Hi I've been recently told I have a rectocele, cystocele and uterine prolapse, uterine being the worse one, I wasn't told what stage they were however presumed not bad as the only thing I was told to do was pelvic floor exercises for 3 month,and take painkillers and stool softeners and come back if pain worsens.
The symptoms I was having which led me to go and get checked out in the first place were sacrum area pain and pressure feeling rectum area along with feeling like I needed to pass stool all the time but being unable to vaginal stretching feeling when using bathroom. Pelvic and groin area pain and also problems having a bowel movement. Which has been getting progressively worse over the last few month.
Anyway the bowel problems over the last few weeks especially are really concerning me to the point I'm beginning to wonder if it is my prolapse or something else that is causing the troubles. I just haven't been able to pass stool at all really, if I do manage to go at all dispite my best efforts only a small amount of soft skinny flat poo comes out. The only way I manage to go is by basically living on stool softeners 2 to 3 times a day which results in a soft/liquidy stool that takes a bit less effort to pass. The pains I have been having have also reduced a little with not going to the loo basically and the less effort on the loo by using the softeners which is great but it's not solving my problems and it's frustrating.
Is this normal considering my prolapse are apperantly not too bad or am I right in thinking that something else could be going on?
Can't seem to find anyone writing anything similar everywhere I have looked online so I'm getting worried more and more about it all every day.
Anyone having the same symptoms or can offer advice please.
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Have you seen a Gynaecologist ? Has a pessary or topical estrogen been suggested ? sounds like you are having significant problems if your prolapses are considered mild enough for pelvic floor exercises to help. I suggest you go back to either your GP or if you have one your Consultant and demand further investigations and treatment, the longer its left the worse it will get.
If I was you I would be insisting on a referral to a female urogynaecologist then you will get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
You may need to see a few to find the right one, i saw one at my local hospital and she was useless, Im now paying privately to see one my GP recommended and she is amazing, we just have to be persistent !
I personally wouldn't start any physio exercises until you know exactly what's wrong.
Oh ok thanks so a referral to a urogynaecologist would be what I really need before a pelvic floor specialist then? Feeling a bit fobbed off by my gp at the min as seems they don't really understand tbh, especially as I was told to just take stool softeners to help me.
Can I just request a referral then? Are they likely to refuse if they don't think that's what I need?
Sorry for all the questions but this is really getting me down at the minute and Ive really been struggling to figure out what is best to do next about it all.
Its helpful if you have the name of a particular Consultant you want to see so do some googling of your preferred hospitals to find one that sounds good, you can phone the secretaries to find out what they specialise in and also if they see private patients to speed things up, if indeed that is a possibility for you. Good luck, let us know how you get on.
Have you seen a pelvic floor physical therapist yet ?because it sounds to me like you have pelvic floor dysfunction...which I have had for 10 months....it is a very scary and troubling condition and there are a lot of types of pelvic floor dysfunction so assessment by a pelvic floor physical therapist is best...show me a combination of weekly pelvic floor physical therapy 5 months now and muscle relaxers when needed and I also have vaginal and rectal Valium if I need it.... Some people get botox to relax tense muscles which usually are causing you're not being able to go to the bathroom and the general dysfunction.... A lot of people go through many specialists and even get surgeries which don't have so I implore you to check out the international pelvic pain society and find a therapist near you... generally it's going to take a year or two to get this corrected so patience is needed... you may get home stretches and breathing exercises which don't sound like they will help but they do.... It's like opening a Pandora's box because so many doctors are uneducated on this and in fact my pain doctor told me it's like a brain with all the nerves and muscles involved in it that's so much can go wrong and so many doctors don't know much about it... I hope this is of some help because I really don't think the mile rectocele you have would create all of this
No I haven't seen anyone else about this, when I was examined at the doctors she didn't seem overly concerned but my bowels have become a lot worse since my visit there so I think I need to go back.
Can I request to see a pelvic floor specialist at my gp do you know?
I have had a little read about pelvic floor problems and it does sound like I have symptoms of this. Did you have the same symptoms as me can I ask?
