Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Africa Studio via Shutterstock

'Incontinence, groin pain, I find it hard to walk and physical relations with my husband are impossible'

Niamh had a vaginal mesh operation 10 years ago and says even though she is only 58, she now feels like she is 90.

There is global scrutiny surrounding transvaginal mesh devices which are used in surgeries to treat conditions women can develop after a natural childbirth. Thousands of women have reported complications such as the mesh protruding through the vagina, chronic pain, and recurrent urinary tract infections.

TheJournal.ie has been covering  the issue  extensively  and shared women’s stories.

These procedures have been carried out on women in Ireland since the late 90s and are still performed today. Here, Niamh describes how her life changed forever when what was described as “a simple operation” left her in pain, exhausted and meant she could no longer be intimate with her husband.  

I WAS 48 when I first started to experience stress urinary incontinence. First, it was little leaks from coughing and sneezing, but it got so bad my bladder could empty spontaneously at any time – it was distressing.

My gynaecologist had me on medication for it at the start and physiotherapy, but none of that worked. I was offered an operation.

The surgeon would use a mesh sling to lift up my bladder. I have no recollection of being told of any complications.

I would never have agreed to the operation if I had known what was to come.

In March 2008 I had my operation. Within 48 hours of being released I was in the emergency department. Diagnosed with an infection, I was given antibiotics and sent home again. I felt mostly fine, but I did notice I had to stand and bend over to empty my bladder properly.

Four years later I started getting recurring urinary tract infections and I was constantly on antibiotics. I was worried about the amount I was taking and I had begun to notice a sore sensation in my vagina so I went to see a urologist. A cystoscopy revealed my bladder was covered in red blotches from the infections.

In an appointment with a different urologist, he told me he could feel where he thought the mesh was protruding into my vagina and causing the pain. He told me he could remove this portion of the mesh and I agreed to this.

The partial remove left its own problems.

My complications have been extremely difficult to deal with. As you can imagine any physical relationship with my husband is impossible. This is very stressful and embarrassing to have to discuss with anyone, even the urologist. While my family and close friends would know my situation, I am from a small town in Cork – I would feel embarrassed if people found out about me.

I now have urge incontinence, pain in my groin on the side of the partial removal, pain in my lower abdomen and find it hard to walk any great distance because of pain and weakness. I am constantly tired and can only do so much housework before I have to rest.

Everything I do is affected by mesh. I have to ask ‘Will I be able?’ before I go anywhere or do anything. I couldn’t, for instance, go shopping for four or five hours, I would feel like I was going to collapse with weakness in my legs and pain. I hope someday to have grandchildren, but I know I will be physically unable to enjoy them or even mind them as I had hoped to do.

I am only 58 years of age and I feel as if I am 90.

This afternoon I will be protesting at Leinster House with other women affected by vaginal mesh complications. I’ll be joined by my husband who is very supportive.

It is important to me to let the people in Ireland know how devastating this mesh is. I would hate anyone to go through what I am going through today.

I want politicians to know that we went for a so-called simple operation to repair an embarrassing issue. We have ended up having our lives devastated.

I think my life is changed forever and I will have to live with that until the day I die, all because of this “simple operation”.

Niamh is a 58-year-old mother-of-one from Co Cork. She is one of a number of women in Ireland who have reported painful complications after an operation using surgical mesh. She and other members of the Mesh Survivors Ireland group will protest at 12pm outside Leinster House today.

original-397-296x56

Read: ‘Private renters need three months’ notice and should know what previous tenants paid’>

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Author
View 19 comments
Close
19 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ally O'Rourke
    Favourite Ally O'Rourke
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 3:58 PM

    Dear sweet lord Jesus, who even has time to go arund looking for things to be pisssed off about? Would most normal people look twice at the gap in the babies nappy? What a totally stupid woman.

    420
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Malcolm McCarthy
    Favourite Malcolm McCarthy
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:02 PM

    ally I have to share your sentiment

    125
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute stephen
    Favourite stephen
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:17 PM

    New level of creepiness.

    341
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ronan Mac Gearailt
    Favourite Ronan Mac Gearailt
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 6:43 PM

    A decisive response to the issue ” Does my bum look big in this?”

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stephen
    Favourite Stephen
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:05 PM

    Why bother running an article about something that isn’t really news at all since the claims of the individual in question were refuted by the manufacturer and the “experts” over on reddit couldn’t come to a conclusion on it.

    I personally find it a bit more strange that a person would spend that much time looking for something to be offended by.

    164
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Scarr
    Favourite Scarr
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:26 PM

    Did you know: 60,000 migrants entered Slovenia last week.

    139
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stephen
    Favourite Stephen
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:38 PM

    I did actually but I didn’t find out from any Irish media outlet.

    Strange how there seems to be no more coverage of the statistics of the migrant crisis or the important events happening around Europe as a result of the “migrants”.

    Its almost like the Irish media don’t want people to know what is happening.

    104
    See 11 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Scarr
    Favourite Scarr
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:40 PM

    There’s definitely a wall of silence in terms of reporting. If you were to go by the journal you’d swear the migrant crisis was all wrapped up.

