Fes up

Hi, you are perfectly normal. I cried like someone died for 3 weeks. It's was hard waiting to get in to specialist then the pretest. To go from a perfectly heathy person to bring limiting. It is depressing. I tried to joke about it, but inside I was mess! I didn't have the exact procedure, but had a surgergy for rectocele and cystocele and she did a bladder sling to be on the safe side. I'm only 6 weeks out, but I had no pain. Only took pain medicine for 2 days. Both my prolapse where stage 4. I feel sorta normal but know not to over do it. I tried to eat heathy and took extra supplements. Also took probiotic for women. I never got any infections. And they did surgery outpatient, had to wear catherator for about week. I believe that I will get back to normal, or my new normal. Will be trying to figure that out as I go along. Hope you get surgergy soon, try to take it easy on your self and hope all goes well.

Thanks for your reply, it kind of comforts me to know im not alone but sometimes (especially when its a male doctor) and im saying how utterly rubbish i feel and they say well surgery will sort you i feel like screaming! I also worry that if i do get op date it will be postponed as hysterectomy was cancelled 3 times and there was 4 months between the 1st date and actual date of op.

I too try to hide how im feeling and keep busy but sometimes like last night it all comes flooding out. I am lucky my children are teenagers and a supportive partner, i also work for the nhs and for all the bad press they get they really look after thier employees so i guess i dont have that much to whinge about!

Thanks again for replying and listening to me whinge and i hope all is going ok for you.

Brie x

Hi and thank you for replying. Im sorry things arent as well as you would hope for after your surgery, also sorry for this essay of a reply but its a long story!

Just hetting my hysterectomy was a struggle, i had fibroids which cause massive flooding on a daiky basis and ovarian cysts which were so painful i was off work sick more than i was there. Anyway they first decided to remove the fibroids and do a 'watch and wait' on the cysts. I had an ectopic pregnancy also and because of all this they decided a hysterectomy was the way to go as well as doing the repairs which at the time were only mild.

The day after surgery i was told that my surgeon decided i didnt need the repairs and that my ovaries didnt need to come out either! I was gutted but also still high from morphine.

2 weeks after hysterectomy i was really poorly and got rushed back in where it was discovered i had a haematoma that was turning septic.

I had no support after my hysterectomy and no.follow appointment at all.

I went back to.work after 6 weeks as was advised this was ok because hysterectomy was done vaginally but i think it was far too soon.

Since hysterectomy i noticed the bulge down below getting worse and so uncomfortable but decided to ignore it as had so much done last year but one day at work i sneezed and my god i vouldnt walk! It just popped out and in again. Decided then it was time to go back to the doctors.

So its decided i need these different procedures done as well as sacrospinois fixation as that has weakened already just over a yr after hysterectomy.

I feel so tired all the time and like i said i feel like an 80 yr old, cant excersize or cough and as for the bedroom! Poor boy must be gagging (haha).

I still have ovarian cysts but because mine are the type that are blood filled and fall off after they get so big no one seems to care about them.

Again im apologise for going on but its nice to talk to someone who knows just how rubbish all this is.

Lastly as i said in message to another lady im very lucky i work for the nhs and the are fab at looking after me and making sure im ok. Even though they are really good i like you worry about what they are actually thinking behind closed doors.

Anyhow off to work i go, take care and will check for replies when i get home.

Brie x

Hi brie,

Sounds like you have been 'through the mill' to put it lightly.

I have a neighbour whose friend had hysterectomy and didn't go back to work till 6 months post op. While still finding it difficult she managed until she decided to take down a pair of curtains for washing at home and unfortunately ended up doing damage and had to take more time off.

Pelvic floor surgery is major surgery and as such requires proper long term recovery. Reading up the various experiences on this site highlights the need for longer recovery, so many of us underestimate the time needed for proper recovery and mistakenly think because we feel so good in early weeks that it's OK to carry on with normal tasks and end up having to have further repairs soon after.

They are ideally meant to last for 5 to 10 years , yet very rarely hear of that! The best chance of getting them to last is once retired when we have a measure of control over weight bearing and length it time on feet. Seems to be a continual fight against gravity once we start to undergo the menopause due to depletion of female hormone.

The best prevention seems to be a good physiotherapist and avoiding all heavy weight bearing (which can mean different maximum weight for different women), and leading a more sedentary lifestyle to avoid any down pressure.

