Prolapse anyone want to talk?

Hi I have just found out that I have a bladder prolapse, & a possible rectoele? (spelling)... I don't know what degree it is but suspect stage 2, I am feeling very alone on this,:doh:
i went to the library and you can't even get a book on it? No one talks about it & i guess i understand why, it seems such a horrible thing to happen and embrassing?????????? I guess I am would like change that so women have somewhere to turn, so i guess the first step is for me to talk about it.

I have a wait for specialist appointments, so in the meantime trying to be proactive and reading up, but there is so much conflicting advice out there..do pelvic floor exerise don't do them?
mesh surgery... no mesh surgery...are you worried about the studies on mesh?..Anyone have thoughts on the whole woman books, posture, exercise, dance ,yoga DVD's, or trying it out?
I am very confused and anxious about it all...:wall:

(((((((((((( anyone))))))))))))))) with advice or in the same boat, want to talk privately or in forum? what sort of things are you & your specialist trying?

There have recently been a couple of threads on prolapses. Please don't feel embarrassed- they are relatively common. I am sure there are quite a few lovely ladies who have prolapses that will jump on here and offer you loads of support and good advice!

Hi there :)

I have a prolapse a rectocele, I hate it, it makes me feel yuk and unsexy , you can see it poking out my vagina

I've seen a physio and she said to do pelvic floor which I was during pregnancy but found it a loosing battle with baby growing and pushing down now she's out I might have a chance lol

I personally won't do surgery cause it scares me and I've read too much negative stuff about it on the net

I hear pessaries can help too I'm not sure where you get them whether its a gp or physio but pelvic floor exercises whether they work are always going to be beneficial in the long run

2nd degree cystocele here. Well it was, but I think it is better than what is was. Sadly never made it to the physio, but I found it improved once I stopped breastfeeding. It is also better when I am carrying less weight.

When I manage to get another referral I will chat to my gyno about it then. He did mention surgery at the time we diagnosed it, but that I needed to wait till I was no longer having to carry a child. At 5yo, DD2 still like to be carried a lot :rolleyes:

Hi girls,
Nic Nac I have been reading but thought I might post a new one in a slightly different way..thanks for the reply.
Astrid nice that your's has improved..I hope that with a bit of hormone replacement that mine will?

I have been complaining about mine since i was pregnant with my last child, she has just turned 3.
I was told your cervix gets lower with each baby & i assumed they were right....no one has looked until just last week and after repeat UTI's and pelvic vaginal pain & a feeling of a UTI about to happen a sensation of a weird painful orgasm and urgency to wee..
I am about 10 kg overweight ( i am planning on weight loss now) but I think my main problem is I have gone through an early menopause started while trying for DD aged 4..I am 45..so I am hoping that i might start on oestrogen pessaries, or a vaginal pessary to hold things in place, sex has been painful and the repeat UTI's extremley distressing along with allergic reactions to drugs for them..I am starting to change how I do things my youngest 2 DD's now have to climb into the car by themselves and DD3 gets her nappy changed on the floor. I think the hard parts are you feel broken, lack of a sexual relationship takes away the intamcy & I always have worked hard, and now pushing the wheelbarrow and splitting wood along with gym workouts are a thing of the past, it seems to be changing me from the person I was, soooooo sad!!!

jellybean: the surgery idea is scary to me too, in particular mesh surgery..but need to wait and see I guess, it might come to a point when there is no option. I hope that you have success is there a chance of healing in the first 12 months post partum?

It is nice( you know what I mean) to know that I am not alone in this situation, it seems to be one of those things that you don't realize what incontience really means...its more than weeing yourself!!! Did and do you all do your pelvic floor exercises? I am thinking I should have done better there??

