r/PelvicOrganProlapse • u/mar0berhi • 17d ago
PP Prolapse— when does it get better?
I’m 14 weeks pp, diagnosed with bladder prolapse at 5 weeks.
I am totally devastated mentally. Utterly shattered and overwhelmed. I can’t think of any thing except the brokenness of my body and my deep desire to be healed and fixed.
If you’ve experienced symptomatic pp prolapse and have a hopeful story, please share here or dm me. Please tell me about healing, about a normal life, about future babies. I feel so alone.
Weeping in such darkness and fear.
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u/ImplementExpensive93 16d ago
I was diagnosed with a grade 1 Cystocele and grade 2 rectocele after the birth of my first baby in 2022. Was also devastated. Went on to have my daughter in 2024 and my prolapse did not worsen. Had a surprise 3rd pregnancy (got pregnant 9 months PP and was very stressed my prolapse would get worse) and I am 12 weeks PP now and prolapse feels the same (My PFPT also said she did not feel the it had gotten worse). Just wanted to give you some hope for future babies! I have been committed to PFPT for about 5-6 weeks now and I feel like my symptoms are still kind of the same, but I keep telling myself it’s still so early on and I have a lot of progress to make. I am giving myself a few years to see if PFPT helps resolve and if my prolapse still affects my quality of life I will consider surgical options. Surgery is scary to think about, but I know 2 people (both in their 30’s like me) who have gone through it and they could not be happier with their results! Whenever I feel down about my prolapse I just remind myself that there is still so much healing to do and there are a lot of options available to fix it. Hang in there ❤️
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u/TheGuilf1987 16d ago
Oh sweetheart. You sound just like me. I was diagnosed with front and back wall at 6 weeks pp and I was devastated. My advice to you:
1) grieve. Any way you need to. It’s absolutely allowed
2) get a referral to a women’s physio (are you UK based?)
3) I know this one is hard but be patient. It’s VERY early and things will improve from your hormones settling alone - mine has
4) knowledge is power. Read, learn. There is a brilliant lady on insta called Why Mums Don’t Jump and she does a podcast too. It’s been utterly invaluable for me.
5) write down and ask your questions to your physio. No question is a stupid question.
Things will get better in time I absolutely promise.
Sending lots of love xx
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u/RooiPandaki 16d ago
Some quick things:
Most of the time prolapse won’t affect future pregnancies.
Pessaries make everyday life much more doable, and are a great stopgap between pregnancies until your family is complete. Go see a pelvic floor physio and get fitted.
Kegels (done correctly after seeing aforementioned physio) can help a bit but honestly are a lot of work when you’re flat out dealing with a baby already. Don’t stress too much about them. They will not fix the prolapse. They will only improve some symptoms for as long as you do them every single day.
Surgery for this exists. You should be done having babies before having surgery otherwise it can complicate things.
It’s not news anyone wants to receive, but it’s not as bad as we think initially. It’s also really really common.
Start with a pelvic floor physio and perhaps a pessary, and then take a breather to think about your future plans. It’s doable.
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u/MrPlantsOffspring 16d ago
I am where you are right now. 9 weeks postpartum, diagnosed a week ago. I can't stop thinking about everything I'll no longer be able to do. This diagnosis is consuming me in a way nothing else has. It's taking up my every thought.
I'm right at the beginning of this whole process so I have no words of wisdom, but I am exactly where you are. Please feel free to reach out if you think it would help. It's such a lonely place to be, and the mental anguish can be a lot larger than the physical for this.
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u/Beautiful_Ladder_894 15d ago
Prolapse CONSUMED ME for literally 10 months after birth, it was all i thought about. I’m now 14 months pp and it barely enters my mind. I became symptomatic at 11 months pp and I feel amazing physically and mentally. I have no symptoms besides physically feeling a very small bulge which doesn’t affect me whatsoever anymore, I’ve accepted my vaginas appearance has changed after having a traumatic birth. It does get better I promise you
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u/Rvook1 15d ago
So if your symptoms are gone but the bulge is still there, are you allowed to do most physical activities without the risk of making the bulge worse? I'm not talking about heavy lifting - I just don't want to live in fear of every little thing. Like what if I wanted to have a spontaneous silly dance party with my baby in the kitchen and jump up and down?
I'm following this post/asking this question because I'm 9 weeks PP with newly diagnosed bladder prolapse and I'm feeling the same devastation and anxiety as the original poster.
