Women with a grade 2 or 3 level of prolapse often describe a feeling of heaviness or discomfort, or an increase of vaginal pressure. Some women will experience low back pain, pelvic pain, or a feeling of “fullness” in the vagina. Some may even say that they feel like their bladder is falling out.
A feeling of fullness, heaviness or pain in your pelvic area. This feeling may get worse when you're standing, lifting heavy objects, coughing or as the day goes on. Going to the bathroom more than usual. Difficulty fully emptying your bladder when you pee.
Insert 1 or 2 fingers and place over the front vaginal wall (facing the bladder) to feel any bulging under your fingers, first with strong coughing and then with sustained bearing down. A definite bulge of the wall under your fingers indicates a front vaginal wall prolapse.
Severe prolapsed bladders that cannot be managed with a pessary usually require surgery to correct them. Prolapsed bladder surgery is usually performed through the vagina, and the goal is to secure the bladder in its correct position. The bladder is repaired with an incision in the vaginal wall.
If prolapse results in bulging of the bladder or rectum into the vagina, the bulge can be easily pushed back into place before intercourse, and most women with prolapse say they don't notice it during intercourse.
What type of exercise is best for pelvic organ prolapse? Aerobic exercises three to five times a week (walking, cycling, swimming etc). Aerobic exercise helps your cardiovascular system, muscles, tendons and ligaments to stay strong and will also help you maintain to the correct weight (BMI) for your height and age.
According to the Association for Pelvic Organ Prolapse, over 50% of women over 50 have some form of this disorder. The most common disorders that pelvic organ prolapse is mistakenly diagnosed as include urinary and fecal incontinence, constipation, and irritable bowel disease.
Your local doctor or GP can diagnose a prolapse. They will most likely: ask you questions about the history of your health. examine your body.
feeling or seeing a bulge or lump in or coming out of your vagina. discomfort or numbness during sex. problems peeing – such as feeling like your bladder is not emptying fully, needing to go to the toilet more often, or leaking a small amount of pee when you cough, sneeze or exercise (stress incontinence)
The connections between your pelvic organs and ligaments can weaken over time, or as a result of trauma from childbirth or chronic straining. When this happens, your bladder can slip down lower than usual and bulge into your vagina (anterior prolapse).
Grade 1 or mild cystocele: The bladder drops only a short way into the vagina. Grade 2 or moderate cystocele: The bladder drops to the opening of the vagina. Grade 3 or severe cystocele: The bladder bulges through the opening of the vagina.
There are different stages of severity of prolapse, which are defined by how far the bladder, womb or bowel have dropped down in the pelvis. In a first-degree or mild prolapse, it may even go away again after a few months or years. But it's also true that it may gradually get worse over time.
Symptoms of Prolapse
Urinary symptoms of leakage, difficulty starting the stream of urine, or frequent urinary tract infections. Difficult bowel movements—the need to strain or push on the vagina to have a bowel movement.
Many women contend with pelvic floor problems, including urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse -- when pelvic organs drop due to weakened muscles and tissues.
If the womb slips down, it is called uterine prolapse. Sometimes these organs slip down so far that the vagina or womb bulges out of the vaginal opening. The most common type of pelvic organ prolapse is bladder prolapse (also called cystocele): Here, the bladder pushes down and against the wall of the vagina.
Bloating and fullness in the abdomen
If an organ slips down, you may feel bloated in your lower abdomen area.
Symptoms of prolapse include:
Urinary problems such as slow stream, a feeling of incomplete bladder emptying, frequency, urgency and stress urinary incontinence. Bowel problems such as difficulty moving the bowel or a feeling of not emptying properly. Discomfort during sexual intercourse.
Many women with uterine prolapse have no symptoms. If symptoms are present, they may include bulging in the vagina, feeling pressure in the pelvis or vagina, and lower back pain accompanied by bulging in the vagina. There is no definitive way to prevent uterine prolapse.
If these muscles become too loose or sustain damage, the organs they support shift out of place. With mild cases of POP, your organs may drop. In more severe cases, they may extend outside your vagina and cause a bulge.
Stage I – the uterus is in the upper half of the vagina. Stage II – the uterus has descended nearly to the opening of the vagina. Stage III – the uterus protrudes out of the vagina. Stage IV – the uterus is completely out of the vagina.
This surgery is usually for women with a stage three or stage four prolapse or who have already had a hysterectomy. It may also be an option for younger women with a prolapsed uterus that don't want to have a hysterectomy.
Highly acidic fruits and veggies (tomato, cranberry, orange) can irritate the bladder lining due to their high acidity. Spicy foods can cause your bladder to burn for the same reason that they cause your mouth to burn. This can cause irritation to the bladder lining.
Prolapse is also associated with repetitive heavy lifting, chronic constipation, chronic cough, and weak or poor tissue. Prolapse symptoms may be worse at different times in the day. Some women notice that they feel more pressure after walking or standing for long periods of time.