Vaginal Pain....possible prolapse. Desperate!!

Submitted by Teaberry0419 on June 18, 2018 - 12:56pm
Body: 

Hi everyone! I am new here and desperate for some support, advice and/or answers to what is going on with me. I am 39 and a first time mom that is 7 weeks postpartum this Wednesday but noticed my symptoms about 2.5 weeks ago. A little bit about my birth story......I gave birth to a 9lb 4oz baby boy and it was a very horrible delivery. I pushed for 3hrs and lost a lot of blood so I received a blood transfusion. It was pretty traumatic and I was definitely scared for my life. I was so glad when it was all over and I was finally able to hold my baby the next day after recovering overnight.
Things were pretty normal when I got home other than the exhaustion but I thought I was healing nicely.
About 4 weeks PP my husband (the best guy in the world) turned 40 so we went out for the first time to celebrate. After a long day of being out I noticed the next day that I felt as though something was coming out of me. Sort of like the feeling of a tampon coming out but obviously there was no tampon. I didn’t think too much of it but as the days went by it continued to feel uncomfortable. I took a mirror to look at my vagina and I noticed my urethra at the opening. It was never there before. It was always higher, just right above my clitoris and hidden behind a piece of skin. This obviously scared me because I’d never seen this before. So, I called my OB at almost 6 weeks PP to get checked out and she had me come in. I was scared to death because by this time I had already been reading things on the internet about prolapse. I expressed this to her and she said that I had healed nicely and that my uterus was where it should be but there was some dropping of my bladder but not to worry that once my hormones balanced and some kegels that everything would start to feel normal. I explained to her that I could see something bulging in my vaginal opening and she assured me that it was my urethra and that my vagina had stretched and that is why it is visible. This didn’t seem right to me. It shouldn’t be sitting right at the opening and I know that is what is causing that discomfort of something coming out of me! I ended up going to my gyno (she doesn’t deliver babies) last week to get her opinion and she took a look and she had me bear down as if I were pushing and she said that my bladder looked fine. She said I looked great and that all was healing nicely. I asked her about the feeling of a tampon coming out and she said the same as my OB, that once my hormones stabilized and with kegels I’d be ok. I was in tears the whole appointment and she suggested an antidepressant. I’m not sad due to PP depression but because of the uncomfortable pain I’m in. She did schedule me an ultrasound for this week just to take a better look because she could see the frustration and fright on my face. She also did a urinalysis and said there was some blood and bacteria but not enough to confirm a UTI so they would have to send it off to the lab. That takes 7 days! 7 DAYS!? Oh and tested me for a yeast infection. I’m so frustrated. I’m in pain almost all the time. Like my insides are falling out as well as this burning irritation of my vaginal opening. It looks red and irritated as if my urethra is rubbing it. I also have some burning when i pee but not all the time. Sometimes it feels as though my whole vulva is hot and burning inside. I’m guessing that is just irritation?? I have a ton of anxiety about it and I can’t get any straight answers. I feel as though the ultrasound will come back “normal” too but I know I’m not normal. I’ve never felt this before nor have I ever seen my urethra at my vaginal opening. Oh I should also mention that after all my research I went ahead and made an appointment with a pelvic floor physiotherapist just to get their opinion. That is this Friday. If I can’t get answers this week then I guess I’ll try a urologist:(
I’m so depressed. I just want to enjoy the rest of my maternity leave with my new baby. He’s my miracle baby and I know I’ll never get this time back as he is my one and only. I sit here in tears wondering if anyone else has experienced this? Am I crazy for feeling this? Is this a prolapse? Is this normal and do I have to live like this forever? If so, i don’t think i can live with the pain. Im just so tired of feeling so alone in all of this and I need some hope! So any advice or help is appreciated and welcomed.

Forum:

