Aa
Need advice for rectal prolapse
Please I posted this in the crohns forum but have no reply - if a doc could give me guidance please.
I suddenly felt like a lump which was outside my anus after a BM which and hubby said it looked like a red lump that went away when I put Vaseline in. I went to my Gastro doc as I have Crohns disease who looked inside and told me to bear down and said I have a prolapsed rectum or anus and to just keep inserting vaseline after a BM. However, I had 3 BMs before I went to see him, got washed and went to my appointment - no vaseline as I knew he would look and since my exam the prolapse seems to be out most of the time. Putting Vaseline in but when I pull out my finger sometimes the prolapse comes back out. I have had one BM since which hurt terribly as sometimes I am washing the prolapse because it is on the outside and could this have made it more sore? I can't spend my life trying to look in the mirror to see if it is out or in-either way feels weird and I am not sure if it is in or out. It hurts now when I sit and I am scared it will never go back in again to stay and do not know what to do. Since it is so sore I am afraid of having a loose BM and get infected. I am 74 and can not live like this. The doc indicated it would only happen after a BM but whatever he did made it worse so now it comes out if I cough or even pass gas.
Please, I have to go for open heart surgery and now I have this complication. Is there anything I can do to reverse it ASAP. It feels awful and hurts, esp when sitting and I should not be upset now before the surgery. He said I would not be a good candidate for rectal prolapse surgery with the Crohns either.
Please doctors can you give me any advice/suggestions as the gastro doc just seemed to pass it off with well, just push it back in with vaseline and I can't do that all day long as I have to get washed first and after as I also have urethritis, vulvitis and vaginitis and do not want an infection in those areas from bacteria from the anus. Everyone knows how hard it is to just wipe Vaseline off and it would find its way down to the front area. The prolapse is on the back side of the anus going up towards the waist. Thank you for any help.
I suddenly felt like a lump which was outside my anus after a BM which and hubby said it looked like a red lump that went away when I put Vaseline in. I went to my Gastro doc as I have Crohns disease who looked inside and told me to bear down and said I have a prolapsed rectum or anus and to just keep inserting vaseline after a BM. However, I had 3 BMs before I went to see him, got washed and went to my appointment - no vaseline as I knew he would look and since my exam the prolapse seems to be out most of the time. Putting Vaseline in but when I pull out my finger sometimes the prolapse comes back out. I have had one BM since which hurt terribly as sometimes I am washing the prolapse because it is on the outside and could this have made it more sore? I can't spend my life trying to look in the mirror to see if it is out or in-either way feels weird and I am not sure if it is in or out. It hurts now when I sit and I am scared it will never go back in again to stay and do not know what to do. Since it is so sore I am afraid of having a loose BM and get infected. I am 74 and can not live like this. The doc indicated it would only happen after a BM but whatever he did made it worse so now it comes out if I cough or even pass gas.
Please, I have to go for open heart surgery and now I have this complication. Is there anything I can do to reverse it ASAP. It feels awful and hurts, esp when sitting and I should not be upset now before the surgery. He said I would not be a good candidate for rectal prolapse surgery with the Crohns either.
Please doctors can you give me any advice/suggestions as the gastro doc just seemed to pass it off with well, just push it back in with vaseline and I can't do that all day long as I have to get washed first and after as I also have urethritis, vulvitis and vaginitis and do not want an infection in those areas from bacteria from the anus. Everyone knows how hard it is to just wipe Vaseline off and it would find its way down to the front area. The prolapse is on the back side of the anus going up towards the waist. Thank you for any help.
Best Answer
i know this post is old but just wandering how things turned out for you. i am going through the same things with my mother and am trying to educate myself on prolapsed rectum.
Hey thanks GG
I appreciate all the input and will try to get a gyn appointment and try the KY jelly although if it is anything like what they use in the docs office, it burns. KY even burned the vaginal area when I was able to have sexual relations. I am allergic to Estrace cream, cortisone, etc. too. I am going to try some of your advice but am limited because of the Crohns disease inflammation in the lower rectal/anal area. Can't have a sitz bath or sit in the tub per urologist because of urethra inlammation which makes me more prone to infection.
