prolapse womb

[verno]

i have a prolapse womb and im in terrile pain im on strong painkillers but they are not working please help j vernon

[bantam12]

You need to go back to your Dr and for treatment, if you haven't yet been referred to a Gynaecologist then ask why.

[Alaine1 Administrator]

Hi Verno,

I’m sorry to hear of your pain which seems as though it’s agonising. You have my full sympathy as I know what that’s like. Please see the reply in bold below I wrote yesterday to another member about her prolapse. I’ve modified it a little as you haven’t mentioned your age and if you’ve had any pregnancies at any time, although prolapses can still occur in women who’ve Sadly never carried a child to full term or simply never been pregnant. There is also a link to the RCOG leaflet on prolapse which is useful. You don’t say whether you’ve had any treatment at all including lifestyle changes, physiotherapy etc. Long term being on strong pain medication isn’t something that is actively encouraged especially when there is a range of treatment options. At the moment the pain medications are essential for you but what’s really needed is a solution for you. Have you been referred for physiotherapy and/or gynaecology?

I’m sorry to hear of your suffering and frustration over your prolapse. Firstly there is a range of treatments for prolapse and will depend on the severity that the medical professionals identify. As with all medical conditions there are first and second line and third line treatments that come with an increasing risk of side effects and potential complications. Unless surgery is the only option left due to severity a patient is usually expected to to start on first line treatments first which for prolapse are lifestyle changes and physiotherapy. The physiotherapy needs to have been carried out for a reasonable length of time to see if it would be of benefit. I’ve included the information leaflet from the RCOG in the link below.

rcog.org.uk/globalassets/do...

With the referral for the gynaecologist there are a few points to make. The 18 week time frame from referral to being seen isn’t an absolute guarantee of being seen within 18 weeks plus you need to allow your GP another week to have actioned the referral as they will also have other patients to refer to various specialists including the 2 week wait pathway. If the consultant you have been referred to has other patients who have symptoms that they believe need urgent treatment they will be seen first. An example of this is perhaps an unusual cancer that the GP might have overlooked as they rarely see it in general practice. Plus if the consultant doesn’t believe you need to be seen quickly you can be expected to wait longer than 18 weeks.

With COVID 19 the entire NHS was turned upside down with all patients appts both new and follow up severely affected as well as surgeries. Gynaecologists who often work as obstetricians as well we’re having to work on the labour ward and delivery rooms all of the time, even non obstetrician qualified gynaecologists were working on the labour wards or working directly with COVID patients. Many medical professionals and physiotherapists who also were working with these patients were often having to cover for colleagues who might have been self isolating after having come into contact with a COVID patient in an outpatient clinic before the lockdown and PPE regulations came into effect. Others couldn’t work as they may have been shielding due to medical reasons and that on its own comes with a who host of problems as I realise as I’ve been shielded myself due to medical reasons and also medications taken. This means that the NHS workforce was considerably smaller than normal and resources overstretched. All outpatient clinics were cancelled including many cancer services especially in London. The only exception was maternity although some of these were done via the phone and paediatrics (not all paediatric cases were seen) Some smaller NHS trusts were able to run these but most surgeries were cancelled completely which has meant some cancer patients have gone from being treatable to terminal especially if the cancer is aggressive. Private hospitals also were in the same boat as most consultants are from the NHS and they were working exclusively for the NHS during the pandemic and surgeries here weren’t going ahead either.

When the lockdown began to ease and surgeries were resumed it was agreed that cancer patients must come first especially with the delay in chemotherapy/radiotherapy treatments and surgeries. Once this was underway and the backlog caught up then routine surgery could be restarted. But remember as routine surgery has only restarted in the last 3-4 weeks patients whose surgery was cancelled in March and early April are only just being operated on now. When patients whose surgery was cancelled in June/July they might be waiting until December at least. This all depends if we have another national or regional set of lockdowns.

I myself have been affected badly by all of this. I’ve had ongoing treatment cancelled that I need at the hospital every 3 weeks, 9 different consultants cancel their follow up appts with me and some haven’t been able to reschedule just yet. One of them is at Moorfields the eye hospital which doesn’t even treat COVID patients but I’m guessing they might have gone to other NHS trusts to help out with COVID patients.

