16 weeks, managing prolapse

Submitted by Panda86 on November 23, 2012 - 7:13am
Body: 

Hey all, I haven't been on in quite a while- things have been quite crazy here. But so many of you have been there to encourage me and answer a ton of questions, so I wanted to update everyone. :)
I am now 16 1/2 weeks in my pregnancy, and so far I am managing the prolapse pretty well. A lot of it comes down to my attitude, and just getting to the point where I have accepted it as part of daily life. My husband has been very understanding, which helps a lot. There are still days where the heaviness or bulging is a bit worse, and then there are days when I almost feel nothing at all. Usually I can pinpoint what is going to set it off. My doctor has been very supportive, and even listened when I told her about the WW posture. She thought it was quite interesting, and you could tell it was probably against what she had been taught, but she didn't say anything negative. She asks me how the POP is doing at every prenatal appointment, which I appreciate. Sometimes its just nice to have someone ask... since its not something I regularly discuss.
I still mourn that I can't run, but I may try again sometime in the future well after I have the baby... I know that some ladies with POP still do. But for now, I got an elliptical, and that's almost the same thing. It doesn't seem to jay things around. It is slightly difficult to stay in WW posture on it though, so that is something I need to work on.
I still have days where I am really discouraged, but on those days, I always keep in mind that I have a whole bunch of ladies on here that are awesome, and ready and willing to encourage me when I am feeling down. I really, really appreciate it.
I am still hoping that things will improve around 20 weeks, when the baby gets big enough that it doesn't fit so much into the pelvic area... If it does, I will let you know. If it doesn't, I may have to come back for some encouragement from you Mama's that have gone through this. I will admit that I am still fearful of labor and delivery making the whole thing much worse. That does scare me... But I will be discussing birthing positions to my doctor- so if any of you have any more good positions for birth, please let me know!
Again, thank you for all of your encouragement and support. What a relief to know that there is such a group of understanding women!

Forum:

Surviving60

November 23, 2012 - 8:03am

Great to hear from you, Panda. I’m glad things are going well. I suspect that the level of prolapse support that you are getting from your doc is about the best that most of us can expect from the medical profession – I’ll give her a gold star for now!

I want to caution you about the elliptical. When you are much more experienced with the posture, you will be in a position to tell which activities you can modify, and you’ll know how things that are prolapse-friendly should make you feel. Until then, if you are doing something that you can’t easily do in WW posture, then I think that is a danger sign. I personally won’t do any exercise that I can’t do in posture. I mainly walk (on treadmill if necessary) but I also do WW workouts and have modified a few other moves for this purpose. Anything that can’t be done in posture has been discarded, permanently.

Being pregnant should be a natural time to settle into posture, because every day things are weighted more and more towards the front! But I can’t say…..I didn’t start this when I was pregnant, thought I wish with all my heart that I had.

You’ll be fine! Keep us posted. - Surviving

Panda86

November 28, 2012 - 4:09pm

Thanks, Surviving :) Because I live in the Northwestern Corner of Montana, its now too cold to walk outside. Temperatures have been in the 30s, and I have two kids all day. I don't own a treadmill, and at the moment I can't afford one- the elliptical is one I am borrowing for now. I am sure walking would be a bit better, but I guess in my case, I figure something is better than nothing. It is a challenge, but I am mindful of my posture, and finding it slowly becoming easier when I am on the elliptical, especially if I move my hands from the moving handles to the stationary ones. It probably works a little less, but it seems easier for the posture. So far I haven't noticed the elliptical causing any change in the POP. I don't go very fast on it though, so I am not bouncing around much. I am hoping to get a stationary bike at some point... which I enjoy much more than the treadmill, but that may be a ways down the road. But I figure everything would be well-supported on the stationary bike, and I can sit in WW posture (I won't be buying the kind that is for spinning and has you hunched over). Thanks so much for the advice, and I will make sure that I am mindful of everything.
My doctor has been pretty good about everything- I definitely need to discuss birthing positions with her, and "feel her out" about all that. I really hope that she does not advise me to labor on my back, as this would definitely show a lack of understanding about POP... I guess we'll see. But I live in a very small town, so my options are limited. That's why I am trying to get as much information and advice about the birth process with a POP as possible.