You are correct - almost all my meds cause constipation but have to stay on a low residue diet which is horrible for my situation.
I do use baby wipes to wipe myself and if necessary push myself in with vaseline, wipe off the vaseline and then wash the vaseline off lately. Before I had the prolapse all I used was baby wipes unless I had a real messy that needed washing.
Will check with the gyn re a neurologist too. Thanks so much for answering my post.
I appreciate all the input and will try to get a gyn appointment and try the KY jelly although if it is anything like what they use in the docs office, it burns. KY even burned the vaginal area when I was able to have sexual relations. I am allergic to Estrace cream, cortisone, etc. too. I am going to try some of your advice but am limited because of the Crohns disease inflammation in the lower rectal/anal area. Can't have a sitz bath or sit in the tub per urologist because of urethra inlammation which makes me more prone to infection.
You are correct - almost all my meds cause constipation but have to stay on a low residue diet which is horrible for my situation.
I do use baby wipes to wipe myself and if necessary push myself in with vaseline, wipe off the vaseline and then wash the vaseline off lately. Before I had the prolapse all I used was baby wipes unless I had a real messy that needed washing.
Will check with the gyn re a neurologist too. Thanks so much for answering my post.
The doctor does answer your questions. But I would very much like to offer a few additional emphases and tips to help you through this rough patch in your life, until the RIGHT docs can clear all this commotion up. In your 70s, you should still be doing pretty well as a human being, so I think this particular episode of ill health CAN be overcome, at least enough to make life comfortable again for you.
First, I think you should go see either (a) a urologist OR (b) a gynecologist. If you're like me, a woman, you'll want to go see the gynecologist. She can treat the following: Any infections you have with your ureter and vagina. ALSO, you can get from her a vaginal cream that has a little bit of estrogen in it, and if you slather that on your vaginal area, it will help protect the area from some anal filth getting in your orifices and overlaps..
Next, I think your gastro man is not knowledgeable enough to treat you. So, I think you should ask this gynecologist to refer you to a surgeon in gastroenterology, once you are cured up with the other two infections. I personally believe you are in a position to go ahead and give surgery a go. Yours MAY can be approached from the outside, they can even go up a ways and secure what is left in there after they remove the prolapsed section, so as to avoid further abnormalities there for a very long time. It is well worth your while to have an expert in surgical techniques for straightening out such a thing as you have.
Lastly, these are just my own opinions for what to do until you can get in to see a gynecologist (which you may tell the scheduler this is a semi-emergency, without concentrating on the prolapse, but emphasizing both your ureter and vagina are significantly infected and you're an elder in your 70s, that should get you in quicker). Until you see the gynecologist, I think you should go to the pharmacy and over-the-counter drugs and aids that I suggest are these:
1) Get some PLAIN KY Jelly (blue and white box), it comes out of a tube, and it works almost exactly like vaseline, except it washes off very easily. So, if you shower once a day, it will wash off at that time, but stay there the rest. This stuff you can put on your lazy rectal tissue, and around the rectal area. It will prevent chaffing, it comes off with water, it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. You may need a mirror for the first couple times, but after that, it's very easy to do.
2. Get some BABY WIPES, they pop out of a box like kleenex, others come out differently, and whenever you get done doing WHATEVER business down there, other than taking a shower, then if you feel you are dirty, use the wipes to cleanse the area, MUCH simpler than re-washing and risking e.Coli getting up towards the front of your privates.
3. Get some either PANTI LINERS or you can get LADIES PULLUP DEPENDS, and in this manner, no matter what is going on "down there," you willl be completely covered up in the event of any strangeness. I tend to "leak" pee at inopportune times, so those pull-up depends are EVERYTHING to me, that's all I wear, they function as padded underwear, comfortable. You will learn what different kinds are like, what sizes are right, how much coverage makes you feel comfortable. You throw them away in the trash before each shower.
