Pessary and Rectocele

Submitted by Aussie Mum on July 12, 2010 - 6:08pm
Body: 

Just wondering if anyone can share their experience of using a pessary for a rectocele?

My update is that at nearly 7 months pp there have been ups and downs, slow improvement with setbacks from a cold (cough, sneeze, blow nose oh no!!), and more recently a bit of constipation. The new womens physio I have seen has advised a pessary for my rectocele as I still can't seem to go for walks without causing aggravation. I thought they were mainly for uterine pops but she explained it will take pressure off the ligaments and relieve the dragging feeling and aching and allow my body to heal - being in the optimum time of 1 year pp.

Oh - and finally went swimming - fantastic!!! Such a great exercise - I felt 100% normal while in the pool and there was NO aggravation of symptoms. So good for exercise fans missing being active!

louiseds

July 12, 2010 - 10:38pm

Hi AussieMum

That is wonderful that you have discovered that swimming is such a liberating experience. I think we don't give swimming the credit it deserves as a POP friendly way of exercising and/or relaxing.

Re your physio, do you believe her reasons for recommending the pessary? If it is going to stop you walking, perhaps you could remove it when you go walking?

At 7 months pp the real improvement should be just starting now. I am sure the next few months will show an increase in the rate of your improvement. With the days lengthening it is ideal timing. I bet you'll be doing lots of swimming this coming summer, while those poor buggers on the other side of the planet are freezing their as***s off, instead of us!

I, for one, am looking forward to it! We have just had a week of cold, frosty weather, followed by gloom, endless drizzling rain and mud, mud, mud for the last few days. This morning the birds were singing at first light. There has been a change!

Louise

Aussie Mum

July 13, 2010 - 2:11am

Hey Louise,

You make me laugh! Yes, it has been gloomy and rainy here too, but we need the rain. Our tank is only 1/2 full so we are back using mains water. I can't wait for the longer daylight to kick in too!

Yes, all you ladies out there - please give swimming a go if you are looking for alternatives to your old workouts. I was on top of the world after I did.

Louise, I was getting some really good improvement, but this setback has proven a challenge, all the aching etc has come back. Actually the reason she suggested a pessary was partly so I can go for a walk - as last appointment she suggested I try 15-20 min walks - but no good :-( it made symptoms much worse, especially as I was also a little constipated. She suggests that I will be able to walk with a pessary in.

I haven't heard of many others on here talking about pessaries for rectocele though.

louiseds

July 13, 2010 - 5:25am

Hi AussieMum

Don't get me wrong. This last lot of rain was sorely needed.

I remember that my pessary seemed to interfere with my bowel. I couldn't empty my bowel with it in. And I seem to remember that it was uncomfortable if I got constipated. In the end it was more trouble than it was worth. But that was long before I met WW.

I think what happens with persistent rectocele is that the positions of the organs change. I think when the lumbar curve has been straightened for a long time, the bottom lumbar vertebrae are retracted straighter, and don't keep the intestines forward, so some intestine gets down behind or beside the rectum and pushes the rectum forward. Keeping the intestines up in the abdominal cavity (rather than down in the pelvic cavity with frequent nauli, firebreathing and other inversion type exercises, should encourage the intestines back to where they should be. Before you come up to upright again after firebreathing etc, put your arms over your head and bend your elbows so your hands are on the back of your neck. Then bend your knees deeply so you are Z-shaped, and straighten your spine and knees slowly at the same time, until you are upright. Wriggle yourself into WW posture, then put your arms down sideways (via second position). This way, the action of the lattimus dorsi (see STWW) keeps your lumbar spine curved correctly until you are upright, while engaging your abdominal muscles to rise to standing. I think it is engaging the abs when you are rising to standing that creates the intraabdominal pressure that tends to push your organs out again after you have repositioned them. so you have to counteract it by bending deeply with your butt stuck out the back.

Then you can do exercises that have big arm movements, eg dancing with a veil, which helps the lattimus dorsi to lift the tailbone and push the lumbar spine forward and keep everything forward.

When we get constipated there is a lot more intestine to shift around, so it is so much harder to keep everything where it belongs.

It is all very inexact. Just keep trying. I know it is easy for me to say that, but that seems to be how it works. It can take months before you get sustained improvement.

There doesn't seem to be any structure preventing the intestines from moving down into the pelvic cavity, so that's what I figure they probably do. I hope somebody will correct me if I am wrong, because that would mean that everything I have just typed is a load of bull****, and I will have to take it all back.

Aussie Mum

July 13, 2010 - 9:03am

Interesting info Louise - I am going to have to print it out to have with me when I exercise. Interesting also as I get a lot of discomfort on the left side of my pelvis, it is hard to describe but it feels more achey and almost like a 'side wall prolapse'....? Sometimes I can feel it radiating down my leg.

Physio said probably nerve damage which should ease up in time. But - I noticed it went away when everything was on the improve and has come back since constipation. Some time back I had an internal examination by midwife and she thought my bowel had moved a bit to the left (but after palpation went back to correct place) - I was wondering if maybe this had happened again.

I am willing to try a pessary if it means I can go for walks again, worth a try huh...

Lots to think about!

shellymum

July 13, 2010 - 10:38pm

I haven't tried one but am feeling a bit desperate at the moment so I'd be interested to hear how you go.

Have you tried sponges? I haven't, but am considering it, but not sure where to buy in Australia?

Aussie Mum

July 14, 2010 - 2:53am

Hi Shellymum

I will let you know how it goes if I am ready for it the physio appt is in a couple of weeks.

I ordered sea sponges from USA but haven't used them as I tried a tampon and it caused me problems due to internal scarring. I have 3 unoopened packs of 2!! Maybe you could buy one from me and save you the postage from the US:) They are so much bigger than I expected. The pessary seems more suitable to my situation I think - it sits up high and helps hold things up apparently and helps take pressure off the lower area where the rectocele is - whereas I have scarring lower down hence not keen on sea sponges yet. I may try them one day.....