Any Pelvic Organ Prolapse Surgery success stories?

[littlecabbage]

I have a grade II cystocoele and a grade I rectocoele (following instrumental delivery during childbirth). I am going to see my GP soon to ask for referral to a women’s healh physio to help with my symptoms, but have been told I will need surgery at some point.

It’s very easy to find negative stories about surgical repairs breaking down, and how they become more and more difficult to repair each time, but I am hoping this is just because women are more likely to post when things have gone wrong and it is on their mind more.

Has anyone had surgery to improve/resolve POP and had (so far) a good outcome? How long ago did you have the surgery? How old were you? What type/grade of prolapse(s) did you have beforehand? Did you do pelvic floor physio before and/or after, and did that help? Do you do any high impact exercise now, or is that too risky? Are your symptoms completely resolved, or just improved?

Thanks for any info you are able to share.

I had a really good physio appt this morning. I’m definitely on a slow path back to running, we did an exercise where you contract as tightly as you can, release to 50% then see how long you can hold it. She said this moderate contraction is basically what you hold continuously while running so you need to be able to maintain it for over a minute before starting running. I do remember now doing roughly this off my own bat to prevent leaking when running after my first baby.

I am to do 2-3 mins of skipping a day ensuring I contract before each jump till my next appt, this feels like real progress!
And she said to get those evb shorts . Apparently the pressure they apply triggers your body remembering to contract suitably. So I hope I’m less disappointed with them than @verbena87 !

All sounds v positive time , maybe I’ll give them another chance!! I think I’d find skipping more jarring than running tbh so it’s kind of reassuring physio reckons it’s ‘safe’.

I’m going to have a go at the 50% contraction - what I’d read says do your kegels and core work then let your body do its thing when running without consciously interfering, but your physio sounds good so maybe I’ll do a compare and contrast?!

My current plan is to do 3 shortish couch to 5k type sessions a week but at least 1 on the turbo trainer to build cardio fitness and stamina but give my body a bit of a break from impact.

And thanks for your story sadie9 - really useful to hear about a non-mesh repair as that’s what’s been suggested for me longer term. All the restrictions do make me keen to do without surgery til I can’t manage with conservative treatment though! If you don’t mind me asking, what exercise do you and do you find it enough to feel happy and well? I mostly manage my mental health by getting sweaty and would really struggle with no fast walking

I think skipping is high impact - the ‘safe’ bit is that it’s not continuous like running so you can contract before each jump and protect yourself. As soon as I can’t reliably do that I have to stop.

I agree runners would usually naturally do that- I definitely did after my first baby -and have been doing it a bit walking around on holiday the past week. It does help a lot to understand what it is , that you definitely should be doing it and you should stop if you can’t. Most peoples intuitive technique is not going to be as good as their trained technique, and I’m one of those people who always like to understand why.

Re fast walking, longer step lengths are much higher impact. So you could work towards walking rapidly but without extending the step length. I’ve really concentrated on step length as just being able to stretch out walking along is a really nice feeling so I do it a lot.

Cheers, that’s all good to know. Pretty sure some of my bladder hangs below the sling of levator muscles tbh, so contracting is only partly protective, hence the big difference made by the pessary I guess.

Ah sorry completely see why you would be using the pessary if the muscles can’t pull it in.

It’s hard to know tbh, improving the muscles has helped, but not completely, and given I’ve been at it nearly a year I reckon it’s probably no failure to scaffold it a bit as well as carrying on with PF and core work.

So to update you on my issues - I saw the consultant Tuesday afternoon (then went to Europe for work and didn’t get back til last night) and it was quite reassuring. He said my pelvic floor muscles are quite strong 3-4/5, and the prolapse is quite small, and he doesn’t think I should have it operated on. He thinks doing my pelvic floor exercises and losing weight (heavy sigh) should help a lot. It’s actually feeling ok at the moment - I was really busy while away and realised I couldn’t really feel it pulling or dragging, and can’t feel the “wrong” feeling unless I clench. And now that’s very mild even if I do clench, so I am wondering if all the toddler-lifting just stretched it a bit? If that’s possible? Or if it was period related? Anyway, I mentioned having another child and he said as long as I don’t have another instrumental delivery, and I manage to lose some weight, having another pregnancy would probably be fine. And I also mentioned that my periods have been quite irregular, which my GP hasn’t really done much investigation into, and he’s going to do an ultrasound and some blood tests to check for polycystic ovaries, which luckily my insurance will also cover. He said half of women who have given birth vaginal,y have some sort of prolapse, many of whom don’t even realise (just think they’re looser, or have a crappy bladder etc), which I found comforting - feel a bit guilty about that though.