Typicalme

June 18, 2018 - 4:22pm

hi teaberry - not sure if you have prolapse or not but a lot of what you're saying was me roughly 8 months ago! (almost word for word) 4 weeks post partum I had a ton of air bubbles in my vagina when moving around the house. then the next day i felt like a tampon was falling out of me - a constant irritating bulge! I felt it when I walked, moved - it was annoying and irritating (not really painful tho).
I took a mirror (and let me tell you - it was the last time i looked down there) but I was shocked to see my urethra!! i had never seen it before (not that i ever looked for it, but now it was really obvious) it used to be right under my clitoris (i thought) but now it was lower and it looked dilated! and it was as if everything had shifted down there.
inside the vaginal opening was two bubbles of flesh and the one at the front of my body - i was able to push it up and over my pubic bone and it fell back down.... despite only hearing whispers about prolapse prior to this - suddenly - i knew what it was. my gyn at my 6 week appointment said yup - that's your bladder - do kegels... and that was it...
i was in tears for weeks - i didn't want to hold or smile at my lovely boy... my daughter was being emotionally neglected as well, since she wanted to play and sit with me and the new baby and I was tearful with my head buried in my phone!
and then I found this site - a lot of other sites were doom and gloom and even the non-doom and gloom ones had no solutions other than surgery...
so i just wanted to tell you - it WILL get better.
you are SO early post partum - it takes a full year (and up to 2 years) to recover from childbirth. I thought that was an exaggeration- i mean after my 1st child I was right as rain at 6 weeks! but while some new mom's feel like themselves fairly quickly, there's a LOT going on under the surface(but I'm a fast healer!! i thought)
I can tell you that at 6 months post partum i felt a whole lot better and at 9 months, even better. but I spent hours (after my little one went to bed and while breastfeeding at night) reading this site - i bought some of the materials and watched and watched again... i made changes to my diet, my clothes, the way I bend, lift, stand - everything...
Take some time to search this site - learn the posture - even if you don't have a prolapse now, this posture will prevent you from getting one in the future. in the meantime, enjoy that baby! I had people thinking i was suffering pp too but it wasn't - it was this prolapse!! I'm so glad that this site brought me peace of mind as soon as it did because i was able to lift myself out of the dark funk and start enjoying my precious maternity leave with my little guy. 7 weeks is SO so early - everything's still raw and healing.

there are a couple of new mom's that have been here recently so hopefully they come back and let us know how they're doing as well, but there are definitely a ton of posts from new mom's going back many years that'll give you some peace of mind.

Surviving60

June 19, 2018 - 5:38am

I would just add that you need to ditch the kegels immediately.....they only make things worse by pulling the organs INTO the vaginal space. Pelvic floor PT is pretty much just kegels. They will want to see how well you can squeeze. A waste of time but if you go, please try and do a little reading here on Whole Woman first. I understand that feeling of desperation, but just take a deep breath. What you are experiencing right now is a pretty common list of post-partum complaints. Please start to learn about Whole Woman posture (at least go to Home page and watch the video there) and don't just start out with the theory that traipsing from one kind of doctor to another is going to fix this. Only you can! - Surviving

Teaberry0419

June 19, 2018 - 10:51am

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to respond to me. Having other women who have been in the same situation and can fully understand my anxiety and fears brings me some comfort.
So you had the same issue with the urethra at your vaginal opening? Was that due to your prolapse or was that just due to you giving birth? Just trying to understand if they are two separate issues. Do you still have the urethra problem or has it resolved itself?
Sorry for all the questions but I’m so curious how this has all unfolded for others.
I’m still so uncomfortable. That feeling of something falling out is pretty awful. It’s causing irritation at my opening and that in itself literally gives me chills. :(
I heard from the doctor, no uti and no yeast infection. I cried when I hung up because I was hoping it was a simple fix. She asked me about the estrogen cream that she gave me and if it has helped. I did use it for a few days but I felt as though it made the irritation worse. I’m not breast feeding (it didn’t work for me) so I would think my hormones would be ok but maybe not.
I’m the kind of person where I obsess and make myself crazy but hearing from you has given me some hope and somewhat calmed my anxiety. So thank you for that!
I’m sitting here, like you, holding my son and writing you because it’s all I can think about. He does brighten my day and his little smiles help take away that anxiety as well.
I did look at some info on the posture and I have been trying to implement it but still not sure I’m doing it correctly. I’ve watched a lot of the videos Christine has provided on the site and plan on diving a little deeper on what she has to offer. I also plan on seeing what the PT says just to see how they operate. It’s a friend of a friend and they trust her. I just want to explore all avenues to see what options I have. I can say that kegels only made my vagina hurt more. Made it very sore and made it throb. I honestly understand how they are NOT helpful!
I’m glad that you are feeling better and your story gives me so much hope! So thank you. Again sorry for all the questions above but I’m just curious how those issues are for you now.
Looking forward to keeping in touch and I hope one day when I am hopefully feeling better, I can somehow return the favor and make another woman feel at ease!

