Rectocele and Lower Back Pain

While it's good to finally figure out what my body is doing, it doesn't make the pain any less. I have SEVERE lower back pain - I thought it was "just" back pain and wondered why the PT didn't seem to make much difference. Even when the kidney pain returned. Duh! In retrospect, my pain feels a LOT like what I experienced right before my hyst.

I don't even remember what it's like to live a "normal" life. Sex? Ha! BMs? Ha! An uninterrupted night's sleep? Hahahahaha!!

Re-reading the referral to the Uro-Gyn, the GI doc wanted an appt within a week. Mine's another 2 weeks out / 3 weeks from referral. I will call tomorrow and make sure that it's OK.



Esme

Esme--

I am soooo sorry you are in such awful pain. I can't imagine. I hope you have called your doctor (s) to let them know? By what you are describing, it sounds so similar to when my daughter had a kidney infection. That was so terrible for her.

Please stay in close touch with your doctor(s). One of them should be able to diagnose and/or prescribe something to help.

why must we wait sooooo long when we are in pain and sick? Its awful i feel sicker every day if sicker is a word tomorrow the gastoro specialist just to wait for another appt. i also have severe lomer back pain and i feel pushed from one doc to the next but they say all that pain can not be being casued by the rectocye im nauses and i cant eat much or drink much anybody else

	Quote:
Originally Posted by chilax why must we wait sooooo long when we are in pain and sick? Its awful i feel sicker every day if sicker is a word tomorrow the gastoro specialist just to wait for another appt. i also have severe lomer back pain and i feel pushed from one doc to the next but they say all that pain can not be being casued by the rectocye im nauses and i cant eat much or drink much anybody else

Oh, Chilax, I'm sooo sad you are having so many problems. DON'T believe them when they say all of your pain CAN'T be caused "just" by the rectocele. You might have other things going on, but it might just be the rectocele. From the Mayo Clinic site, these are some symptoms of rectocele:

• Digitation. About 25-percent of the time, the patient must use a technique called "manual evacuation" or "digitation" to help empty the rectum. In this technique, the patient presses on the rectocele with her fingers inside the vagina, while defecating to facilitate the passage of stool.
• Low back pain that is relieved by lying down. In many women, this back pain worsens as the day progresses and is most severe in the evening.
• A feeling that the rectum has not emptied completely after a bowel movement.
• Difficulty in controlling the passage of stool or gas from the rectum.
• A bulge of tissue protruding through the vaginal opening.
• Pain or discomfort during sexual intercourse.
• Difficulty in having a bowel movement.
• A sensation of rectal pressure.
• Constipation
• Rectal pain.

Fatigue can be caused from many things, including fighting the pain. If you think about things from a common sense point of view, if your body is not getting rid of feces properly, those toxins remain in your body longer than usual, and that can make you tired. Same thing about the nausea and lack of appetite. You need to find someone who is a specialist or has experience in gynecological urology/gastroenterology.

If you find yourself with severe abdominal pain and/or lower back pain, constipation for longer than a week or a few days, or not passing any stool or gas at all, nausea and lack of appetite, it can signal an intestinal blockage, which is a medical emergency.

I HATE it when medical people tell you essentially "it's all in your head". I would guess that half of the women here who have had complicated histories have been told that at some time or another.

I would encourage you to call the doc or go to ER if you have symptoms of intestinal blockage.

Let us know how you're doing. {{HUGS}}

Esme

thanks so much Esme they seem to be trying to find out why i feel so sick wiith out any fevers thanks for your help im on miralx and more stool softenrs and what ever i need to clean me out i have a colooscopy in a week yipppy but cat and mri show nothing suurrrr i bet the tvt has somthing to do with it thanks Esme for your help....sending good health to you chilax

I had a total VH 6 weeks ago and now have a rectocele. I feel worse now than I did prior to hysterectomy. Now I face either living with this or going in for additional surgery. What did those of you in similar situation do? If you had surgery for rectocele, did you recover completely? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by EsmereldaPea While it's good to finally figure out what my body is doing, it doesn't make the pain any less. I have SEVERE lower back pain - I thought it was "just" back pain and wondered why the PT didn't seem to make much difference. Even when the kidney pain returned. Duh! In retrospect, my pain feels a LOT like what I experienced right before my hyst. I don't even remember what it's like to live a "normal" life. Sex? Ha! BMs? Ha! An uninterrupted night's sleep? Hahahahaha!! Re-reading the referral to the Uro-Gyn, the GI doc wanted an appt within a week. Mine's another 2 weeks out / 3 weeks from referral. I will call tomorrow and make sure that it's OK. Esme

Hi Esme,
Is your pain in your lower back, such as L4 L5 or S1 area? or lower such as in your si joints, tailbone or rectum?
I was wondering. this is why I finally went to my gyn. I was sure I had a rectocele but all he found was a small cystocele. Which he couldn't imagine why that would cause of this pain. My pain is in my si joints, tailbone and rectum area and muscles around that. In my opinion I think I have pudendal nuralgia that flares and it is now. I would think if I had a rectocele it would hurt more consistently, more like a pressure. Its more like sharp, burning pains. burning is more nerves.

Amar -

I don't have it at the moment, so I can't say for sure (funny how we blot those things out when we get the chance, huh?). I HAVE had consistent sacral pain for awhile, but I think the really severe stuff was a little higher - maybe L4/L5. My sacrum on the R side keeps going out - I've got a stretch I do to get it back into place, but it doesn't always stay where it's supposed to.

