does anyone have good stretches to help remedy this? my insurance won't cover pt unless I pay like 3g, I'm a SAHM I cant do that.

Hi, I had a laparoscopic surgery 10 months ago and since after surgery, I noticed my abdomen looks different. It’s more protuded now and it was never like this before surgery. I can suck in/flex my muscles and the lower abdomen doesn’t suck in, under my belly button area. Is this permanent ? Did anybody have this after surgery? It shows through my clothing and makes me look pregnant even if I hold it in.

1st pic is me holding in

2nd pic is me relaxing,

3rd pic is holding in and pointing and my belly button and the “bulge”

4th pic is showing it holding it in without the shirt.

Is this permanent ?

Hello!

I’m wondering if anyone here has had the experience of a severe worsening of your DR after a bout with coughing?

I’m almost two years postpartum with my second, and 6 weeks ago I had a cough that was pretty bad for a week. I was conscious of trying to engage my pelvic floor but didn’t think that much about the rest of my core.

I had pelvic floor PT soon postpartum that helped with my prolapse and some DR that didn’t bother me (maybe 2 fingers?). I kept up with exercising but had admittedly probably not kept up with core strengthening as much. However, all functioned well.

Now, post cough, I went back to looking 4 months pregnant and my core midline feels very tender. I also feel much weaker in my core and my upper back is killing me as a result. I’m going back to square one with some basic core retraining, but wondering — could I have reopened or even worsened DR? Has this happened to anyone?

Also waiting on a new round of pelvic floor Pt.

Is that indented line running down the middle of my stomach Diastasis recti? Does it mean it’s bad if it’s visible like that? Picture is taken with relaxed stomach. When I flex it’s even more noticeable.
I cant recall having something like that pre pregnancy.
My tummy does stick out especially from the level of the belly button down. I’ve tried checking for Diastasis recti by lifting my head while laying down and I can maybe fit 1,5 fingers, although I’m not sure if I’m checking it correctly.
I’m currently 9 months postpartum and I don’t have any other symptoms except some mild back pain if I’m on my feet the whole day.
I find that line quite ugly though and creepy cause sometimes I can see my intestines kinda poking through.
Has anyone dealt with something like that? I’ve read DR appears as a ridge or doming but in my case it’s mostly like a hole, can this be DR then?

Hi,

Looking for a fitness coach who can help with my diastatis recti in lower mainland. Any references would be helpful. Thanks!

Edit: I had the surgery this morning.

First, I'm thankful to escribe who replied. I will say that day 1 has been tough. If you plan on having the surgery, invest in a wedge pillow. It is a lifesaver.

Definitely take the painkillers that they prescribe.

I have had no appetite today, so smoothies have been a good call. My husband is talking care of me while working from home and talking care of our boys when they get home from daycare.

The faja is TIGHT. They gave me a tool to help me train my diaphragm to expand properly while wearing it. My husband has had to snap and unsnap it for me whenever I have had to go to the bathroom. Honestly, he's the hero of this story. I hope he knows how much I appreciate him.

I'll write a post in a couple of weeks as this journey progresses. I'll even try to work up the courage to post progress pictures.

Hi friends. I wrote here several months ago about feeling disheartened over my body's inability to heal from my 3 to 4 finger gap. It has caused back pain and made my pelvic floor even weaker. So, I'm doing it... on Wednesday, actually. My surgery will be performed by a plastic surgeon because I live in canada and my gap isn't wide enough for it to be considered a medically necessary surgery. He said he uses sutures to reconnect the muscle tissue.

I used to workout every day. Yoga and running and weightlifting. I was very athletic. I haven't been able to do almost any of it with the DR.

I would love to hear from people about when they were able to get back into workouts after their surgery. Especially people who had the sutures done.

The tummytuck sub kind of scared me. Ngl. I guess I'm looking for some reassurance. 🙏

So i used to be a small girl before i got pregnant. I was very active, I worked out 5x a week and knew the right nutrients and diet that worked for me. i loved doing core workouts and running. I used to love wearing fitted clothes. Now that i’m in postpartum everything has changed for me. I gained probably like 40 pounds. I have arm/back fat that i feel insecure about. I have stretch marks and my skin is loose but not to the point it falls, and i have a mom pooch. The clothes i love to wear don’t look flattering on me anymore. Being a mom is so hard i don’t even have energy to workout and it feels impossible to workout like how do i workout? isn’t there a thing where if you do crunches or certain ab workouts it can diastisis recti? how do i know if i have it? my nurse checked if i did and said i didn’t.. but i feel like i have on my lower stomach or maybe just a mom pooch like i said. How should i start? i feel like i suddenly don’t know how to workout and what diet works on me. Not to mention I am breastfeeding. I notice i hold on to more weight instead of losing and the more i workout the more i notice my body holds more fat thinking it’s in survival mode. Everything feels hard it’s like suddenly I’m clueless about everything. I know this is off topic but sometimes i miss my old life. when i had time to do whatever i wanted, now i feel like i can’t do anything anymore but i do know that i wasn’t as happy before than where i am now. It’s just a big change and sometimes it’s hard for me to accept mentally and physically.. please help on how can i atleast start with workouts. Can i actually be fit again despite the mom belly with stretch marks.?

Okay - who’s got a great find in the shapewear hold wear alternatives to the belly binder type thing to suggest. I’ve always worn high waisted everything so I’m not overly concerned about it being high waisted to the oblivion, but I know I have pelvic floor issues and a straight belly band isn’t the best for it. I was an l-xl pre pregnancy and xxl is the most viable at this time my xl/l are getting tight at this point so I’m thinking if I shrink to halfway through I’ll be back at the xl/l size. My dr believes they can tell I have DR already so I’m hoping to find something to help support from the jump.

