bladder prolapse surgery coming up.. scared!!

Firstly I think you'll have to be off work for more than 6 weeks although I don't know what your job is. Everyone feels pain differently depending on our pain threshold but it can be managed well if you take your prescribed medication as you are advised.

Hi 

don't worry about the Catherter I had one dident notice it much I just had to remind nurses to check the bag was not full as you really don't know when your peeing 

not sure about 6 weeks recovery I was told 12 weeks for the same op as you but I live n Dorset so different hospital don't try and rush it get lots of rest as I'm still swollen 5 weeks post op hope this helps?

I had my catheter taken out the followng day,it wasn't pleasant overnight but pain relief helped.6weeks is very optimistic,I was out of action for months,good luck

Catheter is really fine. It's great not having to get up to pee! I was also told 6 weeks off work and that's what I'm still aiming for (though not on my feet all day I do lots of walking between places). But nobody has said more than 6 unless heavy lifting in which case 8. I think it's 12 before you can start thinking about proper high impact exercise like running (though I plan on using this as the perfect excuse never to run again!). I haven't had any pain (managed with meds for week 1 then fine) but it's very very uncomfortable if I don't rest properly or get constipated. That has made me quite distressed but am getting it under control now. Make sure you have some movicol handy. If you're worried check with your doctor.

HiWelshgirl,

I have found this website both helpful but also so freightening with peoples horror stories that i seriously considered cancelling my surgery which isn't until Feb 18th as the thought of all that pain and discomfort sounded too much to bear. I only only having rectocelle but with a major perinieum fix and I too must admit to be more than I tad worried. Sex is already painful and I am told it could be worst after surgery. Here's what I learned from this website that is really useful. Hope it helps.

REST, REST & MORE REST.. in first few weeks don't stand for more than 20 minutes at a time, try to avoid sitting upright too. For weeks 2-4 try standing for up to 30 minutes and if you are up to it try gentle walks start out slow 20 minutes and see how you go listen to your body. Use what ever pain relief you are offered appartently we are going to need it ..Icing ( which I think means using ice to numb the pain) really helps. Forget 6 weeks if you are on your feet all day you will have to ease yourself back to work, maybe you could speak to your boss and get a tall stool to work from.

Here's what I found unhelpful.. failures posted with details. I decided to check back with my urgyno and took a list of questions regarding scary things i had read on the blog and he answered my every concern and pointed out that these website have feedback from people needing help not from the majority of cases.His success rate is 98%  Some fail again a few years after surgery but it is due to not doing the kegell exercises or lfting something heavy and he doesn't regard those as his failures. All this put my mind at ease but to be honest still scared but think it's worst the risk to improve my quality of life & sex life.

So ask the questions, call the hospital talk to your specialists but ask yourself that last question I asked myself and if the answer is a resounding YES! Then go for it .. be postive , yes there will be some down days but it should be worth it in the end. 

As for the catherter, I wouldn't worry about that too much. I had a colonoscopy earlier this year and was literally petrified of the thought of all those needles etc, but I need not have worried and definately wish I had not ventured on to the  help websites which were filled with stories of pain and woes. I felt nothing only a small ouch when they took the catherter out.

Good luck .. here's an idea let post back here if ..no make that when our surgery is successful and give other readers something positive to read about. All the best.

Hi Girls. I can give pretty positive outcome. I had cystocele using TOP sling repair 2mths ago. A catheter is a very everyday thing and you shouldn't even be able to feel it there unless you pull on it by mistake. Mine was taped to my thigh to prevent this. It doesn't hurt coming out. Just feels weird. It is put in while asleep in theatre. I had to have another in evening of Day 2 as I hadn't been able to pee yet, but that was just done in my bed and if you relax and don't tense up, it is nothing more than what you experience when having a smear test. Different hole of course. You didn't say exactly how your repair will be done? I had an ecoli bladder infection for a month and thought the discharge and urine leakage was all part of post-op, and that is why I came on here to try and get answers on what discharge is normal post-op. But alas I didn't find my answers and on week 5 I plucked up the courage to ring my Specialists Nurse and NO I shouldn't have urine leaking all day, and she sent me for an MSU lab test and faxed script to pharmacy for antib's. Within 48hrs I was SO much better and result showed ecoli growth. She said urine leaking was the bladder and urethra working overtime to try and flush out the bug. I also had a thick green vag discharge with that. All cleared up with the antib's. Had 7wk check and all excellent and Surgeon could feel the sling was in the exact right place and all had healed. That check was digital into vag and he also checked with clear duckbill thing they use for smear test. He wanted me to go for a re-check MSU and with Christmas pending and the craziness I kept loosing the form or not having it with me when out and finally did it about 10 days after he gave it to me. Still shows ecoli growth. Ugh. Damn. Not really got symptoms this time though. So bug is not sensitive to the antib I had first time, whereas it was on that initial lab MSU first time around. So onto cephalexin and trimoptopin or something like that. Just finished one week of those this morning so will go for another MSU re-check end of the week once antib's out of my system. 