One thing I have noticed since I got REALLY constipated is that the lower back pain that stretches across my entire back is relieved with a "real" BM of a large quantity (sorry to be graphic, but I think we can't help but be in this forum!) - Not one of the "pelletized" ones.

Interesting about the burning - didn't realize that is typically nerve pain. My pain is more sharp stabbing or dull stabbing, or consistent sharp or dull. I also have shooting pains down the front of my right leg, sometimes down to the ankle (like now) - from the groin area.

I have some rectal pressure, but I wouldn't characterize it as pain - although I imagine some might. I DO have a really high pain tolerance. I can't say that I've noticed any pain in my tailbone (except for my boss - )

I don't know how much this helps . . . I also have general joint pain which seemed to be helped when I started taking Vit D3 and a Calcium supplement with various supporting vits. I found out recently that I had had a decrease of 15% in my bone mass & osteopenia since my baseline bone density test shortly after my hyst (5 years' time).

I would encourage anyone who has a hyst have a baseline bone density test shortly after. Even if you keep your ovaries, because of the significant change in the blood supply to the ovaries, many times the ovaries slow significantly, or even stop.

So, that's my lecture for the evening. I hope I helped!

I'll be starting a new thread later tonight, so keep an eye out.

Esme

	Quote:
Originally Posted by EsmereldaPea Amar - I don't have it at the moment, so I can't say for sure (funny how we blot those things out when we get the chance, huh?). I HAVE had consistent sacral pain for awhile, but I think the really severe stuff was a little higher - maybe L4/L5. My sacrum on the R side keeps going out - I've got a stretch I do to get it back into place, but it doesn't always stay where it's supposed to. One thing I have noticed since I got REALLY constipated is that the lower back pain that stretches across my entire back is relieved with a "real" BM of a large quantity (sorry to be graphic, but I think we can't help but be in this forum!) - Not one of the "pelletized" ones. Interesting about the burning - didn't realize that is typically nerve pain. My pain is more sharp stabbing or dull stabbing, or consistent sharp or dull. I also have shooting pains down the front of my right leg, sometimes down to the ankle (like now) - from the groin area. I have some rectal pressure, but I wouldn't characterize it as pain - although I imagine some might. I DO have a really high pain tolerance. I can't say that I've noticed any pain in my tailbone (except for my boss - ) I don't know how much this helps . . . I also have general joint pain which seemed to be helped when I started taking Vit D3 and a Calcium supplement with various supporting vits. I found out recently that I had had a decrease of 15% in my bone mass & osteopenia since my baseline bone density test shortly after my hyst (5 years' time). I would encourage anyone who has a hyst have a baseline bone density test shortly after. Even if you keep your ovaries, because of the significant change in the blood supply to the ovaries, many times the ovaries slow significantly, or even stop. So, that's my lecture for the evening. I hope I helped! I'll be starting a new thread later tonight, so keep an eye out. Esme

Esme,
thanks for your information. I have sacral pains that radiate into the rectal area and into what I think is lower vagina. I do have a small cystocele and I have been checked by 2 drs. internally and you would think they would pick up a rectocele!
The more I read the more I think its a severe si joint dysfunction at the moment. sometimes it hurts like bloody hell and other times not at all. You would think a rectal prolapse would cause more consistent problems. No I am never hardly ever constipated. I did have a microdisectomy at L4L5 so I was thinking that was it. I went to a new chiropractor yesterday and he spent 30 minutes with me and said you look like you have some bad si joint problems there. I am to go in for an xray today. I'm in alot of pain today but was not last night ??? I have shooting, sharp and burning pains where the joints are, around my rectal area even the bottom of the vagina inside is annoyed. sometimes the pain goes into the hip, down the back of the leg or front of leg. sounds similar to yours. I read a good article today about si joint dysfunction causing a lot of strange problems, even urinary, bowel and sexual difficulty. I can find it again and pm or email you the link if you want to read the article. I did question the chiropractor if it could be pudendal nerve entrapment? I had a bad bout of this 2 yrs ago where my butt went completely numb and I literally coudln't have sex. something was defininitely pinched big time. I even went to my back surgeon who looked at an mri that I demanded and he said it showed nothing . Si joints also don't show much as you are lying down and taking pressure off them so they would stay more together. I wish I knew how to adjust them myself. like you talk about. I got to go talk to you more.

Just had xrays done. My S1 is just crushed down ! My rectum, my bladder, my groin and hips are all super irritable. Nerve Pain is just awful!!! I am now thinking all that bladder stuff was more so caused by my disc than by my grade 1-2 cystocele. this is intense pain.. I have had neurogenic pain before with a bad bout of this, worser than now since my butt is not numb but this is still pretty bad. My si joints are compensating for my back surgery site, L4 L5. and I have been sitting incorrectly and having my legs spread apart really is agitating it. I must sit with legs together and straight not splayed apart as i have been doing. I have had this agitation before there. I have been in 3 accidents and have had back surgeries and big babies so this all contributes. I will have to hold off on the cystocele investigation until I get this pain under control. Its not like I am leaking constantly. Only when sneezing or coughing and if I cross legs, I don't at all. so It can wait as long as my bladder is not hanging down and out of the vagina. He said give him a few weeks .