Posts by jadebadger78

Amanda Howard84 said:So, I was reading up on how you can drink herbal tea made from marshmallow root and raspberry leaf to help strengthen the connective tissue when dealing with pelvic organ prolapse. My only question is—is that actually safe for us while we're breastfeeding? 🤷

Apparently, breastfeeding tanks your estrogen levels, which just makes the whole prolapse issue even worse. Then once your period finally shows up, the estrogen spikes back up and things hopefully stabilize.

I swear, I never thought I'd see the day where I'm actually looking forward to my period. 🙄

Now you gotta tell me where the heck I can find this tea and what exactly it's supposed to be? 😂

Honestly, I’m not exactly throwing a party when my period arrives either, but I’m really crossing my fingers that things start feeling better once it hits. 😁

Ugh, honestly... I don't even know what to tell you... things are better, but we're moving at a snail's pace here.

I usually do my Kegel Pelvic floor Exerciser sessions in the evening because I totally forget about them during the day and just can't find the time, but in the morning, I’ll pop a weight in while I'm making the beds, getting breakfast ready, or vacuuming. And hey, I finally had a breakthrough today—I actually managed to hold the 10g weight for a full 15 minutes!
But now this 15g one... I'm barely hitting a few seconds. It's honestly pathetic how slow this is going, but then again, when I remember that just a few months ago I couldn't even hold an empty weight, I guess it counts as progress.

(The instructions are in English, but seriously, just ask me anything you want to know and I'll walk you through it.)

As for the support belt, I'm not sure. My doctor didn't mention anything about one, but he did tell me I need to drop the weight ASAP, since carrying extra pounds is one of the main reasons your bladder gets pushed down while all those muscles are still weak.

Just a heads-up though: my baby is over 17 pounds now, and even though I try not to hold him constantly unless I'm working out, he basically spends half our walks in my arms. I have no idea how "not lifting" is supposed to work for moms like us, but at least try to resist picking up other heavy stuff, like those massive grocery bags from Target or whatever.

Drew Wright35 said:Look, I’m from Mexico and our gynecologists here have this annoying habit of totally brushing off this issue. To me, it’s huge, especially because it drags all this mental health stuff along with it. But I can tell you for sure, if you get a referral at the hospital, you can actually get uterine prolapse surgery done. I don't know... I'm guessing you guys are from America. Speaking of surgeries, honestly, I think even aesthetic procedures should be covered by insurance. Some women are practically crippled after a vaginal birth, but if you even dare to bring it up at the clinic, they give you the coldest shoulder imaginable. It's like they think it's just "part of the deal" with having a baby. They hit you with stuff like, "You're a mother now, stop worrying about your anatomy or your husband, just focus on the baby! You've got weak muscles, just go home!" It’s ridiculous. I find that attitude completely unacceptable because it just pushes women deeper into frustration and self-doubt. How much does that kind of surgery cost over there? And what stage of prolapse are you dealing with?

I am right there with you—it's the exact same story in America.
What stage do I have? Beats me. 🤷 I didn't even realize there were different types until my doctor finally mentioned it...
As for the surgery, I think it runs around $8,000$5.00, but I'm not 100% certain, maybe someone else here has more up-to-date info.

Look, here’s the plan... I’ve decided I’m going to stick with this and really grind through the exercises for at least three months. If I don't see some actual progress by then, I'm heading straight to my doctor to talk about surgery options..

Honestly, though, I feel like I might be seeing a tiny bit of improvement already... or maybe I’m just kidding myself to stay positive. 🤷

Drew Wright35 said:Look, I don't have any personal experience with this since I haven't dealt with that whole unpleasant mess myself. Usually, it’s stuff women deal with a bit later in life—not necessarily right after giving birth—but hey, there aren't any hard rules. I'm just saying what's typical. "Vaginoplasty" is such a broad term, though; it covers a ton of different procedures. You can do all sorts of genital corrections, cosmetic touch-ups, tightening things up, fixing botched episiotomies, or even dealing with postpartum incontinence caused by bad tearing and weak pelvic floor muscles... But here's the kicker: the most important part is that a successful surgery actually fixes uterine or bladder prolapse. It surgically moves the uterus back where it belongs and secures it, so a woman is basically cured immediately. She doesn't have to waste months suffering through those useless exercises that, if you ask me, don't do squat and are just a massive waste of precious time. Worst of all, women get depressed over this stuff, which absolutely wrecks their sex lives or, in the worst cases, kills them entirely.

There are three different threads on this forum and not one single person with actual experience has bothered to chime in...

Meanwhile, I'm stuck "grinding" through these exercises because I can't afford the surgery... As far as my doctor is concerned, it's classified as an elective cosmetic procedure (at least at my stage in life), and let me tell you, the price tag is insane.

