Am I a Good Candidate For WW?

Body: 

Before I buy the book and dvd, I kind of wanted to describe my situation and see if this is my best step or not.

My OB, midwife, and physical therapist have all said I don't have POP, but they have all only checked me laying down. They also all say that my "kegels" are strong (ie: my voluntary contractions are strong and responsive). BUT, I continue to have a ton of stress incontinence, but really just with running. I'm ok when I sneeze or cough because I can kegel and control it. I do feel a bulge with these things, as well as with lifting heavy things and laughing. I also can not keep a Diva Cup in place, and (this is so embarrassing) I recently had a tampon fall out when I was pooping.

Additionally I was having an issue where everytime I went running it made me have to poop. I wouldn't actually poo my pants, but I did have to stop to poop every time. Fortunately, that seems to have resolved.

I am over 2 years post partum, had a really beautiful, natural, vaginal home birth, nothing extraordinary (19 hrs labor, 2.5 hrs pushing). We are still breastfeeding a lot.

I am an athlete. I used to be a professional mountain bike racer and triathlete. I have been doing quite a lot of running post partum, which is when I have 90% of my issues. I do not want to give up running. I'm extremely "fit", not only from my history of athletics but I'm also a personal trainer and teach a post partum exercise class. But from the reading I've been doing, here and elsewhere, I'm beginning to question much of what I have been taught and am teaching (proper core stability, proper posture, etc...)

So, what do you think? Do I need to go see a urogynecologist and get a more accurate diagnosis so I really know what I'm working with? Should I just get the book and dvd and start there?

Any thoughts?

Just a quick hello -- pretty much all women are good candidates for WW. Have you done a self exam? There is a how -to on this site. You'll likely be able to tell quickly what you've got going on, prolapse-wise. I have been practicing WW for almost 2 years ( am also 2 years pp from gentle homebirth and a former pro athlete), and feel as though there is nothing I can't do as long as I maintain my lumbar curve. Pop barely, if ever, intrudes at all on my day to day life anymore. I hate running, but could if I wanted to, and plenty of women here do. I would highly recommend the book and DVD. It will help you and give you a great anatomical education to use when teaching exercise to other women. By the way, I don't think you should be all that concerned about losing a tampon while pooing -- the movement of stool in the rectum could easily shift a tampon, even in a woman without prolapse. Keep asking questions and read as many older posts as possible. I think you will be very successful in eliminating your symptoms using these methods!

I agree, all women are good candidates for WW!
I've never gone for an official POP diagnosis, but I'm not going to tell you not to go. I just don't think its terribly useful because I know my body better than a dr who will poke around for a minute or two to tell me what I already know.
but if there's anything odd about it, or concerning, always a good idea to have it checked out just to be sure.

there are some runners here, alemama is one that comes to mind, maybe she will post soon, iirc, she is away for a bit.

about the diva cup, that one is one of the longest menstrual cups out there. try cutting off the tail completely and turning it inside out. that might help. I recently got a Lunette (in blue!) cup and its alot more comfortable than the divacup, though towards the end of the day it does start to slip down. I think my muscles get tired or something.

so I think, get started here. read all you can on this site and learn the posture. try to incorporate it into your running. get the book and the dvd, learn the firebreathing and learn nauli. those are the most powerful exercises ime for prolapse. it is amazing how much you can do once you have the tools.

I'm just shiming in for one sec to agree here--WW is so effective for PoP. the self exam is great is you want to figure out what is going on for you. But ultimately it is about the symptoms rather than the name (but agree--if anything unusual going on, get it checked!).
I've being ehre for about 3 1/2 years, and the results have been incredible. I recently went to NM to see Christine and that has helped even more as I really got the posture even better (if you click on my names, and click on track, there is a post about going to NM which explains my revelations which were super helpful for me)... But to understand, you'll first have to get an understanding of the posture (to then see where i was going wrong). The book and DVD are great, the excercises are great...and as a result my POP is nothing like it ws 3.5 years ago...

i am going to write more but gotta run to work...but wanted to say YES YES YES--from the top of the roof!

