Very Confused

Submitted by arunnergirl on February 16, 2008 - 11:01am
Body: 

I'm almost 7 weeks postpartum with my 4th child and was an avid runner before pregnancy and during pregnancy. I'm pretty sure my problems started because I tried to run too soon after giving birth when my son was less than 2 weeks old. After I ran a few times I felt a bulge down there and knew something wasn't right. I researched online and everything I read was pretty grim and I was devasted thinking I would never run again. I went to my OB at 3.5 weeks postpartum and she took a look and said she saw that "all the time" and that it was vaginal wall drooping and was not a big deal or something I needed to worry about. She said to just do kegals and everything would go back to normal so also said I'd healed great and could start exercising if I wanted. I decided not to run at that point. So I've been doing kegals like a maniac and went back to my OB for my 6 week checkup and saw a different doctor in the practice. I told her what the first doctor had said and she took a look and said it really wasn't a big deal and to just do kegals and everything would be back to normal in a few months. I also have been checking the position of my cervix and told her it felt a little low to me and asked if that was normal after pregnancy or if it was low due to prolapse. She said it was slightly lower than normal due to prolapse but would go back up again as I heal. I asked her about running and she said there was no reason I couldn't start running again.

So my question, are both my doctors just really missinformed?? Obviously I'd really like to believe them. The bulge I felt a few weeks ago is gone. I don't feel that anymore although still I don't feel totally normal down there. I'd like to start running again but am terrified that things will start feeling bad again. Should I look for a different practice and get a third opinion? Or are most OBGYN's going to say the same thing? I'm just so confused and am not even sure what's wrong with me. Will I ever be able to run again??

a6a25725

February 16, 2008 - 1:24pm

Hi and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new baby.
Your body is still healing from the birth of your little one. It can take
up to a year or more for your body to return to normal so take it easy for awhile longer. Your prolapse could go back to normal as your body heals.
In the mean time go to the main page and under FAQ read about the ww posture. The posture helps to position your
organs in their proper place.
Type "runners" in the search box to the left and it will take you to some posts from women who have gone back to running even with a prolapse.
Ask any questions you like, someone will try to answer them. The women on this forum are great and try to help each other.
If you can buy Christine's book "Saving the Whole Woman," The one with the blue cover is the latest edition and has all kinds of good information about prolapses etc. You can buy it from the Whole woman store website.
Try to take it easy and let us know how you are doing. Enjoy your little one, they grow so quickly.

Take care.
Flora.

PA runner

February 16, 2008 - 4:50pm

I have continued to run with prolapse. Search under my user name for several discussions going back a little over a year. I have a rectocele (about a stage 2 at it's worse), at times my cervix is a bit low but nothing I would have noticed if not for the rectocele. After my first child I also experienced urinary incontinence and greatly benefited from physical therapy. The key with the kegals is moderation as too many aggravate the rectocele. I have finally found the balance between enough to ward off any leaking urine and not too many to cause the rectocele to bulge. If you are only 7 weeks pp I would recommend slowing down and letting your body heal. Believe me I know how hard it is to accept this! My youngest is almost two. The running isn't necessarily the culprit. I discovered mine before I even started exercising after my first child. I had unmedicated births with medical providers that let me birth as I wanted. The women on this forum come with many different situations. You will need to listen to your body and through trial and error come up with works for you. I try to read posts weekly (lurking) so if you have any questions I will certainly try to help!
I have found posts by ukmummy, lilly anne and alemama and mare helpful. I have also learned alot from discussions about fascia I think those have been written by louise. As my core has strengthened I have seen improvement in my prolapse as it is easier to stay in posture. There has been frequent discussion regarding ab exercises and again for me it has been trial and error. I also lift weights, again in posture. When I sit around on the couch my prolapse is worse, when I'm active it rarely is an issue. By active I don't mean I have to run or train, active can be stretching or walking. When I do have a bad day I know pretty much what to do to get things stablilized once again.

