This is for my lady friends only

[Nanny1086]

Hi ladies its decision time for me on Tuesday ,that's when I see the consultant again about my prolapse,,,,,I was all for saying yes to the op ,,,,but after speaking to a lady at church this morning I'm now have second third and fourth thoughts,,,,,,love to hear if you had a prolapse and the decision you made ,,,,thanks in advance ,🤔😡😱😷

[sassy59]

No prolapse Nanny but MIL did and had the op. You will make the right decision. Xxxx

[Nanny1086 in reply to sassy59]

Thank you sassy xx

[SeasideSusie]

Nanny1086 My thoughts only (as a cystocele sufferer) as we all have to make our own minds up. I did a lot of reading and research as I had no real information from the locum at my surgery who diagnosed mine. I was never referred for further investigation so have seen no-one other than the locum, was just told 'If you want the surgery then come back' with no explanation of anything.

What I found was that surgery is considered fairly major (likened to hysterectomy in terms of what you can and can't do and length of recovery) and has a quite high failure rate with failure sometimes happening as early as a few months after the repair. I have a friend who, when I told her about mine, mentioned that another friend of hers had just undergone her second repair as the first one had failed.

The 'mesh' type of repair has very bad reviews and it's now banned in Scotland and the USA apparently. I know someone on another forum who had this done and it completely ruined her life, made her incontinent, in constant pain, amongst other things, and she was doing battle with the NHS over it, and meeting all the usual stumbling blocks including notes with important information missing.

I read about ring pessaries and the fact that sometimes it takes trying quite a few before finding a suitable one, plus that they can cause erosion and infection.

I decided neither of those options were right for me at this time.

I have 'managed' mine with pelvic exercises and a pelvic toner. It's not going to go away, (but there's no guarantee with the surgery either) but it is nowhere near as bad as it was when diagnosed.

There is a lot of information on the internet, you might want to search for other people's experiences. Good luck with your decision.

[O2Trees in reply to SeasideSusie]

Susie, good post which covers pretty much all you need to know. The secretary of our respiratory team also had two repairs and is still not 100%. Talking to many different women who have had the surgery, I think it can work well for younger ones, e.g. after giving birth. I also do kegels (pelvic floor exercises) for both cystocele and rectocele and they work pretty well. I didn't know about the US and Scottish bans on mesh surgery.

But i also think it depends on the surgeon as i heard good reports from one in our area, and not so good for others. It's a hard decision and I also wish you luck, Nanny. You could see if you could get referred to a pelvic floor physiotherapist - I was all set for the surgery when my GP intervened and made this referral. She taught me the right way to do the exercises and gave me a lot of confidence and I'll be forever grateful.

[Nanny1086 in reply to O2Trees]

Thank you ,I saw a bowel & bladder physio 2 weeks ago ,,,,she said if only I'd been refereed straight away she could have done more for me ,,, but she did say she would see me again ,( waiting ) so that may be another option to add to everything else ,, ,I'm trying hard to avoid an op ,and I agree with you that age is a big factor in recovery ,,, and now I've heard from yourself and susie ,,things are a bit clearer in my mind ,thanks again ,😘💐

[O2Trees in reply to Nanny1086]

You're very welcome Nanny, good luck

[SeasideSusie in reply to Nanny1086]

Nanny1086

"Thank you ,I saw a bowel & bladder physio 2 weeks ago ,,,,she said if only I'd been refereed straight away she could have done more for me ,,"

I can't make up my mind whether this makes me sad or angry.

It makes me think that prompt help from a physiotherapist could mean that for many people their prolapse could be managed, maybe even prevented from getting worse, and surgery avoided.

Where I live, it's 60 miles to the hospital. Referrals requested are being refused the GPs, symptoms are being described as non-specific rather than being checked out, pulmonary rehab doesn't exist here because of the distance to the hospital. The locum who diagnosed me, besides saying "Come back if you want the operation" offered me just one piece of 'advice' which was "If it comes out then push it back".

