I am an overweight, have hypothyroid issues, but I am a vibrant and very sexually active, monogamous 42 yr old woman. I have one child, almost 14 yrs old, am in peri-menopause and do not intend to have anymore children. I have a committed partner I have lived with for almost 5 years, who is significantly younger than I am, and he has a very healthy, if not overactive, sexual appetite.

I was just diagnosed today with a rectocele which is bulging into my lower rear vagina and pushing against my inner labia. My symptoms include painful intercourse-been abstaining due to the pain, painful tampon use, painful finger insertion, difficulty evacuating stools without high fiber or pressure inserted on the vagina. Full collapsed feeling, worse when I cough, occasional leaking of bladder if full and coughing. Painful, heavy, irregular periods. Symptoms worse if lifting, standing long time or sitting upright long time. (just getting over pneumonia+bronchitis, issues got much worse with all the coughing in the hospital). I am on Illinois Medicaid, no private insurance while out of work. Planned Parenthood diagnosed me and is referring me to find a gynecologist to address this issue. I have a history of a long - 18hr - difficult vaginal delivery with complications, my daughter was born with turner syndrome, I had an extensive episiotomy, have a weak perineum, active hemorrhoids, and 10 yrs ago had an anal fissure.

Questions: is it best to go to an OB-GYN or a Colorectal Dr instead? Is laparoscopic better than open? Is site specific repair of vaginal-rectal septum best way to go? Anything better to do or that I should avoid? (been researching options online) What is the prep and post op like? Will I have to have a catheter, a colostomy bag? An enema? Is it hard to "go" again, for how long? Duration of healing process? What to expect before, during and after procedure? Ability to have intercourse again? How long before being able to safely have intercourse again? Will it still be painful to have intercourse even after repair? Will I ever be like I was before this happened, anatomically the same? Will I be at risk for this to happen again after repair? I was given zero information and have yet to get any sleep tonight...ANY info anyone can offer me at all would be appreciated. Any good websites to go to? Any idea who would be a good Dr to go to in the Illinois side of the Quad Cities, if you are familiar with my area?