We’ve had a very rough couple weeks. My sister-in-law died last week (she was only 42) of alcoholism-related problems. Then my father-in-law, who suffered a stroke some years ago and hasn’t been quite right since, got some sort of bug and was on the toilet for 8-10 hours at a stretch. Sad stories, indeed. Now my mother-in-law has a problem I’ve just never come across and I’m kind of freaked out.
Her uterus fell out. :eek:
That’s right. It came completely out through her vagina and is tethered to her somehow, but is just sort of hanging there between her legs. She was bleeding really bad (she’s 80 years old, by the way) and called her daughter, who took her to the doctor.
The doctor said it’s not all that uncommon for women who have had a lot of kids (she had 6). They said the profuse bleeding was probably from her uterus rubbing against her panties:eek: and that she needs to see the gynocologist, who wasn’t in that day. They sent her home (hanging uterus and all) and told her to make an appointment for one day NEXT WEEK so they can discuss her options. One option is having some sort of cone-shaped thingy sewn into her to hold the uterus in. This option, however, will cause her bladder problems for the rest of her life and she’ll have to wear diapers from that day forward. The other option is a hysterectomy, but they don’t know if this is a viable option considering her high blood pressure, borderline diabetes, and her age.
Has anyone ever heard of this? I feel so sorry for her, grieving for her daughter, caring for her husband, and now this. I feel helpless. If anyone has ever experienced this, any insight to a solution would be most appreciated.
Thanks for the links, Alyssa. I don’t think she’d be a candidate for a pessary. She doesn’t really participate in her own healthcare. Poor thing. She’s like 4’9" and is all dizzy and shit from a bad inner ear problem (shingles, I think) a couple years ago.
I’m amazed at how many people have had this problem!
Gah! Sweet Jesus, Kal. I know when opening a thread called “A Most Bizarre Medical Problem”, I’m running a bit of a risk, but… ewwww, would a teensy “maybe a bit TMI” warning be too much to ask? I have a very visual imagination - I get strong mental images of things… and… Gahhh!! Your poor MIL. It’s just… hanging there? For a WEEK? WTF?! My extremest sympathies to her… and this gives me another good reason to never have kids. I like my internal organs where they are just fine.
Antares, sorry for no warning…Anyhoo, if you look at the links that Alyssa posted, you can get this from coughing too much, being constipated, and just oldness. No guarantees. I am truly freaked out. She’s just sitting around the house with…with… well, you know…just hanging there. I hope she’s doubling up on her Atavan. This is one crisis I’d just as soon sleep through.
Prolapsed uteruses are not uncommon. Usually, they do not need to be dealt with emergently, unless a patient is pregnant, can’t pee, or if the prolapse is rapid and becomes incarcerated (so it can’t be put back easily).
Treatment might depend on whether there is also associated cystocele (prolapsed bladder), enterocele(prolapsed gut), rectocele (prolapsed rectum) or incontinence. Most uterine prolapse is not severe and can be dealt surgically by restoring the pelvic floor, providing a sling or doing a hysterectomy.
Diabetes, urinary tract infection, constipation and ulceration should also be looked for and treated appropriately.
Thanks, Doc. They didn’t seem at all concerned with the wait, so I guess she’ll be OK, but the sensation HAS to be creepy to the nth degree. They said it’s completely out, so it has to be uncomfortable to sit (I would think). There was also lots of blood involved.
Oh - the poor MIL! What a time she has had. I find it really odd for a medic casually to tell a woman that age with her problem “oh make an appointment for next week”. Yes, I’d like to think she could sleep through the week too.
What a completely horrible set of things to happen to one family at once, (and even that is understatement, I feel).
Any chance of meeting a faster-moving medic? Hell, the very idea of telling her jsut to put up with it for a week at least…??!
Oh, my best wishes for her, and for you as you will be there as support for her.
It’s a creepy situation, all right. If she can’t pee, can’t put it back or is continuing to lose blood (or complains of unusual dizziness, fatigue or difficulty breathing) get her back to an ER sooner. But the wait does not surprise me, creepy as things are.
My guess is that if any man-parts fell out of your average male, it would be considered an emergency by 99% of all doctors, and dealt with accordingly and emergently.
