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Failed rectocele repair!!

Posted , 7 users are following.

Mrsg85
Mrsg85

Hi. I'm looking for some advice I had a rectocele repair 2 years ago and I think it's come back sad I've been struggling to go to the toilet and now I know why. Any information on what to do next would be great.

2 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • ED2018
    ED2018 Mrsg85

    Posted

    Hello Mrsg85 - I am certainly no expert as this is my first time around with all of this - but according to what I have read on these boards and in research - the Rectoceles can recur or can develop in other areas of the tract.  The only way to know for sure is to have an exam - you may wish to consider calling your GP or even better a urogyn (not sure where you are and that it seems folks from the UK have to wait quite a bit to see a specialist).  In the meantime hope you can stay well hydrated and keep everything moving.  I certainly hope you don’t have to face another sgy!  I am 26 days post mine and this has NOT been a walk in the park!  Still - am grateful I had the surgery done as I can already tell a difference in function both front and back.  I hope you find the help you need and that the answers are better than what you fear.  Xx
    • ruth63422
      ruth63422 ED2018

      Posted

      Hi ED - I am same day post rectocele repair as you! How do you feel it has worked? When you say you can feel a difference? I'm not sure what I am feeling! I sense that things are going straight down and out, rather than getting caught in the 'S-bend' of the old rectocele, but I'm still on loads of softeners and prunes etc so can't really tell....its all a mystery. What are your activity levels at this stage? I'm doing very little - less than I did in the first week i think!

      R

    • ED2018
      ED2018 ruth63422

      Posted

      Hi Ruth,  I am similar to you in that even being able to have it come straight out without straining is a miracle!  I am also still taking Mirilax each AM and colace stool softeners 1-2 at night.  I am still having to rest quite a bit - when I went out on day 24 to physician that was the first time away from home since sgy.  All my stitches are still there - none have come out yet and I am still having some trouble with the obdurator nerves settling down from the bladder sling TOT placement.  My surgeon says that the insertion and sutures are all right there so that is why I have been having intermittent terrible pain running across my pubic bone and down the inside of my inner thighs to my knee area.  I am recognizing that I just have to be patient and appreciate the fact that I can have bodily functions when I need to AND NOT have them when I sneeze, cough and the like! smile. She put me off work through the six week mark and I am so relieved as I no where close to being ready to go back at this point.  I have cooked a couple of dinners - but found that by the time I got it all ready - I was nauseous from discomfort and didn’t even really have an appetite.  I still would do the surgery again - from what I have read on these forums - if we do our job and rest now...hopefully the payoff will come for many years forward.  If you ever need to reach out for a comparison check - please don’t hesitate to message me.  I wish you all the best in your recovery!
    • ruth63422
      ruth63422 ED2018

      Posted

      Thanks much Ed - very grateful - same with the softeners and at times I'm thinking "It's no different than before; I've had to be on this for years because of the rectocele - now I'm on same amount because of the surgery - except never lifting or straining again"

      So I sometimes wonder if I've not gone from the frying pan to the fire. I've got 3 weeks more away from my job (mental health nurse, pretty sedentary). Starting to walk more and eat prunes plus drink so much water daily and sadly wonder at times if I'd had a perfect lifestyle and bowel habits earlier (55) I may never have needed this.

      Oh well, trying not to feel sorry for myself. I havnt lost any stitches either as far as i can tell yet; Ive got 3 layers I think they said!

      Thanks for your support,

      R

    • ED2018
      ED2018 ruth63422

      Posted

      Hi Ruth,

      I know I read somewhere while researching this sgy, that it is recommended  for any who have any tendency towards constipation that they consider some sort of a bowel regimen for life.  I will not be surprised if I need to take either Mirilax or colace (or Magnesium Citrate capsules as Laura shared) for the remainder of my days.  I am a 26 yr veteran RN - now working as a RN administrator of a very busy academic inpatient unit.  As you know - we nurses aren’t always the best with hydration due to long days and extremely busy workdays caring for others.  I just know that even if I have to take the softeners forever - it is better than all the contortions I had to go through to have a movement previously.

      As for lifestyle, I think many of us - had we been educated when we were young women (and I mean beginning at onset of menses) that there were things we needed to do to take care of ourselves to give us the best chance of NOT having POP...may have made different decisions.  I know I had to look up POP when I was diagnosed with it and this was after suffering for several years as the GP I had seen blew off my symptoms when I finally had the courage to mention them.  I felt embarassed that as a RN, and a good one, that I had NO IDEA what this condition was - nor how prevalent it is.  While I am still in the early days of all of this - I am determined to figure out ways that I can use this experience to help spread education and awareness on this topic.  Maybe if all of us nurses did this - we could at least help others.  Thank goodness for this board as it has truly been a lifesaver to me throughout all of this.  It is good to have your support smile.

    • ruth63422
      ruth63422 ED2018

      Posted

      I totally agree Ed - this would have begun for me 35yrs ago as a student RN - no hoists etc in those days - if we found someone on the floor we just heaved them up by ourselves quickly before the Charge Nurse saw! The heavy lifting was incredible, and in combo with the shift-work-induced constipation it's actually a recipe for disaster, isn't it! Why are we nurses so bad at self-care?!? Maybe it was just the lifestyle when young. On top of that start 35yrs ago, I had a hysterectomy 10yrs ago, and that also apparently can precipitate a subsequent prolapse. So I was a sitter for it really. I also am an academic! Returned to psych nsing as missed it.

      I wish I'd known a lot more about this aftermath, and if I did all the wonderful things I'm doing right now from the time of the hysterectomy onwards may not have needed the op. I don't think pelvic floor exercises are given nearly enough importance for women, and for nurses especially.

      I feel upset at the thought of being on softeners for life, and never being able to lift again - it all seems much of a muchness right now! At least it does feel good noticing everything going straight down and not getting caught. Perhaps I'll focus on the positive!! R

  • ruth63422
    ruth63422 Mrsg85

    Posted

    My sympathies. Can you return to original surgeon for check? I am 25 days post-op for rectocele and rigid with fear of ever doing the slightest thing that might lead to repeat surgery.

    I hope you can be checked and maybe see a pelvic floor physio?

    Good luck

    R

  • Laura3333
    Laura3333 Mrsg85

    Posted

    Hi Mrsg, mine failed as well, but it failed around six weeks after surgery. It’s a lot lower down, they seem to be if you get another one, my repair held but my tissues are weak. 

    I went to a colorectal surgeon about something else, and he set me on a new regime which has really helped me, if I had done this before I wouldn’t have had the repair done. I take a sachet of Laxido and two magnesium citrate 500 mg tablets every day without fail. I have an easy pain free bm every morning without straining, plus the rectocele doesn’t bother me now, everything seems to go straight past it and out. Try it, it may help you. The magnesium tablets are safe to take every day, and Laxido isn’t a laxative as such, it draws fluid into your bowel, so you will need to drink more.

    Tablets, I get from amazon, hope this helps. It’s been a revelation for me, I couldn’t face having the surgery again.

  • ED2018
    ED2018 Mrsg85

    Posted

    Mrsg85 - how are you?  Were you able to contact your surgeon for an appt?
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