I wish I could see a physiotherapist for mine

[Nanny1086 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi ,thought you would like to know ,,,,no operation needed, ,,he said I'm doing the pelvic floor exersises correct and the vagifem is helping a lot , so I'm to continue with pelvic floor,and seeing physio ,I'm so relieved,

I had a look on you tube when I was first diagnosed and it should in great detail how to do the exercises,,,I found it very helpful,he also said to keep regular and not get constipated and then along with pulmary rehab I should be ok ,,,oh and if I get a bad cough ,,,hold onto the pelvis ,,,,haha, all in all I'm happy with the outcome ,,,,I wish you well ,😘💐

[Nanny1086 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi susie, you've been very helpful ,,,,almost word for word as what the lady at church said to me ,,,,,,when I first saw GP it seemed worse than it does now ,,,,,I saw consultant in May and I couldn't have the temporary pessary fitted,,,,too small,,,,so that isn't an option ,,,I didn't want that anyway as they have to be changed every few months ,,,,so I was sent away in May to see how I got on with vagifem and physio and pelvic floor and exersise ,,,,at first I struggled ,,,even walking ,,,or standing ,,was a problem ,,and going to the gym was out of the question ,,,,so my breathing suffered ,,,,and sommy fev levels dropped ,,,but the PR nurses gave me a plan of upper body exersise to do at the gym to build my lung function ,,,,so far so good with that ,,,,but now the day is near to decide ,,,,,,I'm 70 ,,,and so if I've got to have surgary then maybe ,,,,better now than later ,,,,I just don't know ,but I appreciate you getting intouch ,,,,,I'll post on Tuesday after seeing consultant,,,maybe he will make my decision easier ,,,I hope so ,xxx

[Hidden]

My mother suffered from this for many years and refused to have the op. She said it was too intrusive. She was mainly fine and controlled it with exercise and a healthy diet. x

[Nanny1086 in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou coughalot2 , I think your mother may have been right ,after speaking to a lady who had the op ,,,,,,I'm definitely changing my mind ,,,,

[emmasue]

I have a prolapse but the doctor said that she wouldn't consider surgery until it was certain I wouldn't get pregnant again. If I had the surgery and got pregnant, the pregnancy and birth would probably reverse the surgery. I seem to be managing with mine for now, so no rush for surgery here.

[Nanny1086 in reply to emmasue]

Thanks emmasue ,,,,,I'm well passed child birth age ( 70 ) so that's not one of my concerns,,,,,haha,,,,,but it does seem that many many people are choosing to live with a prolapse,,,rather than go for surgary ,x

[emmasue in reply to Nanny1086]

It is an interesting point. It is something I need to bear in mind for the future. I been coping alright till now. As long as I don't have another violent cough that makes it worse. 😜 xxx

[Nanny1086 in reply to emmasue]

Can I suggest you start doing your pelvic floor exercise now ,,,before it gets too bad ,,,,,,

Oh ,no op nessasary,,,whew thank goodness ,,,,good luck ,

[emmasue in reply to Nanny1086]

I do try to do them. The physio said that my pelvic floor was actually pretty strong, it was just the strength of the cough that did me in. Hopefully it doesn't get any worse. x

[Nanny1086 in reply to emmasue]

Hi ,it was the severe cough that caused mine to go ,,,,I such a bad winter ,lived on antibiotics,,,,had my flu jab today ,,,,early ,,,yes ,,,but I don't winter well and didn't get the last one until January this year,,,hence the early jab,

So the moral is ,,,,don't cough ,haha ,take care ,x

[emmasue in reply to Nanny1086]

Thanks! x

[Hidden]

We discussed this a while back if you remember, and I think now that after reading all these lovely posts from people who genuinely care about you, your decision can only be made after you have seen the consultant. I do wish you all the very best of help whatever happens and whatever choices you make. Prolapses are the most debilitating, dragging down, horrible painful things.

xx

[Nanny1086 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you again Jennifer,I know your right ,it's just as the day has arrived to see consultant again,,,,and speaking to

others ( specificity the lady at church who was adamant she wished she hadn't had it done ) doubts have crept in and I'm doubting my own judgement ,,,,may be tomorrow will make things finally clear ,,,,I'll let you know ,fingers crossed ,etc etc ,xx