The "new" kegel

Submitted by Aranina on March 17, 2017 - 7:12pm
Body: 

I'm completely devastated by prolapse. I'm 7 weeks postpartum. I'm angry, anxious, and overwhelmed with this incurable problem.
I've scoured the internet hundreds of times. I've spent just as many hours reading everything over and over again.
I'm in pain.
It hurts to sit on a toilet. It's like my entire pelvic floor is stressed and stretched to where it hurts so bad and the only relief is getting off the open seat. As if the open seat allows everything to press down harder and sag as much as possible.

I have uterine prolapse and I'm certain a large cystocele as I can see it knocking on my vaginal opening. It hurts and is so irritated during the day. I'm on the mini pill, so the extra lubrication isn't making it dry and rubbing. It's to the point that I feel it laying down and I don't get any relief.
I saw my OB at 3.5 pp because I found it. He said I had a "small uterine prolapse" and that it'll tighten back up on it's own. He also said my uterus is tilted.
Um, he didn't find my bladder because I was laying down. It's gotten worse.

I'm now getting tailbone pain and pressure in my perineum. There is obviously my bladder and I can feel my cervix (which I've never in my life been able to touch before) and there is a super soft spongy part on the back side. I feel like I can keep pushing it up and it never finds it's "home".

I have requested another appointment with my obgyn at the request of my husband. I doubt it'll be worth my time and money.
I've also started a pelvic floor/basket workout. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
I've also tried the "new Kegel". I am not impressed. I actually feel like the back and forth motion and pressure is forcing my bladder out even more.
I do not have the money to buy books/dvd's right now (hello birth bills).

Please tell me someone else has had a bad cystocele, uterine prolapse, and possibly enterocele get it all to go back into place after the 6 week postpartum healing period. I'm so scared my tilted and fallen uterus is allowing my ligaments to heal in a weakened and stretched state.

I also have a very large apron and fupa that doesn't help the situation. It's not going anywhere and will always hang and put a downward pressure on my pelvic organs.

I've been working on a natural posture for a few weeks. My back aches all day, every day. I don't believe my back is meant to be in the exaggerated curve.

Basically, my laundry list of complaints. My GAD has been thrown into a massive over time. I don't believe my anxiety has been to this level before.

I'm at such a loss because I'm not feeling or seeing any progress in anything and rather seeing it all get worse. :(

Forum:

Surviving60

March 18, 2017 - 5:22am

Hi Aranina and welcome to Whole Woman. If you have read extensively on the forum, you will have found many stories just like your own. What you describe is all pretty normal for 7 weeks PP and Christine does a good job of explaining in her book, why PP prolapse follows a common cycle of development. It takes at least 2 years for the body to fully recover, and what you do now (in terms of posture and lifestyle) can make a huge difference. It is not a quick fix, which of course is what everyone wants.

The forum is not a substitute for an individual commitment to this work.....it is intended to help you as you go along. WW has many different products and offers several generous sales and promotions throughout the year. When you are ready to commit, we can certainly offer suggestions and be here for you every step of the way. But critiquing Whole Woman or assessing your progress before you have even begun, isn't helpful for you, and does a disservice to other newbies. Relax, take a deep breath, keep reading and doing your research until you are ready. You're right about the OBGYN. Nothing helpful will be coming out of that camp. - Surviving

Aranina

March 19, 2017 - 5:16pm

I'm in pain every day- enough to bring me to tears. I'm not easily brought to tears from pain. I've had two completely natural, and painful births. I don't think that is "normal" for where I am post partum. It's my second baby and my first I never once felt this way.

I've been working on posture and a few different exercises for about 4 weeks now and I've only felt worse.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to buy anything, but I was hoping for some suggestions and support in the forums. I am completely consumed by this and it's quite literally destroying my life and family.

I'm at the point of asking for something, anything, at my obgyn (it's that painful for me and it's not even outside my body yet) appointment when I get it. I'm considering a pessary in hopes that it might get my uterus up and out and tilted the correct direction.
I cannot live like this. If I didn't have the pain, it wouldn't be as bad I would think, but the pubic and pelvic pain is insufferable long term.

I'm just looking for some comfort and maybe someone else who has gone through pain with prolapse. Maybe some guidance, too.

