Cystocele

Submitted by Audrey14 on June 13, 2018 - 10:15pm
Body: 

Hi ladies..
I'm stuck and I don't know what to do, I'm sick of being in pain and discomfort every day.
So 11.5 weeks ago I had my 3rd baby (2nd vaginal birth, 2nd bub was an emergency cs).
The birth was a very fast, pushed for 10 minutes, the labour was fast but EXTREMELY hard as baby I was induced and baby was posterior the whole time. I had 2nd degree tearing which involved the perineal muscle, vaginal muscle and the pelvic floor. At 3.5 week postpartum I got my front camera on my phone to check the damage down there and noticed there was a bit of a bulge inside my vagina. I had only just heard about pelvic organ prolapse and that childbirth was one of the biggest contributers, I was also unaware that doing kegel exercises helped to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and prevented pelvic organ prolapse.. so after discovering the lump and only learning about pelvic organ prolapses I automatically thought this isn't right I think I've got a prolapse.. anyway I went on for a week and started to feel a burning pain like I was getting a UTI, so I went to my GP to check for a UTI and I also got her to check for a prolapse, she told me to lay down and she had a look got me to bear down etc and she said "yes you have a mild cystocele, keep doing kegel exercises every day and it will improve, there's nothing kegel exercises can't fix".. and that was that for the prolapse, she didn't recommend anything else. I didn't have a UTI and she didn't say what the pain was from.
I was told to do kegel exercises during and after my pregnancies and birthday but I wasn't told why, I guess it's common sense to some but to me I had no clue, if I had of known that doing my kegel exercises would have helped prevent a prolapse I would have done them every day!
Anyway so now I'm 11.5 weeks postpartum and I still get this horrible burning pain like a UTI come and go, and it has been like that for 8 weeks now. I can't deal with it any longer, I'm assuming it's got something to do with my pelvic floor. It makes me feel miserable and angry. I need to lose 25kgs so I started walking 3kms on my treadmill every day last week and had done my 7th day in a row on Monday, Monday afternoon came and I was in pain and couldn't empty my bladder properly, that's when I noticed that my bladder not being emptied properly was causing the really bad burning pain. After researching all over the internet I found out that I think I have a hyperactive pelvic floor as well as the mild to moderate cystocele. I need some help. How do I ease the pain and discomfort. The thought of not being able to lift more than 5kgs for the rest of my life and all of the other things I shouldn't be doing really saddens me as I'm only 24, I have so much life ahead of me and am already suffering with this. I really want to lose weight with walking and eating healthy as I think walking helps a lot and makes me feels much more happier and positive but I can't even do that without being in pain. Would a women's health physio actually help?

Forum:

Aging gracefully

June 14, 2018 - 6:37pm

Hi Audrey14 and welcome,
Since you have found yourself onto the whole woman site, the answers we are going to give you are from a whole woman perspective. Read around the site to get a better idea of what whole woman is all about as it will help you better understand what you are going through and what to do about it.
First of all, contrary to what you have been told, kegels are the worst thing you can do for prolapse. Just go onto the blog here and you will find many articles that Christine has written about them.
Another important thing you should know is that it can take up to 2 full years to completely heal after having a baby, so your symptoms may just disappear on their own, although, with the help of whole woman posture, you can start to see better improvement that will last a lifetime.
Lastly, the best thing you can do for yourself right now is start to learn everything you can about whole woman posture and what Christine has written about it. Go to the tool bar above and read all you can about this very important work. Also, check out the forum for more stories from our other postpartum moms. Lots of great stuff here on this site to get you started on your journey with whole woman.

Surviving60

June 14, 2018 - 7:16pm

Hi and welcome.....I agree with AG above; and it would make more sense for you to review our content here, then come back afterwards with your questions.

Let me say this about kegels. I developed cystocele and rectocele only AFTER years and years of kegeling. Kegels pull the organs INTO the vaginal space, which is exactly where you don't want them.

Happy researching! - Surviving

Typicalme

June 19, 2018 - 11:01am

Hi Audrey - the burning feeling doesn't sound right, especially if you don't have a uti.... but for your cystocele - all the advice you got isn't going to help.... all you've heard your whole life about pelvic floor and kegels is not correct.
the good news is you're in a post partum healing phase for the next 1-2 years... prolapse often happens after childbirth but it can and does happen to women in all phases of life, whether or not they had children so you are in a good spot to reverse some of this and also to prevent it form getting worse in the future....
walking is going to be very helpful to you once you walk the correct way! it'll help your prolapse symptoms. however if you're walking in the wrong posture you may be making things worse (same goes for lifting your kids in the wrong posture, breathing wrong etc etc).
try to make sure you empty your bladder fully as often as possible (at least once a day tho) - lean way forward when peeing and/or pee on all 4s in the shower.
get on hands and knees/elbows and knees when you're playing with your kids on the floor and relax your belly to let everything fall forward where it belongs....
also read the blogs on here, search the forums - you'll find many women living successfully with all kinds of prolapses. you can lift more than 5kgs, you can walk/run/hike and bike, you'll be able to do anything you want to do with the right modifications so fear not...