So difficult to avoid weight gain and stay fit and health at same time. Have started trying to do 'Michele Kenway' pelvic floor exercises on 'utube' . A physiotherapist who specialise in PF ex... for pelvic floor prolapse and post-surgery. I am going to try track down her books.

Finding it very difficult to get the middle abdominal muscles activated the ones jus above pelvis floor in libe wit oelvis hop bones. Pelvic floor muscles I think are good but can't pull the middle ones in without pulling the upper abs in too and not to do that as theseen upper ones around waist and chest cause down pressure which will do damage.

Hoping that at next gyn.. appointment they can refer me to specialised physiotherapist for pelvic floor to learn to do these correctly.

Looking back I now understand why my mother use to always nag at me not to lift anything heavy. She trained as a wages clerk and after having family returned to work but had to take a warhorse job, the women never lifted anything heavy, porters done all that for them while they unpacked and sorted things onto rails.

Think sometimes we women got so focused on being equal and demanding rights that we forgot to look after ourselves trying to prove we can do the same jobs.

But we are built different and often left with weak pelvic floors after child birth so maybe we are not making allowances for that these days.

Who knows, but definitely understand why you are so fed up. The whole experience impacts on lifestyle choices and is so very frustrating.

I know that these repairs I mow meant to be only done by specialist in urogynocology. When I asked was told that I have to remember I had my op done in a training hospital. Too scared to think too much about what that meant but I suppose that those training are doing so under supervision of specialist so should be as good as can get!

I sincerely hope things work out for you soon. Thinks never get better by putting up with them and usually get worse. Push for the best urogynocologist they have got next time.

Take care and try and avoid unnecessary down pressure.

Phyl x

Sorry about predictive text!

Hi phyl, thatnks for that it is good to read other peoples experiences and heloful advice. Im having my op done in a different hospital to what i had hysterectomy done as i didnt want the same surgeon. Im told shes the best in the south west, well best nhs specialist anyway so im keeping everything crossed!

Wish i did this sooner cause the support on here is fab

Brie x

Your very welvome Brie,

This forum is a gold mine of information and like you wish I had known about it before my hysterectomy and 1st repair.

I really think we should be better informed and made more aware of pelvic floor prolapse after we have our 1st child. I know I would have taken pelvic floor exercises far more serious than I initially did, and would definitely been fat more Careful when I joined the gym. I would never have taken the job I was doing clearing tables and carrying heavy dishes without a trolley in later years which I am sure was the final straw that caused my minor prolapse to become much worse.

Phyl x

Like the positive battle cry!💖

Hi phyl...I did try to put a link on about '10 rectocele repair rules to help avoid a repeat repair' but it didn't come through. If you put that on Google you may find it - its by a physio called Michelle Kenway. There's some good stuff in it. Of course...this being about problems in a part of your anatomy that can't be spoken of 'in polite society' - as they would have said in 'Pride and Prejudice'...its hard to get any upfront info. At least this forum has opened a door for me and I feel much better that it isn't just me who is feeling like a total layabout! Its a wonder I haven't got bedsores or barnacles on my ass the amount of loafing about I'm having to do. We're all part of 'Team Prolapse' on here - as wellas propping up our 'nethers' we can prop up each other as well!

Thanks for posting that tip. I just googled it. Lot of good information. Thank you.

You're very welcome Grace, One thing I will be doing as soon as I'm able it to get back to, is using a Swiss Ball/exercise ball. A physio recommended one to me for backache/sciatica and it was just the best thing ever. It is great for doing gentle exercise with support from the ball. Just sitting on it when watching TV helps with your posture and core strength. Then rocking gently from side to side eases it into another level - still supporting you and gently strengthening and toning your core/back/thighs/butt. I'd recommend it to anyone - especially after the type of surgery we've had....easy/gently does it.

Just about to go check that out, thank you so much Gnomebottom!

X💖

Ah thanks gnome you did make me giggle, believe it or not theres so much other stuff going on in my life i am sometimes guilty of forgetting to feelsorry for myself haha.

Just a quick one and i hope everyone can see this:

Had a letter yesterday saying im going to be called on tues next week to discuss intermittent self catheterisation after the op. Anyone done this? What do you think? Is it as awful and im envisioning it is?

Sorry phyl...I overlooked that you'd already mentioned Michelle Kenway earler in the thread...duh! x

Go on to 'Dr' Google and look up 'Coloplast' - they have info and a video there - hope it helps and it isn't too gruesome. x