Diastasis?

Submitted by Ribbit on July 24, 2010 - 1:28pm
Body: 

It seems that even in WW posture, my belly still hangs way out. It's not just Mummy Tummy. After all the other babies, my belly looked completely normal after only a few months even if I still had weight to lose. By 6-9 months I was always totally back to normal size and shape. But it ain't happenin' this time around. Since the prolapse, my belly still looks 5 months pregnant even with my chest lifted up. I have to grossly exaggerate the posture (like bending way back) to get those muscles to behave and look normal. I'm 11 months postpartum now. I'd like to NOT look pregnant.

Firebreathing and nauli aren't doing the trick. Maybe I just need to do them more?

You know how when you see really obese people they almost have two halves of their belly? Like a right side and a left side? That's what mine looks like except I'm not obese. I weigh 150, which is about 20 pounds more than I would normally be.

Ribbit

July 24, 2010 - 1:32pm

In addition, even after doing the exercises, I still don't have enough muscle strength to lift my legs if I'm laying on my back. I know, we're supposed to roll over and sit up.....but I used to be ABLE to lift my legs up into the air, and now I cannot at all. I can barely even pull me knees up while leaving my feet on the floor.

Another thing--I've fallen several times recently. I fell last night. If something tips me slightly, I fall and can't catch myself.

I'm 32. It's not like I'm old.

davemayamom

July 24, 2010 - 2:00pm

Hi Ribbit,

Although I haven't posted, I"ve been following some of your posts through this prolapse journey. I can't remember what you've done thus far, and what medical/alternative professionals and therapies you have tried, but
1) Are you dizzy before you fall, experiencing vertigo etc., OR is it just that you can't catch yourself because your core is weak?

2) Are you experiencing any other symptoms ie. tingling, numbness etc. I'm thinking about in hips and legs due to possible nerve damage.

3) Any other muscles that you are having trouble activating or feel especially weak.

4) Have you had bloodwork done recently - i.e. by physican or naturopath?

It's hard to focus on yourself and do exercises when you have 4 kiddies that you need to look after, but I would get a further evaluation. I don't know whether you've seen a naturopath or a physiotherapist, osteopath or other professional, but maybe they would help. I don't mean P.T. for pelvic floor, but some basic exercises to recruit the core muscles. Sometime you need an expert to tell you whether you are contracting the right muscles or not. Of course if you go to a P.T., you are now armed with the knowledge of the exercises that help/harm prolapse, so you can be a good advocate for yourself. In general, I find these professionals will often take the time to listen to all of your history - this is most important in getting to the route of the problem!

Hope this helps!
Janice

aza

July 24, 2010 - 2:16pm

Hi ribbit,
Have you determined for yourself that you have diastasis? Wasn't sure since there was a q mark in the title. You may already know this, but in case you don't, here is how to do it:
Lay on your back with your knees bent. Put one hand on your belly. Gently lift your head up off the floor, chin to chest, which will naturally engage your abs. While keeping your head there, feel along your rectus abdominus muscles. I usually start with my pinky at the belly button and other fingers in a line up towards the sternum. Diastasis is usually more significant above the navel compared to below. It is measured in fingerbreadths, i.e. how many fingers you can fit side to side into the separation.
Like already mentioned, there could be a myriad of things going on here, but you brought up diastasis specifically so i thought I would comment. Sorry if this is old news to you!

Christine

July 24, 2010 - 2:55pm

Hi Ribbit,

Davemayamom (a physical therapist) and Aza have given you good info. Your sense that something in your "core" is preventing you from performing leg lifts is probably right on - and Davemayamom's instincts have given you starting points in trying to find out why. I think the symptom cluster of chronic constipation, large gut, and lower extremity weakness should be investigated.

(((hugs, Ribbit))))

Christine

Ribbit

July 24, 2010 - 9:03pm

Well, I've had the MRIs done. I think they determined things weren't quite as bad as I thought they were. At least my cervix isn't where it was.

I've just been introduced to the whole idea of diastasis. I watched half a dozen youtube videoes today while the children were playing (happily!) and determined that I can fit 2+ fingers between the muscles. Almost 3 fingers. That's probably considered "mild."

The constipation is manageable as long as I stay close to home (i.e. don't get all uptight about being out and about) and eat a lot of root veggies and lentil soup. In fact, things move quite nicely......but still not every single day as I was doing before the prolapse. I'd like for things to be every day. I'm VERY happy that I'm not nearly as constipated as I was. I'm indescribably happy.

I do appreciate your input!

I'm seeing a different OB this next week to get a second opinion. I am also going to ask him if there is a way I can get a handicapped thingy to hang on my mirror so I can legally park close to a store. It is a KILLER going to a store. I try to go only every other week at the most. It is easier to grow a garden (and all that is involved there) than it is to go to the grocery store. Getting some nice acorn squash right now. :) And Louise gave me permission to let some weeds grow, which had never occurred to me to allow. Now I just walk on grass to get to the green beans.