Sophia Wells72 said:Look, girls, I honestly don't know what else to tell you. Maybe stop overdoing it with those weights? 🤷
I have zero clue how that gadget even works.

Maybe you're just doing it wrong because the whole thing is actually super simple, not strenuous or anything—it's more like when you really need to pee and you're trying your hardest to hold it in. (Forgive the goofy description, I seriously don't know how else to put it 😂)

And it’s honestly amazing during an orgasm because the contractions are intense (speaking from experience!), plus during sex, you can sometimes control how much you squeeze, which can actually make things way better for your partner too.

Obviously, don't go overboard or you'll end up causing damage. Just remember, any time of day, in any situation, just do a little squeeze, then relax. It's totally subtle, nobody will ever notice you're doing it. 😬

My take is that most women unconsciously "clench" at least during their first real OB-GYN exam, and the doctor has to ask them to relax. 😁
Personally, I find myself clenching completely subconsciously whenever I jump into a cold pool in the summer. 😁

I totally get what you're saying... but imagine being in a spot where you ask your partner to tell you when they feel you squeezing those muscles... you're squeezing like crazy and he's like "I don't feel anything"... or you try to hold your bladder and it still leaks anyway...😢

Drew Wright35 said:Look, honey, you're dealing with what's called uterine prolapse. Honestly, I don't think Kegel's exercises are going to do squat for you at this stage. Those things might help prevent a prolapse from happening in the first place, but once it's already there? You're looking at surgery—nothing else is going to fix it. A vaginoplasty can sort these kinds of issues out pretty quickly and easily. Seriously, go get a second opinion because your doctor is totally downplaying this, and you need to address it ASAP. Uterine prolapse is incredibly uncomfortable, and it often happens after vaginal births—especially if things were rough, like needing forceps or a vacuum, or if the baby was just huge. Even a nagging cough can make those symptoms feel ten times worse. Find a doctor who actually takes you seriously. Estrogen, pessaries, or Kegel's won't cure a prolapse. Hang in there!

Have you actually dealt with this before? Can you walk us through some more details about how the surgery actually works?

jadebadger78 said:it's pretty much the same story for me; I looked everywhere for them, but finally, about two weeks ago, I just ordered some off eBay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aquaflex-P...24605585635412
but now I’m feeling totally depressed because I can’t even hold onto the easiest 😢

Anyway, I gotta brag a little—after about 20 days, I can actually hold this easiest one for maybe 5 minutes without it slipping out! 🙂
I still have a massive mountain to climb, obviously, but things are looking up, I think.

Honestly though, it blows my mind that this thread is so dead. In real life, I hear all the time that almost every other woman is either dealing with this right now or has dealt with it before. 🤷

I’m really hoping it actually works 😢
Honestly, I just need someone to chime in and tell me they’ve actually been through this. My biggest fear—and I mean my absolute biggest fear—is that I'll end up having to deal with this via surgery in the end.

Nancy Davis, I swear, every time I try to do these exercises, I end up just clenching my abs or my glutes instead of doing it right. I read somewhere that’s totally wrong, which is why I went ahead and ordered some weights
.
And once I have the extra cash, I'm definitely grabbing this too http://www.reddit.com
. I think I saw something similar over at Target..

Sophia Hughes6, have you actually used one of these? How long does it honestly take before you start seeing any actual progress?
Right now, after a week and a half, I can barely hold the easiest setting for about a minute. I am nowhere near that 20-minute goal they promise, so I'm terrified it'll take me a whole year just to work my way up to the hardest level 😢.
Unless I end up needing surgery before then
.

Nancy Davis said:After I gave birth, my OB-GYN told me my uterus had actually started to prolapse. She said I seriously need to start doing Kegel exercises to fix things up before they get even worse...

Since I’m honestly not even sure if I'm doing them right, I wanted to find something more effective. I did some digging and found out about those pelvic floor weights—you know, those sets of four different weighted cones you insert and try to hold in? I remember seeing them back in the day at Target,
but they don't carry them there anymore. Does anyone have any idea where else I can hunt these down?

I'm in pretty much the exact same boat and searched everywhere for them! I finally just gave up and ordered a set through eBay two weeks ago.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aquaflex-P...24605585635412
But now I'm just sitting here feeling super depressed because I can't even hold the lightest one in.😢

So, I finally bit the bullet and bought some ankle weights, right? But here’s the kicker—they won't stay on for even a second. They just keep sliding right off, even when I've got the lightest pair imaginable. Seriously, does anyone have any tips to stop them from falling off, or maybe just some words of encouragement to stop me from throwing them straight out the window?😢