New & Pubic Symphsysis Diastasis Questions

hi there and welcome to the forum

Your story reaches way inside me, I am so sorry for all you've been through; from the traumatic first birth, the development of prolapses, the subsequent surgeries and now the health/pain/hormone issues and PSD.

most of the women here have not had any surgical repairs of prolapse, and the posture was developed with the still-intact woman in mind. that said, I still believe it is possible that you will find the posture at least somewhat helpful. I think the main thing for you will be to realize that your anatomy is no longer what it was so you will have to figure out where things are now, how everything relates or moves with everything else and how to make the posture work for you.
try to forget the 'sway back' issues you've had, even though this posture very often results in an increased curve of the low back, it really is not the same thing as a 'sway back'.
I had an abdominal diastasis after the birth of my second child and it only began to knit together after I started doing some of the exercises here (specifically the firebreathing - its in the book).
the lifestyle tips here are sure to benefit anyone and everyone, namely avoiding constipation, no straining on the toilet, avoid clothing that constricts or compresses at the waist.

there are some women here who have experience with PSD, maybe some of them will chime in.

Dear Blissfulsinger,

Thank you for sharing your story with us and we are all enjoying the opera-speak!

Your very experience is exemplary of why urogynecology is Not the place to go with prolapse. The skill of the surgeon hardly matters when the surgeries themselves are faulty at their core. The practice of urogynecology was created only a couple of decades ago to corner a huge market. All of the surgeries - with the exception of the new robotics - were developed years before urogynecology was established. There is absolutely nothing new in urogynecology except a whole new level of arrogance and denial.

A “sling-mesh” repair does not describe what you had done, but I am assuming it was a uterosacrocolpopexy. This is an absolutely terrible procedure that pulls your uterus - and therefore your front vaginal wall - toward the back. A recurrent, irreversible cystocele is the result. Closing the cul-de-sac (enterocele repair) and the original posterior colporrhaphy have left scar tissue that likely obligates your back vaginal and front rectal walls to move as one, rather than sliding past each other to perform their various functions by way of their natural fascial linings. The uterus is a large organ that is naturally weighted toward the front of the body. The so-called uterosacral “ligaments” are really conduits that carry nerve and blood vessels. How could you not experience as pain the constant pulling on your sacral spine as a result of your uterus being unnaturally tethered to it?

As to “where to go from here” I am less certain about, but I think it is very important that (1) you understand what was done to you and (2) you see that this is the way it IS with these surgeries and not something particular to you or your surgeon. Urogynecology needs to be revealed as the dark practice that it is and women disabused of their denial in thinking otherwise. You will, and probably have, encountered post-surgery women who protest otherwise, but push on their reality constructs a bit and you will see how quickly they retreat to da-Nile. It is not about “bias”, Blissfulsinger. It is about the fact that millions of women are suffering the exact same symptoms as you, for the simple reason that the operations themselves are fallacious.

I believe PSD is a problem of pelvic instability that can be quickly relieved with this work. The symphysis pubis is a very dynamic joint that narrows and widens both in the front and back. The sacral joints, hip joints, and symphysis have highly specialized movements that they perform in concert. Simply by walking with our feet pointing straight ahead, we narrow the SP in front, relieving pain and tension on the joint. In your case, however, there are no guarantees that your pelvis even moves in natural ways anymore. How could the sacrum move freely with the entire pelvic interior (by way of scar tissue) tied to it?

I want to say, YES! try this postural work and see if you can naturalize your pelvis/organs as much as possible. But the reality is that the work may even worsen your symptoms. There is no way to know. The take-away lesson here, Blissfulsinger, is that the best way to avoid a hysterectomy is to never have pelvic floor surgery. Every one of these operations is conceptually faulty and fraught with failure. The best we can hope for is to outlaw urogynecology and make sure future generations of women are protected from a surgical framework that was unsound from the beginning.

I loved and trust Granolamom’s response to you and btw, there is no better way to treat abdominal diastasis than by stretching into natural posture, where the rectus muscles are pulled centrally.

Wishing you well,

Christine

Hi Blissfulsinger
Quite a history there, many sympathies. I don't share most of your medical history but I also have a condition that affects the spine, causing structural changes, and, as I've written in other posts, one thing that I find very helpful is to visualise a more accentuated lumbar curve than I actually have ie I sort of imagine myself walking around with a more pronounced curve. This seems to effect a physical shift. Re whether the posture is ok to engage in, my instinctive response (bearing in mind that I'm not a professional expert)is that the WW posture IS the default posture, our natural healthy one, and any other posture is the one being "engaged" in, if you see what I mean. I have learnt a huge amount from learning Alexander Technique. One thing is that you think and direct your body rather than "do". So there's no coercing your anatomy into a posture that's inappropriate for it, rather it's thinking your body into certain directions. AT has to be learnt by experience rather than from a book, but the main directions are to release yuor neck, so that your head sits freely on the top of your spine, and then to let your back lengthen and widen (this doesn't mean tucking in or anything like that). Following the AT directions simply encourages your body into the WW posture, or as much of it as your anatomy permits, there is no doing or forcing. If you're interested then I recommend that you read up about it and contact an AT teacher. One of the many benefits of doing AT is that it gets you to focus on your entire body rather than on any one bothersome bit of it eg prolapse. Hope that this is of some use, best wishes, Frances

You ARE one of us, Blissful! The straightforward nature of my response is in direct proportion to the seriousness of the problem of reconstructive pelvic surgery. I’m very relieved to know that you understand the gravity of the situation and I assure you that we’re all here to help you as much as possible.

