Hello from new user/initial questions

1. I had heard things about breastfeeding too but so many women said it doesn't make a difference. I can't say from experience because I just stopped but I am pregnant again! I experienced so many benefits of breastfeeding in other ways so I am glad I didn't quit because of rumours flying around.

2. In my experience the posture has been the best strategy to eliminate problems from the cystocele. I had all three prolapses from the beginning of my daughter's birth but my uterus went back up and I was left with a rectocele and cystocele. I had problems with the cystocele like leaking and urgency etc. but once I did the posture I haven't had any problems with it even though I can still see the bulge.

3. Unfortunately my rectocele has not responded to the posture. I think diet plays a big part in reducing rectocele symptoms but so far I haven't found the right diet to eliminate the pressure I feel from it. I haven't had any problems with constipation and I eat very healthy but I have yet to try elminating meat from my diet and many women say that makes a big difference. I have found a lot of comfort in the v2 supporter for when I go out to run errands etc. It reduces the heavy feeling.

4. I fully believe that there should be no need for surgery to help stop incontinence etc. from a cystocele because the walking posture and sitting posture (if you are consistent and change your lifestyle) completely elminated any problems I had from it. I know I still have it and can see it but I really don't care as long as it doesn't bug me. Hopefully I can find the same relief from the rectocele. I get the feeling that the rectocele seems to be the most stubborn of the prolapses.

welcome to the forum. I keep coming back to your post and trying to reply in a succinct intelligent way but for some reason it always comes out rambling. so bear with me.

regarding breastfeeding: I am not completely sure, but I think the bf/prolapse link is due to the lower levels of estrogen in nursing mothers. estrogen will help plump up vaginal tissue, but I haven't seen anything that points to its ability to reduce prolapsed organs.
so go ahead and breastfeed without worry that you are hindering your progress.

regarding posture and 'falling out feeling': YES your next step would be incorporating the posture whenever you can. lots of women here have gone back to their exercise routines...forgot who it was who recently ran a marathon?

regarding food, constipation and that heavy feeling: obviously food plays a part in constipation which in turn can wreak havoc on prolapses. but I have found that diet also helps reduce that heavy feeling. I (thankfully) do not struggle with constipation but I see a direct link between what I eat and how my rectocele feels. meat, chicken, dairy products leave me with a heavy sluggish feeling. raw vegetables, rice, fruit makes it seem as though my bowels are more actively supporting themselves and not resting on the vaginal wall as much. maybe its all in my mind, but that's the way I visualize it and I feel better.

regarding the TVT: I don't know much about the different surgical procedures, you might try a search here, I know Christine has described them on this site and in her book. regardless of the procedure, I would STRONGLY suggest trying the posture and exercises for a few months before any surgery. once a surgeon takes a scalpel to your vagina there is no going back, it damages the very tissues that have potential to stabilize prolapse.

anyway, stick around and ask all the questions you may have. I am learning so much here and the support is invaluable.

It was on the news about TVT a while ago here in the UK
Everything made out like it is a fantastic invention (of men to save us poor ailing women)

But - I searched it back then on the internet and it looks like a kinda 'sling' just made of a different material and attached in a similar way - Which makes me think - New material - better? Maybe - Surgically implanted into my 'never regions' Ummmmmm Prolly NOT.

To be honest Women have had this 'malady' for so many years and did not resort to having bits of tape rammed and sewn into their never regions (lol)

I just have this underlying feeling that if anything is surgically attached in any place where movement inside of the body is a must - It changes the way the body would need to move (Pressures etc) making the body hafta move in a different way. Attached things can come away too - Who says they will be attached forever? It just sounds very similar to other procedures I have read about and avoided.

Eliminating all red meat from your diet will help you no end - And then you can work on other meats (or just reduce the amount of them that you eat slowly) I am an ex-vegetarian and I only eat meat now cos it helps with other maladies I have (non prolapse) But I will only eat mainly fish and some chicked or turkey - It is rareeeeeeeeee that red meat would ever pass these lips :)

My cycstocele has been aided by my reducing kegels! I used to do soooooo many and now I might do 6-10 a day if I remember and the urgency problem and leaking went away cos of that - Kegels make the muscle so tired and lax if you overdo them as I did :)

Hope that helps a teeny bit
Sue

First trust your body and go at your own pace with regards to exercise. I am able to run and weight train with the rectocele. I am constantly "experimenting" with what works and with what feels OK. You mentioned volleyball. I played high school and college ball and continued in co-ed power leagues after college. I haven't played since having my first child five years ago but hope to play some on sand courts this summer. It hasn't been the rectocele that has interfered but rather a time issue with kids. I will propably start with some jumping and serving motions and see how that feels. My prolpase appeared after my first child five years ago and I also have a 10 month old baby.