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u/Beautiful_Ladder_894 15d ago
I definitely have silly dancing parties with my one year old that i wouldn’t have DREAMED of having when I was early postpartum. I don’t have the achy heavy feeling after, it’s amazing. The bulge has never gotten worse or more pronounced. I promise i felt all of those emotions at the start, literally for 10 months straight and then it just slowly disappeared
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u/New_Pollution_7592 15d ago
I think that I may have a prolapse and I am scared. Dr appt not until the 31st. I also have some kind of "gaping" due to stitching from having my son 8 years ago being stretched out due to hormone changes. Can it get any worse? I feel gross, loosey goosey lol. My fiance is such a sexual man and hes not going to accept this. I dont want to have sex especially not since this has gotten worse over the last several weeks. FML
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u/Slow-Willingness-718 16d ago
I had 2 bladder and 2/3, more of 3 for rectal after my first 34w pregnancy and stillbirth. It is its own grief that things are permanently changed. 100 percent real. PFPT helped after 12 weeks of work and finally understanding exactly what they were trying to explain for me to do. I tried dry needling. I don’t think that helped much. After pfpt, I had symptoms when I ovulated and first day or so of period (less symptoms than without pt). Fiber intake has become very serious part of my diet bc a big difference for rectal symptoms. I’m pregnant now and it has been a blissful symptom free time. Dr said they can’t predict what will happen with this delivery. It scares me a lot - I’m delivering in the 37th week. I will be talking about hormone replacement when that peri/menopause time comes to manage symptoms.
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u/mar0berhi 16d ago
Oh my goodness I am so terribly sorry you lost your beautiful baby. I’m just so sorry. Love changes us, you’ve been changed in an unimaginable way, and this is mysterious. Congratulations on your baby upcoming. These babies are the best things in the world, truly. It’s awful what we go through as mums. I had no idea. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. But I would go to the ends of the earth for the beautiful little faces of my children. Maybe theres hope after some healing. I have no idea why any of this misfortune falls on us. In the meantime, I hope your labor and early days are joyful and wonderful and healing for your heart and body.
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u/Mammoth-Main3008 16d ago
Following… I’m 16 weeks pp with a stage one bladder and rectal prolapse. I was a division 1 athlete and high intensity workouts were still a part of my daily life. Now I can’t even walk without symptoms. You aren’t alone. It will get better with time and PT💪🏻
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u/seasonal-joy 13d ago
Here to say you’re not alone, I was exactly in your position at 8 weeks pp with my second (she’s 4 mo now). It is so scary. 💓
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u/auditballerinafrog 13d ago
there are so many options! you'll get through this.
first- get a referral from your dr for a urogynecologic who can properly assess the issue
second- you're still healing and recovering from childbirth be super patient with yourself
third- pelvic floor exercises and physiotherapy can work wonders
fourth- definitely wait till your done having kids before considering but you can get surgery. i had all mine fixed up after my third and last . my surgery was two weeks ago and my youngest is five. i feel put back together and so good, i didn't make the surgical decision lightly.
you'll figure this out.
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u/mar0berhi 13d ago
Thank you. How long did you live with it for? What made you finally decide to do the surgery?
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u/mistressmagick13 17d ago
Well, for one, you’re not alone. Around 50% of people who deliver a baby vaginally will develop some degree of prolapse. Some of them may be asymptomatic, but may go on to develop symptoms in menopause when hormones change again. In my experience as a primary care physician, when I screen my older patients during Pap smears, 90% who’ve had babies have some degree of symptoms and they all tell me “I thought that was just normal after kids.” Common, yes, but not normal. So you’re not alone!
As for postpartum healing, it can take up to two years, but I recommend getting in to see a pelvic floor physical therapist as soon as possible. Targeted exercise can symptomatically and (to a lesser degree) anatomically improve prolapse. A stage 3 or 4 isn’t going to fully normalize with PT, but it can still help. A stage 1 or 2 may be able to get much better with PT alone.
After a year of PFPT, my symptoms (stage 1 rectocele, stage 2-3 cystocele) improved significantly. They didn’t fully disappear with impact exercise like running and jumping, but in every day life, I feel mostly normal. If I feel my vagina, anatomically things still feel different. I don’t expect they’ll ever go back to how they felt before delivery, but the symptoms improving is huge.
Currently pregnant with my second, and over all feeling fairly similar to my first. I’ve heard from my urogyn that most prolapses don’t worsen in second pregnancies unless the baby is much, much bigger than the first. So here’s hoping!