It turned out that my mother was put back on her blood thinner too soon--5 days post-op--considering the extensive work the urology surgeon did for her significant prolapse. She almost passed out in the night, and had an ambulance ride to go back to the hospital for a blood transfusion, wait another week for the blood thinner to start, and now--2 months post-op is doing very well.
My mother did several weeks of work with a PT who specializes in pelvic floor work. I think this really helped her to have a great outcome so far.
I’m supposed to have this surgery in June and I am very apprehensive about it and also the recovery afterwards. How can you have a prolapse come back if you’re sewn together? Also, any ideas on after surgery as far as foods to eat that will make my bowels move extremely well would be very helpful to me. Thank you.
Thank you Shawnee for your response I’m having this surgery in June and I am terrified. I haven’t heard of anyone that has been so positive as you if there’s anything else that you could add to make me feel better I really would appreciate it. If you would like to respond this way thank you so much precious Heart!
Hello, Thank you so much for all of your post. It helps me to know others are experienceing these things. Organ prolapse is one of the most hidden health issues out there. Glad we are bringing it into the light. I have felt so alone in the health problem.
I am 69 year old. I have a retentive bladder so I have to catherize myself in ortdr to pee. My uterus,
rectom and bladder prolaped in 2018. I was at a 2 .5 with the prolapse. I had a total hysteroctomey and anterior vaginal lift in 2019. I healed well and I continued to cath myself and life seemed pretty notmal. The surgery failed in 2021. Now my bladder buldges out of my vagina, stage 3. I feel lots of pressure, strain and pain in the evenings. As soon as I stand up now everything falls out. My social life has stopped. I can not use a pessary anymore as I had the same problems others have express with bleeding, discharge and discomfort. I am considering a colpocleisis. I am at the end of my rope with all of this. My husband and I agree that quality of life is much more important than vaginal sex. As I understand you can still have an exterior orgasm, I hope this is true. Does anyone have any experience with that part of the issue? Does anyone know how a colpocleisis can fail? If your vaginal walls are sewn together how can you prolapse? The only thing left for me to prolapse is my bladder of which I have to take great care of due to it's retenative nature. If the surgery does fail what recourse to you have?
It is true that you can experience orgasm after colpocleisis. Describing it as external is probably pretty accurate. It results from external massage, probably affecting the clitoris. I think the thing you want to avoid is heavy straining to have a bowel movement. That might affect the strength of the support. So drink water, exercise, and eat a high fiber diet to prevent that.
Sorry you are going through this at such a young age. Sounds you have a lot more going on than I do. I get soreness from the bulge which try to manage the bulge with kiegel (?) exercises and for the low back pain, I go to the chiropractor and do stretches. Aleve is also my savior. It all helps the aches for awhile but never really goes away. I have a high pain tolerance so it’s hard for me to determine the level of my pains and irritations compared to others. I just know when I am hurting others are most likely hurting more. I block the pain out most of the time. I also get massages twice a month that helps with muscle soreness. Hopefully you can get some relief from your issues.
Thank your for your quick response. From what I have read, some women have a lot of pain with their prolapse. The only pain I have had for years, is low back pain from weak core muscles and constant constipation (which I have had for years) which also contributes to the prolapse. Having 2 children also contributed. Have you experienced any pain with your prolapse?
I have delayed surgery to get more information (the doctor is 3-4 months out for scheduling surgery). The prolapse is at stage 3 again. Just taking it day by day:>)
I haven't scheduled my surger(ies) because we won't know for sure the treatment plan until I have an MRI this week. I have a lot of pelvic pain but that's mostly because of adenomyosis. I probably can also attribute lower back pain to a weak core. I don't know what stage my prolapse is at yet but I'm going to ask tomorrow when I go in for urodynamics. My urogynecologist is also booked many months out, but I'm getting in sooner by calling and asking about cancellations! What has helped most for you in terms of managing the symptoms?
@landersson0519 I am so grateful for your comment because it sounds like you had fairly early onset of POP (as have I) and the complications and recurrence you've had are precisely why even at my age (46) I feel like I have to consider colpocleisis seriously.