Thanks I'm hoping when I stop breastfeeding it will improve I haven't yet been game to check it much since baby because its all still healing down there

I never did pelvic floor exercises but did while pregnant but I've been rather lax about it since because I keep forgetting
I'm particularly annoyed because I kinda figured being 24 at the time I shouldn't be getting prolapses but apparently it is quite common and lots of women have it

We believe mine was caused by DD1's birth, as she got stuck, had 3 failed ventouse, then a c-section, even then she was stuck and took some pulling out. Honestly I am surprised the whole area is not a lot worse from it.

Now I just feel a bulge at times. After DD1's birth, DTD was just painful due to it, thankfully not so now.

Astrid I was opposite ds came out in 3 pushes so he caused damage and tearing coming out too fast and posterior lol seems you can't win either way

Its a hard one is'nt it, I always did lots of dance exercise classes & we had a very good instructor who did heaps of pelvic floor type exercises at the end, plus i worked hard with good musckle core strength and did my floor exercises sometimes not as much as I should? Sometimes i think there are a lot of other factors that come into it?

jellybean yes I agree 24 is way too young, I feel too young at 45, fingers crossed for you what about hospital pelvic floor classes they are usually offered after you have a baby?
Astrid, my 1st baby was a really difficult birth, the vac cap came off 3-4 times before i was cut then forceps..in my 4th pregnancy i developed a severe cough from 20 to 40 weeks in the end i could'nt hold my wee..I am sure thats when it happened, then i feel pregnant shortly afterwards, I have babies that are 15 months and 18 months apart, 4 babies so quickly probablly not good on the body and at an older age?..I also have a pelvis thats tilts backwards so i reckon that could play a part..
I'd love to keep talking I'II let you all know how i go with my appointments over the next month or so.

Good luck :) ill be interested to hear what they recommend

Hi girls, i am starting to feel my way around. I have seen an incontinence nurse (not that I am weeing, but i recommend seeing one as they have lots of advice on helpful ways of empty bladder and bowel, ways to relive pain and answers on so many things) which was helpful and she was able to answer lots of ??? I forgot heaps as well though but have another appointment..

Another week or so and i see the gyno & I have been referred to the physio at the hospital for retraining the pelvic floor and she said the gyno would probablly start me on oestrogen pessaries to replace the hormones that have gone which will make the exercises easier.
Jellybean there is a tape surgery which is done keyhole and does'nt have the same problems as mesh which was a relief to me, I imagine it can be done both bladder and bowel, but with luck you won't need to cross that problem anytime soon I have everything crossed that you will make a good recovery in your post partum period.

Keep the pelvic floor exerices girls , a few good ones is better than a lot of not so good ones and if you feel your pelvic floor slip while you are holding take a break, well that what the nurse told me. :) Back next week with more info.

BD I had the mesh inserted for my prolapse, it made a huge difference! Haven't leaked since.
I never had a UTI. I did physio prior to surgery (electric buzz chair that makes the muscles contract, though I found this didn't do much.
Xxxx

I find the idea of any surgery freaks me out lol

I wonder if those balls you put in your vagona and have to hold are good for pelvic floor your meant to use those muscles to hold than in aren't you? Is it Ben wa balls or something

warning TMI: I would not use those balls, I tried once and pulling them out kind of dragged the bulge out (well that is what is felt like)

Interesting I well that answers that lol I was them the other day on a show with a women with the strongest vagina she was lifting weights with her vagina and I thought damn she must have great pelvic floor

From what I read, a prolapse is really like a hernia. You can work on the muscles in the area, but the hernia is still there.

It well be just me, that I felt it made it worse, but it might be fine for others :dunno:

I was told during an ultrasound that no matter how strong my pelvic floors were, it wouldn't fix the prolapse, the mesh sling holds up the urethra and I had the anterior muscles sticked back

Interesting I had been told it does help maybe it depends on what type it is but yeah when I look at mine I know its like a hernia and nothing will help it so have always been confused

Interestingly my father has had 5+ hernia repairs in different places through his body so I wonder if its hereditary

I was told it pelvic floors might help the symptoms but won't change the prolapse.

