I would like to be tagged on this discussion too as I am totally blinded by this and too embarrassed to talk to the doctor about it. I don't know if it's vaginal or rectal prolapse. I suspect rectal since I've suffered so often from chronic constipation/diarrhea. Can someone tell me what the symptoms of each...

Please do not be afraid to ask your doctor about this problem. They are trained professionals and more than likely your doctor will refer you to a gynecologist who is even more trained in this area. Look at the Mayo Clinic descriptions of the vaginal and rectal prolapse. I have both and for the second time I will need surgery. I am looking forward to it, so my life can get back to normal. I hope this helps!

@maisie2 and @Restless67 and others,
No one should be afraid to talk with your doctor about these things. They are more common than you may know. Once I talked to some friends about it I realized I knew 3 people who had surgery for prolapse. Who knew?

I had a stage 3 bladder prolapse for about 10 years and lived with it fine. Then it got worse and I tried a pessary which I could not wear. I had bleeding and even after the pessary was removed the bleeding could not be completely stopped. It went on for many months, then stopped but then came back again with a vengeance. I had a D and C but that did not help and I had a very thin uterus so there was no problem there. I went to one urogynecologist who was highly recommended and he was just too high pressure for me. He recommended a procedure called a Sacrocolpopexy and some other things which does involve mesh and is done with the Da Vinci Robot. I just was scared of the mesh so I continued to live with it. But finally the bleeding got so bad I went to a second urogynecologist and he recommended the same thing. But he took the time to explain everything to me. He showed me what the mesh looked like compared with the old type mesh that has caused so many problems. He explained why just fixing the ligaments that hold the bladder and other organs in place would not be a good solution long-term. He said my ligaments were too damaged and weak and that if we did that, I would be back in surgery in a few years. Sounds like that is what @Restless67 may be dealing with. I was still hesitant because the procedure usually involves hysterectomy and I just could not get passed that. So I held off until I got to where I could not urinate easily and once even had to go to the doctor to get a catheter put in so I could. It was no way to live. Bottom line is I had the surgery last October and it is the best decision I ever made. My doctor did a urodynamics test prior to surgery to try to anticipate if I would need some minor corrections to eliminate the possibility of incontinence following surgery. Turns out I did. The reason for this is that your prolapse can actually mask incontinence because of its position and once it is fixed sometimes people have incontinence if that is not adjusted for.
This is why I say you must have a really experienced doctor. After surgery, I stayed in the hospital 2 nights and went home end of day 3. I would have liked to have stayed one more day but once I got home and got settled I was glad to be home. The first few days are a little rough until you have your first bowel movement as you may feel a little bloated. But I really had very little pain and once the catheter came out (after 7 days) I was great. I know these details are not pleasant but really I would encourage each of you and anyone who has this issue affecting their life in a major way to find a really good urogynecologist (most gynecologists will just do ligament repair) and maybe even consult more than one. I just had my 6 month checkup and everything looked perfect. I am so sorry you are dealing with this. It is so unpleasant but all the restrictions on your life are so limiting if you can do something about it. Just look into it and find a doctor that won't pressure you to do anything if you are not ready. If you llive in a small town and their are no urogynecologists then look into travelling to one in a larger city. But at least check it out and know that it is not as scary as it may seem. Best to everyone going through prolapse issues.