Tuesday, March 31, 2015

From an 8-9 finger gap to a 1-2 finger gap!!

Big Tummy updates for those that are interested or going through your own journey of healing after giving birth. This is long...and conversational....
For a few days, I totally believed I would need tummy surgery, and wouldn’t be able to pick Chase up for 6 weeks. The first doctor (sports doc) I talked to that actually KNEW what diastasis recti was told me I wouldn’t be able to support another baby without the surgery. Because he was the first doctor to actually address the issue, I believed everything he said. I posted on Facebook to get surgeon recommendations, and I had more doctor appointments for more opinions scheduled but not for a few weeks.
As the next few days went by I started to calm down and gather more information. I found moms through my mommy facebook page that have had the surgery, but I found most of them waited until AFTER they were done having kids. Many told me they tried PT only to find that the gap just wouldn’t close. I also found another woman who had a 6 finger gap and healed it back to a 3 finger gap in 18 months. There were so many kinds of stories out there. While small gaps are common (most don’t even know what it is or how to heal it), larger ones certainly aren’t that rare either (I found a lot of women online dealing with issues similar to mine). However, with so many different stories out there, I still didn’t know what to expect with my particular case.
I called my lactation specialist who was my angel the first few months with Chase. I couldn’t have breastfeed without her and valued her opinion. She told me to breathe and that I could have a baby whenever I wanted to and that I just might have to wear a girdle to support my belly (which I did with the first pregnancy anyway because my belly was HUGE). She said I am super strong and my body can definitely handle it. Okay, that isn’t so bad….still more info to go...
In the meantime, I am trying to get a damn script for PT. I wanted a freaking physical therapist to look at me and see what he/she thought about it. You would think I was trying to get a script for vicodin.
I called the OB office, and they refused to give me one since this was a post baby issue. The sports doctor refused to write me a PT script and told me if could heal this on my own then he would write an article about me.
I went back to the primary care doctor I saw. She told me originally that they “don’t do that” for DR since nothing is “wrong.” She did tell me after I saw the surgeon she recommended to me to call back if I still wanted the script. Okay, great….. I’ll have a surgeon feel around in there and see what they say.
I called the surgeon’s office, and they don’t want to see me without a CT. A CT???? I mean sure if I NEED a CT I will get one but can’t someone just FEELING MY F@#$ING STOMACH and give me an opinion first? If nothing is “wrong,” why do I need a CT? The hunt continues….
Next up...I had TWO really good PTs recommended to me that specialize in women issues, and they both knew the size of my gap and STILL wanted to see me. There was hope! I realized that I might need surgery but why not at least TRY to do it on my own or at least get an OPINION from someone that works with muscles all the time. With shaking hands, I called back the primary care office and asked for the script….I had to wait a day to see if it went through and it did. Thank goodness.
I met my PT. She really knew her stuff, and she also had been Crossfitting for 6 months and loving it. This helped because she could tell me what to do/not to do at the gym. For the most part I was on the right track with my Crossfit modifications- that was good news! I left the first appointment hopeful but realistic. She said she can’t make any promises but that we could try a few things. 1) she did some muscle release and massaging of my c section scar. The problem was that my abs were in the wrong place AND they were really strong and tight (so they weren’t moving). 2) She gave me some more intense stuff to do than the MuTu program I was doing at home. Basically, I squeeze together my fat, skin, and rectus abdominus muscles and do a slight sit up using my transverse abdominus. I started just barely lifting my chin but now she has me actually lift up my shoulders. I do this a few times a day.
Next up...an appointment with my old gynecologist (she doesn’t do deliveries anymore). She is amazing, so I had to wait 3 weeks to see her but it was well worth it. She knew what DR was and was so calm and helpful. The good news was I didn’t have a hernia (which was my other big concern- that would be surgery for sure). She told me to continue PT and see what comes of it, but she also suggested I also talk to a surgeon. She gave me the name of a plastic surgeon that is excellent but will not pressure surgery if it is not needed. Also, she said since my back hurts that he will be able to get the insurance to cover it (the other thing I was freaking out about). The most important news..I can have another baby whenever I want (not that we are ready yet). Another piece to the puzzle…and no surgery for now. Whew! I scheduled an appointment with the surgeon anyway just to gather more information for the future.
Well, I guess I should give the sports doctor a call back because…. my gap is down from 8-9 fingers to almost a 1. Yes… ONE!!?? I still can’t believe the progress that I had made in less than 2 months going to PT twice a week. The PT was beyond thrilled and called in other PTs to come check out this crazy story. And no one thought PT was going to do anything, huh?
I canceled my appointment with the surgeon for now, anyway.
Along with seeing the PT this is what I do each day:
~doing my special sit ups a few times a day
~lots of perfect planks
~I wrapped my stomach during the day for awhile. Now that I have healed my PT has told me to stop doing this since my abs are functioning better and she wants them to gain strength again.
~using PT tape on my stomach (see pictures). First, she did the cross taping, but now that I have healed more we just do the 3 strips across.
~still doing some of the MuTu exercises. Why not? anything that can help!
~laying off lifting heavy at the gym (staying moderate weight), no sit ups, no kipping pull ups, ring dips, or hspus (only strict in these movements), burpees on my knees, no T2b, no o lifting...doing extra KB work (sub this for barbell a lot of the time) and lots of lunges and squats! (Now that I am pretty much healed I get to slowly go back to doing all of these exercises which is so exciting for me. My PT is monitoring my every move :) )
~sitting up straight. This is way harder than you might imagine if you don’t pay attention to it. I don’t even sit that much during the day since I am not back to work yet…. but when I am sitting in a chair feeding chase, or sitting on the ground, or typing this blog… you better believe I am sitting up really damn straight.
~ no heels
~ I also just weaned completely, which I personally thinking helped me heal as my hormones re-regulated themselves.
~positive attitude
Even at a 1, my stomach still sticks out from extra skin, trauma, and who knows what else. I am trying hard to accept this, and it isn’t easy as no amount of working out and eating clean (which I do anyway) is going to make this better. So, I will post the pictures here in hopes that other moms are learning to love those post-baby bellies too. It sure as hell isn’t easy, but Chase is sure as hell worth it.
You have to advocate for yourself and fight hard for answers. Everyone that has DR, whether it is a 2 finger or an 8 finger, is going to have a different experience with the healing process along with other possible complications. However, there is not nearly enough education about this out there at ALL. Please pass along this information to any mothers you know. Both the during and after of my next pregnancy will be so much different with the knowledge I have gained. Stay tuned ;)
This is with 8-9 finger gap before I started this process. I posted this in my last blog.
These are the two different taping methods we have tried:
This is how I look right now: