Prolapse. Decision to make.

rectocele

Update as I haven’t been on here for a while. I saw the consultant gynae and she gave me the option of having it operated on, day surgery, 12 weeks recovery. Said there was a nine month waiting list. I’ve put myself on the list and will decide for good last minute. When I find the correct medical term for what I’ve got I’ll post it.

I had the surgery 3 years ago at 57 , I had no option as was severe. Op went well and touch wood, no problems since . I'm no longer sexually active though. They stiched the entrance to my vagina too much 🤦‍♀️ , but as hubbie has problems in that area . I don't see the point in having further surgery to correct it . Sorry if that's too much info, but if it's important to you, might be worth mentioning it to your surgeon

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Hi just been told at GP I have a bladder prolapse just wondered if anyone else suffered the horrendous pain I am having and what did you take to relieve it?

I had a bladder repair with mesh and bowel prolapse operation in 2009. Bladder caused leaks again after few years and some sort of prolapse started in December. Wish somebody had told me these ops weren’t that permanent. Hope to get ring pessary this week and appointment with physio end of month. Who’d be a woman?

I have had two prolapse ops (mesh inserted) and they worked for a few months, then it was worse than ever. I had a Gellhorn pessary fitted two years ago, and its now great. Downside is you cant have sex with this inserted, and it needs to be inserted, checked and removed as an out patient at hosp twice yearly.

I had a severe prolapse repaired with a hysterectomy at the young age of 39, which lasted for 27 years, and then I had a vault prolapse repair 7 years ago. I didn't want mesh used, but the surgeon insisted it would be fine, and I haven't had any trouble since, though I am glad it is no longer being used. I would say go for the op, pay privately if you can, it just makes such a difference, like getting your life back!

I had surgery for prolapse. My GP recommended surgery as an alternative to possibly being very elderly frail in a nursing home and still having to have a pessary changed.
I knew I had a vaginal prolapse which needed hysterectomy. During my six month wait for this the prolapse worsened from stage 2 to stage 4 (the worst). I also needed bladder and bowel prolapse repair.
I would definitely recommend surgery. Recovery was slow but I felt so much better and prolapse won't go away.

Thanks Maggiemay, that’s awful. It sounds an unacceptably long wait for, presumably, surgery, so I suppose it will have to be the private route. I hope you can get things moving and get back to enjoying life, the sooner the better.

Delila This was the second pessary I tried the ring pessary fell out immediately and the shelf pessary was so painful to insert and even more painful taking out left me sore and bruised.
My Doctor said it is really too advanced now for another pessary.

This discussion is one of the real benefits of gransnet. Where else can we talk easily like this

Maggymay, do you mind if I ask whether you’ve had another pessary fitted in the meantime?

My prolapse is getting worse stage 4 now, pessaries do not work
I had a shelf pessary recently fitted it was very uncomfortable and when it was removed the Doctor struggled for 20 minutes to remove it.
There is a 2 year waiting list after being referred,so I think I am going to look at having it done privately,I am 72 and just want to enjoy life again.

I'm sure it must be better, medically, to get it done out of the way.
Stuff "springs back" when you're young(er)

I waited over 2.5yrs for my op, MissAdventure and my condition definitely worsened in that time and restricted my life. I hadn’t realised by how much until I had the repair and suddenly, life was different!

There’s also the question of age - are you likely to recover more easily, the younger you are?

I wonder if there is a benefit to having the op sooner rather than later?

I would have thought so, in terms of the amount of prolapse?

Very interesting Coolgran65. I have found that my local NHS hospital womens health department does not have anything like a full range of pessary types or sizes. A basic requirement, I would have thought.

I had a bowel prolapse over five years ago. It wasn't gradual, I became aware of it the night before I was going on holiday.
I spent a very uncomfortable time abroad and opted for a private operation when I returned.
The waiting lists were so long.
Two nights in hospital and a few weeks to feel stronger. It was definitely the right choice for me. Thinking of you x

Thanks grandtanteJE65 but it definitely is a bowel prolapse. Sorry you endured what you did. 🙁

First: are you absolutely certain that the diagnosis is correct?

I am asking because five gynaeocologists all diagnosed fibroids of the uterus, based on ultrasound scans and internal examinations and advised a hysterectomy for a similar problem that I had. They all agreed that the growths were not a cancer, which was a relief, but hummed and hawed about what they were before deciding on fibroids.

Being 69 at the time, I agreed to a hysterectomy and was somewhat startled on coming round from the anaesthetic to be told by the nurse that the surgeon would be up to see me to explain, but that he had said I did not have massive fibroids and that he had left my uterus in place, as what I had had, and he had removed, was a gigantic ovarian cyst!

So it might pay to ask whether what they are calling a proplapse of the bowel could be anything else. Ultrasound is apparently not as infallible as we all thought!

Next if you are confident that your consultant does know what he or she is talking about, ask which treatment they advise as best in the long term, and whether an operation is necessary or could be avoided or postponed by other treatment.

Even if you are a health professional it is hard to remain emotionally detached when it is your own health we are talkig about, and no-one except a consultant who has actually seen you can, or should, advise.

That said, postponing an op. is perhaps unwise, as you will tend to worry that it might be necessary at some point, and because the older one is the more serious surgery becomes.

I hope you reach a solution that solves the problem

I recently had a repair for a bladder prolapse. The rings didn’t work and were not a long-term solution for me, I was told. I had actually expected to have a hysterectomy but it was changed to a repair at the last minute. It all went smoothly with no external stitches and I went home the next day.

The only bit I was 🤔 about is that it has a one-in-three failure rate. I’ve told myself that means a two-in-three success rate. It’s certainly made a positive difference to my life, so far.

These replies and experiences are really helpful to making my decision. Keep them coming, please. 🙏🏻

I think I would try other methods before operation. If they don’t work then a rethink.

The op to repair a vaginal prolapse involves no mesh and you will be in and out of hospital in no time. I had one and have never looked back. I used a ring pessary for years - I wish I had opted for surgery much earlier.