My Surgeon says that after these repairs we should never go running again. Also 50% of girls who have given birth vaginally will have some level of prolapse, and of that 50% - 90% will probably need repair if their baby was over 9lb. My 2nd one was 9lb 4oz. First 7lb 11oz. I had stress incontinence for 26yrs. I would never wait until Grade 3 or worse prolapse before getting fixed. No point. Pain post-op was only like period pain and I only took synthetic morphine painrelief in the hospital. Panadol for a couple of days once home. I never took to my bed as in the all the world you can't tie me down. I spent ONE day in bed. Then got showered and dressed each day from day 2 home, and went downstairs and didn't lie down again until in bed for the night. I certainly took it easy and didn't lift anything too heavy, or do vacuuming, mopping, etc. I work from home, internet sales based, so was back into that from day 2 onwards. So that was computer work on a chair, and packaging off items to send. Husband did the Post Office trips. 

I'm pretty sure you don't need ANY bowel stimulant when only having cystocele repair (anterior repair). I sure didn't. That is needed for rectocele repair apparently. I have a Grade 1 rectocele but my surgeon decided it didn't warrant repair this time as he didn't want to make me "too tight". I don't get much trouble from that prolapse really. I was a bit miffed about him not doing that one too while in there, but I took his word for what really needed done. I didn't need perineum repair. To be able to sneeze while just carrying on what you are doing is FANTASTIC - no more stopping and crossing legs. And to crack up completely laughing (I've got very funny, fun loving children - 30yrs and 27yrs old) and have NO leakage makes the op SO worth while. My advice is GO for the surgery so long as you have a very experienced Urogynaecologist who appears to know what they are doing and has done many. I don't do any pelvic floor excercises as they never stopped the initial prolapse anyway and I haven't got time to stuff around going to physio. I'm 57yrs old by the way. I joined on here purely to find out about discharge down below as didn't think what I had was surely normal, and I left it a whole stupid month to then find out NOPE, it is not normal what I was experiencing. Kick myself now, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Hope this helps you girls facing repairs. GO FOR IT. It can change your life for the better. I'm racing around and can't keep still just like I was pre-op and I'm 2mths since surgery.

Fair point Tilley. Though I think that the 6 week period between the op and the follow up plays with your head. Finding this forum (only yesterday) has made a real difference to understanding what is a normal anxiety and what might be a problem.

The instructions you leave hospital with are a bit vague and stuff happens (for me my 4 year old fell on my abdomen day 4 so I was terrified I'd damaged something). Also, everything feels different (thank goodness) but I can't remember what normal feels like, and it changes daily with, presumably, bruising and swelling, so I have been fretting. I've never posted on a forum of any kind but I've been unable to get rid of my worries. I suspect these worries are unfounded but the well meaning people around me are vaguely bored and irritated by me now (it was ok for the first couple of weeks) so now I am looking elsewhere for reassurance. Strangely, knowing everyone else is worrying about the same stuff makes it feel more bearable.

Tilley, Welshgirl, I have never not for a minute wished I hadn't had it done. Already feels so much better. In fact I wish I'd done it sooner.

My positives: the operation itself - two child free days with meds that make you floaty and breakfast in bed; a bit ignominious at times but no worse than previous examinations or childbirth; no post op pain - cocodamol for a week but after that just a couple of paracetamol; I can completely empty my bladder and bowel for the first time in years - hooray!

I won't post the negatives, they were all self inflicted (rest, rest and more rest - rest means lying on the sofa watching to not preparing for Christmas; don't bend to lift also means don't crouch down on the floor to clear up toys). But follow the instructions, and also drink lots of water.

Tilley - thanks for making me think about what has gone right instead of what might have gone wrong.

Good luck!

If a catheter is put in correctly then it shouldn't cause you any pain. Yes it can be a bit uncomfortable if you are laid in a particular position but otherwise there shouldn't be any problems.