Anyone have Pelvic Floor Muscle Prolapse?
 

Such a beautiful topic, I know. But after having all of my children, I have some bladder prolapse and have been trying to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles with kegals, pelvic tucks, and recently the rebounder. I've seen tremendous improvement over the first few weeks post-partum and some gradual improvement since then.

But occasionally, I think as soon as I've gained a little ground, I lose a little another day. Today I'm feeling some pressure (which I read is a symptom too). So I'm starting to wonder if my exercise efforts will not be enough to make this live-able. That's what my OBGYN told me, but I told him that I wanted to see what I could do about it before I considered any of his options.

If this is too personal for you, feel free to PM me, but I'd love to hear if anyone else has been able to make great strides through natural means.

Re: Anyone have Pelvic Floor Muscle Prolapse?
 

Personally, for me, the answer is no. I have been pondering consulting an OBGYN for a few months now, as everything I have attempted has failed. Problem is I'm a physician, so consulting an OBGYN, would be consulting a colleague on an extremely personal matter... I guess I'm not desperate enough yet... but the time will come.

How do you know if you have it?
 

I have a great deal of trouble doing high impact exercise. When running, doing anything Cathe (even the step tapes), or any kind of jumping, I have to wear an incontinence pad. I realise that some degree of stress-related bladder leakage is common after having children, and I am not all that regular in doing my kegels, etc., but I have certainly considered asking my doctor if there is a surgical solution. For instance, I cross my legs automatically if I sneeze or cough, and even have had some leaking when walking briskly.

I hope it's okay to discuss this here-for me it is directly related to the enjoyment (or lack of) I am able to get from my high impact fitness activities, which I love...

Christine

Christine,
 

you have summed up my feelings exactly!

I also wear an incontinence pad AND a tampon (it supposedly increases pressure on urethra so as to diminish leakage) for high impact exercise. And yes, it has made my experience of high impact exercise less enjoyable.

Hi,
I dont have this problem after having 2 kids but my mum does. heaven forbid ya'll make her laugh.
anywhoo....she says she is gonna have her bladder lifted. she had her 2 kids YEARS ago. lets just say its over 25 for her youngest.
might b an option for u ladies. thought it might help


Socks

Christine -- I agree that it does affect our workouts (and to some degree the workouts can affect this). But you can determine your level of prolapse having an internal exam by your OBGYN. There are certain aspects of delivery that can cause this -- regular pushing (which for me has always been super speedy, but I guess just as strenuous), use of forceps, and damage by episiotomy (although they say that if an episiotomy is done correctly, it can lessen your chances for the prolapse since your pushing would be minimized). With my first 3 children, I didn't notice anything. With my 4th, my OB told me that I had a lot of stretching and stitched things up right after delivery. After my 5th, he did some more stitching, but at my 6 week visit, said that the prolapse was significant and that he was surprised I wasn't having problems with it (and I didn't -- I could do hi impact, plyos, the whole bit). This time at delivery, he told me that there is only so much you can do with the stitching after delivery, (I was reminding him -- like he needed it -- that he'd done that in the past and that it helped) but he'd see what he could do. Then I went in at the 6 week visit telling him that I'd had a lot more problems with it. He told me that the prolapse was severe and recommended full-fledged surgery. It sounded so drastic that I wanted to see if I would heal or improve on my own.

Meanwhile, I've been searching all over the internet and have ordered a few books on-line (the best one I found is "The Incontinence Solution: Answers for Women of All Ages" and have found that there are less invasive, newer, yet so far just as successful surgeries through laparoscopy (little 3/4 inch incisions near the belly button). This is a much more appealing option to me because I wouldn't have near the hospital stay (how to manage that with a new baby) nor the recovery period (I don't want to have to go another 6 weeks w/o exercise, etc. -- impatient patient that I am! :))

So my plan was to see what I could do up until 6 months post-partum, then look into the laparoscopy. But now (only at 2 mos). I'm starting to think that if by another month, I haven't seen improvement, I'll talk to my OBGYN again.

Motivatedbusymom -- Could you seek the surgery out of town so as to not have it be with someone you know? I'm finding that this is a lot more common -- perhaps it wouldn't be as embarrassing or unusual to discuss w/your colleagues as you've thought? But I'm an open-book person -- drives my husband nuts -- he would rather I never let a female part word flow (whoops!) from my mouth! :)

Socks -- Is your mom doing it through the traditional surgery (some have hysterectomies at the same time) or through a laparoscopy?

wow!
 

thanks for all that info! I will look up that book...

Christine

i believe mum is doing it laparoscopy. but i cant say with 100% certainty. She works at a hospital & has done a lot of research & doesnt always share's with her daughter :D. course, she could of told me in great detail what she was gonna do & i've cant remember.
hope this helps

Socks

Socks -- If she shares any of the details of the surgery and the recovery with you, will you pass it along to me later one? That would be great to hear first, well, second-hand.

Another suggestion . . .
 

You can improve the effectiveness of Kegels by adding resistance - ummm, yes . . . kind of like barbells.

I use the Kegelmaster 2000 (ahem).

I have had very good results because I no longer have to wear a pad and my sweetheart is very happy too,

:eek: