Lou

So sorry to hear this Lucy please hang in there it will be worth it! I had the same and nearly went mad. I had to have bio-feedback and physio for a while too and lived on laxatives while i waited. 3 weeks ago I had my 'posterior repair' and am now recovering slowly after that. I'm ironically on more laxatives (softeners) now than I was before the op! Prunes etc etc and cannot lift a thing - i do lift a full kettle of water or equivalent - but trying to reduce all activity other than walking and the lightest of housework.

I can sense when I poo that it is going straight down and out, rather than getting in the 'S-bend' of the rectocele. So I'm hoping mine will hold. All the best, hang in there, if you can afford to stick with the private consultant do so!

This forum has been great.

All the best, ruth

Hi Lucy

I'm sorry you are going through this. I am 35 years old and also have a rectocele and enterocele too... I' m scared of a operation but I also don't know how long I'm going to be able to live like this... the worst thing for me is that the operation has so manny complications and I'm scared that my quality of life is going to be even worse afterwards... and in my country they only do op using mesh and everybody here is saying that the use of mesh is extreamly contraversal and has manny more complications... and now I feel alone and terrified and like there is no light in the end of the tunnel...

That sounds like it’s beyond physio doing any good, I’d ask for a second opinion and explain how awful this is for you xxx good luck 

Hi. I'm similar age to you with stage 2/3 rectocele. I have tried physio and it did improve symptoms so that I'm coping better. Toileting is easier and im able to stand and walk more than previously. I was in a very low place 6 months ago as I was unbearably uncomfortable all the time. They usually like you to try physio first as it could improve/alleviate your symptoms and you will have a stronger pelvic floor if you go for the op. I'm currently thinking of surgery but for now I'm coping better. Are you doing physio privately? Hope you get appointment soon.

That sounds very like my symptoms, grade 2 cystocele and rectocele and dreadful pressure in rectum and something popping out which has yet to be diagnosed.

Hi there Lucy, I understand completely. I began having the exact same problem at 40. My OB  told me there was nothing wrong and actually acted faintly disgusted when I described being unable to use tampons and having to press on the back wall of the vagina to pass a BM. He gave me estrogen cream (I was breastfeeding) and told me to do lots of Kegels and it would go away. I went to a pelvic floor physio and got no relief from the rectocele, although the stress incontinence did improve. I finally booked an appointment with a urogynecology specialist without a referral. I don't know if that's an option for everyone, but  I that with a great deal of persistence ladies in the UK can wrangle a specialist consult through the primary GYN. The specialist told me that I wasn't crazy, I did indeed have a rectocele, and that excercise cannot improve the symptoms of rectocele, only urinary symptoms. Rectocele is caused by tears in the deep tissue between the vagina and rectum, and by the time you have to use your fingers to poo, the tears are quite large. Only surgery can put them back together. I am 2 weeks post-surgery now, and I can tell you that the difference when I go to the bathroom is life-changing. Your symptoms are serious, they impact your quality of life, and don't let anyone suggest otherwise. We are young, we deserve to have comfortable intimacy with our spouses and bowel movements, and it is unkind for any doctor not to listen to you. Please be persistent and assertive and get the medical care you need.