Stairs and prolapse

I can't speak for everybody but I find stairs very tiring since the prolapses. I have a split level home so there are lots of stairs and with 3 kids I am always forgetting something! :) I really try to limit climbing up and down for everything. My pt has taught me to do a kegel when stepping up. But when you're busy it is easy to forget.

Maybe Anne-helen could also give us some suggestions from the TCM side. That would be interesting.

I would love a ranch now..... :)o

Hi Nikki,

The stairs at my two-story home have been part of my wellness program as well as gauge of my improvement over the years. I think I mentioned in the book how difficult they were in the beginning when my condition first came crashing down.

I don't want to influence such an important decision as your next home - yikes!!, but from my perspective now, stairs are a wonderful way to pull even further into the posture as you ascend. Stair climbing is great overall conditioning work, but if I need an extra lift, then I bend over with my head and arms on a higher step and do a few toe raises. Both the stretch and strengthening are great and it’s hard to find a substitute for a good flight of stairs to do this.

:-) Christine

And if the urogynecologist says holding your belly over your pubic bone is very important - it must be true! LOL ;-)

Hi

flattered by the mention! but the only thing i could think of off the top of my head was DON'T immeadiatly reach for ginseng. It's a popular chinese herb commonly advocated for tiredness, but it really isn't for everyone and can give a false energy to some with longer term dreawbacks for health.

Again it's this holistic thing whereby there's not a suit all drug approach (such as we're used to with western medicine and big pharma), so a good herbalist could supply a tonic or for the D.I.Y entheuiast i really do like the "healing with whole foods" for food tips to re-establish strenght, that intergrate TCM philosophy. But maybe it could be hard for those without a TCM background, i'm not sure..

As for stairs i go with what christine say's there adn i like how on her video she describes upwards walking as strenghtening... I don't do so much of it but i find a natural sorta kegelling occurs on ascents.

Oh and hope the move goes well and you find somewhere that you love

Best wishes

Anne

i second christine's comments regarding stairs. i live in a duplex and am up and down the stairs numerous times every day, and i feel as if it helps. of course i am mindful of posture and doing a 'bracing' kegel, ESPECIALLY on the way down. i find that going up is fine, it's going down that feels difficult on those days that i'm feeling a bit bulgey-er than usual (although in general i don't have that feeling very often).

good luck with your home purchase!

peace,
michele

Oh, I didn't know that one. I always feel it is alot of effort going up the stairs especially late in the afternoon. Wow, I never do kegels going down but will try that. I figure gravity going down so I don't have to exert intra-abdominal pressure. I am in the posture going up and down but when i am tired down there I just feel like I am dragging all the weight from my hips to my feet.

But it seems hopeful if it serves to be a training exercise!

That's wonder to hear. Look forward to enjoying your new home with your family. Things will be brighter. We have gone thru the emotional losses of our old self and do come to an acceptance of our new body. It's ok to cry. Sometimes we reflect on the old times as well but it's ok. I am just glad to see that most women here are managing their prolapses well. That gives us plenty of hope!

Blessings!

Nikki,

I can really empathize with your feeling of fear and sadness. When I found out I had a cystocele, rectocele, and uterine prolapse I was terrified, not the least because I was being urged to have major surgery, etc., etc., -- and it's hard to decide that a doctor may not really have your best interests in mind. That was in August, and I have to say that I really am feeling much better and more hopeful now. I know that seems like forever! It took me a long time, I guess, partly because I found out that riding (which my whole family has done for years) is something that really started to hurt. My pelvis just felt like it was getting slammed every time I posted or whenever the horse moved quickly. So I had to quit -- but only temporarily, I hope. I have found lots of comfort and support on this site, and also I've realized that sometimes it takes a lot of time to accept that our bodies have changed. I am now working with a p.t., a body-mind exercise practitioner, and a nurse-practitioner, and although they don't always agree on everything, they are a good a supportive team who wish my condition to improve. This helps a lot. And mainly I'm not as AFRAID as I used to be, and that is one of the best things. I'm just trucking along, trying different things,and learning to rely on myself to decide if a position or exercise is helpful or not. I think you'll begin to feel better when you start seeing results from the posture work and then hopefully you'll feel that things CAN get better. As far as not knowing about the prolapse information before, I have found that it is a very unpopular subject! It's almost as if it's in bad taste or something to discuss it! And we need to -- a lot. I think that unawareness of pelvic floor prolapse is something that has got to be changed, precisely because of the shock and helplessness we can feel when diagnosed. This is where this one site is of enormous help for us all. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I have indeed found that dealing with prolpase does get easier and can be managed. I'm not saying that I've got it made, or anything like that, cause I have my bad days as well, but again, less fear. More hope. Good luck to you and lots of encouragement,

Kathy

Nikki i felt so much like you described, i was practically like a zombie except paralysed by fear, when i read other women's comments i really felt inspired by the information but could not at all relate to their airy nature of presentation. I allmost felt as if theirs couldn't be anything like mine.. Or that they were just super coper's and i never would be.

Six months on and there's huge change for the better.

Best wishes

Anne-helen

fella has my tea ready adn is calling!