Empty rectocele prior to sex?

Submitted by Piqued on September 8, 2012 - 1:38pm
Body: 

I just found this website yesterday and plan to order the book/dvds in a few minutes. I've done a lot of reading/searching the WW site, but haven't found answers to my particular questions yet. My apologies if the answers are out there, and I just haven't found them.

My rectocele seems to have gotten significantly larger recently. Yesterday I was exploring the inside of my vagina with a couple fingers, trying to figure out what was where down there. I pressed on the rectocele (but did not bear down), and a blob of fecal matter partially exited my anus. Ick!! Does this mean I'm on my way to fecal incontinence? I've noticed a few times after urinating that I had had a bit of a BM without even realizing anything bowel-related was happening. So now I always wipe that area, just in case.

As a result of yesterday's probing around, I'm afraid to have sex unless I know that the rectocele is empty. So, how do I empty it? Is it possible to rinse out that area somehow (some sort of tiny enema)?

FYI: I'm 45, never been pregnant, still have a monthly period, and have not had any sort of corrective surgery for this problem. I have lost 25 pounds this year, so maybe that's a contributing factor. Also I had a medication change a few weeks ago that caused profound constipation. Unfortunately, I didn't educate myself on rectoceles when mine was largely asymptomatic. If I had learned more then, I wouldn't have been straining mightily several times per day for a week to have a bowel movement during the recent constipation episode. Ah well. Live and learn, eh?

Forum:

Surviving60

September 8, 2012 - 2:11pm

Hi Piqued and welcome. I can definitely identify with you about the little blobs and how they just seem to come out of nowhere. I have primary rectocele and that's just a fact of life for me. Anytime you're concerned about it (like before sex) I guess it wouldn't hurt to see if it needs emptying as you have been doing it. I was never one to splint or poke around too much, but that's just me.....lots of women here are, like you, much more "in touch" with their 'celes. I'm glad you're getting started with WW. Adjusting your posture and moving the organs forward helps everything! This is a great community, ask anything! - Surviving

Piqued

September 8, 2012 - 5:59pm

Thank you for the warm welcome! What is "primary rectocele," if you don't mind my asking?

As for emptying the rectocele manually, the issue I'm having is that I don't know how to get everything cleaned out. The POP used to be much smaller and would just need a smidge of splinting on occasion. Now my POP has stretched out and started enthusiastically snuggling into my vagina. My fingers are too short to push all the areas that could be harboring blobs. Funny thought: I guess I just need to start having sex in lakes and let the vigorous thrusting clean the area out!

Thanks to this community, I've already started trying to think of the 'cele as part of my body rather than a disorder that I'm afflicted with. That helps with the out-of-control freaked out feeling I had when I realized yesterday that I could see/feel part of my rectal wall/lining/whatever trying to peep out of my vagina when I bear down ever so slightly. (Even typing that last sentence has me feeling very tense again. How low will it go? I would really prefer that it stay INSIDE my body!)

I have ordered the WW materials and will definitely make the postural changes that are working for so many people here. I'm also curious to try the LoPo the next time an opportunity arises. I'll be calling my gyno for an appointment ASAP, just to make sure that my "diagnosis" is accurate.

Anyway, back to the main point: If anyone has had success with some sort of mini-enema for cleaning out a rectocele, I'd love to learn more about your technique.

Aussie Soul Sister

September 8, 2012 - 6:55pm

Hi dear Piqued, cool name!! I have had rectocele for some yrs now and am noticing a difference esp recently when I changed my diet and had constipation, noticing that tissue was stretching and not as elastic as before. Medication can have that effect, someone will have experience of this & maybe can help you further on how to manage. Now, I do not do any drastic diets and am concious of eating water & fibre rich juicy food like pears, citrus, ready to eat prunes etc and limit dry fibre, (as I find too much can cause bulky wide BMs,) eating only some dense bread and cooked oats daily. Whole woman Posture is very helpful, it helps it to recede enough, and eventually reposition bowel forward into belly taking off some downward pressure into the vagina, even while sitting, for smooth passable BM (bowel movement) & leaning forward on the loo is good also. If I find BM sitting in the pocket protruding into the vagina, I do push it up, but WWPosture helps prevent this along with learning how to relax, meditation and reducing worry.
Very best wishes to you,
(((hugs)))
Aussie Soul Sister

fab

September 8, 2012 - 8:14pm

Dear Piqued

Aussiesoulsister has given you some good advice there. I was thinking along similar lines. If it were possible to make dietary changes so that your urge or need to evacuate came at regular, predictable times during your day, and in one movement that would be the ideal.