At any rate, YES, there is more going on here than meets the eye. It seems I've already had some nerve issues and I'd been investigating the possibility that I had Lyme Disease. I've felt awful since I was a child and I had a funky tick bite years ago. We grew up in the woods, so tick bites were sort of an often occurrence, but I remember this particular one because it was very itchy and had a silver-dollar sized rash around it. This would have been the mid-80s, and Lyme Disease was just being "discovered" in the northeast. It certainly wasn't talked about here ("here" at that time being SC), and the CDC to this day denies its presence in Georgia (where I live now) despite so many cases being officially diagnosed. I recently had a blood test done, but according to the GA Lyme Disease Association, 50% of the people treated for Lyme test negative. My bloodwork was negative--no surprise seeing as it's been 25 or so years. But just this last week I went to an ND who confirmed it for me. She tested me "very strong" for Lyme. At least it's nice to have a name to go along with all my weird symptoms over the years. In 3rd grade I spent a month at home with a fever throwing up. My mom's allergist said he thought it was mono. I called my mother today and asked her if she remembered when that odd tick bite was. She said she remembered it, because it was strange, but couldn't remember how old I was. We think it's possible that the month-long illness could have been around the same time as the tick bite, but not close enough to it for anybody to realize it was the cause.

Dizziness isn't foreign to me (thanks to the Lyme), but I'm falling without the dizziness. This morning one toe caught in the hem of my pant leg and I literally ended up on the floor, facedown. My arms didn't catch me. My knees didn't catch me. Before I knew it, I was on the floor. Last week I stepped on a piece of chalk the kids left on the floor. I should have stumbled and caught myself on the wall, but I fell completely to the floor and hurt my wrist and knee. It was so embarrassing.

I think if this new OB will suggest physical therapy or something, I can have it covered by insurance.

We determined here on these blessed forums a few months ago that I have some sort of neuropathy. When the baby was born, I could not lift my left leg at all. It took a little while for that to get back to normal. Now I drag that left leg only occasionally, when I'm very, very fatigued.

Found out my mother has some prolapse and neuropathy as well.

So it's one thing to have prolapse while I go through life, but it's another to look pregnant when I'm not.

Ribbit

July 24, 2010 - 9:26pm

Janice, I just went back and re-read your post.

I think I've got a lot of nerve damage. A very scary thing happened two months ago. I got very, very dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. That had happened before, and I'd lay down and sleep and then feel totally okay once I woke up. But this time I didn't fall asleep. I lay down and my hands and feet went numb, and then this strange tingling crept up my arms and legs slowly. I had my son bring me the phone and I called my husband to come home immediately. By the time he got home I was paralyzed. I was laying on the floor in fetal position and in incredible pain. I thought it was muscles, but now I think it was nerve pain. I couldn't move anything. He called the ambulance. Later he told me my feet and legs were gray. Upon arrival at the hospital they were blue. And yet my O2 saturation was 98%, which I still don't understand. By that time I was hyperventilating because I was afraid of what might happen when that numbness reached my head or heart. Would I pass out? Would I die? Now spiritually, I'm okay with death. But physically? I've got kids to take care of! The ER doc said I had a panic attack. DH and I begged to differ, but he wouldn't listen. Thus began the descent into the abyss of medical doctors and speculation and silly tests and bouncing from one specialist to the next in search of some elusive name to stick on a pain I think they though I imagined. After all, besides a big belly (which I can hide under clothes), and a little acne, I appear to be in total, perfect health.

I've done a really good job of avoiding medical doctors. They've never had anything to offer me. They always, without fail, told me I was too young to feel what I felt physically. So I've tried to go the natural route. Again, the medical establishment missed the root of the problem. I believe this ND I just saw hit the nail on the head. I believe I have chronic Lyme, and I've had it for a long, long time. The people I've talked with from the GA Lyme Disease Assoc. said they can't believe I'm doing as well as I am being this far removed from the tick bite.

I'm thankful for all the alternative doctors I've seen over the years who have helped as much as they knew to do.

I have an appointment with a real, live neurologist two weeks from now. I hesitate to tell him about the Lyme diagnosis, because, coming from an ND who used some electromagnetic homeopathic frequency generator (magic, DH calls it--but it works!), the neurologist won't believe it! Maybe I could just tell him I suspect I have Lyme.

granolamom

July 24, 2010 - 10:23pm

dont really have much to add to the good advice you've already been given
dh's aunt was bitten by a tick carrying lyme and was not diagnosed until years and years later. dr's not believing you and not taking you seriously is just insult added to injury. she went through the same thing, was told she was just a hypocondriac, attention seeking and all she needed was a bit of anti anxiety medication to set her alright.
of course, that just wasnt' true, and she is dealing with very real neuropathies similar to what you describe (she's alot older now, but was early 30s when symptoms began).

as far as diastasis, mine was actually worse below the bellybutton. appeared during my second pg and got worse during the third. after my third baby, I totally looked pg even after I lost all my pg weight and then some (I was down to 116 at one point).
not sure how long it took, but it completely healed after I started WW posture and did not reappear in any significant way with the last two pg's.

am worried about you, with the fainting and all. I hope you get to the bottom of it.

