anyone actually had the surgery for a rectocele?

could i have the details of the surgery?how long it took,did it work,did it hurt,do they put you to sleep?etc.

Yeah, I had the surgery last Christmas. The surgery took I think about 45 min to an hour (with anterior repair also). Went in on Friday morning, got surgerized, went home on Sunday. My surgeon insisted on a general anesthetic, but some others don't.
The repair is still intact (I'm knocking on wood right now) and my uro-gyn said the support there is good.
The bad news is that it is a painful surgery. It took about a month before I wasn't aware of it every minute of the day; after the month, it seemed to really get better fast. I made the mistake of thinking it was like an episiotomy and arranged to be back at work 11 days after surgery. It is WAY more and I should have taken 3 weeks at least. But I did 1/2 days and tried to take it easy, and got through it. At home I rested a lot and wasn't shy about taking pain meds.
If you are planning surgery, my advice would be to start kegeling your brains out now, with emphasis on tightening the posterior part of the pc muscle . Stronger muscles and increased bloodflow might help with recovery. Also, testosterone helps with muscle tone, and if applied to the perineum is supposed to aid in pelvic support.
Good luck to you!
Susan

thank you i will have it done but maybe in jan.or feb.or even longer .she said it isnt too bad but have it done in the next few years.im not looking forward to it!

If I were you I'd delay as long as possible, as long as you can handle the symptoms. Celes never get better on their own, and always get progressively worse; some get worse over years, and some get worse real fast. The rub is that many of us are prone to pelvic floor problems, and if you have one, there's a darn good chance of developing others. Add to the mix that surgery is rarely a permanent cure, as in for the rest of your life. A lot of docs think 5-6 years is doing good.
I've got a cystocele now (my 3rd one in a little over a year) and I really wanted it fixed when it first popped, but my uro-gyn urged me to hold off. It was real hard to cope with it at first, but now it's no big deal. I had planned to get repaired in the winter, but now I'm going to wait to see if it gets worse or if something else goes south.
My last repair (recto & cysto) was really much worse than my tah/bso.
Note that I'm not a doc or anyone qualified to diagnose or give medical advice...I'm only sharing what I've learned through my experience.
Again, I wish you well.
Susan

Sumatra,
I'm going to move this thread over to The Road Less Travelled message forum. I think you'll get more replies there. The Road forum is for ongoing hyst complications.

Hi
I am having my TVH/BSO, bladder repair and rectocele repair next week, so I'll let you know!
I am having the TVH for prolapsed uterus, and when the gyn was doing the "real good" exam to make sure about everything else, she said that I had a "mild" rectocele, and she would go ahead and repair that too. I didn't even know I had it, but will get it fixed.
My surgery is 10-23, and gyn said probably a two day stay in the hospital, so I should be posting by next Thurs or Fri!

Hi,
I had posterior repair for a rectocele and a lap for adhesions on Aug. 13. I agree with su, in some ways it felt worse than the hyst. I had an incision outside the vagina perinium area - like an episiotomy they do during child birth, plus inside incision. I was put to sleep and in the hospital for 3 days. These stitches drove me nuts for a while. The good news is - I am so much better! It was really rough for about 8 weeks, and everyone is different. I am glad I had the surgery, but it sure took a while for me to even say this. If you search under rectocele or my name you should find a lot of posts about my story and surgery and others along the way who had things to share about their own experiences. Good luck.
Love, Light, Blessings
Druid

Hi Everyone,

Can anyone tell me what your symptons were when you had a rectocele. I am having pain and discomfort when I sit down and when I stand for a longer period of time. Did any of you feel anything like that prior to you knowing what the problem was.

Thank you for responding.

Thank you.
Debbie

I did feel pain sitting down and also standing for a long time. But, that could be from some other reasons. The "classic" symptoms are feeling a bulge sometimes small, sometimes large depending on how bad it is, inside the vagina, difficulty moving bowels - in my case having to lean back - some women have this feeling when they are very pregnant. I also noticed some pain with sex, and not to be gross but rectal pressure during sex. I am so thankful that so far the surgery has corrected my troubles- the bowel symptoms and pain with sex are gone.I also had adhesions removed with a lap - they were mainly around my sigmoid colon. A doctor, preferably a urogyn needs to examine you, a pelvic internal exam and also having you stand and bearing down helps determine this problem. Good luck ladies and feel free to ask me questions anytime. It is a nasty problem and the surgery is not easy either - but I am glad I had it done.
Love, Light, Blessings
Druid

I don't remember any pain from the cele (but it developed soon after my hyst, so I might have thought any pain was related to healing from that). Suddenly had a hard time having a bm. I'd have to strain - never had to before- and it would feel like things were moving along, but nothing came out. I had to splint to go- GROSS!!! Since repair, it's all better, and I don't need digital enhancement, if you know what I mean.
best wishes,
Susan