I was home, i was also a little troubled about properly peeing... it sounds weird, but I found that if you ran a handbasin full of the hottest water you can stand, and then put a face cloth from it onto your ladybits - it just released the bladder like nothing else!! Weird, but true stories. (you might need to get to the toilet quickly, mind... it works dead quickly!)
Now, 18 days post op (wow, how has the time flown?!) my bladder function is absolutely fine. Likewise my bms have regulated themselves - I am just about able now to hold it in as the muscles become stronger. I have started doing pelvic exercises - might be why I've been noticeably sorer the past two days then previously... but you won't rupture anything. However, I'd wait a couple of weeks before starting if I were you.
You are unlikely to rupture if you do stairs - you 'll know when you're ready, simply because your body will not be up to it beforehand... I likewise stayed in bed for about a week post discharge, because I was just too shattered.
Why can't you have a bath? The stitches won't dissolve, I am pretty sure! I have been having them and they're lovely! Internal ones will be gradually absorbed, external dissolve and come away after a while.. I wouldn't worry excessively if I were you - they would have categorically told you not to have one if this was going to be a problem.
I am totally with you on the lack of pooing. It was horrific and at one point I considered trying to pull it out of me - just ridiculous. I am really angry that they continued to offer codeine as a painkiller post op - I get the morphine, but codeine was not necessary IMHO!!!

Hello Ladies, I wonder if I can ask a question please?
I am waiting for a date for anterior repair and it is likely to be May. If you were going away on the 27th May on Holiday (UK), what would be the latest you would go in for the op to alow enough recovery to withstand a car journey and go along on the holiday (but just rest).

I need to know at what point I should defer until June which I really don't want to do.

i am not sure how a posterier and anterior repair compare, but he initially planned to sign me off for 4 weeks, then signed me off for 6 weeks because more work needed doing than planned. If the repair time is similar than I would have thought 4 weeks, 3 absolute minimum.

Hopefully someone who had the anterior repair will see this and give a more confident answer.