So I came out of the appointment feeling pretty positive, and much less disgusting. I know I shouldn’t have felt so gross anyway, but I did feel very unappealing.

I'll look at the squeezy people on Instagram verbena but the nhs physio i'm seeing is the pelvic floor specialist in my area so I was told! I did tell the consultant gynaecologist that I'm not happy with the lack of information and advice given so I'm finding out as much as I can myself.

littlecabbage the consultant said they aren't doing the mesh surgery until the class action case (? I think that's what she called it) is over and they see what the outcome is and that the only other surgical option is a hysterectomy but I'm not eligible as I'm too young and was sterilized last year due to other issues so It's physio or nothing. It's interesting to see what other people have been offered and told.

I don't know about other people but the attitude I've encountered in the nhs seems to be that it's the consequence of having one very large baby and if it's not affecting my sex life then it's not such a big issue. Other gynae issues i've had have been dealt with really well (apart from some vitalninfo not being passed on until right before surgery but that was sorted!) So I'm disappointed this hasn't been dealt with so we'll.

starlings that’s fab, bet you’re feeling loads better? Really hope so.

blueberry that’s annoying. Is it a cystocele or uterine prolapse you have? I’ve got a bit of both (though cystocele is the worst and the uterine one is pretty much asymptomatic) but nobody’s mentioned hysterectomy. I did the ‘lift’ programme from femfusion fitness on YouTube alongside Pilates and kegels. Not honestly sure whether it helped but might be worth a go and is free. Good luck. I have noticed a big difference from physio but it takes months of commiting to your exercises - just keep going; it does gradually help.

As far as i'm aware i've got a cystocele only but even finding out exactly what the problem was and how bad it is has been hard. The gynaecologist I saw originally said there was no bulge and no issue he could see but when I had surgery recently the consultant gynaecologist said I definitely have a 'mild bladder prolapse' .
It's been hard to talk about one issue at a time (the surgery I had was a different issue) so I think they could have done hysterectomy for other issue and then hope it might help the prolapse too. But i'm not entirely sure

I do both yoga and pilates daily to help with back problems and the nhs physio said my pelvic floor is very toned but weak which makes no sense to me!! I'll look at that though. It seems like helping myself is the best way to go at the moment and at least then I'll know if I've done all I can then surgery (once my trust offer something again) will be the right call.

Oh heck, that does all sound a bit confusing! (Toned but weak?! How is that a thing?) Do you have bothersome symptoms?

My gynae will be retired by the time I’ve finished trying for/having kids and he was keen to stress that I get referred to a urogynaecologist rather than a general gynaecologist for treatment at that point - but sounds like maybe you need someone who has a good overview as well.

If it isn’t bothering you maybe don’t worry too much. I think nearly all post partum women have some degree of prolapse; it’s a bit of a spectrum/scale I think.

Wonderful starling, how you are feeling about it as well as the good news :)
That’s a bit crap blueberry . If you are at all able can you check with a private physio? I assume the gynae who said you didn’t have one did an internal exam and made you cough etc during it?
The only thing I can think of re weak but toned is referring to the different layers (but it’s a stupid comment no matter what ) - my physio says there are 3 pelvic floor layers. The first is where my prolapse is or mainly is and that’s the layer that’s only function is holding organs in. The other two are also responsible for opening and closing for wee poo and sexual function.id never heard this before. Hmm. Or it could mean strong enough when solidly contracted but poor reflexes to contract ? Stupid comment anyway!!
I still have to buy those shorts but skipping is going well. Apart from the fact it’s been so long 3 minutes is enough from an exercise view point not just a pf view point

Just to update and say I’ve been running 3x a week with pessary and EVB shorts (think maybe they do help a bit after all), plus keeping up with 4 sets of kegels, fanny zapping, and twice weekly topical oestrogen and so far, so good

Hope others are doing ok too.