Hi Kalecolbe12 thanks for your answer. I have recently taken up aqua aerobics and I find this helps with pain management. I go once a week at present to the gym on my sons membership, I would love to do more sessions but I cannot afford it so going to ask my gp about getting help with this cost. I saw a private doctor at the beginning and she advised me to ask the gp to sign me up for pelvic floor exercises.I did in the early stages ask about getting a ‘therapist’ to help with suitable pelvic floor exercises but I was told I needed to get diagnosed first which I have. But recent worldwide events took up my headspace and I put this on the back burner. I am taking this up again as my health is impacted very much by my prolapses.
If you haven't been seen by a Gynaecologist, you need to go back to your G.P and ask her to refer you to one
It doesn't matter what she thinks,because if you are having all those problems, then something is definitely wrong. The sooner you get the referral the better,because Gynae has quite a long waiting list.
The other thing you could do is to go Private for your 1st Appointment. I think it would probably cost about £150, I know it's quite a lot of money, but it could be worth it in the long run.
I had a Rectocele Cystocele and
Uterine Prolapse 12 years ago. Trouble was my Sons were older than my G.P and i was too embarrassed to talk about it.
But then i had no choice because part of me was coming out of my Private Parts.
I was urgently referred to Gynae and was told my Prolapse had brought my Bladder down and was bringing my bowel down with it.
Anyway I was admitted to Hospital and had had Surgery for a Prolapse Repair.
I was in Hospital for a few weeks because I couldn't Wee .Had a catheter in for 10 days.
It was just before Christmas, so on Christmas Eve I was allowed home for 2 days. I still had the catheter in, but there wasn't a bag on the end of the tube, it was like a little tap.
The day after BOXING Day i had to be back on the ward. But I still couldn't wee.
The Consultant came to see me 3 times a day, he'd say ( HEY TROUBLE, HAVE YOU HAD A PEE YET ),
He told me not to worry though, it was just that because of the Procedure my muscles had forgotten how to work.
But everything was fine a few weeks later.
Now, years later the same trouble have started up again. But I didn't hang about this time. I have a Pessary fitted every 4 months at the Hospital.
I know that this has taken long time to tell you. I just wanted you to know what to expect if you have to eventually have a Repair.
But get to see a Gynaecologist before it gets any worse Don't let it get as bad as i did.
YOUR G.P CANNOT REFUSE YOU SEEING A GYNAECOLOGIST.
WHETHER YOU GO PRIVATE OR WAIT FOR A NHS APPOINTMENT.
Have exactly the same problem except the uterine. Position on loo helps with bowel one i.e. raising feet on stool to squatting position or leaning as far forward as possible, also using a small implement called femeeze. This has changed my life re bowel problems. Why doctors don’t tell you these things I’ll Never know. Good luck.
Hi yea I'm wondering if it could be a mix of all 3 prolapses maybe making my problem worse so perhaps not the recotecele alone causing all this.
I was told mine were not too bad however I decided to feel around myself and when I'm trying to have a bowel movement can most definetly feel something very close to entrance. Feels very much like my cystecele being pushed further towards my entrance by my uterine prolapse, well that's how it feels anyhow.
Will have a try with a stool as your suggest tho, here's hoping it works.
Hi sounds awful....I have a prolapsed uterus that has affected the working of my bladder.The prolapse is quite severe and I am waiting to have a repair.In the meantime I contacted a urinary infection so nothing will be done until that is better.
The reason I am writing is that I was told by my private doctor to go public as they are more expierenced and had more sophisticated equipment.I think I have your problem with bowels....very lose and very painful unless I take probiotic which seem to keep stools more or less normal and no pain
Might be worth a try can't hurt. I get mine from amazon large dose
Sorry I have been rambling ,hope I made some sense.
I actually had colitis and the three prolapses at the same time. I never thought to put them together since I have had surgery to fix the prolapse and a hysterectomy. I still have flares of the colistis.
As far as the bowel issue. I had much of your same descrition but the colitis mainly left me with the loose stools. When I had a harder formed stool with the rectocele I could only evacuate by placeing two fingers into the vagina and pushed them against the rectum to get the stool to empty.
I also was told by my GI doctor and pelvvic PT to adjust my stool consistency with psylium. I use caps but you can also use the liquid. For caps I now take 1200 mg three times a day. I am now in the soft formed range. My GI said that the stool softeners I took after my hysterectormy and forgot to stop likely triggered the colitis flare I was having.
yea I read somewhere that pushing on the area can sometimes help when using the bathroom, I've had no luck with this unfortunately, for me tho I'm just not sure if I'm doing it right tbh lol, thing is Ive had a feel myself since and I can't seem to feel this recotecele that I am supposed to have,which I find strange. I can feel the other prolapses however.