K

I think WW is for everyone. Even for beautiful and fresh, toned nulliparas, it has tons of benefits! Go for it!
Liv

Wholewoman was conceived for women like you, who have their pelvis the same as it was created, and have not had it tampered with surgically. Every surgically unaltered woman is a good candidate! It is based on well-researched, sophisticated understanding of the anatomy and mechanics of a woman's body as she moves about every day.

It was not designed by surgeons examining horizontal, lifeless cadavres, which is the way our medical models of human anatomy were developed. I think the medical model is based on a horizontal body because that is how a woman is when she is prepped for surgery. It is the body configuration that surgeons and doctors know best, but it is not the configuration of living. It comes from a surgical world view, not a living, dancing, jumping, lifting, carrying, doing, world view.

To a small degree the success you have will be determined by how your body is built, re proportions and your genetic inheritance, but it will mainly be determined by the way you use your body in the future. We have many women here with badly compromised perineum and serious postpartum tearing who manage quite well. These women have been able to adapt the way they use their bodies to maximise the body's integrity, have sent fear and shame scuttling for cover, and have resumed an active, normal life, often more active and normal than they had before.

Surely establishing the best you can be with what you have is the first step in being your best, before you look at altering what you already have, and risking compromising what you have now?

You will get a lot more from Wholewoman techniques than just dealing with bladder incontinence and prolapse discomfort. It is about the Whole Woman, her whole body, her heart and her soul.

It will cost you nothing but some time and some basic resources. If it doesn't work as well as you hope you can always go for the surgical option, which will not be less successful in 12 months time. On the other hand if you go for surgery now you have altered your body forever, and closed the door on your perfectly designed body and Wholewoman before you have even tried it. Wholewoman will work best now, in your unaltered state, but will work considerably less well after you have your body surgically altered.

I am not usually prescriptivetive about this, but IMO, 12 months of Wholewoman techniques should be pre-requisite for any woman considering pelvic repair surgery, because the techniques and tools for improving the existing body by the woman use her physical, mental and emotional/spiritual inner resources for monitoring and healing herself.

Invasive, outside help should be the last tool in the bag and should not be considered the first or only tool under any circumstances at all.

Why do I think these opinions so strongly? Because I have used WW techniques for nearly 6 years, and it just keeps getting better, the more I learn about my body. The medical information I had prior to menopause proved to be mostly wives' tales. I had my last menstrual period nearly three years ago and look forward to as active a life for the few decades as I have always had. I am now 57.

What well-qualified doctors are doing spreading wives' tales I do not know! It certainly doesn't do the credibility of their profession any good in my eyes.

I guess they think they have the best solutions for everything, but I now realise what a narrow perspective they have on the human body and its possibilities. Would I take a doctor's advice to have pelvic repair surgery seriously? You've got to be kidding!!! Would I take a doctor's advice about having my appendix removed? Probably, and I would have great faith in them to produce a good outcome. For Prolapse? Never!

Louise

Awesome, thanks for your feedback.

So what is the best first step? Buy the book and dvd? Or just spend more time on the forums?

and of course buy the book and dvd! :)

Buy the materials . . . And read tons on the forums! I especially recommend the DVD. I resisted making any purchases at first, as I was skeptical as to what was really being sold here. I was dumb! I should have placed an order the same day I found WW. It wasn't until after a very depressing session with a pelvic floor PT ( she had no encouragement, no tools, no strategies to offer -- she herself even has a cystocele!) that I took the plunge. Two minutes into the DVD, and what a difference! The message is so uplifting -- we have all the tools we need within ourselves to manage this with grace. I finally saw my way out of prolapse hell. Yeah, I sound like a big old sales pitch, but really, that DVD is worth it. Best wishes!