I've just seen a physio about my diastasis recti - she says it is 3 fingers wide at its widest point but is very deep which means my connective tissues are very poor and I need to take collagen powder to restore them.
I was a bit blindsided by the whole thing - I knew I had a gap but it is so much better than it was and I have started running a bit again and doing some circuits (no sit-ups, but some planks) and was really starting to feel better about myself after 2 fairly traumatic pregnancies and CSs in less than 2 years. So her pronouncements of gloom ("leaky old lady" is sticking in my mind) really took me by surprise and to be honest, i just wanted to leave so I could go and have a nice cry in the car. I've done that now, and I will seek some more help for my poor tummy (not from her though!!)....but do I need this collagen powder? She also suggested rosehip oil for my "dreadful stretch marks" which sounds expensive and unnecessary....is the collagen powder in the same camp or should I invest?
Chat to other fitness enthusiasts on our Exercise forum.
Exercise
Do I need collagen powder to heal my DR?
PersisFord · 16/01/2016 09:08
Pretty sure the powder won't help
It'll just be broken down into the constituent amino acids a d absorbed rather than being absorbed whole as collagen which can be used.
IMO just a good diet with sufficient protein should be fine.
I'm
that she called you a leaky old lady
AFAIK you're best with specialist help for this but she sounds like a bitch
Can you go to someone else?
What about a Pilate's instructor with experience of diastis recti?
Thank you!! I left in the pits of despair but am glad I didn't get suckered into buying anything from her. And I am 35 and I have had 2 children - I'm ok with not looking like I did at 18! But I hadn't thought of myself as an old lady.
People are so mean, aren't they? The first time I ventured out with my PFB in a sling someone handed me a flyer for slimming world. Don't think I left the house again for a fortnight!
She said 45g of protein a day, of which 15 should be her special powders. Is that a sensible amount to aim for?! I just normally eat normal things I think - a few too many biscuits maybe. But I think you can get an app to track it so I will if it will help.
The stretch marks are neither here nor there, I am not (or wasn't!) bothered by them, they aren't why I went to see her, and I'm pretty upset that she decided to comment on them!!
Would Pilates help? I'm not after a flat stomach but it is depressing to still look quite so pregnant.
Thanks again, and 
for being so nice. It's made me cry again, but in a good way!
of which 15 should be her special powders
she's a bloomin' snake oil sales person...or snake powder
Pilates is generally regarded as good for helping you to 'get in touch with your core' perhaps see if you can get a recommendation from someone who has had similar problems?
You deserve someone professional, well trained and kind:)
I've had another little cry at the thought of someone well trained, professional and kind!! That would be lovely, and worth looking hard for. I was pretty ready to give up and become a recluse but maybe it's not necessary! 
and Pilates classes would be a nice way to get out of the house and meet people so 2 birds with one stone.
I'm not really doing it at the moment -, having to do exercises (from the physio, ironically), for qn arthritic shoulder so am concentratjng on that for a while.
Depends on how far you want to take really. There's the Core lrogramme which is about 15-20 mins of stretching and gentle abs stuff, plus some basic squats/lunges. You follow that for about12 wks, but you stay on each level until you're strong enough to move on. If you add the Focus elenent, you'll do the core stuff every day but add in three or four more intensivecsessions a week, lasting about 25 mins each. Plus, no matter what, you aim to walk for half an hour a day.
I never got beyond week three of core (spent about a month on each level), and the gap was closing but I opened it again running for a train 
.
It is quite time-consuming but you can fit it in by doing small biys throughout the day rather than in one go, and I got quite good at doing it in front of the telly at night!
On the website there's a list of recomnended women's physios/physical therapists. Might ne a good starting point seeing one of those. Out of interest, how did you know had a dr? I didn't think many people got diagnosed as medics don't generally know much about it.
She does come across as a bit wacky
Perhaps KB is a maverick biomechanic
Wow, I am lost . I think I'll go to my GP and discuss it. The problem I have is that I am quite unlikely to do any exercises due to having no real interest in my body anymore - does that sound weird? So I know academically that it would be a good thing for me to be in better shape, and I know that my core is weak, and I know i would look better if it wasn't....but I feel like all my motivation was just slapped out of me because I will never have a flat tummy again and will always have stretch marks and a caesarean scar, and what's the point, really? And if incontinence is really inevitable then I will just have to be incontinent.
Sorry, you've all been really helpful. I just think I'm not ready to tackle such an enormous obstacle!
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
You are right, and very nice.
I think once I got started it would prob be ok. I'm just a bit tired and miserable, and it took a lot of energy and organisation to arrange the physio appointment in the first place!
I think I will talk to the GP about physio, and maybe try and get to a Pilates class - I like getting out the house and seeing people, and hopefully at some stage the baby will start sleeping and I will have the energy! You're right, i should think less about what I look like and more about being strong and healing myself. And if it makes me feel a bit more positive in general then it is a good thing!!
Thanks again 
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.