anyone with rectocele prolapse?

[busybee2022]

if you have one, can you definitely feel it (inside vagina or with finger)? would it still 'bulge' even if your bowels are empty?

i've become obsessed after being told by a private consultant gynae I have a stage 2+ rectocele, (which I believe is large-ish) he also said I have a gaping introitus/ vagina :-( :-(

But my GP and another consultant gynae (examined me straining, standing etc) couldn't find any apparent prolapse and my vagina looks normal. very confused.

Can a large prolapse (and gaping vagina) come and go? maybe my rectum was full but prolapse goes when I'm empty??

I've lost count at how many times i've squatted/ strained over mirrors and tried to self examine. I'm not sure what is normal movement vs bulge. I can't feel any distinct lumps. My friend said she has definitely felt her rectocele and it's like a lump (bit like how the cervix feels).

I can go for months not worrying about passing a stool and they pop out just fine, but on the infrequent times i'm constipated (maybe 2x this year) I worry maybe I do! as when i'm on the toilet i look and feel bulgy but when I stand up everything seems to go back into place. i'm now super paranoid about straining incase I'm damaging myself and have tried splinting which is very effective.

basically would I 'know' if I had a 2+ prolapse? (or can a prolapse come and go?)

thank you xx

I've wondered this too! I have (or possibly had) a rectocele which was horrible when it first appeared a few months ago. It only bulged if I strained or pushed whilst going to the toilet, and the rest of the time it sort of disappeared apart from that the skin felt looser I would say. But definitely no proper bulge if my rectum was empty. It did feel wrong though, so even though there was no bulge it felt like a misplaced tampon or similar.

I googled, did all the 'right stuff', and a couple of weeks later it seemed improved. I couldn't feel the loose tampon feeling any more. It didn't bulge on the toilet because I completely stopped pushing when on the toilet. I have never done it since.

So in a sense yes, it's gone away. I don't know what would happen if I pushed though! My theory is that obviously some damage was done to the connective tissue during childbirth, and that although this takes a really really long time to heal (if at all), it has the best chance of I am careful never to let the bulge happen again, as surely every time that happens it's stretching everything again.

I wonder if having a prolapse in the postpartum period has a much better chance of healing or improving than one in the menopausal period? There are a lot of stories online to that effect. You don't say how old you are or whether you have had kids so don't want to assume!

I've had a pelvic health physio look at mine, and she couldn't find anything, but it wasn't bulging at that point. When it did bulge, it came down to about the hymen, so I think that makes it a grade 2.

Hope that helps a bit!