Hi All,
I have only just found this forum Hi All,
I have only just found this forum and I first put this on another conversation, didn't realise I can start my own, I've never been on anything like this before but I just had to join as I'm desperate for some support.
I've recently found out that I have a pelvic prolapse at a routine smear test before Christmas, I'm waiting for my first hospital appointment in April, it seems like such a long wait and I feel so lost and worried while I wait. I have a lot of problems which now all make sense now I know I have a prolapse albeit I don't know how bad it is or what type! I suffer with stress incontinence a lot, it makes me miserable, I get pain during intercourse, I also suffer with very bad back pain and acheyness down from my pelvis in to the top of legs when I've been on my feet all day. I have a feet first delivery with my daughter 3.5 years ago and things haven't been right since despite ridiculous amount of pelvic floor exercise and repeated visits to gp youhibiscus until now I've been fobbed off. I've always put the back pains down to a back injury and now I'm beginning to wonder... They are dragging pains worse when I've been on my feet and when got my period, is this the prolapse? Is it OK to carry on having intercourse, the gp who referred me said she can't see why that should hurt, any advice I'd be so grateful, I just don't know where I stand or what to expect from my first hospital appointment?!
Hi Sharon, i had a prolapse and it pushed the bladder out of,place (cystocele). I had many of the symptoms you describe and have just realised, thinking about it so many of them have disappeared since my surgery! Try not to worry too much, it's not as big a deal as you might be thinking and quite treatable. I was still having intercourse before surgery and have resumed again now that a suitable time has passed since the surgery. The draggy pains when you've been on your feet are certainly due to the prolapse. Just wait and see what the dr says and proceed from there. Good luck!
Thank you so much for replying, it's so upsetting, I feel very low with it and it's good to hear that you have come out the other side and all these symptoms have passed for you. I went swimming yesterday and I'm agony with back pain, it's the not knowing is it or isn't it the prolapse, I haven't felt myself for so long I can't imagine any different right now.
It may be you have a couple of different things going on - some caused by prolapse and some by giving birth. I wouldn't have described my pain as agony but some others who comment may say that's what they had too.
OK thanks, we'll see if anyone else replies x
I'm glad you mentioned the back pain. I thought I had hurt my hip, pain got worse and moved to my lower spine, then thought it was arthritis and strain. The pain is intense now that it disturbs my sleep. Hoping in a few weeks when I get everything tacked back up it will finally ease. But after a lot of reading on my op, sometimes it doesn't. I'm just fed up with incontinance, back and lower ab pain...I'm not dreading surgery at all now
This back pain is just awful, I've had it on and off since child birth, I don't understand why it comes on so bad and then eases off for sometimes weeks/months. It's at its worst just now, keeping me awake at night. i know just how you feel crystalG, just a few weeks for you then, I've not even stepped foot in the hospital yet. Before I knew it was prolapse I just kept going and dismissed all these symptoms but now I know that something is wrong it seems harder to ignore and put my chin up and keep going. Have you moderated your activities at all, is there any way of easing symptoms while I wait? I'm still fully active, just grit my teeth but wish I had shares in tenna lady company, but they are so uncomfortable!
Only thing that touches the pain is paracetamol plus codeine 1000 mg. I take it at night because it makes me sleepy. But codeine makes me constipated so I keep thing moving along with a stool softener. I had this done already after a hysterectomy for fibroids but that was 30 yrs ago. It started so slowly I didn't recognize the symptoms 10 yrs ago but it gradually got worse and worse. It wasn't till I had a bladder prolapse diagnosed that I found out about the bowel and vagina prolapse. But they won't do the bowel/bladder as one operation this time...so I chose the worst one..the bladder. I too had large babies 8 1/2 and 10 1/2lb babys...after the last baby the doctor said he had ripped everything apart in me having him natural....now that I'm going through menopause everything is just loose and sagging....inside and out. Only good news is my physio therapist said my pelvic floor was still very strong...so guess all this prolapse is from previous weak spots from 30 hrs ago.
I know what you mean about the tena pads. The very worse is they rub and cause ingrown hairs in the lower regions...like a big painful blackhead on the wrong end
So what can I expect at the hospital, how do they figure out what's going on inside?
My case started as I finally got no here with my male doctor, so I asked for a appointment with his female partner. She did a internal exam and saw the prolapse. She then set me up with another female gynocologist at the local hospital. At her office she took all my medical notes, previous surgerys etc. She then send me for a urodynamics test and a bowel pressure test. Then I saw her again and she reviewed all the test results with me and presented me with two options. I made my choice after discussing both in great detail. In the meantime she sent me to physio therapy for pelvic strengthens...that test ended quickly because my pelvic floor was strong.All these visits and tests were taken off and on in different facilities since last summer. It wasn't till last November she sent me for pre op paper work and put on the NHS waiting list. I've just got my notification of date and time which was one month to the date prior. It's taken a long time but I'm glad she has all the imfomation she needs to do the surgery now. 6 weeks afterwards I am to be reviewed by physio again to make sure my exercises still have my pelvic floor strong even after surgery. Once healed I'll then be refused to the bowel surgeon to have that tightened back up.