I need a pelvic floor machine

[ICanTuckMyBoobsInMyPockets]

In peri.
On HRT for 6 months.

Had a 3 week cough and I've got a constant stream of wee, it's so horrible.

My pelvic floor has never been great, but 2 pregnancies with HG and a 2 week vomiting bug last year has really put an end to any control I had.

Can anyone recommend a pelvic floor machine. I can't just do them manually, I have ADHD and remember maybe 2 then it's gone.

I don't want to start looking online as I'll be flooded with ads.

Thanks

The Squeezy app sends you reminders on your phone three times a day and then guides you through the long and short exercises (takes maybe 2-3 minutes?). I’ve just had a reminder as I’ve typed this post, they’re annoying but effective! They might help, and be much cheaper than a machine?

I've recently had an nhs appointment with a pelvic floor physiotherapist . She has told me the machines should be as well as pelvic floor exercises .
Learn how to do them and 10 times a day x 2 .

Do them at a set times everyday until it becomes habit.

Try at same time as two things you do everyday such after waking up & going to bed . Cleaning your teeth morning & night . Driving to and from work , that sort of thing .

Go and see a pelvic physio. Lots of health care professionals - doctors, nurses and even midwives do not understand the complexity of the pelvic floor and expect you to squeeze daily. This can sometimes be making things worse as you could have lots of tension in your pelvic floor. If your knee was impinging on your daily life you would go and see a physio who would give you exercises tailored for your injury. It is the same for pelvic floor, it isn’t one size fits all. As it is something that mostly impacts women the understanding in the medical profession is woeful. You can get a NHS referral but there are also private pelvic floor physios where you will be seen to quicker. Honestly, I couldn’t recommend it enough! It isn’t something you have to put up with.

This is so interesting, I had no idea that the squeezes could make an existing issue/injury worse! Thank you

Can't remember the hospital department but was signposted to it from Gynecology due to a prolapse. I was given a machine for 6 weeks and reassessed after that. It worked so well I bought my own, this is the one. You can probably buy a different one a lot cheaper but I already knew this one actually worked for me.

https://shop.desmitmedical.com/neurotrac-continence-pelvic-floor-muscle-stimulator

EDIT - I highly recommend you start lower than you think you might need!!

You’re welcome. I didn’t know this either until I went to see a pelvic physio. The postnatal care of women in this country is shocking! So many prolapses and other gynaecological problems could be prevented. When you speak to women lots think they have to put up with incontinence or pain and that it is just part of being a woman who had a baby. It isn’t, it’s a result of terrible after care and advice.

Edited to add; the squeezes may not necessarily make it worse but they will do absolutely nothing to improve your issue if your issue is too much tension in the pelvic floor. You need proper breathing exercises and physio to release the tension. A bit like having a tight jaw and expecting it to get better by squeezing your jaw shut over and over again.

That makes sense! Every day is a school day 😊

Re. postnatal care, DS and I had our 6-8 week check this week and the sum of the ‘mum’ part of the check (I had a c section) was ‘how do you feel?’ No check of the wound/scar or pelvic floor or anything. I asked about exercise/running and the doctor said ‘if it feels fine, it is fine’, and that was that 🤷‍♀️ luckily I’ve signed up to postnatal pilates with a pelvic health/postnatal specialist physio who also does 1-1s, so have that contact in case I need it. But the postnatal GP check was pretty non-existent (although the GP was great and v thorough with DS).

Sorry for derailing your thread, OP! Shall duck out now 😊

Kegal 8 was good for me. Quite time consuming as I couldn't cope with walking about with it in - so had to get into bed! But I wfh so that was ok (as long as no one wanted a zoom chat!).
Also, rather than squeeze pulses - try to aim for long, slow pull-ups. If that makes sense. And pilates!

I was able to borrow a machine from the nhs gynae physio so that might be worth trying.

But, respectfully OP, if you can’t set a reminder or remember to do the exercises without a machine, how will it work just because you have a machine?

With the machine you have to go and wash your hands, put lube on the probe, which is attached to the machine by a wire, insert it and do the exercises and then wipe yourself, wash the probe and your hands and pack the machine away. Not something you can do while you’re in the bus to work!

Also, you are supposed to concentrate and contract your muscles with the machine, you don’t just leave it running in the back ground. It is a lot less faff just to learn to do the exercises yourself and then you can do them anytime, anywhere.

It is indeed! The exact same happened with me, no checks at all for me. I also asked about exercise and running and the GP said it would be fine. I experienced pain and discomfort when exercising (first baby so no idea what I was meant to be like or do) but I was in the fortunate position to afford a private physio, not every woman is. This is one of the reasons why we have one of the highest rate of prolapses in Europe. Good luck with your recovery! 🙌

Sorry OP!

I've got something called Perifit. This is a device you insert that connects to an app. There are two versions and the newest model has a smaller probe.

You set it according to how good/bad your PF is and it takes you through various exercises. It's a bit daunting at first holding your phone and trying to squeeze at different speeds to do the games on the app. Hard to describe but when you squeeze you might be trying to 'catch' an image on the screen and collecting as many as you can when they 'fly' past you! You start slow for about 1 minute of work-out.

The other thing a friend of mine is doing- through a women's physio- is using the MAPle device which is able to identify which muscles need strengthening so it's very individual. This is another small probe you insert.
I don't know if you can buy this and use it without a physios help.

I would seek professional assistance before you invest in anything. There is a whole industry wanting to sell us, gadgets, app, pads, pants etc when really, for many, medical intervention is needed.

Dont be scared. I tried the gadgets, the apps and never left home without spare pads. I even spent £25 a pair on washable incontinence pants!

In the end I had a consultation with a gynaecologist and nearly fainted when she said surgery was the only option. However, after having had the op, my life is changed a million percent for the better. No more worrying about smells, leaks, wet patches, distance from a loo.

Please don’t be embarrassed. Seek professional medical help.

Thanks for this, just looked and there are two apps from the same company Squeezy (£2.99) and Squeezy Connect (Free) - but can't see what the difference is between them, do you know?

Ignore that, can see the free version is for it you have registered through a clinic. 👍

pelvic floor trainers

Perifit that @HPBrownSauce mentioned, has very good reviews

Hi OP I don't have specific advice about devices/ physios.... But as a fellow ADHD person I found a failsafe way to remember kegels. The trick is to link them to something else you HAVE to do daily like brushing your teeth / washing up / commuting/ boiling kettle. Choose whichever one thing that works for you and make those two things (the task and kegels) inextricably linked. You might need a reminder (visual, alarm?) at first but in a few days you won't be able to do the task without sneaking in the kegels too.

In my experience they have really worked, along with pilates. But I think it probably takes a lot of time to build up.

Are you on localised oestrogen as part of your HRT? Can be a gamechanger

I don’t know, I’m afraid, sorry! I have the £2.99 version (or I remember paying something for it, at least 😊), but I’m not sure what the free one does

@WeAllHaveWings from their site

Squeezy is available either as a self-management app to help people with remembering to do their pelvic floor muscles exercises regularly and properly, or as

Squeezy Connect, which enables Clinicians to provide patients with a free and connected version of the Squeezy app. The patient gets the app for free while the clinician can monitor their adherence and share further resources.

Hi OP, the machines are awful. So painful
I tried three times with my physio and was in pain every time.

Also the lube gives you thrush.

Learn how to do the exercises, get checked for prolapse and get a prescription for Estriol cream with strengthens the wall between the bladder and vagina.

Can I ask which op you had. I’m getting a bit desperate myself.

Yes, @BabyJaneHudsonII What is this surgery?