Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Question for you about prolapse and pregnancy...

I understand that you feel a bit frustrated with your issues. Any discomfort in the pelvic area is very distracting and annoying I think.

My problems are very different from yours so I am not sure how much help I can offer, but I can sure offer support.

The part that is prolapsing for me is the ostomy itself, i.e. the part of the bowel that is now attached to my abdomen. When it happens the bowel sort of slips out through the ostomy making it longer. It's normally about 1 inch long max, but when it prolapses I think it can get about 4 inches. It feels very uncomfortable and as it swells it gets heavy and sort of pulls. I try to be as careful as I can to prevent that it gets worse. Most of the time I keep it inside the abdomen by wearing something tight over though this sometimes causes problems with the filter in the ostomy bag, making the bag fill with air which makes the ostomy prolapse anyway. I've had a couple of middle-of-the-night bag changes with very much frustration from that I can tell you. :P

They have told me that if the ostomy keeps doing this after pregnancy they will just shorten it, i.e. loosen the ostomy from the abdomen, cutting it a bit shorter and reattaching it.

But all this is very different from you problems. I understand about your discomfort though. I have nerve pain in the urogenital area which can cause issues sometimes with my bladder emptying since I do intermittent self catheterization. Plus this area is very swollen from the hormones which has caused issues with irritation in the urogenital area and urethra sometimes even with some bleeding during catheterization. My bladder is also a bit irritated from time to time when the baby moves around.

The most annoying problem I have though is with the disconnected rectum. They didn't remove that when they did the ostomy surgery because it can cause issues in the pelvic region such as the bladder and uterus falling backwards a bit and doing surgery in that area can also compromise fertility. The rectum produces mucus that must be emptied now and then, but normally this isn't much of an issue to me since it's usually enough to go the "regular way" about once every 1-3 weeks. But now during pregnancy it's more active and sometimes I've had to go every day, sometimes 2-3 times a day and sometimes I can try but nothing comes out only to have to rush a few minutes later. So a bit like IBS-D but miniature style. :P Very annoying though as I want to keep clean since I do the catheterization. Should this be an issue when I'm done having kids I might consider having the rectum removed but as in your case I would have to look at possible side effects too such as bladder issues. If it goes back to just emptying once every 1-3 weeks I will not hesitate to go through another pregnancy as I know the issues are temporary.

I understand you feel a bit unsure about another pregnancy. I can tell you this though. I had thought about things that might become an issue, and most of those things haven't happened. The stuff that has happened though I hadn't planned on, such as the rectal issues and the ostomy prolapse. So you never know. I suggest you talk it through with your OB/GYN and ask a bit about how your symptoms/problems might be affected by pregnancy. I know OB/GYNs can sometimes be a bit "oh you get a child for your pain so get over it" but hopefully you have one that can help you and be empathetic about it. I'm sure they can't exactly predict how you would experience pregnancy with these issues, but they should have some ideas of what may or may not happen.

I also think that our memory is pretty bad when it comes to remembering what pregnancy was like afterwards. So it may be that you hesitate now, because you don't know what it would be like, but then after having your second child - i.e. when you're out on the other side so to speak - you might think it was nothing, even if you felt frustrated at times during pregnancy.

After all my years with health issues I got problems with GAD and panic attacks and I was quite concerned before getting pregnant how everything would work out and I thought I'd be a super neurotic mother to be. But I have been a lot calmer than I thought. Lately I've had some issues with panic sensations though that I think are related to the issues I've had (like when every problem acts up at the same time and it just gets too much) plus the fact that there is a lot to organize before the baby comes and it's getting quite close now. Also I will have a planned c-section and have become a bit more scared of surgery after the ostomy surgery and I'm not looking forward to the spinal anesthesia since I've had a paralysis before. But I guess all of these things are normal to worry about. I'm fairly confident I will think it was all worth it afterwards. :P

I also think it's good if you can have an accepting attitude. I'm practising that in cognitive behavioral therapy. Sure I get upset and frustrated sometimes and it sure helps to cry when it gets too much, but most of the time the best thing you can do is to just take a deep breath and say "ok this is how things are right now - now how do I want to live my life?" Just sort of realize that letting things stop you from doing what you want doesn't make your life better, just more boring. This isn't easy to do all the time of course. But as an example I can mention that I performed a solo in the Christmas musical at my church despite not singing solo for hmmm about 15 years or so and despite having a cold and the rectal issues with hard-to-predict toilet visits. I did it and it really helped me both with anxiety and with coping with my physical issues.

Oh boy, long reply. I hope you'll find some of it helpful though.

You're welcome to come back to me if there is anything else you would like to know or discuss. You can also email me. My email is in my profile info.

/Ulrika

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