Prolapsed bladder

My gp practice ‘forgot’ to refer me for my prolapse. I chased the referral and one of the gp’s in the practice (woman) rang me profusely apologising about their error and offered to fit me with a vaginal Pessary the next day as she had an early appt become available. My mother was in the late stages of palliative care and I was loath to attend but she encouraged me to go the next morning.
I had it fitted, luckily it must’ve been the right size... She did say it might be trial error with sizing. Now every six months I have have it changed - that gp at my practice is an absolute Marvel and I’m also on a tablet for bladder control, I’m up in the night once, but during the day so much better. I’m putting off Surgery as long as possible. Mind you the wait times see to that ! I did get my referral, saw the most ‘dishy’ of Gynae Consultants who then drew me a picture and likened my prolapse to a ceiling “needing propping up” as it was “caving in” and said I could have surgery but I’d “never be the same again” 🤷‍♀️
I’m happy with the Pessary, even though when I order on repeat prescription it turns up looking like a curtain ring and just as hard (can’t feel it in) my doctor said silicone ones are available but long waiting list on nhs - I’m happy with my ‘curtain ring’ type 🫣 who’d be a woman!

Thank you so much everyone for your very helpful posts. Still undecided !

I had the operation last year and it's been amazing. No leakage at all so no need to buy pads

I had the op (stitches not mesh) 35 years ago. No trouble since. Brilliant!

Morningtime
I looked up the symptoms, and this list seems to cover them all.
The info is gathered from trustworthy sites, such as the nhs, etc.
Sorry its long, but it may help you.

Pressure: A persistent feeling of fullness, heaviness, or a "dragging" sensation in the lower abdomen or vagina.Vaginal Bulge: The sensation or physical sight of a lump or tissue protruding through the vaginal opening.Activity-Related Discomfort: Symptoms often worsen after standing for long periods, coughing, lifting heavy objects, or straining, and may improve when lying down.Other Physical Signs: Pain or numbness during sexual intercourse, lower back pain, or difficulty comfortably inserting tampons.Urinary SymptomsIncontinence: Leaking urine when sneezing, coughing, laughing, or exercising (stress incontinence).Hesitancy & Flow: Difficulty starting a urine stream or having a slow stream.Incomplete Emptying: The frequent feeling that your bladder is not fully empty immediately after urinating.Frequency: An increased urge to urinate or needing to go much more often than usual.Recurrent UTIs: Frequent urinary tract infections due to the bladder's inability to drain completely

I had the same issue and despite bladder muscle exercises, dilators etc nothing helped until I had a TVT bladder sling inserted, mines still not the greatest bladder control but it’s still a hell of a lot better than it was.
However I do understand that many women have had issues after the procedure stating severe unrelenting abdominal pain and there was some sort of enquiry as to whether the operation should still be performed
I didn’t have any adverse reactions so I don’t know what the outcome of the investigation was

I’ve had a cystocele for the past 10 years treated with a ‘doughnut’ pessary very successfully so far …. It has, a couple of times, shot out when I coughed violently but I just shoved it back in 🤦‍♀️. I’m seen by the Women's Health specialist at my local hospital 2x a year which is very reassuring.

I had the op 20 years ago and still going strong

I had a prolapsed bladder in my early 50’s and tried various physios and exercises, nothing worked. Eventually I opted for the mesh and have had absolutely no problems since. It was a fairly new idea back then. I am now 77 and was very grateful to have the chance of the operation, although I do understand many women have had problems with it. I was obviously one of the lucky ones.

I tried physio through a with a women's health clinic, years of pelvic floor exercises, and the pessary (never found one that fit). I have never been overweight. The only thing that has worked has been the mesh operation. It has been 15 years and no issues with it other than the internal scar tissue affecting intercourse (but only since menopause). The freedom from incontinence has been life changing and well worth it to me.

Hi what are the symptoms of this ?

EkwaNimitee

I also recommend a private women’s health physiotherapist if you can afford it. My rectal and bladder prolapses are no more. But it has taken months and months of pelvic floor exercises 3 times a day. I still do them once a day and so far, so good.
She also gave me lots of advice re my constant utis which were running me down.. Haven’t had one of those for 18 months now.

I saw a private women's health physiotherapist too. It was worth every penny. I did have to do the exercises of course but her advice was excellent. I learnt such a lot including that most women do Kegel exercises incorrectly and you can actually overdo it. My pelvic floor is fine now and I'm no longer bothered by urinary incontinence.

My friend has tried pessaries, without much success. She goes to the loo four or five times in the night.
So she is now on the list for an operation. I’m almost sure she wants the operation.

I had a cystocele (prolapsed bladder) at least 20 years ago. I had an operation to tighten pelvic floor to push it into place. Also had to have cervix removed. I'm now 78 and have no problems since.

I also recommend a private women’s health physiotherapist if you can afford it. My rectal and bladder prolapses are no more. But it has taken months and months of pelvic floor exercises 3 times a day. I still do them once a day and so far, so good.
She also gave me lots of advice re my constant utis which were running me down.. Haven’t had one of those for 18 months now.

I was diagnosed with a prolapsed uterus. The consultant was pushing for me to have the mesh surgery but I refused after doing some research and found the negatives outweighed any positives. This was 15 years ago and I struggled on. Having said that, I found it helped me when I lost some weight. Inevitably my love of all things food meant the prolapse got steadily worse over the years so I went to the GP last year with a view to seeing if my uterus could be removed. At this point I was told it was actually a prolapsed bladder. After my prolapse first happened and due to so many experiencing problems with the mesh, the mesh repair was not encouraged but when I was referred last year, I was again offered surgery as I was at stage 3. I opted for a pessary to see if it helped before even considering surgery this time round. and wish I'd had this fitted long ago. I think I was lucky in that the nurse got the size right first time. She said it can be trial and error finding the right size for some and it needs perseverance. I know of one person that had the mesh and hasn't had any problems but know of another who has ongoing problems. Having read about success rates - apparently approx 70 - 85% success rate but likewise a fairly high percentage have to go through it again at about 5 years so it doesn't sound like a complete 'cure'. I've been waiting for an NHS physio appointment since last year so it may be worth going private. Why not try a pessary again. Hopefully your get the right size. I wish you all the best.(Sorry for the long post)

I have a prolapse and fiubd a private physio helped. There’s a squeezy app free I use it to make me do pelvic floor exercises. I had a pessary but got uti , I want to avoid surgery as we

I am really sorry that you are going through this. Have you discussed visiting a pelvic floor physio or tried to find one in your area? They are well trained in the mechanics of prolapse and whilst not doctors, can often offer advice on living practices.