Surgery suggestion by my OBGYN

Submitted by aprile on April 30, 2007 - 3:11pm
Body: 

Hi all,

It's been a while since I last posted. But, today I went for my annual PAP and exam. Last year at this time, I was diagnosed as having a stage 2 prolapse of the bladder and slight prolapse of the rectum .... I guess I must have missed the fact that I also had a uterine prolapse. Today, however, I was diagnosed with stage 3 in all categories. I must say I was a little taken back at first especially listening to my doctor tell me how he could "fix things" for me vis a vie a vaginal hysterectomy (since I'm done having babies) and then a procedure to fix my sagging bladder and rectum. I told him no thanks that I was still using the sponges to hold everything up and it was working fine .... not perfect, but I am not game for any kind of surgery. However, it really bothered me on the ride home. I was more than a little taken back by his carefree attitude towards surgery on me without any great statistics to really back up his suggestion. He said it was just going to get worse and worse and my organs would some day come outside of my vagina. So.....I had to write into my WW friends for some emotional support.... my own Mom had a hysterecomy almost 30 years ago, and this past week had a repeat procedure to put her bladder and rectum back up.... so I KNOW FULL WELL that there are no guarantees, and that these procedures do not end our problems. But still his comments about my organs coming out of my body are lingering in my mind and are really bothering me. Any comments? Hope everyone is doing well!! Aprile

wenz

April 30, 2007 - 3:40pm

Hi there Aprile, I, like you, would really like to know what the longterm effects of living with a prolapse are, that is, will it get worse with time. That thought really scares me too. Would Christine be able to help us on this one?
Cheers,
Wendy

anne59

April 30, 2007 - 3:40pm

No there are no guarantees that is the BIG problem with all of this prolapse thing surgery is not a good option,but it is the only option a doctor will give, they don't need to live with the consequenses or the worry surgery can and does bring.
I am off on Friday to see my doctor re my prolapse the first for 7 years since it was diagnosed I know surgery will probably be the first thing she will say but I cannot live with the bigger worry of everything being sowed up wrong or having differant complications to what i have already or indeed the thought that it will all fall down again.
Chin up, if you keep to what christine says and the advice given by all the lovely women in here your prolapse will stabilize, try and refrain from doing anything to further it's downfall and i'm sure it will be ok....

jmqphd93

April 30, 2007 - 3:51pm

Aprile,

First of all it is unlikely that your organs are going to fall out of your body! If you practice Whole Woman Fire Breathing, Posture, exercise, etc. you will allmost certainly slow the progression of your prolapse and possibly reverse it. As you say, there are no guarantees, but if you are able to manage your prolapses for now, what is the point of surgery? Of course, if your organs do begin to fall out, then you might want to reconsider - but what's the rush?
Also, please see the recent posts under "Informed consent for pelvic surgery."

By the way, my (former) gynecologist also terrified me with her casual recommendation for surgery (barely mentioning any negative effects) and her assertion that my prolapse is progressive and will only get worse. Now that I know so much more, I am outraged by her attitude and failure to tell the whole story. My husband teases me about having a "worst case scenario" outlook on life, but sometimes it is essential to know all of the possible outcomes before making a decision.

My best to you,
J.

MeMyselfAndI

April 30, 2007 - 3:51pm

If it gets soooooooooooo much worse and falls out of you - Why does my mother have a stage 3 and it never even left?

I think he is using scare tactics on you!

He is a Dr - They PRACTICE - They do NOT know everything - He doesn't know what the future will bring for you he just guesses. There is no promise that if you did nothing at all it would come out of you - And I do not believe it would.

Sometimes I really believe these doctors are just idiots who wanna practice their new techniques on someone who knows no better and will let them - Which is very sad.

My mother is 63 and she has had the prolapse for yearsssssssssssssss

It aint never left her body!

Therese

April 30, 2007 - 3:59pm

Aprile...Christine posted on this before --I think a softball sized bulge outside the vagina--the uterus...I assume the bladder can protrude further out also...
The organs CAN come out (will they though?? Everyone is different!) but since they aren't out now why have surgery now? If I had organs protruding that could not be managed by other means I guess surgery would be neccessary for me...I guess you really couldn't walk then huh? But until or if that ever happens why would I do surgery? Kind of like removing an appendix that isn't posing a problem to prevent a future problem...That's how I think about it...Nothing the dr said even pertains to you at all...it is illogical. IF you are managing well with prolapse what does the future have to do with it? They will stop all surgery any day now and you need to "take care of this NOW"????!!!! Like a fire sale?!
Sounds like you know what you want and are fine but he isn't happy with it...ha!

aprile

April 30, 2007 - 6:18pm

Thanks for all of the supportive replies. Just to set the record straight, I am not really contemplating surgery.....I just needed to hear from all my WW friends that I don't really NEED surgery and that my organs will not fall out! It just scared me to hear him say -- it will only get worse as the ligaments stretch. I did say to him that I wasn't sure what time of the month I was at his office last year, but I am a week before my period right now, so of course everything is lower than usual. YES, I have been managing this prolapse situation for over two years now (if I remember correctly), and I am just fine. I'm not crazy about having to be super festidious about the vaginal sponges so that I don't get an infection, but it's worth it. It just kind of un-nerves me to hear a doctor say something like that. Ya know!!? My mom's surgery seems to be a success so far, but she doesn't have a uterus anymore, so this was another bladder and rectum tie-up for her. Oh I don't know, sometimes the cure is worse than the problem.... My mom was extremely uncomfortable all of the time, so surgery seemed the best option for her at age 70. But for me to have my uterus ripped out of my body, as described in Christine's book, just scares the hell out of me. It's like taking my womanhood away from me. I won't go there ever, unless God forbid I had cancer or something. I just wish these doctors wouldn't go around scaring us like this! Many thanks, Aprile