I have pelvic dysfunction, everything has prolapsed, I've had several surgeries.
Anyway my rectal prolapse caused me a great deal of bowel issues and urinary too. It all started with symptoms similar to yours. I became 100% incontinent. Just last year I finally found a Dr. that put everything back in. Beat the heck out of a colostomy bag, which is what another surgeon had suggested as the treatment plan. So I don't have a colostomy bag and I no longer wear diapers.
I have been treated by three types of Dr.'s , a G.I., Urogynecologist/Surgeon and Colorectal Surgeon.
I have so much compassion for you, good luck with your treatment.
My GP said mild prolapse (rectocele). The wait to see an NHS urogynaecologist was long so I paid for a private one (£180)
She was brilliant and reassured me that it was just a mild prolapse and that physio would deal with it. She prescribed some oestrogen pessaries to help. She actually said she did not need to see me again.
I came away very happy and start my physio next week.
But in the last 4 weeks I have had constant pelvic pressure and aching in the rectum and vaginal area, like I need a bowel movement. My vagina also feels stretched.
I was suffering from constipation, probably what caused the prolapse, but I have dealt with that through a mixture of diet and stool softeners but still that feeling of needing to go is there. Using my grand-children's toilet step has helped a lot too.
I've been back to my GP for some more advice and she gave me some painkillers as the whole area constantly aches which is hard to live with. (They don't work for me by the way, nor does using ice or heat)
On my insistence she also booked a sigmoidoscopy just to check that there is nothing else going on. If I was you I would ask for one too as it will put your mind at rest.
Mine is booked for next week and I don't know whether I want it to show up another problem or not! Like you, I cannot believe that all this pain and discomfort is coming from a mild prolapse when I hear of people having severe prolapse and hardly any symptoms.
I think I might have a pelvic floor dysfunction issue and just hope the physio will be able to help with this.
Good luck getting some help but please know that you are not the only one with these problems. Reading this forum has helped me realise that.
" I cannot believe that all this pain and discomfort is coming from a mild prolapse"
Oh yes believe it ! I have had a mild cystocele for many years and had all the pressure, pelvic, back, leg and lots of other pain from it which has been dismissed for all that time, I'm now seeing a brilliant urogynae who is actually trying to help 🙂
For the pelvic pain I'm on a tablet called Ospemifene which is a bit off label, it's a selective oestrogen modulator so is an alternative to topical estrogen, if this doesn't work she will consider total hysterectomy and repair although that's a last resort. The main thing is she absolutely understands the painful symptoms and she believes no women should have to put up with it !
Hello there I’m interested in the leg pain - was it mostly at night? I have mild prolapse and am getting mild leg pain ()tho it wakes me)when I lie on my side at night
That’s the issue, there are things we can do like Pilates, aqua aerobics but the cost is the block.I attend aqua aerobics on the back of my sons gym membership but I don’t know how much longer I can do that. I am going to find out from my gp if I can get help with this. Just as help is given to someone who has lost sight in various degrees I strongly feel we should get help too. I feel that women’s issues like this is not given the support and understanding it deserves and one has to be so forthright (almost to the point of being angry and speaking out of ones normal calm self to demanding help!, This is my opinion.
Can I ask if anyone is in part time work or full time with these issues?I have been on sick certificates for a while now and can’t see myself being back in work with all the self care I need to do to get through the day.
Oh no how long was the wait can I ask, unfortunately going private isn't a option for me.
Sorry to hear you are now having more symptoms. The only relief I get when I feel very bad with the pain is co codamol, which doesn't do good for my bowel problems so I have stopped them also now...
I too feel I may have a pelvic floor dysfunction after what I've been reading.
awful thing where I live is I can only get a ten min appointment in a week and a half's time earliest, absolutely sucks.
I have so much to ask them and talk through but there just isn't enough time to do so. Might have to make a few trips by the sounds of it...
Thanks for your reply and best of luck to you also.
The wait for a consultant in my area , Portsmouth (south coast) would have been about 3 months but that was for a 20 minute appointment with a Male consultant. I paid mainly because I wanted to explain my symptoms to someone with the same anatomy who would understand. Also it was a 45 minute appointment. Cocodamol doesn't work for me and it bungs me up too.