If I were at your stage of life I would do it in a heartbeat! It is a much less invasive surgery and it has fewer complications from what I've read. I tried to post some links that have been helpful to me as I've been researching but wasn't allowed to because I'm new to the forum, but the moderator shared them for me in a subsequent comment (which I also can't link to, sorry!). In any case, they may be helpful for you as you consider the surgery.
Thank your for your quick response. From what I have read, some women have a lot of pain with their prolapse. The only pain I have had for years, is low back pain from weak core muscles and constant constipation (which I have had for years) which also contributes to the prolapse. Having 2 children also contributed. Have you experienced any pain with your prolapse?
I have delayed surgery to get more information (the doctor is 3-4 months out for scheduling surgery). The prolapse is at stage 3 again. Just taking it day by day:>)
@landersson0519 I am so grateful for your comment because it sounds like you had fairly early onset of POP (as have I) and the complications and recurrence you've had are precisely why even at my age (46) I feel like I have to consider colpocleisis seriously.
If I were at your stage of life I would do it in a heartbeat! It is a much less invasive surgery and it has fewer complications from what I've read. I tried to post some links that have been helpful to me as I've been researching but wasn't allowed to because I'm new to the forum, but the moderator shared them for me in a subsequent comment (which I also can't link to, sorry!). In any case, they may be helpful for you as you consider the surgery.
I am 76 yrs old and had my uterus removed at the age of 41 due to prolapse. At that time, I also had rectocele surgery for a prolapsed rectum. My bladder, at that time, was fine. As the years went by, I noticed a bulge at the vaginal opening. I finally went to the doctor to find out what was happening because I felt like my insides were coming out. I had bladder and rectum prolapse. I had a cystocele and rectocele repair done in June of 2020 along with a bladder sling, after trying a pessary in 2019, that didn't work. A year after the surgery, I felt the bulge again. I went back to the gynecologist in January 2022 to find out my bladder and rectum was prolapsing again. My gynecologist referred me to a urogynecologist. She recommended 3 options, one being the colpocleisis surgery. One of the other two recommended was another cystocele and rectocele which she didn't recommend because it would probably happen again in a couple of years. The 3rd option was mesh, which I am not a fan of. At this point, the colpocleisis surgery seems to be the best option because of the recovery and I am not, and do not plan to be sexually active. I have been putting this surgery off to see if anyone has had any complications. I would appreciate any input about their experience with this surgery.
Welcome @onetiredmama. I noticed that you wished to post links to helpful resources with your post. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe. Clearly the links you wanted to post are not spam. Please allow me to post them for you.
Obliterative surgery has not been suggested to me at my age of 46, but I learned of it in an informational pamphlet on surgical options for POP and I am actually really curious about it since it is less invasive than reconstructive surgery and has a higher success rate.
Personally, I think sex is about a lot more than vaginal penetration, so I'm surprised that they factor coital ability so strongly into treatment recommendations...It offends me, to be honest.
I have only had an initial consult to confirm POP and next step is an MRI to find out if I am eligible for a hysterectomy (I have adenomyosis, endometriosis of the uterus) as that will inform the rest of my treatment plan. However, the doctor thought I would likely need posterior and anterior vaginal repair, as well as a mid-urethral sling, so we're looking at multiple surgeries.
Don't reconstructive surgeries have higher chance of prolapse recurrence? And wouldn't that be even more so the case with younger patients?
At this point, I don't even know if my doctor would consider this surgery for me, but I hope I can have a thoughtful conversation and consideration of the pros and cons of each treatment option. It certainly raises some big existential questions around what it means to be a woman, which are probably similar to what those having to decide about reconstructive surgery after mastectomy face.
I will post some links I found helpful in my initial research in a few days (they won't let me since I just opened my account!).
Welcome @onetiredmama. I noticed that you wished to post links to helpful resources with your post. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe. Clearly the links you wanted to post are not spam. Please allow me to post them for you.
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I’m supposed to have this surgery in June and I am very apprehensive about it and also the recovery afterwards. How can you have a prolapse come back if you’re sewn together? Also, any ideas on after surgery as far as foods to eat that will make my bowels move extremely well would be very helpful to me. Thank you.