Aging gracefully

March 19, 2017 - 5:33pm

Aranina,
Extreme pain is not normally associated with prolapse, although there are some of us that have had some aching and burning, initially. If you are having that kind of pain, it may be in your best interest to go get checked out by a physician.
Whole woman isn't something you learn from the forum, because you are only getting bits and pieces of it, at best. The work itself is the only way really understand what your body is going through and all the techniques to help you through.
Our postpartum moms do very well with this work, and there are so many programs geared toward the postpartum experience.
So, go get checked out to make sure you don't have something more serious going on, and you can read over some of the older posts from our postpartum moms as you may find things that you can relate to in their experiences.
Best wishes to you.

Surviving60

March 19, 2017 - 6:56pm

A couple more thoughts.

Tailbone pain in particular is extremely common....if you put that in the search box above, you will find page after page after page of discussion threads on it.

Every birth is different and every birth changes us. The fact that you can reach your cervix now, should not seem so terribly alarming. It certainly does not make you any kind of candidate for a pessary. Pessary use in general aggravates prolapse more than anything else, by holding the vagina open instead of encouraging it to remain a closed airless space (as proper posture will do, because you are holding the organs forward). Pessaries have been known to cause new onset rectocele.

Please try to deal with this without making life too difficult for the rest of your family. See if you can get some relief by getting down on hands and knees (or elbows and knees) and just letting the organs gently rest in the lower belly. This should feel good and this is the dynamic the WW posture tries to preserve when we are upright. It takes time and work. - Surviving

Aranina

March 20, 2017 - 11:07am

I had a surprise sneeze last night and felt a ripping or tearing type feeling in my V. I looked and the dang bulge decided to drop to it's lowest yet (right even with the opening instead of 1/4 inch in).
I've been working on posture for a while and doing a handful of exercises and things like this make me feel like it's hopeless.
I have a tilted uterus after birth which I believe allowed the uterine prolapse to happen (hey, why not, it's a gaping hole after birth, right? lol) and I'm afraid that it allowed my ligaments to heal in a stretched position- which is why I am considering asking for a pessary. I'm hoping that it can put my uterus back where it belongs to let my body finish healing properly. My V isn't a closed and airless space between the cystocele and uterine prolapse. Even when I can pull up the bladder it's still an open hole of shame.

I have a doc appt tomorrow morning. I hope it's not some retained pregnancy/birth issue.

Oh- having trouble emptying my bladder and splinting, jiggling, hula hooping and voodoo doesn't help it. I feel like it's constantly full.

Thank you for the feedback, I really do appreciate it. I've been searching the forums and the internets endlessly.

Aranina

March 20, 2017 - 11:09am

Oh- and I do knee to chest every day and kneel with my butt in the air in all it's glory for like 5-10 minutes at a time multiple times a day when I can and it only relieves it while I'm down in that position.

Surviving60

March 20, 2017 - 11:29am

The whole idea of posture is to maintain that dynamic when you stand up. It doesn't happen overnight. As Christine says, we are four-legged animals from the hips down. - Surviving

Aranina

March 20, 2017 - 11:41am

Do you have any suggestions for how to lift my uterus and put it back forward so I can get it all back into place and keep it there with posture on a daily basis? I'm not sure the hands and knees is letting it come all the way back up and out (I don't know how to test that?). I know that the posture isn't pulling it out since it's like an inch from exposure.

Thanks! :)

Surviving60

March 20, 2017 - 11:56am

You have to learn firebreathing. Those with a more profound uterine prolapse generally have good luck just shoving it up over the pubic bone and then firebreathing like mad, and then over time it will stay in longer and longer. Yours doesn't sound that low, so maybe FB alone would help greatly. - Surviving

Aranina

March 20, 2017 - 12:09pm

Thank you.
I'm well versed in belly breathing as I'm a musician, but I'll do some fire breath too.

Surviving60

March 20, 2017 - 12:16pm

If you do not have any of Christine's materials, and aren't planning to get any, then you won't actually be doing firebreathing the WW way. You are trying to do things your way, with our help, but you really can't have it both ways. Best of luck though. - Surviving

Aranina

March 20, 2017 - 12:56pm

Oh. Well, thank you for your support. It's appreciated.