There is no harm in aiming for that ideal. Even if you got it partially right, it would help somewhat.

What I found helped me most was to avoid snacks between meals. (Of course, for some people with certain illnesses this would not be wise or healthy. For someone in this situation it might be a matter of looking at what snacks they do have and modifying them to be more intestine friendly.)

It was not 100% successful until I avoided eating that small piece of chocolate someone would offer me. (This seemed to lead to the necessity of passing a small, too soft stool between regular times. Why it did, or if there was any real connection, I really don't know. I mean, it is not a simple process of chocolate in, chocolate out, unless for me it was indigestible?)

This is something only you can regulate. A piece of chocolate snacked may not do this for you, but keep your eye out for something that may.) At the same time, I began a course of magnesium citrate and my posture improvement was well advanced so that problem has 99% cleared.

Some people with rectocele have reported that they don’t always feel the urge and so there may be stools in the rectum they are not always aware of. As you do WW work, you will become more attuned to your prolapse. Piqued is a good way to go, don’t get angst about it, stay cool and relaxed as you are now and work on it at your own good pace.

Best wishes, Fab

louiseds

September 9, 2012 - 4:58am

Hi Piqued

Actually, having to empty your bowel before sex would rather put a damper on things. Does your partner know your situation? Is it actually a problem? Does it give you pain with sex? Are you worried that you will get the urge to go halfway through?

If you have an understanding partner, then you can negotiate what happens. If your partner is totally ignorant you can't negotiate. The choice is yours.

If the answers to the others is No, No and No, then what's the problem? I suggest that you just tackle one issue at a time. After all, it is not a disease. It is just the way your body is behaving, and better days are ahead, for sure.

Louise

Piqued

September 9, 2012 - 3:39pm

Aussie Soul Sister and Fab, thanks so much for the diet-related advice!! About two months ago, I dropped animal products (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy) out of my diet and started loading up on greens, beans, whole grains, fruit, and veggies. My digestive tract was humming along nicely. Then I had a medication change that caused considerable constipation, despite all of the fiber I was consuming. The medication also decreased my appetite, which meant I have been eating much less for the past two weeks. Maybe eating less plus stress plus not getting enough sleep is what caused the BMs to become so small and mushy and likely to get stuck in the 'cele? I will make some adjustments to see if I can get stool size to bulk up (and firm up) again. Also, I had started having little snacks between meals. Thanks for pointing out that that could be contributing to having multiple BMs per day! That's an easy one to fix.

Oh, Louise... When I read your kind response this morning, I hadn't yet told my partner about the recent expansion of the POP. My fear is that when he enters my vagina, there will be a simultaneous fecal exodus. That's why I thought it was so important to find a way to make sure the rectocele was empty prior to sex. But you are so very wise -- I needed to tell him what's going on with my body and accept that this situation is something we will have to face together. And so, I got brave and told him about all of this about a half hour ago. He was supportive and sweet and encouraging. He said we would deal with the leakage when/if it happened and volunteered to do lots of testing to see which positions my POP liked best. Thank you for encouraging me to have faith in him and just be honest.

I did another little test on my own yesterday while my partner was out of town. I used one of my "toys" externally to produce a nice little orgasm. Unfortunately, I ached inside for the next half hour or so. The ache wasn't horrible, but it was discouraging. Maybe the POP doesn't like being hugged so aggressively by my vagina? This is the first time I've ever had pain after an orgasm (it's been awhile since the last time I had one, thanks to a variety of circumstances)... Is post-orgasmic pain a normal part of having a rectocele?

Again, thank you so very, very much for all of your support and encouragement. I am thankful to have found this community!