Teaberry0419

June 19, 2018 - 11:03am

Thank you for responding to me! I appreciate it more than you know. I’m not doing kegels. I stopped those about a week ago as they made my vagina ache and hurt so much more. Once that happened, I knew right away something wasn’t right.
I’ve already looked at the posture that Christine suggests and I’ve started to implement it today. I’m not sure if I’m doing it correctly but I’m trying as well as watching over again to see if I’m getting it down.
I understand that going doctor to doctor may not seem like a good plan but if I figure out what is going on with me on my own then I feel it is important to tell my gyno (who really is a good doctor) and educate her on what I’ve learned. The PT is a friend of a friend who they trust and my mind is curious to see what she has to say as well. I just want to explore all avenues and find what works!
I’m already looking at the material that whole woman has to offer in hopes that it will help me. Again I just want options!
Hopefully I will get better and this will subside and I can help other women who are completely lost on this subject because as we know doctors do NOT warn you of this stuff and you are left to go out looking for answers and educate yourself on your own. Again thank you for your encouraging words and helping ease my anxiety! It’s greatly appreciated!!

Typicalme

June 20, 2018 - 11:02am

i'm glad i could provide some small support - lord knows i got my share of peace from this site...
my urethra - I actually can't tell you *where* it is nowadays since i haven't looked! Like you, I tend to overanalyze and obsess and I think seeing stuff makes things worse for me. I go based on feelings alone....
the tampon falling out feeling was terrible for me the first few months...I thought I couldn't live with it if it was going to go on like that - but it did go away! and it hasn't been back (well, last month I had a day where i thought i felt it again a little but i can't even be sure).
I can't even remember when it went but it did take a few months I wanna say after starting this work. I switched to loose clothing (I had been belly binding after birth) and I tried to relax my belly (still have to try to remember to do that) and I started living life again. I started feeling better once I stopped obsessing - and it helped me to read all the success stories on here. Also, the videos - Christine provides a lot of background info and some workouts and it's just so calming and reassuring - she's done her research and everything she shows us is easy to see and feel once you start exploring and implementing. I decided to put my money into this method instead of going the PT route but that's just me... i am more and more distrustful of modern medicine when it comes to preventative type care.

I clearly remember packing up 2 kids and going to the park feeling this tampon feeling but not letting it get in the way of having a nice day because i stopped fearing it and started believing that life would go on... I was paralyzed with fear at first - didnt want to walk, pick up my son, move - for fear of making things worse. Watching the videos I came to understand that I had control over this and it wasn't just something that was happening to me.

here's something that helped me "believe" in christine's methods as the only correct way - when in strong posture, you can try to do a kegel and you'll find it's a very small movement - you can't do a full strong kegel. In posture, your pelvic "floor" is 'closed' -side to side like an elevator door. this is such a more secure feeling than a kegel ever could provide. when I cough now (had a bad cough a few weeks ago) I pull up my chest and tailbone and everything feels secure down there - no reverberations.
also reach back around and feel the end of your tailbone - this pelvic 'floor' is supposed to run parallel to the actual floor yet you can feel that from your pubic bone in front to your tailbone in the back- these muscles do not run parallel to the floor at all. and the more you slouch down or tuck your bum under, the more parallel these muscles get - but even then, still not parallel to the floor but angled up towards the back.
i'm no anatomical expert but you can feel that there is no floor....
also the idea that the vaginal walls are somehow supposed to 'hold up' everything seems crazy to me - if that were true then mesh procedures should work... but they don't. if kegels are supposed to work, then why do we even have all these mesh procedures to begin with?
so yeah, I posted a 6 month update somewhere a while back and i was going to do a 9 month and haven't had time - but basically, my main complaint was the tampon feeling and that's gone. I also had general numbness - i felt like my anal sphincter was numb and i also kinda lost the urge to pee in the first months post partum. All that has resolved over time. again - I thought by 6 weeks i should be all done healing and really, 6 weeks is nothing! mentally and physically - it takes months to feel like yourself again.
My son was 10.3 lbs with a big head and because I stupidly went with an epidural and gave birth with my knees by my ears lying flat on my back - i ended up with a 4th degree tear. I had a 3rd degree with my daughter 2 years prior to that. my kids are large heavy kids now too and I carry my son with no further issues, I even pick up my almost 3 year old when the need arises and I do it fearlessly now.
I want to get to a point where i don't think of the prolapse on a daily basis - not there yet... but at least my thoughts now are more along the lines of correcting posture throughout the day - reminding myself to bend and lift correctly, that sort of thing... no longer anger/sadness/fear.
wishing you all the best :)