I have been looking and looking for people's experiences of rectocele repair surgery and all I could find was stuff that completely terrified me, so much so I was in two minds whether or not to have the surgery. Basically I'm 38 and have been struggling with my prolapse since the birth of my son 6 years ago. He was a c section birth but he was a big baby so just added extra pressure to an already weak pelvic floor. I had an episiotomy and tearing after my first birth so my second pregnancy just made this worse. I was incredibly embarrassed about having to splint when I was only in my 30s so eventually I sought help.
Following my c section I also suffered with incredibly heavy and painful periods so at the same time I was referred to gynae to try and investigate both issues.
There was a long waiting list (over 18 months) then I had a letter with a surgical date 2 weeks later. I was in two minds because of the things I'd read in forums and honestly thought I was doing the wrong thing, maybe I'd end up worse off, maybe it would be just as awful as described and I'd be in agony for weeks. Maybe nothing would be found during the laparoscopy as with the MRI and ultrasounds, maybe it was all for nothing!
The day of the two combined surgeries arrived and it was very relaxed. I woke up with a catheter and vaginal packing as expected, my only discomfort was the feeling I urgently needed a wee! Apparently this is common with a catheter and it subsided once I was fully awake. I had quite a good night, again the only discomfort was my catheter and the feeling of the packing. I was kept in overnight because the laparoscopy revealed scarring around my left ovary and at the back of my uterus against my bowel. I felt so validated!! This is exactly where my pain has been for months months!
The morning after my catheter was removed and it wasn't too bad really, then the packing. That was very uncomfortable but only to be expected. I've never seen so much packing in my life! It was like a magician's handkerchief! I lay down for around 30 minutes then was helped to the bathroom so I could freshen up. After that I needed to wee so it could be measured and a bladder scan completed to make sure I was completely emptying and the remainder was below a certain amount.
After two wees I was allowed home.
Since then I've been tired, it hurts to cough and laugh but only from my laparoscopy incision sites. The posterior repair hasn't hurt until today, 8 days after surgery. I'm guessing my stitches are beginning to dissolve and the swelling is reducing so it's feeling different.
3 days after surgery my period arrived which was early and incredibly heavy. I was saturating night time pads every couple of hours. The cramping was also more painful than before the procedure but I was warned about this being the case for possibly 3 months or so.
For the first week I had sharp pains whenever I needed to poo or pass wind but this stopped as soon as I'd been to the toilet.
The bottom line is the recovery from both surgeries at once had been a million times easier than I first thought, better than all of the horror stories I'd read warning women about this surgery. I almost didn't do this because all I could find was bad news stories. I wanted to write something to give another perspective, yes it's sore, I'm in my second week of absence from work but I'm pleasantly surprised! I have a small post op infection in my belly button stitches but have antibiotics already and was seen within a couple of hours of contacting the GP to report redness.
If anyone has any questions I'm happy to answer them. I'll be honest!
I have a follow up with the gynae consultant in 6 months.
Hysteroscopy for suspected polyps
Peri want to hear from others
Female problems- HELP! Contraception or medical issue? Can anyone relate?!
Getting sicker and sicker everyday
8 weeks post op from pelvic floor repair
