introducing myself, a few questions about getting started

Hi Lovely Rita

I am humming the song as I type ... Lovely Rita, meter maid, where would I be without you? Guess when I was a teenager? Long, long ago.

Yeah, I guess I am not the first person to tell you to slow down, eh?

I haven't received my DVD yet, so can't tell, but I have the book, and it is just about falling apart, and heavily annotated after over four years of my involvement in Wholewoman. Looking forward to getting my DVD any day. The book has all the theory and is very well illustrated. It is pretty information dense, but clearly written and well-referenced. It will teach you all the anatomy you need to understand POP and to work out how to do stuff for yourself. The book has a workout with photos and a CD with music in the back but it is not that easy to put the two together. The DVD is more recent and illustrates more recently developed techniques of what you can *do*, exercise-wise, but has the added advantage of video footage. It contains studio workout footage and music so you can dance along with it. I would recommend both, as you are postpartum and new to the whole thing.

The book will answer many of your questions much better than we can on the Forum. Christine often posts but this is really a woman to woman Forum. All the Members have different backgrounds and we speak from personal experience, rather than the years of research that Christine has behind her. Some of us also have formal qualifications that are useful in different aspects of dealing with POP, and of course, all of us have 'been there, and done that'. We are the voices of experience, with all our warts, and successes and failures.

Yes, there is a connection between damaged perineum and POP. See the book and various posts. Use the Search box at left to search various terms. Each hit is a topic where the term is mentioned. Click on each topic then use your browser's Find on This Page function to search each thread.

Your brisk walk *may* have caused some damage, or just highlighted existing damage which your loose belly structure couldn't cope with, hence the dropped organs. Learn the posture first, then you will be able to do brisk walking safely with the stroller, but work up to long walks gradually. Depending on your normal posture you may find it hard or easy to get your posture right, and it may be quick or slow. *It is worth being patient with starting hard exercise. This is an investment in your longterm wellbeing.* This I know because I am nearly 58. My Mum is nearly 97 and her Mum was nearly 104 when she passed away. I am going to be travelling around in this body of mine for a loooonnngggg time, as will you. It is also worthwhile limiting heavy everyday activities. Carrying your baby and doing everyday household tasks is probably enough for the next few weeks. Super-mommy is the stuff of fiction. Leave it to the actresses. There is plenty of time for big things later. Your body has done something very special and very big. It will need a long time to get back to being itself.

Don't panic. Anything can happen in the first few months, until all the connective tissue, stretched during pregnancy, can revert to prepregnant size and shape. You will be *much* tighter all round in twelve months time, but just to cheer you up, you might get worse before you get better. Bodies are amazingly capable at recovering, but you have to let it recover slowly, without overdoing. A quick pushing stage during labour sometimes means that the tissues do not have the time to stretch properly. That may have been a factor.

You will find that you will experience setbacks every now and then. Over four years into Wholewoman, and I still have setbacks, but my body recovers, every single time. It might take a few days, but now I trust it to recover, so my heart doesn't feel so wounded every time I feel the bulge. This is why you must not check on it too regularly. We call this obsessive checking 'checkerama'. Thanks Sue, for adding a new word to the lexicon. It is a bit like long term weight loss. Two steps forward, one step back, with steady improvement over months and years. Your POPs will move around all over the place, so *Just Don't Keep Checking*! It can be too upsetting. Once a week at most. I like your idea of learning to live with uncertainty. I think we could all learn a bit of that.

In a couple of years you will still have POP, but you will hardly notice it during everyday activities, cos you will be carrying it properly. You will always have to be careful with heavy exertion, but you will learn what your limitations are, and many of the workarounds become automatic after a while. I *can* carry bags of cement. I *can* shift bricks. I *can* do all sorts of things, and do so on a regular basis. I just do these things for short periods of time and take longer to accomplish the total task. I use trolleys and I use my brains to minimise the heavy jobs.

