Very embarrassed...very scared

[alexsmum]

I have got a 14 week old baby,who was born vaginally weighing 8lb13oz. The past couple of days maybe a week, I have felt that things seem a tad..loose down below.I had a feel earlier this evening and it feels like the walls of my vagina have kind of collapsed and are bulging somewhat.Got dh to have a look and he said there is something soft obstructing the hole. I'm going to the drs in the morning and i'm furiously doing pelvic floor exercises.Has anyone experienced anything like this? Is it a prolapse?
I'm really scared.

alexsmum

please try not to worry (easier said than done I know).

I do remember feeling as though something was falling out and although I dont recall what the midwife told me when she had a look, I do know that it was nothing serious and the feeling soon went away.

You're doing the best thing going to the doctors but I wouldn't do too many pelvic floor exercises tonight or you might tighten yourself up so much that the Doc wont be able to have a good look!

Hope all's okay.

I remember the first time i had alook sad cow i got a mirror and put it on the floor and thought god if i lite a torch and opened my mouth it would shine, good luck at the DRSxxxxx

Sounds like it could be but don't be scared. I don't know what the recovery time is but I had a similar feeling when DS was 8 months old. My GP referred me to the physio who prescribed various pelvic floor excercises which I am still lax about doing.

Am now a further 8 months on and expecting baby number 2 in 3 months. It really feels like it's collapsed now and the physio has said it will probably need intensive treatment a few weeks after the baby is born (DS was 9'11 and I fear this one will be bigger). I have had a couple of very minor 'incidents' when sneezing but otherwise everything feels fine - just different.

It's just one of the annoying aspects of having these lovely babies. I read somewhere 20% have a prolapse after 1 baby and it rises to something like 70% after 3 so I am not alone.

My physio did say that women should do PFE every day for the rest of their lives as it is a very weak muscle. Cheery thought. Please don't worry.

alexsmum .... how many children do you have ? I would be surprised if it was a prolapse unless this is not your first ... Good Luck at the Doctors and well done for going.

crystaltips,this is my 2nd baby and my first was a fair size as well..8lb 8oz.
sashaboo, your message was reassuring.I've been surfing the net for info(as you do)and one site was saying that treatment was surgery and often a hysterectomy was performed at the same time.How terrifying is that.I'm normally one to ignore things and hope that they go away but this just seems like something too important to do that.I'm only a young woman, I don't want my bits ruined for life!!!

alexsmum - don't panic, a couple of my friends have had prolapses and they are doing fine now (apparently - obviously I only have their word for it ) Don't overdo the exercises - just let things be until you see your GP. Good luck.

just to add to other messages - my friend had prollapse after her first but had her second about 10 months ago and is absolutely fine. Just had to do lots of pelvic floor excercises.

Think how much your body has to stretch to accommodate and give birth to a baby. It is quite miraculous really. I was told by a doctor once that it takes two years for your body to recover from the process, so you mustn't expect to feel it should be back to normal after 14 weeks. You are right to seek assurance though - even if only to discount the slight chance of something more complicated.

I expect you'll be told not to worry, just to keep up the pelvic floor exercises. Please let us know how you get on at the docs.

Do let us know how you get on, alexsmum. You're definitely not alone. A friend of mine had quite a bad prolapse after her second (a difficult vaginal breech birth) and had to have some specialised physiotherapy. But she's fine now, and no surgery or anything.

Alexsmum, indeed, don't panic! Even if surgery is required it needn't be a hysterectomy. My friend had a severe prolapse after 4 children, which was repaired by sewing all the bits back into place. She was out running again 10 days later and if she wants more children (unlikely but...) she can have them. I believe some ops can even be done through the vagina so you don't have a scar. Hope the appt goes well.

You are not alone - 7 months after birth (number 1) I am suffering from a prolapse - I too was v depressed about it and also surfed the net desperate for answers - the net can be quite scary sometimes - tells you how your sex life will be affected (it wont!!!) I did all the agonising - asking "why me" etc etc. Dont panic I think it is more common than people realise (a friend also suffers after first born and she is even younger than me - i.e.

oops pFe's not pVe's !

hi alexsmum - i also had a prolapse after second birth. sounds pretty similar - basically when wiping myself after the loo i found a lump which obstructed the opening of my vagina. i was pretty scared, but basically ask your doctor to refer you to a womens physiotherapist - i know a great one in north london if you live round here. what they will do is basically assess the strength of your pelvic floor by inserting a probe like thing which you have to try and squeeze (notice i said try as i couldn't squeeze the damn thing at all!). then depending on the outcome of that - most likely you will have to return once a week for some physio work - basically again a probe is inserted which is attached to some wires and they give you some sort of like electric shock treatment to shock the muscles and nerves to reconnect and mend. this sound horrific i know, but really there is absolutely no major discomfort - it feels a bit like a buzzing feeling rather than pain/ shocks. should only take 5/6 weeks ish depending on severity. my nerve endings were shot to peices so it has been taking a bit longer with me, and actually i just found out i'm preggers again so my treatment has had to stop until after next one. also, you will need to do loads of pelvic floor exercises - i'm meant to do them every hour which ends up being much less!
i hope this info is useful - i've tried to be as informative and realistic as possible - don't worry though - it will be sorted out - i know its pretty depressing at first though.

whoops - i must have killed this thread with too much detail!

hello everyone,i'm sorry its taken me so longto reply to all your very reassuring messages. Basically I went along to see my GP who said yes there was a degree of prolapse and told me to do lots of pfe's and some sit ups and that she was sure things would go back .She said to keep an eye on it and if I started to have any problems with my waterworks or my bowels to go back and see her.She said the baby was big and he's still very young and these things happen.
some days it's feeling ok and others I really feel like my insides are about to fall out,and I'm worrried about sex..is it ok to carry on?
After all it is Christmas!!! Can't let dh wait till next year!!!!

Message withdrawn

sex is fine. i did worry that it would be different for my dh but he assures me its not. just have a couple of drinks and go for it !!!!!

forgot to ask - why the situps ??? my physio cautioned me about doing too many of these as it can put too much pressure on the pfloor - if u do them u need to do the pfe's at the same time - easier said than done - hard enuff doing one or the other let alone both.......