Downhill with physical therapy (kegals)

Body: 

Kegals again, I can hear you groaning Christine. My story ... when I found a woman's specialist pt who herself has a uterine prolapse & has avoided surgery through exercises I thought it was my lucky day. Before pt I practiced the pose (still do), took herbs, & managed quite well with whatever discomfort (prolapse dropping) coming in the evening. With pt I am going downhill. Now my uterus is low from the time I'm in an upright position & much more is visible,looks like it will drop right out! Seems to me the opening is getting weaker not stronger. I was impressed that my pt does work with the whole body including posture & other exercises & of course with her own success. However, the main focus here is still on kegals. A drastic change for me has been bowel movements & this frightens me. Past two weeks I went from being very regular to loose diarreha like bm's. Anyone have this problem? At this point I agree Christine, kegals don't work & I'm concerned I may have damaged something. What to do now??? I'm a believer in exercise & logic tells me that should work but all the pt's stress kegals. Going back to the gyn will probably put me in a direction I don't want to go -- help anyone?

Come take a class! :-)

Christine, I would if I could but Albuquerque isn't around the corner for me. Should I be concerned about the change in bm's? I've been under a lot of stress for other reasons & wonder if that is contributing to my lack of success with pt.

The diarrhea could be anything, Vitality, but is not a symptom associated with prolapse. As far as your prolapse condition worsening, it may be that because of where you are at this time of life (the shape of your musculoskeletal system, hormone levels, etc.) your organs were sort of perched to come down a bit more anyway, no matter what you did. The important thing to know is that your uterus/bladder can only come so far and will stabilize. The level of prolapse you describe as new for you is what many of the women here have been dealing with for years. Keep pulling up through the posture, walk using large movements of your arms, and try to avoid exercises where you are laying on your back and over-tensing your abdominal muscles.

Forgive me, Vitality, as I say this only for the benefit of all the women here, but your last statement "Going back to the gyn will probably put me in a direction I don't want to go" sounds like a sheep! Our doctors WORK FOR US to provide the benefit of their perspective and knowledge. We should utilize them just as we would any other data point along the path of recreating our own health, not as authority figures who might make us do something we don't want to do.

my prolapse got worse soon after I started with this posture. I don't think it was due to the posture though. It was already a work in progress and unfortunately there was nothing I could have done at that point to prevent it. I came here with a cystocele and now I am pretty sure I have a universal prolapse. It is frustrating, that's for sure! But I know that this posture is beneficial, I am feeling better physically as well as in mind and spirit.
try a kegel-hiatus and see what happens.
Have you discussed this with your PT? If so, what are her thoughts as to why your uterus is lower?

I’m so looking forward to hearing how things change for you over time, Granolamom. The surgeons tell us they virtually never see prolapse solely in one “compartment”, but rather the whole jellied mass seems to change its shape and the organs shift to reflect that. My situation is a bit different, in that the shift was very sudden and the mass was still in an okay position (maybe), but unnaturally moving my front wall forward caused a more pronounced drop in the central compartment. Who can really compare, but I’ve often thought I’d rather deal with “nature’s pessary.”

I will keep you posted, that's for sure, Christine.
I am truly saddened by your story, I wish you could have managed this the way you are teaching us to. I hope you find a (tiny) bit of comfort in that you have save many a woman. In fact, I feel as though you and everyone else here are my personal cheering squad.
I so like the term 'nature's pessary' and in fact, that's what kept me from panicking when I realized my uterus was low too. I know it won't fall out, my bladder and rectum are keeping it in. and for the record, I believe I've got a urethrocele as well. I am thankful each and every day that the only symptoms I have are some pressure and the psychological part of it. No pain. No incontinence. Sex is great. So I am truly blessed.

I second your-- No pain. No incontinence. Sex is great. So I am truly blessed. :) And that calling this nature's pessary is comforting and lends normalacy to this condition.
Jane