I used oestrogen pessaries initially, I think I was about 6 weeks postpartum when I started, just for 3 weeks, then pelvic floors and I felt a bit better ( have a grade 2 cystocoele and small rectocoele). Now i use a ring pessary when needed ( ie if I am having a day of standing a lot, lugging groeries etc) I tend to leave it out on the weekend when Dh is home ot hold the baby.

I'm not sure what I will do, wait and see what happens after I stop BF. My obs thinks theres no point having surgery before menopause as it justs collapses again.

Just realised that I could be making mine worse, just started excercising in the last few weeks, lots of crunches which is on the list of what not to do if you have a prolapse. Damn!

Hi Saffy how do you find the ring? sounds like you take it out yourself whenever you don't need it? i was under the impression it is harder to use than that, but that sounds interesting..do you have any pain with your prolapse (sorry no need to answer this one , but i will ask because I have no idea how much it helps etc) do you use the ring when dtd?

Astrid at the moment I am not even sure what I can do, I can only imagine crunchs are not a great idea...
i would love to ride a bike even walk etc but we live in a very hilly area I assume that is a no go zone perhaps on the flat it might be okay..I am slipping downward by the minute:hide: this week I go to see a GP who has trained as a gyno so be interesting to see her take and hopefully I can start to find out what I can and can't do.

Jellybean they say that it does run in the family well prolapse side but as you say being the female equal to a hernia (in my mind its a bit like an internal stretch mark or lots of them) so i can't see why not, in my family there has been a few prolapse issues but at an older age and my dad has ongoing prostate problems, so seems as though its there...joy!!! I try to look at mine but really have no idea what i am looking at, i guess its not a place you look at, not like looking in a mirror daily i would like to know what it looked like, I have only seen photos of prolapse that is outside the body or pictures of what it supposed to look like and what happens when you do prolapse, does'nt help me much?
I would'nt use the weighted balls may be okay if you did'nt already have a prolapse but with one I can only imagine making it worse.

Thanks Olive, I am not leaking but i assume that would be only a matter of time, the mesh is scary to me I have a bad track record with foreign objects & once the mesh is in its there, so will keep that as a last resort..did you worry about any issues with it i just went with what your surgeon thought best. The incontience nurse said the buzz chair was'nt the best way to go..I have no idea, it sounds like it would work & you would be doing the exercises correctly, but like you say the damage is done, hard to fix it afterwards.

I seemed to dodge a bullet this weekend felt like I was starting to get a UTI but nothing came of it, thank goodness..I really hope I can get something sorted with them that has been high on the list of worst things about it all. Along with the feeling broken, that sucks i have told a few people now it seems they are a bit freaked out and maybe embrassed, i just wish more girls talked about it rather than walk around feeling alone in it, i asked if there was a support group but no, does anyone know how many younger women would be affected by prolapses?
Anyone else with repeat UTI's? how has that been handled?

Thanks girls for the chat & support I appreciate it.:)

Blackduckies- yes I put it in and take it out when I want- it is ok going in , you just warm it up, put some lube on and squash it so its like a figure 8 and it goes into the right spot itself. Taking it out is a bit more of a challenge, its painful but I've worked out a system t oget hte right angle and do it quickly. My obs said old ladies keep them in permanently cos they can't put in and out, then have them replaced every 3 months, but I just use mine as needed. As for DTD I haven't ( but there is a lack of dtd in our house atm anyway due to baby that won't sleep in her cot day or night lol) but I would take it out although I believe you can leave it in. I definately notice the difference when it is in, re feeling the prolapse, it is instant relief! I wouldn't say I had pain but it is uncomfortable and feels like everything is going ot fall out when I lift anything. My baby isn't going ot get lighter so it is good to have something for when I need it. hope this helps.

Also, for what its worth I had an easy 2nd stage of labour, 30 mins pushing and normal birth ( well when I say easy....you know what i mean)

I tell all my friends and most have had some form of prolapse too. Sorry your friends didn't handle it well, I believe in discussing stuff like this so people aren't ashamed.