I particularly grieve for you as I have lived the best years of my life with a prolapsed uterus that was surgically induced.

Your heavy periods are probably the result of the D&Cs you’ve had after your miscarriages. WIth scraping of the uterine walls, the endometrial cells become intermingled with the myometrial layer resulting in a thick lining that bleeds heavily. I dealt with it for many years and can attest to the fact than severe dysfunctional uterine bleeding is survivable. Now my uterus is quiet as can be with nary a bit of discharge.

Have you pondered the possibility of having as much of the surgery reversed as possible? I just wonder how these walls of mesh are going to react with the post-menopausal vaginal thinning that is every woman’s destiny. Finding a surgeon to take on such liability in a woman who is not having overt signs of infection/rejection might be tough, not to mention selling the idea to insurance companies. There should be a national foundation to help women who have been seriously injured by experimental gynecologic surgery. This part of our world is truly upside down and I am working as hard as I can to right it.

All our arms are wrapped around you {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Blissfulsinger}}}}}}}}}}}}} as you live your sweet life and take one day at a time.

Christine

You are an amazing spirit.

May I offer another bit of paradigm shifting? How can you possibly take responsibility for a “choice” that was never fully informed? The surgeons have our core anatomy wrong, grossly inflate their own “success” rates, and do not even take into consideration untoward effects when calculating that success. Because your uterus has stayed fairly high, you would probably be considered a “success” by their standards! So how in the world were you supposed to make a reasonable choice? You were simply a blind child who was dependent upon the only women’s “health” care system available in our culture. Chronic anger and grief are burdens, no doubt. But likewise is carrying responsibility that was never yours to begin with.

Whether an excision operation for deeply embedded mesh would cause more harm than good is the question of the century in gynecologic surgery. The body is amazingly intelligent, though, and if at some point the mesh is rejected, it is possible the resulting inflammation might make it more easily removed than less. Hope, positivity, and a day-by-day attitude are best, as you instinctively know.

I hope I didn't misspeak, my intent was purely supportive.
while your story is one of the more severe ones here, many of us have gone through a period of anger. anger directed towards the medical professionals to whom we entrusted what is most sacred, our life giving parts and the birthing of our children, only to be mismanaged and wind up with a plethora of problems.
you ask how we cope with it all, and humbly, I do not feel qualified to answer you. what I am coping with is no more than a stubbed toe compared to the challenges you face. I think any of us could probably take a lesson from you in terms of coping, you seem focused on the positive, the moving forward. you seem to have accepted your loss and able to look ahead with hope.
all I can say is that you have tremendous strength within you, evident in your ability to insist on keeping your uterus and in the graceful way you express your pain.

strangers on the internet are the best ones to ask about your most personal subjects because we can be candid and we will never know you if we bump into you on the street. I hope we can help you find some answers or relief or at the very least offer a listening ear. so stick around and keep asking.

"I am definitely feeling and dealing with residual anger as I have read and faced this site.
I am aware of the dark and gross misuse of healing power that was perpetrated upon my body.
I am aware that I went for healing and received further injury, that is why I am here.
I would love some insight or just some comfort for how you cope with it all?"

There is nothing I can say to this. Nothing. Your honesty is crushing. You are an amazing woman. Your body and soul have lived through so much. You are brave and strong. You say you are alive and I believe you are.
In theology, grace may be described as 'enabling power sufficient for progression'. You possess this grace, this power. This is how you are going to cope.

I am sad for your pain. I hope that you can find a way to feel better. I know PSD is very painful. I had a recent bout of it following the birth of my 4th child. I could not put on my clothing unless I got in bed. I couldn't stand on one leg. I stayed in bed for 2 weeks, then was up and around minimally. I am still taking it easy as my pelvis readjusts to not being pregnant- my PSD is gone for the most part.

I guess in the beginning I coped by figuring out the worst case scenario and meditating on acceptance of that situation. What I loved the most about finding wholewoman was that I realized there was something I could do. I felt some control slip back into my life. And then I started to hope. I hung onto hope even as my POP symptoms got more pronounced. I learned techniques for bringing my organs back into their optimal positions and I started to see improvements. small. but then any improvement was something wonderful to me.

Keep asking questions here. We may not be able to answer but perhaps in writing you will find healing.

Very possible. Your best bet is an intelligent, humane and compassionate surgeon. Teaching hospitals are also usually county hospitals where public assistance is provided.

you just keep nursing that baby. Your intuition to stay away from the drugs and nurture your child is right on! Support your blood- drink floridex and chlorophyll- alfalfa. You might try something called wombstringe- it is a tincture- or perhaps even shepards purse.

your post, and I'm not exactly sure why, made me cry.
I think I'd enjoy hanging out with you.

gmom