revalation

Submitted by meribelle on September 14, 2010 - 5:00am
Body: 

I hope I spelled the topic word correctly.

Oh well... I just had this thought. I am 62. When I was in my early 20's I had a huge ovarian cyst and I was cut all the way across my lower abdomen to remove it. When I was 33 I had a Cesarean birth. Same cut. When I was in my late 40's I had a hysterectomy. Same cut. All 3 surgeries cut me on the same dotted line.

With what I am learning from Christine in the exercise videos, I see that it is no wonder my 'girl parts' are falling out. I have been cut and put back together 3 different times and each time my muscles have lost some of their shape. I hope to get back some muscle tone with the exercises. I confess I don't do them enough. Life is so busy with work and house stuff at home when I get back.

But I am grateful to have a job and to be able to move around and get things done. Thank you Christine for giving me back my hope. Sometimes I can't find it, but when I listen to you, it always comes back. May everyone have a blessed day.

PiaMom

September 14, 2010 - 5:48am

Revelation ;)

I am not a Whole Woman (surgically speaking), but I am not a Broken Woman either!

I had a laparotomy when I was 25 to remove a huge ovarian cyst, a c-section performed at 34, and a hysterectomy at 48. All 3 cuts in the same place - 3rd incision was the best as the previous 2 scars were removed and now my tummy looks great, all smooth.

I am scared of only one of the exercises on the DVD - the sitting down rocking forward and back one as it just feels funny (scientific hey?!), but all the others are fine. My stomach muscles are great and a lot of the 'fall' has stabilized.

I find that by lifting my chest, keeping my shoulders down, broadening and flattening my upper back pulls my stomach muscles nice and taut and I have no floppy belly which I think everyone is scared of developing if they stand in the correct posture.

Meribelle, there is always hope. The positivity in your post is bound to inspire others - thank you for spreading it around.

Christine

September 14, 2010 - 9:20am

Thank you, Meribelle, for your inspirational words. After working here at WW all these years, I have the deep sense that we are all One. What hurts me, hurts you and what eases your suffering, eases mine. It is like we are holding each other up.

I believe there is hope for every woman here. Some problems are far greater than others, but they are all manageable.

PiaMom, bless your heart for letting us know what your real situation is. Even in these brief posts, there is a heart and soul connection made. If we aren’t straight with one another, it is registered on a deep level and experienced as “different”. Now I feel I know the real you. Thank you for your insight on how the pelvic rocks feel to you. All these bits of information will add up to a valuable resource for the post-hysterectomy woman.

Hugs all ‘round

Christine

aza

September 14, 2010 - 12:47pm

I agree with Christine, it is great to have both of you sharing and your experiences and insights are so helpful! Sadly, you both confirm the simplest of truths about our bodies. The more you cut, the more you harm. Your stories are valuable to those debating surgery to have their babies or more cutting to 'repair'.
Meribelle, I think many women have found that the vast majority of WW is in the context of moment to moment life. Of course, the exercises are to be done at certain point in your day, but the posture is something that you can do all the time, all day every day. My apologies if this is already what you are doing, but I just thought I would mention it ;)

meribelle

September 21, 2010 - 4:45am

I try to think about the posture every moment of my day. In the car I have the seat set at the most right angle I can get and I even put a pillow behind me so I can sit up straighter. I am so "falling" out that lots of times it is uncomfortable between my legs. I have purchased larger clothes and don't wear anything tight. Still it is a problem, especially as the day wears on. By the time I get home from work it is really protruding. Yet I preserve and do laundry, cooking, etc. What else can you do? If I thought surgery would help, I would do it, but how can more cuts on a muscle help.

I wonder if muscles can be programed to be weak? When I was younger and pregnant with my sons my cervix had to be sewn together because it was too weak to keep the uterus closed. I sometimes wonder if all of my lower tummy muscles are wimpy.

Well, anyway, I love Christine's exercises and try to do something daily.

I still am very confused about kegels. Christine says they don't work, but I thought I read from other women here on the forum that they do help.

Does anyone know about kegels? I know there was a post about it, but it was hard to follow.

May you all have an unprolapsed day.

meribelle

September 22, 2010 - 5:06am

If I can smile about something, it makes things a little better. So here is a funny insight ...

Another problem I am always fighting is adult acne. So, the "good thing" about my vagina falling out is at least no one can see it!

Oh, my! Is all this part of getting older? Surely not! "old people" are "supposed to" battle with arthritis and rheumatism, etc. Who would have thought I would be battling prolapsed female organs and teen aged skin! Life is full of surprises!

If I hurry I may have a few minutes to do the quick work out. Hugs to you all!

gardengirl

September 22, 2010 - 5:28am

Hi Miribelle- I started the "hold it sister" forum in my confusion to find out about the dreaded kegels. It has been a lot of fun reading everyone's responses. After a bit, I think, the topic was getting a bit much but I still had to ask a few more questions.

Some topics needs a permanent spot as the responses people have given have been insightful, inspiring and they have spent a lot of time composing.

louiseds

September 24, 2010 - 10:15am

Meribelle, have you looked at your diet? I know that adult acne can sometimes disappear if dairy foods are excluded. Perhaps you have a lot of inflammation in your digestive tract as well. You sound so cheerful. It sometimes helps, when the chips are down. :-)

Louise