There is always the risk that the gynaecologist you have been referred to won’t do anything unless you have completed 6 months of physiotherapy especially if you haven’t already been seen by one already and they feel that your prolapse might benefit from it seeing that you are in a younger age group. Whilst the body is fantastic and generally adapts very well it can sometimes take a while for some things. At the moment there will be even longer waits to see a Women’s health physiotherapist not just due to COVID but largely because there simply aren’t enough of them for all the patients waiting to be seen. I found this out myself and decided to go private for pelvic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction caused by endometriosis, adenomyosis and painful bladder syndrome and for me it was the right decision. Not all doctors even many gynaecologists are poor at testing pelvic floor muscles for tightness and weakness! Although my muscles were largely too tight I did have a slight weakness on my left side. I had to carry out a range of daily exercises which I did first thing in the morning. Going private allows you to self refer and you are seen quickly. These physiotherapists don’t tend to work with the NHS but are solely private working. I was seen within 5 days of me contacting the clinic and she was better qualified than many NHS physiotherapists. I’m just wondering whether it would be a good idea for you to see a physiotherapist privately as Women’s health physiotherapy also looks after women who’ve never been or aren’t pregnant as well as women both pre and after birth. She would be able to see and access the degree of prolapse you have, whether there is any chance of success with physiotherapy and can in some cases write to your gynaecologist so other options can be discussed at your initial consultation. Mine WH physio wrote to my urologist about a quicker follow up so it does work. Saying that some won’t but most are happy to work alongside NHS consultants. Also if you decide to have treatment with the physio by the time you are seen it’s likely you will have completed 3-4 months of physio both in the clinic and also at home. I’m also wondering if it’s possible for you to contact the midwifery team and ask to be referred especially by the time you’d given birth we were lockdown so you couldn’t be seen by an NHS physio. It might be worth a try as I know fertility services although unrelated to you have extended there age restrictions by 6 months to take into consideration the effect of the lockdown.

I’m also wondering if the affect of the lockdown has had a negative effect on you. I know I’ve suffered as have many other without any medical conditions. Have you spoken to your GP or practice nurse? They might suggest treatment or simply keeping an eye on you to make sure you are ok. Depression of any kind is awful and is nothing to be ashamed of. Have you tried mindfulness? I was introduced to it by my endometriosis specialist and it does help. I use Headspace but there are loads of apps, YouTube videos out there etc.

Make time for yourself, even if it’s treating yourself to a new hand cream. It doesn’t have to be big and grand gestures but even small ones can have the same effect. It’s important to look after yourself. It might be that a friend or relative looks after your children for a few hours so you can go window shopping, go to the hairdressers etc. Whatever you need to do.

Summary

You will be seen at the hospital but there is a backlog for all specialties including gynaecology to get through. Don’t worry you won’t be forgotten. A and E unfortunately isn’t the place for you to be seen though.

Read through the handout which you can access via the link or you can copy and paste into the search engine.

Consider going for a private physiotherapy session even just for advice

If depression is a problem reach out to the GP or practice nurse. You won’t be the only person they’ve seen that day. Depression rates have skyrocketed during the lockdown in all age groups and genders.

Don’t forget to look after yourself. You are still you not just mum/employee etc and have to give yourself some me time. It’s not selfish it’s essential!

Lastly we are all here for you, myself included so if you need any further advice ask away 😊

[verno in reply to Alaine1]

thanks for your concern i am aged 74 and have got an appointment with a gynocologist on september 7 th in the meantine ill have to suffer pain i suppose thanks again Barbara

[Alaine1 Administrator in reply to verno]

Hi Verno,

I’m glad you have your appt soon, although two weeks can feel like a lifetime when in pain. Hang in there as I hope your specialist will have a plan for you. Have you got a list of questions for them written down? I always manage to forget a question if I don’t write it down beforehand

[Rabs550 in reply to verno]

Hi i was just reading about ur womb prolapsed if it's that bad go to ur local A&E as my mum had the same problem she's was in sooo much pain she couldn't sleep or toss and turn so I googled around then I realised what's 111 for if the pain is unbearable don't wait around I told them my mum had other medical conditions also they where very helpful and atually sent the ambulance out as my mum was in alot of pain I'm not sure how bad is ur but if you want yo tex me directly ur more then welcome as there is help there before ur around the might be able to insert a thing called pesserie not sure if If I slept it right the she was referred to the gynologist they inserted a round plastic type of pesserie depending on ur size she's so much less in pain now please 🙏 don't wait around and go please also let me if you took my advice and if it helped trust me my mum was in so much pain please do write back and if you wana write back privately so as there's a little more information I can give you just a little uncomfortable giving it here xx look after urself and really there nothing to worry about but act fast you still got like 7 8 days and that's going to give you more discomfort at least you can sleep abit better also put a pillow under ur lower back and a small one between ur legs take care hope you got some good advice