{{{{{hugs}}}}}

davemayamom

July 24, 2010 - 10:38pm

Hey Ribbit,

I think you have a pretty good handle on your symptoms. Lyme Disease would explain a lot of what you have going on. I don't know much about Lyme, but I was listening to a CBC radio show (I live in Canada) on it, and it was about a doctor who specializes in Lyme and was once a sufferer herself. She said until she was properly diagnosed, she suffered constant pain and fatigue. She reported that she was completely disabled; everyday she felt that someone had just shot her in her elbow joints. Her blood tests (like yours) came back negative. She went to a doctor that also specialized in Lyme and he treated her immediately with a radical course of antibiotics. She was skeptical at the time, but it worked. I can't remember whether she practices out of the U.S. or Canada, but the doctor who cured her was American. You can look up the podcast on cbc.ca and it was on "The Current" in June of this year.
You are spot on about doctors. It is the rare one that will piece together your history and take the time to find the source of your symptoms - that is why I love naturopaths! I've had too many patients referred to me with incorrect diagnoses to trust them outright! Anyway, I think it's great that you have an appointment with a neurologist. Tell him/her what you suspect you have and give him/her your history. You need to be treated for what you have in whatever way suits you best. Physiotherapy will also help get your core and strength back, but you need to get to the bottom of it. If I were you, I would pursue P.T. right away (if possible) even while you are waiting for you appt. Also tell your P.T. excactly what is going on - suspected Lyme, prolapse etc. Also tell your P.T. you are a busy mom of 4 and to be realistic with exercise prescription i.e. reasonable exercises and mostly home program.

I just want to add that you are amazing for doing what you do with all that you have going on. I thought prolapse was bad with 2 kids (4 years apart), a dog (lab), and a husband. With 4 kids, home schooling, and growing and preparing your own vegetables, you are my hero. Some day you will wonder how you did it, but for now, just take it one day at a time. We moms just never get a break - even when we really need one! You will get better and feel better, I just know it!

Wishing you all the best,
Janice
p.s. If you have trouble finding that podcast, let me know and I'll try to help you out. Just to warn you, we're going on holidays (starting Monday) for 2 weeks, so my internet time will be limited!

davemayamom

July 24, 2010 - 11:03pm

I just looked up the podcast. It is June 14, 2010. If you are interested go to cbc.ca and look up the radio program, "The current". To make it faster, just type Lyme disease into the search engine for "The Current". They say Lyme is often misdiagnosed as M.S., Parkinsons, or other neurological diseases - as I'm sure you already know!

Janice

Ribbit

September 1, 2010 - 7:57pm

Hey, everybody. I wanted to give an update here.

First of all, the diastasis healed by doing these exercises:

http://www.babybootcamp.com/pages/fitness_detail.aspx?fcid=60

I did this once and my belly vanished. It was astonishing! The gap between the muscles is much smaller now.

Re: Lyme. I've been seeing an ND and she's treating me homeopathically as well as some herbs and changing my diet so I'm eating 70% raw. I'm actually doing more like 80-90%raw. It's taken a few weeks but I can tell I'm beginning to feel better. When I've eaten raw before (several years ago) my digestion was GREAT! This time I'm having a real problem. :( I think because I'm detoxing all sorts of things, it's clogged me all up despite the raw food.

Anyway, I wanted to update you all and thank you for your encouragement!

granolamom

September 2, 2010 - 10:25pm

hi ribbit
I looked at that link briefly, you're talking about the elevator exercise described there? I tried it real quick and it feels alot like nauli to me only in a seated position.
could be I didn't read it clearly or do it the right way, but the important thing is that it worked for you! which is just fabulous : )

I hope the raw food diet works for you too, hopefully the detox will only be a bit longer. I admire your ability to stick with a diet like that, my diet these days is embarrassingly awful. so you are my inspiration today

Bea

September 2, 2010 - 10:55pm

Oh my gosh, I have the giant pregnant belly and diastasis too! I'm so glad I read your post! I am going to try the exercises on that website ASAP. Thank you so much for listing it, as I am 112 lbs. and look like I am five months pregnant still (am now 8 wks pp).

I can't believe how much you are doing/going through. You are amazing for being able to handle it.

- Bea

Ribbit

September 6, 2010 - 9:11pm

Definitely helped, Bea.

I'm not sure I totally understand Nauli, but from what I've read Nauli is more a circular motion, whereas this was straight in. At any rate, I couldn't believe it actually worked. I didn't notice it till the next day when I glanced down to do the "belly check" and....it was gone!