Stress incontinence postpartum

[Friendlee]

What can I do about this? Kegels don't seem to do me much good.

I have a huge mental block with exercising. I just HATE it so much. I am a hard worker and I do a lot to keep the family on budget, house clean, meals healthy, husband happy, etc. And working out is kind of the one thing my brain just refuses to do. HOWEVER, I finally got myself onto the treadmill at 8 months postpartum...I know, I know, it's been a long time!

I walked to warm up and then started jogging and urine seemed to just pour out of me with every step. By the end (1/2 hour with probably only an intermittent 6 minutes total of actual jogging) I had peed my pants. Thank goodness I was at home and not in public at a gym because it was very noticeable.

Sometimes I just feel so resentful of the HUGE job it is to be a mother....staying up all night, bleeding and cracked nipples, worrying, hormonal imbalance, hot flashes, 4th degree tear, serious adrenal fatigue etc and so on...I keep telling myself it's worth it because look at this little treasure I have. But I'm feeling like I have really just ruined my body for her. Why does it have to be that way? Why is it that a friend of mine started running just a few weeks after her baby was born and she's had no issues at all? Okay, those are rhetorical questions, but the real question is, what can I do about this besides the seemingly pointless kegels?


P.S. I thought "health and healing" was too broad and that this post was more suited to LWAB...sorry moderators, if this is misplaced.

[tzs]

weird timing because i just got home from an appointment with an incontinence clinic at our hospital's womens' heath clinic. i'm 9 months out and although it has gotten better i still have stress inc. and worry about it if i want to get preggos again.

anyway, there's all sorts of stuff that they can do apparently. they did an ultrasound to make sure the bladder is being fully emptied. there's biofeedback, there's a minor surgery that they can do if you are done having kids. right now they put me on a no caffeine, no artificial sweeteners etc... and 60-80 kegels a day (apparently any less is the same as doing none) and then back in two weeks to re-evaluate. make sure you're trying to hold out as long as you can without going instead of peeing all the time because you can put your body into a habit. they even say that once you get your strength back you can have all the caffeine etc you want. so i'm hopeful but it is so so frustrating. i have a friend with 9 kids and she was like "you have that problem after only one?!" well, yeah, and thanks.

[Friendlee]

So I wonder if I just don't know how to do kegels...I do it just like I would stop the flow of urine, but after about 3 I can't tell if that's what I'm doing or not. I just squeeze the whole pelvic floor I think. But I'm not sure if I'm localizing the squeeze to the vaginal wall or not and then I feel like I'm wasting my efforts. I even tried one of those tools that you insert and then slowly crank it open. (It clicks when you've squeezed in the right area and you make it harder and harder to squeeze as you get stronger.) But, I put in, opened it and decided it was opened to much and when I cranked it closed it felt like my skin was in the gaping open part and like it was squeezing my vaginal wall and then I was scared to pull it out! Kind of traumatizing and never used it again.

I'm interested in the possible surgery, although I'm definitely not done having kids, so maybe in a few years.

I wish there was a certain kegel description that resonated with me so that I could visualize it correctly and feel confident that I was doing it right.

I've actually been to a myofascial release session for vaginal pain, and they had me do kegels and didn't say I was doing it wrong...but maybe considering my issue they didn't expect much strength. It was very uncomfortable and very expensive so I haven't been back.

[Mamanoley]

http://mamasweat.blogspot.com/2010/0...s-are-not.html


^^^^^^THAT!!!!
I don't post here often but when I feel like I can share something someone needs to read I will, I just read this article last week and started doing some research, my midwife agrees it seems kegels are not what we once thought they were!

Wall squats were suggested by another midwife who agreed as well.

[Friendlee]

Very interesting!! I will look into wall squats. Thank you!

Why is it that a lot of mother's survive on caffeine, even if only a small daily dose, due to the nature of their situation (little sleep, need for vigilence, job endurance 24 hours a day) and yet, it's so commonly suggested to lay off the caffeine. It's not fair!!!!! **clutching onto my venti iced coffee for dear life** But, don't worry, I'm fully aware that caffeine is not a good thing to be reliant upon. But when you're put through the ringer, you want to be allowed a few vices, ya know?!?

[annettemarie]

I'm going to move this to Birth and Beyond since it's a post-birth issue and not about parenting a baby. You could also try Health and Healing. Good luck!

[kltroy]

get a referral for a Physical Therapist who specializes in this stuff (may be under the heading of "women's health" or pelvic floor, etc etc. ). These folks are worth their weight in gold. There is a LOT you can do, but having some coaching and biofeedback can help. I had a related problem (prolapse) after my last birth, and my PT was able to help me get it 100% fixed over about a 9 month period. My daughter just turned 2 and I run a few times a week and am still symptom free. Anyway, one of the things I learned about kegels is that you have to really isolate your pelvic floor muscles. this means no tensing your abs, butt, anything else. JUST pelvic floor. My PT used real-time ultrasound to show me how the muscles were working so that I could get it right -- that really helped.

Anyway, that would be my first move. See where you are after giving it a good try. Your health insurance should cover it.

[Friendlee]

If anyone else finds themselves here in this thread because they are also having this problem, let me just say that the artical provided by Mamanoley was really fascinating!! Led me to other websites and to the purchase of the stretching and exercise video, "Down There, for Women". Can't wait til it gets here!

kiltroy, thanks for that suggestion. I actually already was referred to a physical therapist who specializes in this. It was the myofascial experience I referred to. She happens to also specialize in myofascial healing. I went to several sessions, but the whole kegel and relaxation of muscles was so confusing and elusive to me...I lay there doing what she said to do, but it didn't feel promising in the least. And, as I said, it was super pricey. Unfortunately it was not covered by insurance. And now we have new insurance (preventative only) and I know it still won't be covered. boo. At least last time they covered the chiropractor. I would really like to get pregnant again soon, but this time I won't waste my time kegeling. Or at least I won't focus on it. I will be squatting!!!

Thanks again Mamanoley!

Oh and kiltroy, you're absolutely right about the isolation of the pelvic floor when squeezing. That's really important for women to know...they shouldn't be squeezing abs, butt, etc or they aren't doing it correctly. I think that's why I'd felt confused for so long about Kegels. I could not figure out how to do it without everything contracting.

[kltroy]

Wanted to add that this is another, possibly lower cost, option that can help. My PT recommended it as a good program for incontenance and POP.

http://www.totalcontrolprogram.com/bladder_health.php

They do seminars all over the place and they've got several publications with exercises and videos etc.

[CI Mama]

Originally Posted by Friendlee

Sometimes I just feel so resentful of the HUGE job it is to be a mother....staying up all night, bleeding and cracked nipples, worrying, hormonal imbalance, hot flashes, 4th degree tear, serious adrenal fatigue etc and so on...I keep telling myself it's worth it because look at this little treasure I have. But I'm feeling like I have really just ruined my body for her. Why does it have to be that way? Why is it that a friend of mine started running just a few weeks after her baby was born and she's had no issues at all? Okay, those are rhetorical questions, but the real question is, what can I do about this besides the seemingly pointless kegels?[/I]

Rhetorical questions, but thanks for asking them because I ask them, too!!!

Some days I just feel like I can't handle everything that I'm expected to do. And I wish that my body would just be...easier. Just lose weight, get sleep, and be happy, dammit!!!