For me breastfeeding wasn't a problem. I do a moderate number of kegels which helped with incontinence. I suspect I may have a cystocele but don't have any visible signs of it at this point. Good luck and feel free to ask with any specific running or weight training questions. I try to stay in posture with the weights and when this is not possible I return to the posture as soon as I complete the set. Also with the running I am most comfortable with regards to the bulgy feeling if I am not close to needing to have a bowel movement.

hello there:

well, as to the surgery, granolamom put it so well that i was just nodding my head as i was reading it. a "strip" being sewn in? minor surgery? having recently had "minor" surgery -- that happened 6 weeks before the appearance of my rectocele, i can only say that, at this point, i simply do not buy into that myth that any surgery is minor (do i still sound really pissy about it? well, i AM!) so to take your time and try this route would probably be a great idea. you might see some really big changes in a few months as i have.

your post also got me thinking about food playing a part in reducing the heavy feeling. about three weeks ago, i went through a terrible terrible weekend of intense constipation. needless to say, everything felt just awful and, through many suggestions on this site and from christine herself, i opted to make some drastic (for me) changes to my diet. i eliminated chicken and fish (hadn't been eating much red meat anyways, so that wasn't any sort of a big deal), removed wheat/flour from my diet (again, had done most of that before, but there was still some in there), eliminated all sugar (ack! the hard one!) and removed any dairy from my diet (just a small amount previously, but kicked it out.) added raw nuts, apples, raw veggies (had been eating lots of cooked, but very very little raw), beans, raw nut butters. the change was quick and dramatic. and, subseqently, the whole feeling of the rectocele has changed. and, as i was reading granolmom's response to that, it actually made a lot of sense when you consider that the literal weight of the intestinal tract must lighten up with those diet shifts, without the sheer weight of the chicken, for example, so it actually makes a lot of sense that the feeling of fullness of heaviness would ease up. i so also notice in the morning before my bowel movement(s), i have the sense of "weight" to the rectocele that shifts once the bowel has emptied. i never really thought about it before, but now it does all make sense -- to me, at least -- in my head and somehow now seems less "magical." thanks, granolamom for nudging my brain like that this morning!

i am not a runner but am an avid avid walker. when i first came to this site, only two months ago, i had just been diagnosed and had seen a pelvic floor physical therapist who was really discouraging me from doing all the walking i love to do. i was listening to her, but feeling VERY depressed and anxious about it, and scared because of theat "falling out" feeling we all understand. the women here all spoke really highly and positively about how beneficial expercise was in getting that lifting feeling going and being able to maintain it and so with everyone's encouragement, i started figuring out the posture (still am working on that!) and starting getting back to my walking and it has been nothing but positive for me. essential, in fact, to not only improving the feeling of the rectocele, but literally improving it as well. in fact, as i sit here, it occurs to me that i have been lagging on that towards this last part of the week and i feel the difference so it will be off to the gym and the treadmill soon and a nice walk outside on this cold winter day later this afternoon. i know everything will feel tighter and higher because of it.

okay, long post here. sorry to go on so. i just loved your post and found your questions especially thought provoking for me this morning.

this site is jammed with great information and stuff that has really worked in very significant ways for many of us. give it a try and see what you think.

xsusan

I think if you're getting that heavy feeling while running, maybe first work on getting the posture down pat. then make sure you're running in the posture and it should help with the heavy feeling.

running with that feeling makes me uncomfortable, almost like 'pushing through the pain' and what has been helpful to so many women here is learning to listen to what your body is telling you.

good luck with the dietary changes. I was addicted to cheese too, I couldn't get off it until I went cold turkey. before you start, make sure you have alternatives handy - its that much harder when you're already hungry.

Carolyn,

As a fellow runner I just want to stress the need to go slow and try to get a sense of stabilization before you push it too much with the running. I don't remember how old your youngest is but make sure you are giving your body enough time to heal, running will always be waiting for you! My youngest is 10 months and I have forced myself to really ease back into working out. You mentioned getting the "heavy feeling" which can encompass such a wide range sensations with prolapse. As athletes we so often learn to manage discomfort and pain whether we are training or competing. I have found it very challenging to shift this mindset and listen to my body with regards to prolapse. I know this is so frustrating but from someone who has been living with prolapse for five years it is so important! I too am experimenting with what types of exercise are helpful and have been pleased that running seems to help (with digestion issues and less bulging)but everyone is different.

Good Luck!

Hi Carolyn1,

I promise you, once you make up your mind to change your diet and be diligent about it, it will get easier. As for the ice cream and other dairy you're going to give up, go read www.notmilk.com and it may make it easier. To get my husband off ice cream and milk was really tough, but I did it with trailmix and energy bars. (I'll send you the recipes if you want them). He has no desire for sweets other than what is in the organic food he now gets.

Don't forget to come back here for support!

Blessings,
Grandma Joy

What a great place you've come to. I also am a breastfeeding mom of 3.

Doing this work has now become a necessary part of every day life. The first piece is the discipline of my mind. I have to incorporate prayer, hope and belief in wholeness as a part of my approach to well-being, each day. When my mind is lifted up, so are all of the organs of my body. When I fear, everything pulls down.

The physical work has also become a daily discipline. The sitting and standing postures, and the exercises. As has diet. I love food! Another perk of having these symptoms is the new relationship with food. I have had a healthy diet, but it's gone to the next level. Soaking and sprouting grains, nuts and beans. Making cultured dairy products and lacto-fermented foods. Making kombucha. Before I felt deprived. Not now.

A year ago when I got here, I held myself carefully when I walked. Afraid something would fall out. Now, I don't hesitate to play soccer with my oldest daughter. I love to run with her. I raced her the other day and we tied! (she's 8) Pulled a muscle, but wasn't afraid to run.

Is it perfect? Not yet.
Is life better than it was a year ago? You bet.

Love and blessings to all.

Marie