secret society

Yeah – It’s a secret society all right, probably the biggest one on the face of the planet! Look around you and realize that it’s everywhere.

First let me say that I sucked and tucked for decades, and never once felt “right” in my body. I would see pictures of myself and hate how awkward and slumped I looked. I’m not talking about a gawky kid, mind you, but a woman in her 40’s and 50’s.

Since I found this posture, I have never felt so comfortable in my body, never stood so tall and proud. All this work is about not only prolapse, but the health of hips and spine as we age. I no longer live in fear of worsening symptoms, or of sometimes having to do something that makes my organs complain….because I know that correct posture and exercise and the tools in Christine’s tool bag will bring things back to manageable. This is all about maintenance, not a quick fix but a different way to live in your body, for always.

Sex – works just fine. May need minor adjustments and plenty of lube. Many discussion threads to be found on this forum. Lots of men don’t even notice anything. Be as open with him as the situation calls for, up to your level of comfort.

You have some back issues, so take it slow with the posture. We all got some soreness when we first started using those muscles and joints in the correct way. But your body will tell you if you’re going too fast or if something is not agreeing with you. After you get a feel for how things are going, you might want to consider a personal consult with Christine or another teacher.

You’re in that period of shock and grief that we all know so well. Be thankful that you didn’t go down the path of your mom. Relax, you are now part of the club that eventually includes most of us! Some luckier than others (and I’m talking about you, me, and the rest of us here). Welcome and good luck - Surviving

Hi CEP

Yes, I was on the committee of that secret society - the best tummy sucker and butt tucker in the west. No more.

I go along with Surviving's words. I would add that if you take a curvy branch of a tree and try to straighten it out, it will try and twist as you straighten it, and may crack. Another bit will pop out sideways to compensate. I think this is the source of a lot of scoliosis and different leg lengths. When we try and straighten the spine that is designed to be curved, the bit that pops out the side is the bit that makes the sacrum crooked, which means that the pelvis is not level horizontally, and may be further in front on one side. The acetabula are at different heights, so the legs appear to be different lengths. I know it is not the whole story with scoliosis but it is a factor that we have some control over.

My improvement, 'cele wise and back pain wise, has gone on for many years. I hope yours does too.

Your mother was made into a eunuch, but thankfully you have been spared that fate. Welcome to the rest of your life.

Louise

Thank you for sharing your mom's story. Best wishes to you!

Thanks CEP. It is important that we preserve these stories of the skills of the old midwives.

I am sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. I see that you are new here and I have to ask you how the posture is coming along...that is key to improvement. Have you sorted out the relaxed tummy (crucial) and uplifted chest and crown of head lifting upwards? Are these aspects of carrying yourself beginning to be a part of your normal day? It is not in the diagnosis that you will find relief, but in the ownership of this posture. Stress can be a difficult thing and maybe you felt some with the holiday commitments and all. Look to yourself at this time and commit to this beautiful posture and within a couple of weeks you may be well enough to report bits of improvement. Most of us on this site have shared in your feeling of shock in the unknowing of this condition and the upset that it causes. Most of us on this site can also share our improvements when we have taken this posture to be our own.....posture, good diet, proper elimination, good WW exercise. Can you share with us how you are doing with regards to the posture, walking in WW, and gentle beginnings to WW exercise? I send you love and best wishes.

Great that you are studying the site. There is so much here to get you started. Great also that you have ordered and will hopefully receive your package soon. One of the rest positions that helped me a lot in the early days was knees and elbows. If you can get into that position and stay in it for 5-10 minutes just relaxing, you might gain some relief immediately. Don't hesitate to keep posting questions. Best wishes to you.

Hi CEP - I'm a little concerned when you say you are in so much pain you are considering going to the ER. We are not medical people here....... we can't tell you that you're OK, or that you aren't OK. We are for the most part, just prolapsed women trying to help each other.

If you are having serious back pain, more than just the typical discomfort you might experience from a new form of exercise, then you need to ease up. Most of us, when we start out doing this work, do not experience anything more than a type of soreness that would be normal as a result of working underused muscles and joints. And, we all overdo at times, especially around the holidays.

We also can't really help you find a doctor, as there are few if any who really understand female anatomy and prolapse. You are seeing a chiropractor, which in my understanding is a specialty that has the potential to be most receptive to WW principles (as opposed to the gynecological approach which unfortunately has it ALL wrong).

Take it easy for awhile. Rest up, see how you feel in a day or so. - Surviving

Hi CEP
It sounds to me as if you are experiencing a lot of fear right now. Christmas has taken its toll on you, having everyone at your place. I did this too. My lovely eldest son has finally left, and at last I can get some normality happening.

I had some symptoms in the run up to Christmas, when I did a massive cleanup, sorting and chucking my daughter's teenage and young adult clothes and other stuff, that she basically refused to deal with. It was an emotionally harrowing experience, was mentally and physically demanding. We now have our dining room back, which is nice, and everybody appreciated a bit of cleanliness and order, which they have not had for a long time. i feel quite wearied by it, but there is still the stuff to evaluate, that was shoved in corners in bags and boxes for later attention. I felt harassed by my husband to get it done, and am dreading more harassment to finish the job. As if I need that. That's the end of my boohoo story. Maybe it is him. Maybe it is simply my fragility and vulnerability showing.

We are allowed to be fearful, vulnerable, fragile and helpless and hopeless. The mistake we make is assuming that this is the way it is always going to be, and that we need someone with 'authority' in a white coat to tell us what we already know.

All we really need is some reassurance that all is well, the setback is temporary, and we know the basics of the techniques that we need to pull out of our tool box and use. That is all you can do. It is not likely that the bleeding is serious. You have some inflammation and irritation happening, and now Christmas is over you can get back to posture, diet, clothing, seating, lifting properly, and exercising appropriately.

Anti-inflammatory diet - minimally processed food, nothing out of packets with a long ingredients list, no refined carbs (including simple sugars), no whole grains, lots of fruit and veg, enough protein, not too much animal protein), more omega 3 fatty acids, less omega 6.

When we are stressed (and who is not stressed by Christmas, as enjoyable as it can be?), we unconsciously curl up to protect ourselves. We hunch over, tuck the butt, pull in the tummy, and our sympathetic nervous system goes ballistic, putting us into 'fight or flight' mode. We lose the mindfulness in how we move, because we simply have to 'move', in order to deal with the threats of overload, and our perceptions of what others expect of us. We tend to ignore self-nurture in an effort to nurture others. Now you need to balance this up by going into 'rest, recover and rebuild your inner resources' mode. We need to consciously relax all the muscles in our body, remodel the posture, breathe slower, and do whatever we can to feed ourselves serenity, healing and recovery.

OK, dry the tears, write about it, identify the feelings you are experiencing, and challenge the realities around you, by working out what actions you can take to get yourself feeling better. Then get on with healing yourself. Yes, you can. Be gentle on yourself.

Louise

Hi CEP

Just picking up on the weight loss that you mention. 50 lb is a lot of weight to lose. Well done. However, losing weight rapidly (you don't mention how quickly) can leave you feeling like your skin is too big, for some time. If your skin was feeling too big after the weight loss, chances are that your connective tissue inside of you was also feeling too big, and would have needed to shrink, and catch up to the smaller amount of fat around your organs and in your body cavities, as well as on the outside, that you could see.

We say to women who have had a baby that there body will revert on the inside in about two years. Losing weight quickly is not unlike birthing a baby. You suddenly lose a lot of fluid, then your pregnancy weight as well, and often over quite a short period of time. Postpartum prolapse often does not occur until a couple of months after the birth, rather than immediately. We don't know why, but it may be to do with losing fluid and fat in the pelvic cavity in the first few weeks, ie the extra volume of fluid and fat in the pelvic cavity takes up space and prevents the uterus and bladder from coming down low in the (stretched) vagina, until a few weeks have passed. Then often follows three or more months when it seems to get worse, then in the latter part of the first year postpartum the real reversion of connective tissue starts, and continues for another year or so.

I am telling you this because Members post stories of prolapse appearing about 12 months after losing a lot of weight. We are so proud of these women, but they are feeling very let down because the price they pay is that POP suddenly appears or worsens. However, it does seem to improve, specially once the woman understands Whole Woman principles and is able to apply them herself to maintaining where she is POP-wise, until her connective tissue can catch up with its reversion. So this may be the case with you, that in the longer term you will be much better. Once you understand the principles better and can see for yourself what is possible, your grief and fear of the unknown will dissipate.

There are no guarantees with Whole Woman work, but patience and persistence, a lot of learning, and a little faith, will give it the best chance possible of reducing your prolapse to manageable levels.

By the way, talking to older women about prolapse, like about pregnancy and childbirth, can be fraught with horror stories, which are emotional reactions to crises that women face in their lives. I really don't understand why woman often catastrophise about 'how bad it was for me', when they could respond in much more positive and encouraging ways. Take it with a pinch of salt. ;-)

Louise

Hi CEP

You might still find that you will get further reversion. We really don't know much about it. I hope so, anyway. The fact remains that you are where you are, and you have lots of tools available through Whole Woman that you can use for improving your condition. It would be great if you could do some diary entries as background for looking back on it later. Hope your bundle arrives soon.

Louise

I mean that even though your weight loss was, in your description, slow, you might find that your connective tissue, which keeps the shape of the internal workings of your body stable and in place, may shrink more over time, so that it matches the shape of your skin and your skeleton.

Here is an illustration of fascia fibres, probably drawn from a microscope slide by one of the old anatomists, http://www.trisoma.com/myofascial-release.html You can see that they are all curved and curly. You can google images of fascia, and discover how fascia works throughout the body to keep us the right shape. There are often more fibres in one particular direction or crossing over each other. I find it quite fascinating.

Anyway, you can imagine that if you get a lot of fat growing around organs, and inside muscles, these fascia fibres will stretch out. When the fat cells shrink again it takes them some time to become curly again. If you have ever prepared suet for a Christmas pudding from scratch, you have to mince the fat from around an ox kidney. It looks like solid fat, but it has a lot of fascia fibres running through it in all directions. they can be quite tight and tough, but can be torn apart to separate the fat into manageable lumps for putting through the mincer. Poor cow.

Does that make it any clearer?

I think it can be. If the theory about these curly fascia fibres sticking together is true, myofascial release can only assist your fascia to revert to a smaller size. Myofascial release is, I think, a name for a particular modality. However, it is a generic technique too, with similar modalities, eg Bowen, Bowtech, etc.