possible prolapse, feeling very sad and panicky, can pelvic floor exercises help?

[kittywise]

oK I'm pretty sure I've got some sort of prolapse and I think it's in the back wall of my vagina.

I have 6 kids, they are all young, the youngest 9 months.

I have been fine up until a couple of days ago, no leaking etc, but for the last month I've had a really hacking cough and I thinkt that that is what has 'done it'.

I must confess though that I haven't been good with the old PFE , I reckoned that because I wasn't leaking then I didn't need to do them although now I'm doing them all the time, to late .

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE tell me that mild prolapses can be 'cured' with diligent exercising.

I'm feeling very scared. I've booked an appt with the dr next week.

If anyone has had one how long ddid it take for exercises to take effect?

Lifting weights would be REALLY bad for a prolapse. I'm sure mine is 90% down to constantly lifting my 15 month old DD who has low muscle tone and cant stand up yet!

Although maybe sitting and lifting things just with your arms wouldn't be so bad?

The physio told me that ideally I shouldn't lift anything heavier than 5lbs!!!! She said even putting a full kettle to the back of the worktop strains you.

There is a website called the whole woman, (I think), and she says that many forms of exercise e.g. pilates, yoga etc, traditionally favoured by women are not in fact good for females' pelvic floors.

I'll see if I can find the link.....

Here it is wholewoman.com/

bloody great I've been lifting a 12kg weight

I am Pelvic flooring my ass off as i read After having 6 children (and im not done yet) i'm ever so slightly concerned Kitty!

I have also been lax in the excercise dept. Have i left it too late?

I'll be interested to hear how you get on with your vibrator exerciser, kittywise. I couple of years ago when things weren't so bad I got a pelvic toner (like a plastic willie with a spring). This worked well but of course I got bored and blase and stopped using it.

Wish I'd carried on

Now it is quite uncomfortable to use, possibly because of post-menopausal thinning of tissues, but also because internally I am in such a collapsed state!

Otherwise I would recommend it to other people. The idea is that it provides resistance to the muscles, much like using equipment at the gym, and therefore helps in situations where people feel that they've been doing pelvic floors till they're blue in the face but with no obvious improvement.

LG&T, you're having more kids? Bloody hell. I can just about cope with the 6 I have. TBH the thought of the stress of another pg and pushing through of an enormous fat head through my fanjo makes me feel ill .

Hats off to you.

I kind of mourn the loss of my baby producing days, but I'd like to be doing something else now,it's tough though, saying 'goodbye' to something I've spent so long doing!.

Anyway baby no 6 is about as high maintenance as I've EVER come across, so he's put paid to more babies!

Anyway dp and I aren't having sex

Ok I want to know how I can maintain muscle tone and fitness. What sort of exercise can I do if I can't do the weights?. Can I 'run'.

I use the term loosely as running for me is really hobbling along and wheezing like an old hag . Any ideas anyone?

I've got one of those spring things too. I put it away as I couldn't tell how much it was being moved and I got fed up. I've also got one of those balloon type things you insert and blow up, it has a pressure gauge to show you how strongly you are squeezing.

Now you see, I bought the gadgets but was too bloody lazy to use them. Actually I bought the balloon thing to stretch me so that I would stand less chance of tearing and it worked, this was the first birth I didn't tear at all for and he had a HUGE unflexed head.

I will use my vibrator though

Springy things, ballons what am i missing! Must get on this or after the next one it will be me posting with the world falling out of me

Kitty my #6 is also my trickiest yet! Incredibly high maintenance and the worst birth by far. He was also 9lb 2oz. I wish there was a real stork

Course i love him though and at least he was a boy...

lg&t How many more do you want then?

Erm.... one more...no two...no one. You see my dilema

I have said if the next one behaves ( does not try and escape at 32 weeks like the last 2) and comes out with a straight forward labour then i may have 2 more.

If it all goes Pete Tong again then it will be 7 and no more! Personally i would quite like twins next, so would the twins.

We will see...

How on earth do you manage to feel like you're parenting them all 'properly'?

I feel like I'm just not enough to go round iyswim and that they need more of me than I have to give.

It's a nightmare when it comes to holidays and visiting people etc. I think for me now I want to be free of babies and toddlers do that I can do things with my older ones, like go up to London for the day.

Anyway I went for a 2 hour walk with all the family, dp and I had a double buggy each and 2 walking, and I feel better down below, strange isn't it?

I like the sound of your vibrator electrical impulse vibrator Kitty. Are they available on the NHS?

Kitty, my physio (from here on to be known as 'The Oracle'!) said walking and swimming were the most suitable types of exercise.

I am still hoping the ring pessary girls come back on this thread. Maybe I'll start a new one.

Merlot I've had a posterior vaginal repair and I'm now wondering if that means I can't get pregnant again or if I do, what are the implications and why, exactly, was I advised not to?

Has your oracle spoken on this?

No, my probs are anterior and uterine plus I've not had any type of repair, so topic hasn't been covered, sorry!

Thanks for the exercise advice

I don't know about the nhs, but I think boots hire out the one I'm buying, so you could give it a go.

I wonder if I can still go jogging?

I'm back!! Yes, you can definately have sex with the ring pessary in situ. Gengis, was it you I was emailing, can't remember your MN name?? The ring pessary is a circular doodaa that sits inside your fanjo permanently. Think of a large plastic bangle and you've got it . It is this big so your tampax/mooncup/partners dick can fit inside it . Mine is the reason I haven't had surgery as it keeps it in so well. I carry a very clingy one year old most of the day (who can walk) and I lift boxes a lot of the day/evening and can manage OK. I can't run or trampoline though- you know that feeling when your boobs bounce if not wearing a bra? Well the contents of my fanny/womb/uterus? feel like that- NICE!! I asked my gynae about having the surgery during my c section and she more or less laughed in my face and said it wasn't possible. I urge you other girls to ask about the ring pessary as it has literally saved my sanity and my relationship.

Hello again! Suwoo, we chatted about this in early december before things had got so bad down there! Know what you mean about the trampoline after enthusiastically launching myself onto (and very quickly off) my niece's. Thanks for answering the c-section question, I'm due to see the consultant in 2 weeks by which point I will be 24 weeks and will discuss mode of delivery. The midwives have been non-commital on the subject so far. The doc who was fitting my ring pessary described it as looking like a small dog toy!.
Like suwoo says this device has made me feel normal(albeit temporarily).

Gengis, really push for the c section, I did with the backing of my gynaecologist (although I did have a history of PPH and transfusion with DD so it may have swayed them a little). My prolapse has not worsened at all after my second pregnancy and I kept the ring pessary in throughout and through the actual delivery too, so don't let them tell you they have to take it out. Good luck with the pregnancy.

i too have a moderate prolapse - front and back passage - after my 3rd baby last august. i also had never heard of a prolapse before! have been doing phsio every week for about 3 months and it has really helped, including the electrical stimulation. some days i can't feel the prolapse at all, but i still don't feel comfortable running or jumping ...

i have heard that things can improve further once you stop breastfeeding. has anyone had this experience?

also, can anyone tell me where you can buy those electrical stimulation machines and whether they are any good? thanks!

i also have a prolapse front and back is it safe for me to have sex?

well its never stopped me and i have front and back aswell actually i think it sometimes helps tbh