8 months post partum, with cystocele and rectocele.

Submitted by Mummy_to_three on August 20, 2008 - 2:29am
Body: 

Hello

I'm not sure if anyone will remember me. I posted a few months back.
I'm a young mummy to three, aged 6, 3.5 and 8mths. Following miss 8mths birth I discovered I had a prolapse (was cystocele, rectocele and also my cervix had prolapseed too).
Those initial weeks were pure torture, dealing with my 'failing' body and also postnatal depresson, I struggled to ever see a day where things would be close to normal (well as long as I could stand for more than 5 min without feeling like my insides would hit the floor, that seemed 'normal' enough)

Well here I sit, 8 mths down the line and I can say although my days are at times still very uncomfortable, things have improved. My body has tried to heal itself. My cervix is no longer prolpsed (well at least if I was to 'check' it's nowhere near the opening like it used to be in the early days). Also I've found my monthly cycle affects my symptoms, ie; the week before my period is the heaviest, draggy time of the month. Other weeks, my symptoms are manageable.

I remember posting, asking if the persistant need to 'check' the symptoms would ever go away, well I can also say, I no longer feel the need to check how bad things are, my body is very telling, it lets me know when enouh is enough and when things need a rest.
I've also learnt it's ok to need to rest, and sometimes a sit down for 30min is a reviver to your body.

Basically I'm posting all this in the hope that someone, perhaps in the early/sometimes devasting times of prolapse, will know there is hope, your body is wonderful and capable of healing alot following birth/trauma.
I used to think there was no hope of a 'life' anymore, but these days, I feel there is hope!

kiki

August 20, 2008 - 3:23pm

thank you so much for sharing your experience, and your hope. i think it's so important for everyone to know that things do get better, and that the initial stages can pass.
I'm glad you are doing so much better, and feeling hopeful. You sound so much more upbeat, and it's wonderful to hear.

I hope that you are enjoying your gorgeous children, and your ever changing babe.

& please keep us updated! I am sure you have so much more healing et to come! Just to say recently my dragginess before my period stopped, and things haven't actually gotten worse with my cycle. So that too may shift as things improve...

Kiki

granolamom

August 20, 2008 - 5:42pm

I remember you well, mummytothree.
I'm so happy to hear that you are past those early (horrible, scary, depressing, etc) days of prolapse, and that things are improving. I suspect you will continue to see improvement as time goes on.
thanks for checking back in with us to let us know how you've been. your experience is invaluable, we are charting the course here for non surgical management of prolapse so each and every one of our stories matters!

louiseds

August 21, 2008 - 2:05am

H Mummy_to_three

Good to hear from you again. And so glad you have had so much improvement. It is so hard to be patient when your body, mind and soul seem to be falling apart at the seams, and so hard to see at the time how much better things will get with time, especially when helped along with some sound practices.

I think you are right about not checking all the time, and also about slowing down a little, which is so hard to do when all about us seem to be zooming around in a caffeine-fuelled haze. I often used to resent my toddlers learning to walk because they wanted to be self-propelled and show off and practise their new ambulation skills. Life seemed to be so slow when I could no longer scoop them up and move on to the next thing, and it didn't suit me one bit to slow down. Once I adjusted to their need to stop and examine each leaf and worm, or go off the track, I was much happier to enjoy their lives with them, and less likely to push my body too far and too fast.

Cheers

Louise

Mummy_to_three

August 22, 2008 - 12:05am

I'm feeling great today, decided yesterday that it was time to start walking again (I have been hesitant because of the dragging feeling) So I walked my daughter to kindy, and took my baby for a walk in her pram. It is probably only a 10/15min walk, 1 small hill so it's a good route to start on.

But what a personal achievment, makes me feel in charge again!

So this morning I walked to kindy again, then went to town and bought myself a nice new pair of walking shoes. I felt so good I decided to walk to kindy again after lunch.

My auntie her had a prolapse following the birth of her second child (she has had 4 children now) and she told me walking helped her alot.

Heres hoping I lose a bit of weight whilst getting healthier in my body & mind

luvmiboyz

November 11, 2008 - 12:26pm

~Amanda
thank you for posting this...i am 7 wks postpartum with a very prolapsed cervix and a lot of other stuff going on up there. I go to the dr. tomorrow to find out for sure what is prolapsed....this brings me a lot of hope to know that things do get better..i am breastfeeding right now too so when he is 1 i will quit and im sure things will start to improve even more so. Its so hard though letting my body rest....my 2 year old of about 35lbs wants to be held and its so hard for me to tell him no...i do but i feel like he needs me so i feel guilty....my 7wks old is already 12 lbs so he is going to be big soon...I use to love working out so im waiting on the book to find out what kind of excercise i can do.....i was feeling down today but after reading this it does make me feel better...thanks!

rosewood

November 16, 2008 - 12:47am

One of the really important parts of healing, I think, is the feeling of hope, which you've shared. It propels us to a new level, and we all need to hear these experiences.

Marie

louiseds

November 19, 2008 - 2:40am

Hi Luvmiboyz

It is encouraging, isn't it, when someone posts that things have gotten better after childbirth?

Lets see, you are now 2 months postpartum, which gives you 10 months more to improve before your proposed weaning date. It is going to be interesting to see what happens over the next few months. Some Moms find that their prolapses get worse before they get better, but get better they certainly do. You just have to be patient and not push yourself too far, too early.

If you look up breastfeeding in the search box you will find a few discussions on weaning and prolapse. The research indicates that there is no helpful effect. It may be that the body is firming up inside all the time and that improvement is coincidence. You would think that the increase in oestrogen levels at weaning would lead to more 'plumping up' and firmness, but it seems that the oestrogen levels have mostly recovered long before weaning, unless a fully breastfed baby is weaned suddenly. The return of menstruation will indicate an increase and impending return of fertility, not so much weaning itself. So see what happens. You might get sufficient improvement in the next nine months that you no longer feel the need to wean at 12 months and are able to let the baby set the weaning pace.

You might like to teach your 2 year old to climb up on your lap, or in his car seat, or whatever, rather than lifting him all the time. He may want to be lifted up so he can still pretend he is the baby. Try to give him opportunities to be the baby too, so he can get over it and grow up a little. Also you could get down on the floor with him to play, and squat down to talk with him so he can feel that you are interested in his 'lower' world too. You might also be able to do some non-dangerous household tasks down on the floor or at a low table so he can help you, ie just move some of your world down in height. Getting up and down off the floor is great for building leg strength too, something that often suffers when you are pregnant and not able to get up and down easily. Now is the time to get some of that strength back. The Wholewoman workout will help with that too because it is *whole* body, not just specific muscles.

There are lots of ways of getting around these little challenges when you have prolapses. It is just a matter of going at the same problems from a different direction.

Having a new babe and a toddler (and a preschooler, as I had all those years ago) is certainly a challenging time if you don't get much adult help. You might scoff at this now, but it is such a short and special time until they no longer want to be lifted up, and Moms have to get their kid hugs in other ways.

Cheers

Louise