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1 ReactionThank you Shawnee for your response I’m having this surgery in June and I am terrified. I haven’t heard of anyone that has been so positive as you if there’s anything else that you could add to make me feel better I really would appreciate it. If you would like to respond this way thank you so much precious Heart!
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1 ReactionIt is true that you can experience orgasm after colpocleisis. Describing it as external is probably pretty accurate. It results from external massage, probably affecting the clitoris. I think the thing you want to avoid is heavy straining to have a bowel movement. That might affect the strength of the support. So drink water, exercise, and eat a high fiber diet to prevent that.
Sorry you are going through this at such a young age. Sounds you have a lot more going on than I do. I get soreness from the bulge which try to manage the bulge with kiegel (?) exercises and for the low back pain, I go to the chiropractor and do stretches. Aleve is also my savior. It all helps the aches for awhile but never really goes away. I have a high pain tolerance so it’s hard for me to determine the level of my pains and irritations compared to others. I just know when I am hurting others are most likely hurting more. I block the pain out most of the time. I also get massages twice a month that helps with muscle soreness. Hopefully you can get some relief from your issues.
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1 ReactionI haven't scheduled my surger(ies) because we won't know for sure the treatment plan until I have an MRI this week. I have a lot of pelvic pain but that's mostly because of adenomyosis. I probably can also attribute lower back pain to a weak core. I don't know what stage my prolapse is at yet but I'm going to ask tomorrow when I go in for urodynamics. My urogynecologist is also booked many months out, but I'm getting in sooner by calling and asking about cancellations! What has helped most for you in terms of managing the symptoms?
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1 ReactionThank your for your quick response. From what I have read, some women have a lot of pain with their prolapse. The only pain I have had for years, is low back pain from weak core muscles and constant constipation (which I have had for years) which also contributes to the prolapse. Having 2 children also contributed. Have you experienced any pain with your prolapse?
I have delayed surgery to get more information (the doctor is 3-4 months out for scheduling surgery). The prolapse is at stage 3 again. Just taking it day by day:>)
Have you scheduled your surgery?
@landersson0519 I am so grateful for your comment because it sounds like you had fairly early onset of POP (as have I) and the complications and recurrence you've had are precisely why even at my age (46) I feel like I have to consider colpocleisis seriously.
If I were at your stage of life I would do it in a heartbeat! It is a much less invasive surgery and it has fewer complications from what I've read. I tried to post some links that have been helpful to me as I've been researching but wasn't allowed to because I'm new to the forum, but the moderator shared them for me in a subsequent comment (which I also can't link to, sorry!). In any case, they may be helpful for you as you consider the surgery.
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1 ReactionI am 76 yrs old and had my uterus removed at the age of 41 due to prolapse. At that time, I also had rectocele surgery for a prolapsed rectum. My bladder, at that time, was fine. As the years went by, I noticed a bulge at the vaginal opening. I finally went to the doctor to find out what was happening because I felt like my insides were coming out. I had bladder and rectum prolapse. I had a cystocele and rectocele repair done in June of 2020 along with a bladder sling, after trying a pessary in 2019, that didn't work. A year after the surgery, I felt the bulge again. I went back to the gynecologist in January 2022 to find out my bladder and rectum was prolapsing again. My gynecologist referred me to a urogynecologist. She recommended 3 options, one being the colpocleisis surgery. One of the other two recommended was another cystocele and rectocele which she didn't recommend because it would probably happen again in a couple of years. The 3rd option was mesh, which I am not a fan of. At this point, the colpocleisis surgery seems to be the best option because of the recovery and I am not, and do not plan to be sexually active. I have been putting this surgery off to see if anyone has had any complications. I would appreciate any input about their experience with this surgery.
Thank you.
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1 ReactionWelcome @onetiredmama. I noticed that you wished to post links to helpful resources with your post. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe. Clearly the links you wanted to post are not spam. Please allow me to post them for you.
- What to Expect from Colpocleisis https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/colpocleisis
- Your pelvic floor https://www.yourpelvicfloor.org/conditions/colpocleisis/
- Colpocleisis: Closing The Vagina To Optimize Quality Of Life https://www.pelvicorganprolapsesupport.org/sherriepalm-articles/colpocleisis-closing-the-vagina-to-optimize-quality-of-life9152019
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