Prolapse

[Lookingforanswers]

Hi. I joined the forum last week. I just have a couple of questions to ask.

Mainly related to prolapse. My doctor has just diagnosed me with a prolapse of the bladder. I am awaiting a gynaecologist appointment to find out exactly what is going on down there. Could a bladder prolapse and weak pelvic floor muscles be the cause of my sitting pain? Could this be having an affect on the pudendal nerve or other nerves?

I only suffer with sitting pain - nothing else.

(I do suffer from pelvic instability too)

Any advice appreciated.

Thank you

[calluna]

Hello again Looking

Bladder prolapse - so that's a cystocele. I have not heard of a cystocele alone causing PN pain, but there's always a first time. However there may be more going on that you realise. I would suggest you wait and see what the gynae says, sometimes they don't agree with the GP, sometimes they find that there are more issues which the GP had not identified.

In the meantime I'd suggest that you avoid sitting except on an appropriate cushion. I hope that things improve for you soon.

[Violet M]

Hello Looking,

I doubt that a prolapse alone would be the cause of the pain because there are tons of women with prolapses who don't have pain. I developed prolapses when I was quite young and my gyn told me that it was probably due to a genetic collagen deficiency. I have since seen peer reviewed literature that backs up her assessment.

Since you also have pelvic instability it could be that like me, you are blessed with bad ligaments and that your pelvis just doesn't have the support you need to hold everything in place where it should be. In my case the ligaments were impinging on the pudendal nerves. You may be told that you need to do a lot of strengthening exercises including kegals but for people with a nerve impingement this can make matters worse. When I did strengthening exercises it pushed me over the edge from mild pain to severe pain. So be careful and weigh all of your options before making any major decisions.

[mikette]

Hi I'm afraid I have a similar problem, weak and prolapsed pelvic floor and don't know if this can damage the nerve.
I've pain with sitting.
Violet do you still make kegels after Bautrant's surgery? or your ligaments are ok now?
Looking are you considering any kind of surgery? I don't want to have mesh to lift everything.
sorry I'm italian and my english is weak as well!

[Violet M]

Mikette, yes I can do kegals now without any problem but I don't think they help much because the problem is weak ligaments, not weak muscles. Ligaments are still a problem and they always will be but I know my limitations now so I'm careful, especially not to lift very much.

I live with severe prolapses because I'm too afraid of pelvic repair surgery -- I know too many women who developed severe pain from pelvic floor repair surgery. My urogyn won't do surgery anyway -- she says the risk of increased pain is too great. It doesn't really matter if they go in abdominally or vaginally because when they do a repair they have to tighten up all of the muscles and guess what? Many of us don't need tighter muscles if they are already as hard as a brick.

So I use thigh shapers to hold things in and to hold my pelvis together. Hey, they make your butt look nice and sleek inside of knit pants. Google thigh shapers -- you'll see what I mean. Spanx are great, only a bit on the expensive side.

[mikette]

yes they look very nice

but when you say...

I know too many women who developed severe pain from pelvic floor repair surgery.

you mean mesh surgery?
so lifting the ligaments could make the muscles get tighter?
I've also many problems with bowel and can't stand this ball on the vagina any more!
do you feel the same?
I'm scared of surgery, too.

[Violet M]

Mikette,some were mesh surgeries and some weren't. Whatever type of procedure you have, the goal is to tighten up the pelvic floor so the structures and muscles don't sag. Sometimes they will tighten up the muscles and stitch them to other structures such as a ligament. Some women who've had mesh surgeries are going back to have the mesh removed because it caused so many problems.

I have a severe cystocele (bladder prolapse). The thigh shapers help a lot -- to the point I don't notice the "ball" feeling most of the time.

I'm not saying people should never have a pelvic floor repair surgery. Just that you should be aware that it can increase your pain significantly and to be aware of that risk before going into it.

[mikette]

thanks a lot for your advices Violet!
it's like the lottery or jackpot, never know if you win or loose
however I'm having some other evaluations and we'll see what to do.