Hi there, similar to my symptoms of bladder incontinence and urgency, and a severely dysfunctional bowel. I was referred by my GP to a specialist bladder and bowel physio initially to help with both issues. Unfortunately I have little to no feeling in rectum and no muscle movement. Have tried a lot of laxatives with no result and after extensive tests my bladder and bowel are severely compromised with adhesions and I have very little peristalsis function. The pain is both endless and debilitating.
My physio supports me with daily bowel irrigation and most distressing is I now have to perform manual evacuation. My physio diagnosed levator-ani syndrome which causes severe spasms from vaginal area round to rectum and to colon. It also causes severe difficulty with bowel and bladder function.
My physio organized referrals to see a neurogynaecologist and colorectal consultants and I insisted on a female team as logically thinking they are more informed of our lady bits!!
I have a fantastic team now working together in creating a care plan to manage my conditions. It has taken me four years to get to this point and if I can give a small piece of advice, is to stand firm and insist to your GP that you require referrals to the relevant medical professionals who can support you with a diagnosis and provide relevant treatment. We all have a right to comprehensive healthcare sometimes we just need to make a bit of noise to be heard.
Wish you good health and hope you get the right treatment for you. Stay strong!!!!!
Hi Skye thanks for your reply. So sorry to hear you are having such an awful time.
Weirdly I have noticed some very similar issues with what I would say is loss of feeling etc, sorry if tmi but when I try to have a bowel movement it is as if I manage to push my stool to near the bottom of my rectum and then it's like it just wants to stay there and Im usually unable to push it out.and any I do push out I don't feel coming out if that makes sense.
Is this similar to what you experience at all can I ask?
Good to hear you are getting somewhere now.
Thanks for the advice and good luck with everything x
Yes it's very similar. Once I have used the irrigation treatment it moves things along to rectum, as I have no feeling this is when through touch I then have to manually evacuate. I get tremendous help and support from my physio and let's be honest it is quite an embarrassing subject to talk about. She recommended equipment that I could get on prescription and things like disposable bags and wipes I buy myself.
It's one of those things that seems so natural a function to do but the pain and distress it causes when things start to malfunction can be all consuming.
My consultant explained that the levator-ani syndrome can severely affect bowel motion and also my bladder. My pelvic muscles lock then it's total shutdown. I can be left like this for days. It's a bit like a chain reaction.
I underwent some pretty embarrassing tests to get a diagnosis but at least I now get the proper treatment. Physio does vaginal trigger point therapy which can lessen intensity of spasms for a few days.
Most effective for me is botox injections into pubirectalis muscles again a lessening in intensity of pain lasting a couple of months. I get to tentatively sit on my bottom like A normal person!!!
Hope you get answers from docs and it can be a long road to find the right mixture of meds and treatments that work for you. Wishing you best of luck and I'm always hear if you need to chat.
Thanks Skye, it's comforting to know that I have others going through similar problems that I can chat with. I will update when I have some more clue as to what's going on. Thanks for the support x
Hi, I am new to this site and was very comforting to read your posts. I, too, have been suffering from the similar symptoms like you. I am very confused on what I should do, when I can't feel anything and really having difficulty with bm. Did you find any solution from your doctor? I am open to any suggestions. Thank you very much!
Hi, I have a prolapsed uterus and have similar bowel movements very soft and flat. I find using a stool to put feet on helps. I had operation for bladder prolapse last year and had to take stool softeners for several months afterwards (uterus has subsequently prolapsed!) don’t need to take stool softeners anymore just make sure am eating green leafy veg and fiberois food but like I said stools are always on the soft side often have urgent need to go to empty bowels. Think it’s all part of the symptoms. Hope this has helped a bit.
Thanks for your reply, do you also have trouble passing the stool can I ask? I do wonder if it is my uterus prolapse making things so bad then as that is supposedly the worse one.
seems I've unfortunately got quite a wait to find out mind you from reading that the waiting times are so long.
Thanks for sharing with me, and yes it has helped.
I know this post was a few years back, just wondering what happened. Hope things improved for u. Which treatments worked or didn’t? I am about to start physio for my urethra prolapse which developed after my hysterectomy four years ago. It’s blocking my bowel. Any advice would be great x
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hi I am new to the forum, my name is Pat and I am 57 married with one son.