4. Ask the gynecologist to do you a favor, and prescribe you some suppositories that will help you pass waste when the time comes, plus it automatically lubricates; OR YOU CAN GET SUPPOSITORIES OTC (over-the-counter), just look around and buy a couple types of suppositories, BOTH in the adult and children's section. ANY time you cannot seem to pass waste, just put that suppository in there,and normally you will go within five minutes, but read the labels. If you wear pull-up depends and put in the suppository and nothing happens, nothing to fear, for you have pants that will hold inside anything that comes out of you, including waste, suppositories, whatever.
What your underlying problem is twofold: You cannot seem to have a relaxed and normal BM. Now, there are two reasons. One has to do with medication. If you are taking any medicine that shows as a "side effect" on the label as "constipation," then you must make up for it by drinking extra water (shoot for a total of perhaps five or six glasses a day), by eating fiber foods (look all that up as to what foods have good fiber counts, AND folllow the doc instructs here about drinking a fiber mixtures), and every morning I have oat cereal and one or two prunes, to stay regular.
The second problem has to do with your bowels simply not getting as strong a signal from your spine as you should be getting. This is a problem for a neurologist to investigate, or even an orthopedist, for you DO need to have an X-ray or CT scan (refuse an MRI) of your lumbar and lumbosacral spines, to discover if a wad of nerves are being impinged on by bone, bone spurs, or lots of arthritic changes. I have permanent bruising all down my lower back area from pinched blood vessels and nerves, I have a weak leg, I limp, and it sure does hurt. The physician would have to do decide if you can get by with, say, a back brace, PLUS very warm tub soaks, warm water bottle wrapped in a tea towel, whichever you want to put on your lower spine, ESPECIALLY if you've noticed pain in that area, and perhaps a pain killer until an ortho can definitively determine if you need nerve damage correction somehow.
I hope this extra bit helps you until you can start seeing the proper docs, as an example a gynecologist, a gastro SURGEON, and perhaps an orthopedist. And I KNOW you can get yourself into a better situation than you're in now, if not completely well. GG
First, I think you should go see either (a) a urologist OR (b) a gynecologist. If you're like me, a woman, you'll want to go see the gynecologist. She can treat the following: Any infections you have with your ureter and vagina. ALSO, you can get from her a vaginal cream that has a little bit of estrogen in it, and if you slather that on your vaginal area, it will help protect the area from some anal filth getting in your orifices and overlaps..
Next, I think your gastro man is not knowledgeable enough to treat you. So, I think you should ask this gynecologist to refer you to a surgeon in gastroenterology, once you are cured up with the other two infections. I personally believe you are in a position to go ahead and give surgery a go. Yours MAY can be approached from the outside, they can even go up a ways and secure what is left in there after they remove the prolapsed section, so as to avoid further abnormalities there for a very long time. It is well worth your while to have an expert in surgical techniques for straightening out such a thing as you have.
Lastly, these are just my own opinions for what to do until you can get in to see a gynecologist (which you may tell the scheduler this is a semi-emergency, without concentrating on the prolapse, but emphasizing both your ureter and vagina are significantly infected and you're an elder in your 70s, that should get you in quicker). Until you see the gynecologist, I think you should go to the pharmacy and over-the-counter drugs and aids that I suggest are these:
1) Get some PLAIN KY Jelly (blue and white box), it comes out of a tube, and it works almost exactly like vaseline, except it washes off very easily. So, if you shower once a day, it will wash off at that time, but stay there the rest. This stuff you can put on your lazy rectal tissue, and around the rectal area. It will prevent chaffing, it comes off with water, it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. You may need a mirror for the first couple times, but after that, it's very easy to do.
2. Get some BABY WIPES, they pop out of a box like kleenex, others come out differently, and whenever you get done doing WHATEVER business down there, other than taking a shower, then if you feel you are dirty, use the wipes to cleanse the area, MUCH simpler than re-washing and risking e.Coli getting up towards the front of your privates.
