hysteropexy, posterior repair, Enterocele, rectocele

Thank you Helen, it's so hard not being able to do things. I try to sit for as long as possible, but even pulling a chair out to sit on would be hard as our chairs are incredibly heavy. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Thank you so much for that Liz, I am worringing about it constantly to be honest & you read such horror stories. I got given very little information about after the operation x

I would like to also add to be very careful not to strain or lift anything heavy I know it's hard but it will be best in the end

To be honest Seph I had few symptoms before my operation other than the dragging feeling & my pelvic muscles being constantly switched on because of the prolapse. My toilet movements are good, & I have little pain. The area still feels very full & im such a fidget at night I wake myself up when I've turned over.

Thank you Anne-Marie what a relief to hear someone else's experience. That's put my mind at rest somewhat. I too am exhausted all the time. I promise to try and rest as much as possible xx

Hi anne-marie,

i am 5 weeks post op and spend hours searching on line for reassurance that I am not losing my mind.  I feel that, although my pain is finally subsiding, I am wiped out, weak, filled with anxiety, depressed and losing all self esteem.  Your post mentioning that you felt worse around week 4/5 has been the most unique and best thing I've read in weeks to lift my spirits a bit.  I am very grateful.  I know we all heal at different rates, can you tell me when you started to feel lasting strength build.

Thank you

​I started to feel stronger around weeks 7/8 although i still didnt really do much . I was able to take my 5 year old to school and pick her up from school around this time. The school is a 15 minute walk there and back. I returned to work at 11 weeks post op for 4 hours a day 3 days a week (mon, wed, fri, ) and was exhausted the first couple of weeks. I am now 19 weeks post op and have full strength back. I had a check up at 13 weeks and was told i have a grade 1 bladder prolapse but the consultant told me it wasnt anything i had done wrong, he says my muscles are so weak that was the best result i was going to get from surgery. I have to attend physio for 6 months minimum to help strengthen everything and after 2 appointments i can feel a difference. I still dont really lift anything heavy or stand for too long a time but ive accepted thats a life long change i have had to make. Good luck with your recovery, just take it slow and listen to your body xx

Hi Angela, it is hard when you have a little person relying on you. It's often just the two of us as Daddy goes to work 4/5am most days and is rarely back before 5/6pm. I am very lucky in that my mum is batch cooking meals for us, so I'm only having to pop them in the oven but the meals can be very heavy. I cooked and have frozen several meals too so currently we're not starving. My husband is no chef, even struggles with eggs on toast... I'm ignoring the shop we currently have out in our lounge along with a vets etc. Wishing you a successful recovery ??

Thank you so much Matron, I read a few of your responses on other posts & found them very helpful. I think I'm expecting to much to soon 😞 I'm being sensible at the same time though. I just hate asking for help. I feel much happier knowing all my worries with swelling etc are normal. Sadly I didn't get told much about what to expect after my operation. My doctors have been fantastic thankfully. Thank you for your reassurance ??

Indeed Matron, it's not only anxiety it's also the phone calls & doctors appointments we make asking questions therefore wasting their time. I just had to go to the doctors and have some stitches out as the dr said they weren't dissolvable. Incidentally this wasn't written on my discharge letter I was told I had dissolvable stitches.

I have not seen non dissolvable stitches for over 15 years! Sometimes the dissolvable stitches are "stubborn" and won't dissolve so need snipping but I have not heard if any urogynaecologists not using dissolvable stitches for many many years. 

I thought it was an odd place to put non dissolving stitches if im honest. The trouble was my Dr tried to call my consultant & although she was in clinic today & was bleeped she couldn't get hold of her. Instead she spoke to the on call gynaecologist or something like that who was happy for her to remove them. The stitches were very dark blue & very thick.

That's a shame though as they hurt to be removed & I bleed as they sort of needed cutting out, I think my doctor was doing her best to help me but without much backup from the hospital. I feel a bit stupid to be honest but can only go by what I'm told. Wish I'd have asked you first.

Matron, please could you give me some advice on questions to ask at my check up? I did ask if my coil was still in place after my operation as my cervix had also dropped. Apparently no one knew the answer to that question though so it's on my list. Thanks in advance ??

Anita your doctor knows best and don't ever feel stupid. Your sutures may not have dissolved, some don't even though they should and I'm sure your GP wouldn't have removed them if he didn't think it was safe to do so. They would have caused you to bleed but they are out if the way now so one less thing to worry about.

That's very true & I very much trust my doctors, they're all great. Thank you 😊

Hello Anita. How strange that nobody could tell you if your coil was still in place. Surely it would have been documented in your notes. Sometimes I despair! I suspect it's not there anymore because they are usually removed but who knows. Now questions. Well you've had a lot if surgery, operations that some urogynaecologists would do separately or at least only two procedures then another one later. That's ok because it saves you having a further anaesthetic and further post op pain etc. I would want to know if the surgery went as planned for instance was there anything that concerned the surgeon (for instance any weakness noted, bleeding or anything that was difficult to repair). That's important for the success of the surgery and you are young so it wouldn't be unrealistic for you to ask how long would he expect the repair to last. You have had minimal pain from what you describe which is more common in younger women so I would suspect he will be very positive about the outcome. Ask advice about when it's ok to have intercourse and more importantly (perhaps) lifting and exercising in the long term. It's important because no 2 women are the same, it does depend on the extent of the prolapse and how well the surgery went. Each consultant has his own ideas and views and with having young children you need to be absolutely clear on what you can and can't do. Ask about driving because with young children it's obviously important but if he says before 6 weeks ring your insurance company because some do say 6 weeks at the earliest, mine did although I couldn't have driven I was in too much pain (I rang before my operation) but some will say if your consultant says it's ok then they are happy with that. Ask if he thinks physio would be beneficial to protect your pelvic floor. Hope that helps, if I think of anything else I'll get back to you. Good luck

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me Matron, i really appreciate your help. I asked before my operation about whether or not my coil needed removing & was told no. After my operation I asked the nurses various questions but every time they said it was something I'd need to ask the surgeon. Although I was on a surgical ward three of the four beds were occupied by patients admitted through a&e. It's so hard because the nurses and doctors are rushed off their feet changing beds and clearing up allsorts. I have started to write a list of things to ask as I have a very poor memory. When I had my coil fitted it was awful & took a year to settle, as I have very heavy & painful periods. I was hoping not to have to go through all that again.

Matron, I'm sorry to constantly ask you questions. Would you be able to advise me on the fact I've started to get a slight discharge today is that normal? I had quite a lot of discharge immediately before my operation but assumed it was due to my prolapse as I did tell my consultant about it.

As long as it doesn't make you itchy (thrush) then it's perfectly normal. It sounds like normal vaginal secretions that is natures way of keeping the vagina clean. It can be more noticeable following pelvic floor surgery.

Anita I've obviously used a word this website doesn't like but basically all I said was it is normal unless it causes you to be itchy or sore. I think the message will be allowed when it's moderated.

Well I didn't know that, you learn something new every day. Again thank you for your help.

I forgot to say, after my swab got sent away it turned out I had an infection. The results came back abnormal so not sure what kind of infection it was. That started to get better and I then got a urine infection which sadly meant different antibiotics. Feeling heaps better now, and feeling very positive x

I wonder if you had Candida (thrush), were you itchy? Often antibiotics cause thrush but you had it the opposite way round. I'm pleased you're feeling better, very often a urine infection can make you feel unwell even when you do have the symptoms commonly associated with a UTI x

That's what I thought but I've only ever had it once due to antibiotics xx