separated stomach muscles after twins - any hope after all this time?

[mumsgonemad123]

i had twins over two years ago. (they are 2.5 now) The day after i had them, before i left hospital there was quite a big deal made over the fact that i had about a 6 inch seperation of my stomach muscles. Was told i would need physiotherapy etc. I got home the next day and was so busy and overwhelmed looking after newborn twins that i never really gave it another thought, my stomach was the least of my worries!! Two and a half years later and finally feel like i want to do something about it.

I did see a doctor early on and about 12 weeks after giving birth i did have an ultrasound which just confirmed the large gap, i was refered for physio but only attended 3 sessions and never really did the exercises at home. i feel a bit embarrased to go back to the docs as they will just wonder why i didnt attend the physio before and in any case i know the exercises i need to do.

I just wonder if i have missed the window of opportunity now to change it, i have weight to lose as well. any success stories, advice would be very much appreciated. i feel i have a mountain to climb, got about 30lbs to shift and presumably a lot of crunches / abs work to do.......

Ask for a referral to Physiotherapy at your local hospital and they should assess you etc. I have similar problem and am now on waiting list. I started doing some exercises and gentle yoga and they started to tighten up a little but then I stopped and put on a small amount of weight and I think I am back to square one. Start really slowly though and crunches aren't actually the way to go. There are lateral exercises and ones that just involve lifting the head and holding it (or feet a little bit) are way more effective. Plus if you get the breathing wrong then you are training for a pot belly. Don't be embarrassed to go back to doc, you had twins for christsake. I didn't have the time and I had two children 20months apart.

I had the same problem, only I really couldn't move around well because of it (couldn't walk propertly, or lift my head of the floor if I was lying down), so I did do the exercises they set, and the returned to only around a 2 inch gap which I've had ever since. Can't see any reason why they wouldn't go back with the exercises whenever you do them, and they may well have gone back a bit on their own, through normal activity. If you're carrying a bit of extra weight around it could be hard to tell so your GP might be able to advise on whether that's happened.

My gap wasn't 6 inches but it was 6 fingers - so the width of my hand(ish). I was also told I would need physio but that didn't happen and I didn't do too much for ages to be honest as I was so busy with the DTs...but I found it did begin to close up after a while on its own and when I felt able to do some exercises I used the Tupler (Lose your Mummy Tummy)book.

They really did work but it takes time. The exercises are not crunches as that will pull the diastasis wider apart, you need to close the long muscles round your abdomen. I still have a tiny dip still that I can feel when lying on my back and tensing my muscles, maybe under 0.5cm, but otherwise pretty ok. My DTs are 6. You are not too late! Good luck.

thankyou for all your replies, you have given me some hope! a month on now from my original post and i have lost around 9lbs in weight. i have a plan to concentrate on losing weight first and getting fit in general and then will see if i can get a physio referral. I read on another thread, just as Pandsbear says, that the wrong type of abs exercise can actually make the problem worse as you will end up with two separate strong sides of muscle instead of working on them joining. Dont want that to happen so i think i will see an expert rather than doing straightforward crunches !