3. Get some either PANTI LINERS or you can get LADIES PULLUP DEPENDS, and in this manner, no matter what is going on "down there," you willl be completely covered up in the event of any strangeness. I tend to "leak" pee at inopportune times, so those pull-up depends are EVERYTHING to me, that's all I wear, they function as padded underwear, comfortable. You will learn what different kinds are like, what sizes are right, how much coverage makes you feel comfortable. You throw them away in the trash before each shower.
4. Ask the gynecologist to do you a favor, and prescribe you some suppositories that will help you pass waste when the time comes, plus it automatically lubricates; OR YOU CAN GET SUPPOSITORIES OTC (over-the-counter), just look around and buy a couple types of suppositories, BOTH in the adult and children's section. ANY time you cannot seem to pass waste, just put that suppository in there,and normally you will go within five minutes, but read the labels. If you wear pull-up depends and put in the suppository and nothing happens, nothing to fear, for you have pants that will hold inside anything that comes out of you, including waste, suppositories, whatever.
What your underlying problem is twofold: You cannot seem to have a relaxed and normal BM. Now, there are two reasons. One has to do with medication. If you are taking any medicine that shows as a "side effect" on the label as "constipation," then you must make up for it by drinking extra water (shoot for a total of perhaps five or six glasses a day), by eating fiber foods (look all that up as to what foods have good fiber counts, AND folllow the doc instructs here about drinking a fiber mixtures), and every morning I have oat cereal and one or two prunes, to stay regular.
The second problem has to do with your bowels simply not getting as strong a signal from your spine as you should be getting. This is a problem for a neurologist to investigate, or even an orthopedist, for you DO need to have an X-ray or CT scan (refuse an MRI) of your lumbar and lumbosacral spines, to discover if a wad of nerves are being impinged on by bone, bone spurs, or lots of arthritic changes. I have permanent bruising all down my lower back area from pinched blood vessels and nerves, I have a weak leg, I limp, and it sure does hurt. The physician would have to do decide if you can get by with, say, a back brace, PLUS very warm tub soaks, warm water bottle wrapped in a tea towel, whichever you want to put on your lower spine, ESPECIALLY if you've noticed pain in that area, and perhaps a pain killer until an ortho can definitively determine if you need nerve damage correction somehow.
I hope this extra bit helps you until you can start seeing the proper docs, as an example a gynecologist, a gastro SURGEON, and perhaps an orthopedist. And I KNOW you can get yourself into a better situation than you're in now, if not completely well. GG
Thank you so much for your answer. I will let the gastro doc know. However, he told me low residue diet (which is not helping) and I am so sore inside from going little balls 10 times on Thursday and the prolapse coming out all the way that I could not do an enema for sure. I am shoving vaseline up there like craxy trying to reduce the burning. I did manage to get it back in and so far it has not come out all the way again but I have not had a BM since Thursday either. I do have a pain up in the top of the sigmoid where it goes across and hope I do not have some BM stuck up there. Even going 10 times did not empty my colon with those little balls. Tonite I am going to try to eat "normal" and see what happens. Hopefully my PCP will be able to feel my abdomen and tell whether I am impacted there as I have my Physical on Monday.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Gastroenterology Community
Learn which OTC medications can help relieve your digestive troubles.
Is a gluten-free diet right for you?
Discover common causes of and remedies for heartburn.
This common yet mysterious bowel condition plagues millions of Americans
Don't get burned again. Banish nighttime heartburn with these quick tips
Get answers to your top questions about this pervasive digestive problem
Well, without knowing the relevant clinical details or a detailed clinical evaluation it would be difficult to comment on the situation or suggest a management plan; though I would tend to agree with your doctor that with the other comorbidities present, you might not be an ideal candidate for repair surgery. Conservative measures that may be helpful in symptomatic improvement include increased dietary fibre intake/ bulking agent (e.g. psyllium), rectal suppositories, pelvic floor exercises, keeping the diet soft, straining should best be avoided, enemas/ stool softeners may be useful in constipation etc. If there is no improvement with conservative measures, it might be a good idea to discuss with your treating gastroenterologist, if laparoscopic mesh repair would be a feasible option in your case.
Hope this is helpful.
Take care!