    91
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Scarr
    Favourite Scarr
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:44 PM
    22
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Chris Maynard
    Favourite Chris Maynard
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 5:10 PM

    omg you didn’t just post an article from breitbart! you do realise 99.9% of the tripe they claim is ultra conservative right-wing american propaganda, right? the guy who runs the thing is a tea-party nut job who’s been cited more than once for publicly using racist, homophobic, and islamophobic hate speech.

    42
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Scarr
    Favourite Scarr
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 5:12 PM

    is the article incorrect in some way?

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Chris Maynard
    Favourite Chris Maynard
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 5:21 PM

    i would never bother reading something from that website. that’s like asking someone to actually listen to an alex jones radio show with a straight face and an open mind, or telling me that i should take something fox news is reporting seriously. can’t be done when you know it’s a crock of shite from the word “go”.

    19
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Chris Maynard
    Favourite Chris Maynard
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 5:21 PM

    and maybe if you started googling refugee crisis instead of calling those poor people migrants, you’d have better luck getting around your “wall of silence”

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Scarr
    Favourite Scarr
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 5:30 PM

    If you’ve not read it you can’t comment on its veracity. Also, you seem to infer that a right wing news source is somehow less trustworthy than a left wing news source (hello, journal). Breitbart UK, has a number of writers, its not logical to assume that they 100% agree with everything their american owner believes. It does seem odd that there are multiple reports every day on the likes of Breitbart but nothing here, so yeah, wall of silence. I find that, breitbart , doesn’t blame migrants for coming, they do squarely blame Merkel though, however, they do strongly highlight the negative impacts of the migrant crisis. I’ll personally stick with migrant crisis as the majority are that, according to fullfact.org.

    24
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Chris Maynard
    Favourite Chris Maynard
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 5:36 PM

    clearly you’re not googling hard enough. here, let me do that for you http://bfy.tw/2Ukw

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Uncle Denise
    Favourite Uncle Denise
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 5:59 PM

    I do now, and I read it here on the journal. In an article about baby’s thighs. I wouldn’t have read that on reddit.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stephen
    Favourite Stephen
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 6:14 PM

    Breitbart London is literally just the polar opposite of The Guardian. I would take both publications with a pinch of salt, however it is up to you ,the reader, to check the sources and statistics within those articles and verify their authenticity.

    Mindlessly crying “oh my Breitbart!! I would never read that because I don’t agree with the opinion pieces!” is a rather disingenuous position to take. The content of the articles still have to match up to scrutiny. I will say the UK version of it isn’t anywhere nearly as bad as the US one.

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Scarr
    Favourite Scarr
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 6:17 PM
    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall O' Sullivan
    Favourite Niall O' Sullivan
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:15 PM

    “A US BABYCARE company stands accused today of digitally manipulating a ‘thigh gap’ onto a toddler for an advertising campaign.”

    OH NOOOO!!!

    Fcuk of will ya.

    52
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
    Favourite Drew TheChinaman :)
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:36 PM

    Oh man I love the gap between those emaciated stumps that can barely hold her body weight up and the way those size zero knickers hang of her exposed pelvic bone- SAID NO MAN EVER

    Women set these standards and expectations themselves. It’s not feminist, sexist or oppressed by the standards of the opposite sex in the slightest.

    39
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Carol C.
    Favourite Carol C.
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 11:18 PM

    You’re either a troll or you know absolutely nothing about this subject. You’d be best staying away from the keyboard. The funny thing is you, a man (or male at least), have just mocked thin women. Yet you blame women for setting those standards. The responsibility for encouraging healthy self esteem and body image falls on *people*, not on one particular gender. Think before you type, mate.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Lennie
    Favourite Lennie
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:42 PM

    Did you know there was a coup in Portugal last week?. You would never know as nonsensical stories such as this one get covered instead.

    38
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Scarr
    Favourite Scarr
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:46 PM

    why write much about that when there’s thigh gaps and the worlds longest baguette to dedicate time to?

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mick Kenny
    Favourite Mick Kenny
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:09 PM

    not the first time a huggies campaign, a few years ago they insulted thousands of dads but portraying use as incompetent idiots. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2012/03/huggies-pulls-ads-after-dads-insulted/

    23
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ariana
    Favourite Ariana
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:36 PM

    Some people have thigh gaps, deal with it.

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Supernova
    Favourite Supernova
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:40 PM

    Thigh gaps, no gaps? Who the f@xk cares

    23
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Michael Sands
    Favourite Michael Sands
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 7:32 PM

    Plant a hedge then?

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Alan Lawlor
    Favourite Alan Lawlor
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:52 PM

    Mind the Gap

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Supernova
    Favourite Supernova
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 5:00 PM

    I don’t understand why women are fascinated with thigh gaps and stuff, we men couldn’t care less.. Ain’t nothing wrong with thick thighs ;) lol

    22
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Michael Sands
    Favourite Michael Sands
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 7:31 PM

    Unless the nappy was full like Stewie’s??? lol.

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Peter Buchanan
    Favourite Peter Buchanan
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 5:01 PM

    So what…..

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rasputin
    Favourite Rasputin
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:19 PM

    ..

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rasputin
    Favourite Rasputin
    Report
    Oct 27th 2015, 4:07 PM

    1
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds