Grade one cystocele postpartum - worried!

Submitted by Megan6915 on October 4, 2015 - 8:43pm
Body: 

Hello!
I am new to this site. I gave birth to my first baby 17 weeks ago. During my pregnancy I experienced a lot of pain in my pubic bone and had pubic symphysis diastis. At about 8 weeks I began working out and started experiencing pelvic pain and pressure. A few weeks later I went to see my midwife and she said that I had a destabilized pelvic floor. She referred me to a pelvic floor physical therapist who told me I had a very mild grade one cystocele or prolapsed bladder as well as too tight or hypertonic muscles in other areas of my pelvic floor. I've been so anxious about this diagnosis. I've been doing therapy for a few weeks now and I've definitely noticed some improvement, but there are still many days where I'm feeling so much pressure and heaviness that I feel very limited in my everyday life. I'm afraid that I will make this situation worse! I'm usually a very active person who loves exercising and I'm used to being very independent. I saw a gynecologist for a second opinion and she said that its great that I'm doing physical therapy but that she might not even consider my situation as a true prolapse but more of in the range of normal for someone at this point postpartum. She was very confident that time and and increase in estrogen once I stop breastfeeding would correct this issue.

Does anyone have an experience like this? I think my prolapse must be very mild. When the physical therapist tested for the prolapse she had me bare down while she checked internally. At first she didn't feel anything until I pushed harder. She and the dr both felt that this was a very minor prolapse if there was one at all. However my symptoms make me worried it is worse than they think.

Is this something that will completely resolve as more time passes in my postpartum recovery?

Thank you for your help!

Forum:

first time mama...

October 4, 2015 - 10:17pm

At this stage you are early in your recovery but you will need to fully engage in the WW approach. Let go of your pre-baby exercising mindset for now. You can do exercise but only that which helps and not hinders your progress. I was too stubborn and uninformed when I was where you are now and I know that set me back. You have reason to be optimistic. it's okay to be sad and sometimes cry also. It's an up and down path.

Surviving60

October 5, 2015 - 4:56am

Hi Megan and welcome. Your "pelvic floor" is not "destabilzed", you have given birth is all! Your story is quite typical and illustrates everything that is wrong with conventional medicine's treatment of post-partum moms (and this includes your midwife). I don't know what your working out consisted of, but I can guess that it involved moves and exercises that were not supportive of your pelvic organs. Now, at 17 weeks you can and should certainly move, but you need to learn what to do and how to do it, and that is where Whole Woman posture comes in. When you entered this forum you probably didn't stop to read the welcome page, but it did explain that we are here to support women who are engaged in the Whole Woman work. If you haven't familiarized yourself with it yet, go to the Resources tab and watch the first video you will find there. - Surviving

Megan6915

October 5, 2015 - 8:51am

Thank you for your replies. I've ordered the surviving the whole woman book and I've been working on using the posture. I still have a lot to learn but I'm really committed to recovering and relearning how to hold my body. I now know I need to give my body time to heal and grow stronger, but eventually will I be able to run and chase my kids around or pick up my baby when she grows bigger? I'm just afraid that I will feel so limited forever.
Also have you experienced more pain while wearing pantyhose or heels? Will this improve? Thank you again for your guidance!

Surviving60

October 5, 2015 - 10:44am

I would avoid heels, and any garment that restricts the belly at all. You need to be totally relaxed there, with chest strongly lifted to create a nice wide-radius lumbar curvature. Running with this curvature in place, up on the balls of your feet (NOT heel-strike-first) is actually quite good for prolapse. Christine has a whole little video devoted to this. You can do pretty much anything with prolapse, it's a question of how you hold your body. Carrying a child or anything else can be an effective way to keep the vagina closed off against the organs pressing into that space......again, IF you are in correct posture. Take care lifting to plant your feet firmly, protect lumbar curvature and the acute angle of the body, and keep the object close to your body as you lift. You will find this work very freeing! - Surviving

cali2015

October 6, 2015 - 8:21pm

hi Megan,
I am in virtually the same boat as you but a few weeks behind (i am 6 weeks pp). I am feeling the exact same way.
i would love to chat with you privately if you are open to that! I think we will be on a similar journey of recovery and would love to share what my OBs have said about my bladder prolapse as well.
send me your email if you would like to connect!
-SJE

Surviving60

October 7, 2015 - 4:38am

Please do not post any email addresses on the forum. This information is not shared, as the privacy of our members is of the utmost importance. Have your discussions here.....we are all in this boat too, and many can benefit from what you have to share. - Surviving