Cheers

Louise

haven't had time to read louise's response, but I'm sure she's given you good advice.

here's my $.02

for getting the posture down pat, the dvd is probably the better purchase. if you could swing both, the book really is invaluable.

how's this for your need to KNOW and PLAN

you KNOW you have some sort of prolapse right now. so right now PLAN to stablize it. make a list, or whatever you find organizing and calming. learn the posture. eat well. avoid constipation. rest for 5 minutes every three hours (I made that formula up, but you sound like a go-go-go type so put it on your to-do list). walking is ok, but really, respect what your body has just been through. you WILL get back to that kind of walking, but you aren't up for it just yet. its a tease, isnt' it, after the baby your energy is up, your endurance is up and your mind is raring to go but the insides are still working their way back to a pre-pg state. so go easy.

I know all too well the grief over giving up your dreams due to prolapse. I think I cried a solid week when I found my cystocele, because I thought I'd never have my fourth baby. well, guess what? my fourth baby will be two in april. you don't have to give up your dreams either.

you are still so strong. only the muscles that you need to be using now are not the ones you are accustomed to using (I'm not talking kegels, I talking about postural muscles). you can learn this. you can do this. you will feel strong again.
but one day at a time. you have to slow down for now and take it one step at a time.

I am new too, 54, perimenopausal. I have been dealing with a cystocele for about 16 weeks. I purchased the book and DVD but I am noticing that my bulge is much worse after finishing the exercises and fire breathing. Am I doing something wrong? The posture is also a challenge, but I am trying. I have been working on the posture for the entire time I have noticed the prolapse, but only been doing the exercises for several weeks. I am almost scared to continue doing the exercise and fire breathing since my prolapse is worse after doing them. Could someone explain the fire breathing and nauli? The book explains the fire breathing, but not the DVD. I feel it must be something I am doing wrong. Thanks for any help, Connie

my guess is that you might not have the posture/position correct for the exercise. are you coordinating the pelvic tilting with your breathing?
you can find videos on youtube that demonstrate nauli.

just to double check, have you had any surgery for prolapse? because that would change the way these exercises work.

is it worse only after firebreathing, or after any exercise? what about the plies? you have to make sure that your pelvis is anteriorly tilted, or nutated, so that your organs are in the right place when you exercise.

ok, so lets figure out a way to get you back to participating in life. can you keep your prolapse from worsening if you stay off your feet? you can maybe play with your dd while sidelying on the floor, or on your belly propped up on your elbows. or on hands & knees. this isnt the way its going to be forever, just for right now. try to learn the posture even if it doesn't seem to be helping. these are the dark days, but trust me, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
its ok to just read along for now, looking forward to reading your comments once the baby-fog has lifted. and it will. I'm first seeing glimpses of my pre-mommy brain now.

a year from now you are going to feel amazing. You are here so early postpartum and you are going to get so much information and understanding about your body in the next year you will be amazed. You are going to be able to do anything you want. By a year out I was still having some bad days- but they were few (like if I went camping for the weekend- then I might need a week or so to get back to my baseline) and by 18 months out I was well over having bad days (even camping didn't seem to bother me).
We all talk about the postpartum period being about 6 weeks- but honestly it is about 2 years. Your body has some amazing changes to undergo.
All the ligaments and tendons need time to return to their pre-pregnant shape. Your whole pelvis will be shifting for some time.
Your pelvic organs are also always shifting- they are actually designed to be able to move the way they do- so if you check yourself (there is a great self-exam article written by christine linked on the main page) it is good to know that things can move around from morning to night and also throughout the month depending on your cycle and the kind of day you had- so pick the same time everyday (or week or month) to do your checks so you don't freak out about normal shifting.
If you do in fact have a cystocele it is wise to fully empty your bladder morning and night by peeing on hands and knees or in a standing squat leaning way forward.
I suspect that your postpartum low cervix is going to move up quickly with the postural changes and the exercises from the DVD. And you may find intercourse to be very therapeutic as well.
As long as you are persistent in supporting your organs through posture, avoiding all straining, and resting when you need to you are going to feel much better by this time next year. Also consider avoiding clothing that compresses the abdomen- you need to be able to allow your lower abdomen to expand to create a space for your uterus to come forward over your pubic bone.
Also if you want to check out the look of your vagina I suggest backing up to a mirror and bending over- to check in a hand held mirror requires tucking your bum under and just makes everything look even more out of place.
Start the posture now- and then tweak it over the next 4 months or so until it is just naturally how you sit, stand, and walk. If you want to go for a nice long walk- do it- but add some large arm circles and uphill time to encourage your body to stay in the posture and your prolapse to stay well forward.