Prolapse

Thanks again to everyone for the advice. I have my GP appointment booked for a couple of weeks time.

Interestingly - I hardly ever go to my GP, I'm terrible at waiting until things are really bad before I seek help, and for minor illnesses I just wait and assume my immune system will sort it (which it always does), so I had no idea that I was unable to book a routine appointment at my surgery any longer. Instead, I had to fill in an online form. I then got a phone call within 24 hours saying the GP would like to see me. I'm not sure what I think of this system - I guess it weeds out time wasters and the worried well, but it seemed odd that I couldn't make an appointment.

I have had a prolapse for about 5 years. I doubt if you will be given a hysterectomy at this early stage. I have a ring pessary and it works for me. It is important that whoever fits it takes time to find the right size as Initially the one I was given was too big and it rubbed against my vaginal wall causing inflammation meaning it had to be taken out and I had to go on a course of antibiotics until it cleared up. Now I have an excellent GP and the right size it is just changed every six months and I insert an oestrogen pessary every month. I hope all goes well and that you have been reassured by the responses. I know I was shocked and upset when I first discovered mine. I also started doing pelvic floor exercises every day and the size of the pessary has been reduced.

My mum had a vaginal prolapse in her 70's and had a ring fitted - she had to have it changed every 6 months. They did say she could have an operation to repair it but given her age and fear of any surgery she put up with the ring. She'd had a hysterectomy many years earlier in her early 40's and was back working in the shop we had within a couple of weeks. Things are different these days and I think they recommend at least 6 weeks off work and driving.

It's the reduced oestrogen which weakens the ligaments, I'm told.
I agree we should have been told more about the importance of, and how to do the pelvic floor exercises but after 4 big babies born NVD and no episiotomies, and when you are young you never think about these things, it's no surprise that your body complains.
I wonder if our DDs who had C sections will need ops or not.
If you do have the op, please take care not to strain or lift anything heavier than a kettle for a week or so and then gradually get back to normal.
Get help in the house. I did and certainly no lifting of heavy children!!.

I had a vaginal hysterectomy with bladder and bowel repair as well. I had barely any pain but was very weak for quite a while. You cannot lift more than a kettle for a couple of weeks and it is 6 weeks before you can drive or do heavier housework such as vacuuming. Many people are off work between 2 and 4 months.
Although retired, I did not return to normal activity for 4 months and had to be careful of lifting for nearly 2 years. Despite this, the operation was well worth having done.

Thank you so much to everyone for your comments and advice.

I'm keen to check out those pelvic floor exercises. I did the recommended ones religiously after childbirth in the 1970s and had an amazingly strong pelvic floor until age 55 when I stopped menstruating. So it was a shock to realise that that was no longer the case. Everyone has given me such great advice and if it does come down to surgery (but possibly not looking inevitable now) it looks like there are lots of options and variables.

I'm really grateful to you all and don't feel so anxious about it now - the thought of surgery doesn't bother me, it was more about the faff involved for everyone if I was unable to do the childcare for weeks and weeks.

All my innards are still intact ( fortunately no problems ) so I couldn't fully explain how a removal would go. It does depend on the individual and also the type of procedure.
I've never had an operation in my life----no incisions just 2 or 3 BCC's removed .

JustGrandma I will PM you.

I had a vaginal hysterectomy for a prolapse and a bladder repair , but my recovery took longer than some people here. I was in hospital for a week, not allowed to drive, nor lift things for six weeks and off work for three months. Everyone is different.
For me too, it was the best thing I ever did.

A friend who's an osteopath recommended a DVD of specific pelvic floor exercises (a much wider range than we are ever taught) when I had both a front and back prolapse. I had half-heartedly done some pelvic floor exercises in the past but worry about needing surgery and coping while living alone was a good motivation. Within 6 weeks I no longer needed surgery as the exercises had pulled everything back up - perhaps not to where it was when I was 20, but pretty good.

It's the Kegel Hab-it Pelvic Floor DVD.

I had a vaginal hysterectomy , no scars . And since there were no abdominal incisions I was up and home in a few days. Back at work in exactly a month. Best thing I ever did.

Not helpful, but why didn't anyone teach you to do pelvic floor exercises? Do they make sure that new mothers know about these exercises now?

I tried exercises but it got so uncomfortable and 10 yrs ago I had a hysterectomy. No regrets. I was told to be very careful for 6 weeks after and I was!
I wonder how my gt grandmothers survived having huge families. One had 12 children yet lived until she was 92.

There are various options as discussed. It is not necessary to have a hysterectomy if your uterus is normal size, they can just repair the prolapse and recovery is pretty quick following this. Good to discuss with your GP.

There was a bit on gp's behind closed doors the other day and the woman had a circular ring inserted by the GP which held everything in place.

They don't let you drive for six weeks. It might be sooner if you have keyhole surgery but, with abdominal surgery, six weeks I'm pretty sure.

Return to work - it may depend upon your occupation. Lifting is very hard, I feel.

The whole recovery will take longer if you have abdominal surgery.

Good luck! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

I had a laparoscopic hysterectomy so no external wound to heal. Recovery was remarkably quick. I was in my late thirties and otherwise very fit so that would have contributed. I was sore for a week or two and didn't lift anything really heavy but after that, other than feeling a little tired, I was back to normal including driving. The latter I could have done sooner but was prescribed co-codamol for pain which causes drowsiness. An abdominal hysterectomy would take longer and I would assume delay the resumption of driving. I went back to work after a month.

Recovery time is about a month but no heavy lifting for a couple of weeks after that. A lot has changed in recent years no longer weeks in bed crawling about. In fact those with lighter office jobs return to work in a couple of weeks.
The main thing is not to overdo it when you " feel as though you can ".
Obviously always supposing that your general health is up to scratch.

Hi JustGrandma, I too have realised that I am developing a prolapse. I put off going to the doctor for about a year (mostly because of their ridiculous appointment system which meant that when I was working I could never book ahead to get an appointment). So I waited until I retired...anyway, I digress,,,

I, like you, was convinced that it was going to mean a hysterectomy. Instead, the GP was pretty laid back about it. We discussed the problem and I said that when I feel the uterus protruding I push it back up (apologies to those eating supper, there isn't a polite way to say it!) She said that was fine.

We did discuss pessaries - which I believe are rings which are inserted to support everything, but she said that this wouldn't be suitable for me as I am still "sexually active" (I was tempted to say that "active" was a bit of an exaggeration!)

Other than that, she basically told me to do pelvic floor exercises and just carry on as I am unless things get worse.

I'll be interested to hear what your GP says.