Are pelvic floor exercises meant to cause bother? (poss TMI)

[BraveLilBear]

Well I had a baby, 6 months ago today. He was yanked out with forceps and with help of episiotomy after he got stuck.

Before he arrived I had a kick-ass pelvic floor. I had been doing exercises for years and regularly took part in very high impact sport, never had any problems during pregnancy either.

I don't have any symptoms (altho there was a suspect odour the one time I've been out for a run) but I am still getting dull dragging pain through the epi scar area after a strenuous days or when I need a number 2.

The vaginal opening is less gappy than it was but I can still see both the front and back walls of it, close to the entrance, and there is also a weird dimple on the front wall, below the urethra.

Thinking that PFEs will save us all, I have been doing them fairly regularly. But when I do them, it makes the scarring hurt for a few days. It also makes me um a gassy lady.

Should they hurt? Am I doing them wrong? The GP said nothing about the visible walls/dimple when she had a look at 12 weeks postnatal. But it can't be right can it?

It's ridiculous but it's making me feel really miserable. I miss running, am too scared to go again, and sex is painful and miserable. I keep doing the exercises but not seeing any improvement and the discomfort is putting me off.

Hi Brave. I'm 24 months post forceps/episiotomy and have just got back to 'normal'. I had pain aroind the scar and internaly -trapped nevrve - for 18 minths, painful sx until fairly recently.

I think what you are describing is normal, although obviously check with dictor/gynae for peace of mind and better explanations!

My PF was like iron pre-DS, but forceps take a LOT out of you. I wouldn't recommend running for at least another six months. Running is a high pressure exercise on your pelvis: every 'step' whilst running is something like 2.5x your weight centred on your pelvis. I was told not to even jog lightly!!!

I hope you feel better soon

Ask to see an obstetric physio to discuss the exercises and she will advise. It might be worth massaging the scar tissue with oil to soften it as it may be quite hard.

I don't want to worry you, but I think you should see your GP and be checked for prolapse. Make sure they examine you standing up - lying down can hide any problems. What is this 'dimple'? Can you feel your cervix in addition to the dimple?

Hopefully all is well as you just need a bit of physio/pfes. You should see a gynae physio, not a general one. Again, this can be through your gp.

The dimple is definitely not the cervix - had coil put in at 12 weeks postnatal and the cervix is miles away in a cavernous bit that wasn't cavernous before

I thought it was a hole into the urethra/bladder when I initially noticed it. It also smells a bit like wee :( it's about half a centimetre in diameter and at least that deep - can't see the bottom of it and it grosses me out if I touch it too closely. It's about an inch below the urethra, and an inch above the v opening which now looks like a H rather than a 0.

It was exactly like this when I had the coil fitted and dr said the pain was just the nerves knitting back together.

At the 8 week check (where she didn't check anything) she breezily dismissed my concerns saying that it takes at least a year to recover from giving birth.

Don't feel very confident I'll be taken seriously if I ask for help but it can't hurt to try I guess.

Thanks for the input - will be gutted if I can't run for a year. My mental health needs it!