Black duckies: I can see my prolapse from the outside but its just at the opening not coming out

Saffy: I only had a 5hr labour with ds and 5mins of pushing so I really didn't push he just kinda came out on his own and I got the prolapse after him

Tah girls, yes my friends are looking at me like you poor thing, maybe they don't know they have one yet!! thanks for the info saffy I am still waiting for appointments to see what stage I am at but i have been on estrogen pessaries this last week & DTD which was fine with minimal pain afterwards and no UTI, so things are looking up but still a bit reluctant to test myself out too much??? Looks like I may have to have a few exploritory ops to rule out a few rare forms of cancer, but mostly a precaution and have been given info on a mirena as I may have to stay on estrogen for the longer term..will update when I know more.

Black duckies: where have you been going to get all this advice? My ob and physio aren't very helpful

Blackduckies, how are things going now?

Apologises girls, my year got a bit worse :( to add to my urinary issues my gall bladder decided to pack it in & I have been very unwell, have had it removed now but geez enough already!!!!
So now I can say goodbye to a ****ty year and hope that next year gets better..my list starts in March with UTI from hell bleeding, clots, massive pain etc only to have a repeat exactly a month later I now believe that I might have trigger that myself using a tampon? In amongst that i had reaction to the antiboiotics & what I did'nt know at the time was my gallbladder melted down from my antibiotic allergic reaction hence a major gallbladder attack which I thought was relaated to UTIs & the prolapse, when I got sent for a CT scan they discover my gallbladder was filled with stones I was sent to a suregeon withitn weeks & he wanted my to have it taken out start away, unfortunately I could'nt cope & refused the surgery just so overwhelmed with everything...only to be ringing him back the following fortnight after another hospitalization for a major gallbladder atttack, in the end i coudl'nt eat my last attack was from a homemade veggie soup.. water and green veggies..hmmm the following month I had it out. Then bile dumping for about 6 weeks I was starting to think that it might be a permanant thing but it has now eased up. I lost 15kg in 2months have since put 5 back on but feel so much better. Bad news made for massive hemmroids and more bowel issues.
Overworked my pelvic floor & started have bowel & bladder spasms, really should have been given relaxation exercises to start with because my muscles were already in spasm after the UTI's, am now on a break from exercises until my floor chills.
Then in the new year will start again, now under the care of a urologist who says I don't have a prolapse but a muscle wall weakening due to lack of estrogen from peri menopause/menopause..me not sure? who to trust 2 gynos & physio said prolapse but uro says no..but I feel much better now my urge incontinence has gone, my pain has lessened, toileting with my feet on a kids stool ( might be worth trying girls gets you into a more squat like position, which angles everything the right direction) now just trying to deal with early menopause symtoms the risk of having a baby in your mid forties apparently, the uro says she sees lots of ladies from 42-45 who go into early menopause from having a child often your period just does'nt come back & the earlier you go through the more symtoms you tend to have!!!
My new years resolution to be proactive I can look after myself and its up to me to find the best advice & care I can & to become accepting of this change in my life a welcome a new chapter :ninja: is to book in to Jean Hailes and get a second opinion i figure it won't hurt & thats what they are dealing in exclusively (women)
Huge downside I ended up very depressed and huge anxiety issues but am working on that now I have to get positive & address fears & trust issues just a year filled with too many downs taken a toll.
I am very glad school has finished & I have got Poppy organized as best as possible for school next year, her speech is much improved and she is better able to express herself/feelings & has shown she can make friends even if its only one at a time :) poor little chicken the others are doing pretty well, they got a few holidays at nan & pa's house :) & I am a nana ( that makes me feel old) my oldest daughter had a little girl in October they are coming down from Sydney on friday for 3 weeks so can't wait to get my hands on my gorgeous girls.. hope you are all doing well I will try to get in more often and keep you updated on my progress this 2014, I wish you all a wonderful happy Christmas filled with love & joy & a safe and happy New Year xxx Pam.:birthday2: