so after months of bowel troubles and being told im constipated (im not) ive finally been to see the doctor again. Last week i did a vaginal check and to my horror realised nothing felt like it should, so now post doctor visit and examination. And i have a cystocele and a rectocele, it feels awful. My vagina feels like a bottomless pit (im sure some of you can relate?) and having abdo pain on/off and a strong pressure sensation in my groin from time to time.
Im 29 and had 2 children- im curious what your expeniences are?? shes refered me to pelvic physio...Im not convinced this will fix things, and can take a year!!! my poor sex life....
Hello melissa. You are right physiotherapy won't help your prolapse, it's too late unfortunately but it will help to strengthen the surrounding muscles. It is important though to get the best results your physio is specially trained in urogynaecology and pelvic prolapse. I have found from professional experience if this isn't the case you could be doing the exercises incorrectly. There's lots of good well researched information on the Genitourinary Prolapse home page under Useful Resources. Take a look at that.
I was referred to physio first too which as Nateon said is useful to train you but won't fix the prolapse. Just keep going to the dr to get referred that's what I did. Also choosing to see a dr at the practise that I though would be sympathetic. i.e. Female similar age. Good luck.
Hi Melissa, I'm a year younger than you and without any babies, but I too have a rectocele, along with an intussusception (the sigmoid colon falling into the rectum), an enterocele (the small intestines falling into the space between the vagina and rectum & perineal descent.
I'm under the care of a colorectal surgeon and urogynaecologist and am now waiting for my surgical repair date; but initially at my first appointment last summer, I was told that I needed to try biofeedback first which was two consultations with a continence nurse who checked I could kegel correctly. Of course this hasn't recitifed putting my parts back to where they belong but I do understand that there are particular pathways to follow and the physio has got my pelvic floor as strong as possible, which will be a benefit when recovering from the repair. One of their main reservations was that I haven't had any children and they said ideally they perform these repairs once a woman has finished having their family.
It is quite a daunting patient experience but you'll find lots of support from the women here .
Hi thank you for your reply! I'm going to do the physio, I don't know how bad the prolapsed are but if I set on the toilet I can see my bladder bulging down. My biggest issue is that I can't poo! Day 7 and nothing- I've taken lactose for 3 days and still no movement, I've got horrific wind. I'm going to take 2 senna tonight. I've tried to push the back wall of my vagina and I can feel all the stool matter bulging into my fingers I just can't push it out. And rectaly I can feel anything. I think it may be stuck...I'm done having children so I'm going to push for the anterior and prosterior repair, I don't even dare have sex right now- I don't want my partner seeing/ feeling it- it dosnt even feel like a vagina what does yours feel like? Lol xx
Hi jobobo, thanks for you reply. As I've just said to another member I can't go to the toilet, I used to go every morning after my coffee, It just won't come! I don't know what to do, I don't want to end up in A&E as I work there and can't imagine anything more embarrassing than my work friends knowing my gyne problems! Doctor tomorrow I think for some help x
Thanks matron are you a nurse? I've been having a try at the excersises but no idea if I'm doing it correctly, awaiting my physio referral. From what I can feel I have no elasticity whatsoever and my bladder is visible when I sit on the toilet, I I can push my finger right back from the back wall into my rectum. It's awful- I'm 29 this weekend and feel so horrid, I can't put up with this for a whole year. Don't a long day in ward today and I feel like my insides are falling out the pressure is so intense x
Hi Melissa. Try using a squatty stool to put you legs into squatting position, (the natural way!) It's working for me and I'm waiting for prolapse surgery. It's was recommended on this forum and Matron endorsed it. Good luck. X
Hey I've tried this, I used my sons step to elevate my feet still no luck. I'm getting quite desperate as I know the pain will come...only other thing I can try is to squat on the toilet!??? X
Hi Melissa - sorry to hear that you are struggling at the moment! Stool can get trapped in the rectocele. Have you ever tried glycerin suppositories? They keep be tricky to keep in, but are really cheap from the pharmacy and supermarket so you can keeping popping a new one back in. It's actually the blunt end (rather than the torpedo end) that get's inserted first as it helps you keep it in a bit longer. If you wet the end of it as well it makes it slippy enough to put in easily. It might help remove the stool you can feel that's got a bit stuck in the rectocele bulge. Sometimes when you bear down you are more pushing the stool more sideways (if that make's sense).
I can understand feeling scared to have sex because of these problems and I'm sorry to hear that you you are worried about how your partner would react as well. Of course relationships are all different, but I hope that if you were able to talk to him about it, he would reassure you that for him, like my partner, it isn't an issue, apart from seeing you suffer. My vagina has a visible bulge from the rectocele and also my pelvis feels really heavy and congested most of the time, so penetration is pretty much a no go at the moment. However, my partner is paraplegic so we already are a bit more "resourceful" in being intimate together(!). What we already had learnt is that there are different ways to still have an active and loving sex life, but it you need to be in a place where you can focus on what you are experiencing now together, rather than comparing it to how it was before. x
I've used suppositories before (but didn't know the blunt end went up first) I have some but think will be out of date. I've put a whole finger in and can't find any hard stool??.... I can feel soft stool but it's like I can't push it out? Either way I'll go to doc tomorrow and get some help, I'd like them to do a rectal exsam if there going to give me a suppository sp I know where to put it, but I'm on my period x
Also have just read that you are an A&E nurse, so you'll know all about blunt ended suppositories! I had to leave my nursing career because of this misery, but hoping that after my surgery and recovery, I'll be able to return.
The suppository might help with soft stool as well. I have IBS as well and haven't had a BM below a 5 for years and years, before I used irrigation (I can't go at all now by myself as my sigmoid colon has collapsed down into my rectum) I used suppositories.
I wouldn't worry about being on your period for the exam. If you do have a gynae examination it's more what they are feeling rather than visualing like they would for a smear or anything.
I'm a health care assistant- I work all over the hospital so have a wide range of knowledge but I work mainly in A&E and plan to spend the rest of my career then and train for my nursing x
Then I very much hope you get on the proper treatment pathway as soon as possible so you can get onto your A&E career going - those shifts definitely need a happy pelvic floor xxx
Oh gosh you have it so much worse than I do. When I saw the gp I asked her if stools could get stuck and she said no ( I'd already researched it as I knew it was a rectocele) but it CAN get stuck! I'm terrified I'll end up with a blockage x
Just a thought melissa but have you tried (while using the step) folding the toilet paper into a pad and pushing it against your perineum? Sorry, I know this is all a bit personal but it's why we are all here! Relax & wait, don't strain as you could make the prolapse worse. Hope it helps. X
I've had these problems for ten years now, so they have got progressively worse to where I'm in a bit of a sorry state now! Hopefully you might get some relief from the suppositories or by seeing the GP tomorrow. You sound like you are being very vigilant so it's unlikely you will develop a blockage without noticing any other symptoms. Even with my rectum completely occluded, I haven't had a blockage, there are ways, sometimes 1L enema and contorted positions later, to empty your bowels.
I'll sort it, I've had bowel trouble all my life which has contributed to this. I've never been 'this' kind of consipated before, I just need it out. I have a great diet so that's not a factor. Will update you tomorrow if I can get in- hoping the will see me as a urgent as I don't want to wait till after the weekend x
It might be good to see whether you are actually constipated, or maybe it's a bit of both - constipation and the possible pressure from the cystocele and rectocele. x