Hi Verbena87, so glad that things seem to be going well.

Sorry for not commenting for a while everyone - baby sleeping v badly at the mo, and I'm struggling to keep on top of things. But am reading all the updates. Thank you - I'm learning a lot, and glad to hear some positive updates.

No update here yet, but first pelvic physio appt on Tues, so will see how it goes. Also hoping to start postnatal Pilates next Thurs, but will see what the physio says first.

THats brilliant, @Verbena87!

I’ve been feeling a lot better for the last 10 days or so, then I had to go away for work and all was fine, til I got back and today it’s been troubling me again. We’re going on holiday tomorrow so I’m hoping it’ll feel ok in the morning.

Have my first physio in three weeks. No diagnosis as yet (gynae have not yet moved me from waiting list after 3 months). Can anyone tell me what to expect? One hour initial appointment. Thanks.

Thank you for this thread. It’s giving me the courage to ring my gyno to discuss my symptoms. I’m currently lying in bed as I feel so much pressure in my vagina, almost like a ball between my walls ( sorry if tmi) I have been having difficulty with both peeing and pooing. I just haven’t wanted to make the call but cannot spend my life in bed...

@SecretWitch, call them, do! It definitely can’t hurt, and they may be able to suggest loads of things that could help. Good luck!

@Cismyfatarse, love your name! I haven’t had physio yet, but I hope your appointment goes well.

Cismyfatarse I'll report back here after my first physio and tell you how it went.

SecretWitch Yes, please get seen. Not only can you improve current symptoms, but possibly also prevent things deteriorating further. Good luck!

@Starlings27 and @littlecabbage, thank you for the support. I shall ring the office tomorrow. It’s time to get some answers.

Good luck littlecabbage (with sleep and appointment!)

secretwitch definitely make an appointment. Definitely definitely! And right now, try raising your hips on a couple of pillows and lying like that for half an hour - that’ll sometimes ease my symptoms for a while on a crummy day (I’m having fewer and fewer crummy days: get referred to a good urogynaecologist and get some advice on strengthening your pelvic floor)

@Verbena87 Thanks

Just going to read the replies as I am interested I. This.
I'm booked in to have anterior repair, excision of vaginal cyst and cystoscopy next week.
Mine has been a confusing journey where it seems the 'bulge' I felt at the entrance to my vagina is actually not a prolapse as I was originally diagnosed with but a large cyst on the anterior vaginal wall which I am due to have removed next week.
It seems that I have to also have my vaginal wall repaired but I am hoping that it is a lesser op than an actual prolapse repair but it hasn't been properly explained to me.
Even at my pre-op they kept referring to a prolapse repair due to the 'anterior wall repair' in my notes.
I shyed away from seeing the consultant for years as I didn't want my exercise limited (keen runner and have PT 3 x a week and hate the thought of restrictions on that)
I actually started a thread in general health this evening due to my confusion and worry about my op.
Thanks

@gingerbread88
Hmmm, that does sound confusing. I would recommend insisting on a chat with your surgeon prior to the op - they cannot expect you to have surgery that has not been fully explained to you. That would not be "informed consent".

Presumably they are using your existing tissues for the repair, rather than mesh?

Good luck, hope you get a great result.

Thanks @littlecabbage exactly as you say, no mesh etc and I guess until they remove the cyst (think satsuma sized) they won't know the extent of the repair to the anterior wall.
I thought oh it's only a cyst removal and have DH home for a couple of days but that's all. Kids are teens though so pretty self sufficient as long as they don't expect to be driven anywhere and pick their crap up from all over the house floor.
The operation is listed as Anterior Wall Repair, Excision of Vaginal Cyst and Cystoscopy.
For years I was told and thought I had a prolapse. I still can't get my head around it, there's a large bulge at the entrance to my vagina and thought that was just everything falling down there but it seems that bulge is from a cyst attached the the anterior wall. I had an MRI to confirm it. In the past I have even had a ring pessary fitted which my consultant deemed useless on examination and threw it away (!) and had loads of nurse led physio but no one picked up on the fact it wasn't a prolapse.
I keep half expecting to come round from the op to find he's said there was prolapse repair after all. I am dreading the recovery to be honest, no running or exercise etc as it's such a huge part of my life :(
Good luck to you.