Health Organization for Pudendal Education

So I left off with me getting acupuncture. I don't know if it did much but oh well. I went to Iowa City (they have a medical university) and the dr said I could try therapy. She also said nerve blocks and botox were available. I will be going to therapy first.
In intermittent time between seeing the dr and going to therapy (which is right now) I was getting better, but one day I decided I was going to sit down a lot. Big mistake. At least I know how I got this problem though. I hope the therapist is able to find the trigger points, and we'll take it from there.

The other problem is that I think I have a mild rectal prolapse. Like I've said in other posts, I am having trouble passing stool. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I'm also somewhat numb in my rectal area. I decided to have a look. When I strain I notice some pink stuff slightly protruding from my anus (boy, you know you don't care about decorum anymore when you write that sentence!). This makes me scared. I've searched the forum and have seen what surgery, any kind of surgery, can do to you down there. Thing is, rectal prolapse will only get worse and surgery is the only cure. I don't know what to do! I don't want to have my rectum come out, but I don't want the surgery to make my pelvic pain worse.

Guys, do you have any advice on this? I feel trapped.

Rane, I know this is a tough issue because I have pelvic floor prolapses, due to a likely genetic collagen deficiency, according to my physician. My gyn highly recommended that I not get them repaired because during the procedure they tighten up the pelvic floor muscles and that could cause increased pain after surgery. Personally I have chosen not to have the procedure because I can deal better with the prolapse symptoms than PGAD and PNE symptoms and I don't want to risk having those come back after having had successful PNE surgery. Instead I rely on thigh shapers to get me through the day. You can get them from spanx or other places.

It's probably a good idea to get a physician's opinion on the severity of the prolapse because that is likely to affect your decision on what, if anything, you should do now.

Anyway, straining and constipation are major problems if you have pudendal neuralgia because both can make your symptoms worse. Here are some suggestions of things that have worked for other PN patients in battling constipation. http://www.pudendalhope.info/node/32

Violet

Yikes! Thanks for the help. I'm going to go to a gastroenterologist to see how bad the prolapse is. Also, I'm going to ask the PT what to do. I'm so sad right now

Rane,obviously the treatment for rectal prolapse is different than for pelvic floor prolapse but unless it's severe you may want to just treat it with lifestyle changes as suggested on the mayo clinic website, especially if you read the complications of surgery on that website. http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedu ... c-20013462
Are you having any incontinence or stool leakage?
Maybe it's just hemorrhoids, who knows?

Violet

I don't have incontinence per-se, but I have noticed that there is a feeling of something being "stuck" in my rectum. There's also a dampness and staining of my liners. I think it might be a mucosal prolapse, or like you said, it could be hemorrhoids (hopefully!). The weird thing is, sometimes I get what feels like a spasm in my rectum. I have no idea what that is.

One of the symptoms of pudendal neuralgia is feeling like something is stuck in your rectum. The nerve misfiring can cause muscle spasms. Hopefully the therapist you are going to see will be knowledgeable about pudendal neuralgia and will be able to tell you if the rectal muscles are overly tight or tense.

Violet

Stool softeners for constipation are effective for me.

Good news, I don't have any sort of prolapse!

That's great, Rane. Were they able to give you a diagnosis?

Violet

No, but I need to get the neurologist to go along with the Potter MRI.