arunnergirl

February 16, 2008 - 8:59pm

PA Runner - your post gave me hope. I know it's silly at this point to be stressing about running but it was devastating to me to think I'd never do it again especially since I'm in a mom's running group which is how I know most of my friends. So not being able to run isn't just about running for me, it's also my social outlet so it would be awful to not be able to do it anymore. My doctor didn't tell me anything about my condition other than that it would go away (which I don't believe anymore.) I think that I have a cystocele but am not positive. I've been having days where I feel normal and days where I feel the bulge and haven't figured out what triggers the bad days. Today I was feeling the bulge and by walking in the posture, it did feel better. Anyway, I was wondering how far you run normally. I did 2 marathons last year and had hoped to run another one. Is distance running pretty much a thing of the past for me? That wouldn't be so awful although disappointing, I'm just happy that people are actually able to keep active. I'm pretty depressed right now and feel like this dark cloud is affecting my ability to bond with my son. Don't get me wrong, I love him to pieces but he was a surprise and I'm finding myself really upset and mad now since I was fine before I was pregnant and now here I am feeling like I'm falling apart. I just can't believe this is happening to me, I'm only 28.

stella

February 17, 2008 - 12:41am

hi a runnergirl,
After I gave birth to my son at home, my midwives spent the next couple of weeks "popping" in on me. What they were really doing was checking to make sure that I wasn't doing ANYTHING yet...because they knew that it would be my tendency to overdo it and they knew how important the post-partum rest was. You are still considered "post-partum" for at least 6 weeks. Your body is still healing and is not yet ready for vigorous exercise.
I made a comment earlier about birth and prolapse but I didn't mention that another way that new moms get shortchanged is that they all too often do not get enough rest. I am not referring to sleep, which most new moms are deprived of to one degree or another, but resting. As in, no cooking, laundry, housework, etc...we all know how hard it can be to turn those duties over or to ask for help. It is essential for a new mom to get as much rest as possible for healing and bonding.
As far as running goes, I also run and have found that it is something that I can still do on days that the POP is behaving. I have mostly phased out road running though, and try to stick to the trails, which I feel are less jarring to my body.
Regarding kegels, I had started a regimen given to me by a PT(you can look up the thread of that recent conversation) and I was apparently doing too many and fatigued my muscles. According to the ladies here, the kegels don't do much for prolapse anyway(but do help with incontinence).
Go snuggle up with that little cutie now!

arunnergirl

February 17, 2008 - 1:21pm

that my doctors are right and that everything will go back to where it should be in a few months? I don't really believe them anymore but keep holding out hope especially when I have a good day and feel like things might just be healing themselves. My doctor said she sees it all the time and it will just go back to normal, is she lying, does she just not follow up and not realize that it isn't just going away? I'm just so confused. I want to believe it will just go away with time and not be something I have to think about constantly.

ATS

February 17, 2008 - 1:59pm

Its different for everybody and there are no guarantees. Sure there are those that have the postpartum prolapse that does heal and then there are those that don't. Its hard not to worry but hang on to that hope that you are so early into your healing that a lot can change over the next few months even up to a year. It might go back or it might become asymptomatic, just remember to take care of yourself and keep in posture and take it one day at a time, easier said than done I know.

Take care,

Anita

PA runner

February 17, 2008 - 8:28pm

My advice, for what it's worth would be to focus for the next several months on letting your body heal. That being said I haven't run a marathon or done a triathlon since my first child was born (now six). I was on target to do a half this summer but managed to injure my foot. My running was starting to click and I think I jumped my mileage too fast. Anyway at this point I don't feel that the prolapse is limiting me. I don't know about running another marathon, I have done two. When I have increased mileage in the past I have felt some aching of my pelvic floor. This wasn't happening prior to injuring my foot which is one of the reasons I was feeling so good. I understand what you mean about the social aspect of running. For me it is more than just exercise. It is social, stress management, me time, time to think, time to not think...I could go on. I know I tried to run early with my first but the incontinence was limiting. With my second I waited probably about four months but I can't remember for sure. This seemed to work for me because I haven't had problems. This is not to say that the prolapse is gone because it isn't and I have finally accepted this and view it as my new normal. When I experience discomfort my goal is to restabilize back to my baseline. Be patient with yourself you are very early in this process. Oh yeah limit how often you check yourself, this was also a lesson that took me a while to learn!