Want to discuss prolapse bladder or any kind of prolapse

Hi, @christiet - I moved your post here so that you could join in this larger discussion on prolapse and be where a variety of members might respond to your query.

I have had prolapse personally, and I never tried any undergarments to help with it. I did try a pessary, which I'm not in love with. The taking it in and out is kind of unpleasant, and I never fully got used to it. I finally had surgery when my prolapse got so bad I could not stand it anymore.

I think that @baxtersmom @shirls1948 @kimspr3 @sulli @gardeningjunkie may have some further input for you on nonsurgical options, like undergarments or other modalities, to manage prolapse.

Do you have prolapse, christiet? If so, have you tried any undergarments to help with it?

I had new mesh in bladder prolapse surgery and also a sling to lift up the urethra.

I had bladder prolapse surgery in Oct. 2017 and have had no issues since then. I wish I had done it sooner. I had it done with mesh in a procedure called a sacrocolcopexy with the DaVinci robot. I think you can find my previous detailed posts in this forum as well documenting more about my experience. I live in Austin TX and my surgeon was Tomas Antonini who is a Urogynecologist. I believe he is wonderful. His office is literally packed all the time. Two years ago it was not quite as busy but prolapse is a very common problem that I had never heard of when I first realized I had it. One reason a lot of women have to have it redone is that they do not have the proper procedure. If you just get your ligaments repaired and do not have the mesh then it is more likely that your ligaments will tear again. My surgeon discussed both types of procedures but he told me that there was a high probability that a simple ligament repair would not hold given the extent of my prolapse (stage 4) and the condition of my ligaments.

With regard to UTI's, I have not had any since my surgery although I was not prone to them throughout my life. I did have a couple right before my surgery when the prolapse got really bad (UTI is common in women with prolapse) and these were the first I had in years. It got to the point where the prolapse was making it difficult to urinate and I kept having to go to the doctor to get a catheter. This is probably what caused the UTI's, at least that is what the doctor said.

I tried the pessary and it caused bleeding due to rubbing so I stopped wearing it. The research shows that most women who try the pessary are no longer using it within a few years later as it does not seem to agree with most women for various reasons. As far as other garments, if you have a very severe prolapse, the inability to urinate and the UTI's will still occur. I never tried anything other than the pessary but truly if you have a prolapse of any kind, find a doctor that is good even if you have to see several. I saw 4 (my gynecologist, a urologist, and 2 urogyecologists) before deciding who to have the surgery with. And I had a list of a couple more if I had not liked Dr. Antonini. Talk to some of their patients and see if they have had successful surgeries.

If you are interested in nonsurgical options try the website Whole Woman. Christine Kent is the person who runs the site and she has a lot of options for exercises and has written a number of books and has a lot of things posted about options and her philosophy. She is fairly anti surgery but I think if someone had a mild prolapse or was just completely against having surgery, Whole Woman might be a good resource.

My surgeon bladder prolapse surgery was Christian Quintero, MD FACOG with the Nevada School of Medicine in Las Vegas Nevada. A wonderful gentile and kind man. All he does is female pelvic and reconstructive surgery. It's been 4 years and no issues. I was especially concerned because I have severe Allergic Contact Dermatitis, a form of allergic eczema in which I must avoid specific contacts for life and feared rejection. I was assured the components were not on my Patch Tested list of allergens. I have had no allergic issues with the mesh or sling.
I used to have to go to the restroom at every store on a shopping trip and get up at least 3 times a night to urinate. Now on shopping trips I never to use a public bathroom. I still need to get up once a night to urinate but I do love my evening cup of decaf. My big mistake when I had my hysterectomy (due to prolapse) 5 years ago is that I went to a basic ob/gyn doctor in my local town. He removed the uterus ok and said he tied up the bladder. He was not a bladder specialist and it not only didn't work but I could still feel and see the dropped bladder which hung slightly below the vulva. It didn't feel comfortable, it's an odd sensation I would never get used to I still needed to urinate frequently. He did not put in the mesh or add a urethra sling. I did my homework and traveled to a highly regarded specialist. Seems like Gail did her homework initially; wish I hadn't assumed any ob/gyn doctor could do it.

I agree the prolapse repair with mesh, even done vaginally is painful afterwards and it required an overnight hospital stay. I can handle strong pain pills like oxy without addiction; I needed pain meds for a week. The sling is an easier, outpatient procedure and it extends time between bathroom visits. In a just a few days I was off of pain meds. All that was 4 years ago and glad I don't have to live the rest of my life with a prolapsed bladder which is a handicap.

@gardenjunkie Isn't the sling only for stress incontinence? I do not believe it is effective for urge incontinence which is what I have. I did have Botox for it and it has helped during the day but I am still up very frequently during the night. I plan to have Botox again and I believe the doctor will do a bit more Botox at that time.
JK

JK,
I did not have incontinence prior to my prolapse surgery but sometimes a prolapse can mask incontinence. When your bladder drops down, it makes it more difficult to urinate due to simple gravity (the urine cannot flow upward and out as it would need to when the bladder drops). My doctor told me that after the prolapse surgery I might have incontinence and so he did a urodynamics test to see if I was likely a person who would have incontinence once my prolapse was addressed. It turned out that I was and so he made some adjustments during my surgery to address incontinence as well. I do not recall him making a distinction between urge and stress incontinence but maybe he would have if that had been what I was primarily there for.

Evidently there are many reasons for bladder repair. I was never incontinent or needed to wear a pad. If I had a hard sneeze I could leak, yet if I knew it was coming I would bear down, squeeze and if I could, cross my legs. My prolapse was a dropped bladder, uterus and somewhat of the colon and as I mentioned it was visible, dramatic and it dropped out in one day. This is a real shocker washing in the shower and seeing this between your legs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember for years after a check up doctors would mention mild prolapse but since I wasn't noticing any symptoms I never paid attention. After age 60 I noticed I needed to urinate more frequently I knew where every restroom was in the stores I shopped even before the dramatic prolapse.
After the mesh was placed to lift up the bladder (nicely tucked up inside again) I urinated less, but I believed I was still urinating more frequently than I did when I was younger. To determine if I need the lift sling for the urethra to be straight, not droop and allow the bladder to clear out I was given a home test for when I urinated. Over the toilet bowl a plastic bowl with a rim to support it was placed. After each urination I recorded the time and amounts. Many doctors put one in along with the mesh surgery, but at that time my doctor felt it would not be needed. Glad for the sling addition. As mentioned I still need to get up once a night to urinate, but don't need to use public restrooms when going out to restaurants or shopping.

Hi, @shirls1948 - just wanted to clarify what you meant when you talked about 3-way vaginal prolapse? Did you have prolapse in your rectum, bladder, urethra, small bowel, uterus or vagina? I had surgery over 7 years back to correct bladder and rectal prolapse.

How was your surgical recovery?

I remember that measuring the urine with the plastic bowl, @gardeningjunkie. Fond memories ... 🙂