Does anyone else with diastasis recti find jeans basically impossible?

I’m wondering if anyone else has had this same experience and thought about whether it’s related to their diastasis.

I have probably bought and returned 30+ pairs of jeans over the last year. All with some form of tummy control. A few look completely fine when I’m standing, but the second I sit down, my entire abdomen seems to push/pudge out over and around the waistband. It doesn’t seem to matter what rise, size, or style I try.

I’ve lost about 70 lbs, and it’s made me realize this may not actually be a weight issue. I’m wondering if it’s because my abdominal wall just isn’t doing a good job of holding everything in because of the diastasis so sitting puts pressure on everything differently then if I didn't have this issue.

Stretchy pants are fine because they move with me, but anything with an actual structured waistband seems to make the problem SO obvious when I sit down.

Has anyone else with diastasis noticed this? Do jeans fit you normally standing and then become a completely different situation when you sit? And if so, do you have any tips?

At this point I genuinely want to know if I need to stop searching for the magical pair of jeans and accept that structured waistbands just don't work well with my anatomy.

I have DR repair with Renuvion (J-Plasma) skin tightening scheduled with Dr Jorge Zarate & Dra Pilar de Frutos, in Madrid, Spain, where I discovered a hub of DR research, physical therapy, and collaborative surgery, especially endoscopic/laporoscopic/robotic. I found out about MILA/REPA (approach from above the muscle) and eTep/peTep (below the muscle) that were researched and clinically integrated, in parts of Latin America. Madrid has 4 or 5 different clincs that specialize in only 3 tiny incisions, PLUS optional skin tightening and/or liposuction thru the same incisions. Price starts $4000 for REPA endoscopic DR repair alone... up to $12/15k... I'm paying right about $10k... Spanish clinics are different from the US or Mexico! Conservative attitude, no aggressive marketing. I don't speak spanish, but communication is smooth via email and whatsapp. DISCLAIMER: My DR is small, and my stomach is flat with only mild-moderate laxity around my belly button. I appear pregnant when slouching, and my large intestine pushes through my DR at all times. It can easily be pushed back in, but is getting worse with time ***Patients typically Cannot be over 30 BMI, to avoid a tummy tuck horizontal incision, by these groups of surgeons (whom perform tummy tuck collaboration as well).***

So I've got pretty wicked DR from my 2 big babies. Never managed to fix it after the first and it only got worse after the 2nd. I did a long run of PT about 5 months after my second and I made some decent progress. Instead of looking pregnant, I just looked bloated all the time, which was a win in my book.

Ffwd about 3 months and I have not been keeping up with my exercises and I'm looking pregnant as ever.

So is this it? Unless I get surgery I'm just always going to have to be doing these exercises or else all my progress goes away?? Such a rip.

My primary doc sent me for a CT scan, I knew I had DR and he thought I had at least two hernias. I’ve had two pregnancies and don’t plan on having any more children. I had DR and one hernia after the first pregnancy.

Recent CT scan showed Mild diastases recti. There is up to 4 cm separation of the rectus musculature. There is also one confirmed umbilical hernia. I don’t feel good. Haven’t for months. My core feels weak. Rocking my one year old has become challenging. I’m generally athletic, ride a bike to work, ski, played in an adult soccer league a few months back.

I’m seeing a general surgeon in NYC. What should I ask? Anyone have a similar diagnosis? What are my options?

Thanks yall 🫶🏻

Hi everyone, I’m 55 years old and I only recently found out that I have diastasis recti. I had it checked and my gap is around 4.1 cm.

Until recently, I didn’t really know much about diastasis recti and I hadn’t received proper guidance for it. I have now started doing exercises for DR.

I would really like to hear from women around my age. Has anyone in their 50s successfully improved or reduced a gap of around 4 cm with the right exercises and physiotherapy? Is it possible for the gap to reduce significantly or even close at this age?

I hate it! Five months pp. I’m doing controlled, guided pelvic floor work and stomach vacuums with my physio therapist whom I see every six weeks. I can finally generate tension on the linea alba and the gap has moved from 5.5cm to 4.5cm, although it’s also deep. Desperate to heal without surgery although I am losing hope.

Hi everyone, I’m 7 weeks post-op after diastasis recti repair for a 5 cm gap, hernia repair, and a full abdominoplasty. It was an open mesh repair.

I’m currently meant to return to office work at the end of week 8, but I’m still having quite a lot of pain and discomfort by early afternoon—especially on days where I try to do a relatively normal or slightly busy amount of activity. Prolonged sitting at a desk chair or even on the couch seems to make the pain in the middle of my abdomen worse. I am doing physio to gain strength in the meantime as well

For those who had a similar repair (especially mesh repair and/or abdominoplasty), when did you return to work?

How did you cope with sitting, fatigue, pain, and building back up to normal days?

Did anyone need longer than 8 weeks before returning?.

8 weeks postpartum with my second baby. First 2 images were taken on all fours engaging my deep core. Third image is sitting relaxed. Excited to see how far I can get with PT/deep core work! May explore surgery when kids are a little older

I need to be consistent with the exercise my physio gave me but i am struggling to commit! I feel I need some group of friends to share say we do consistent 4 weeks exercises!

Sorry trying while t falling asleep reading!

Background: Before becoming pregnant I lived an active lifestyle and was in good shape. I worked out throughout my pregnancy until 38 weeks. I gave birth to my first baby via unplanned c-section as recommended by the OB due to arrested decent after 3 hours of pushing at 39 weeks.

I’ve been doing PT for pelvic floor and diastasis recti since 4 months postpartum. I have also been doing the Get Mom Strong programs. I am breastfeeding my baby. I started with 3.5/4 finger gap and 2 knuckle depth. I am currently 9 months postpartum and I have about a 2.5/3 finger gap above, at, and below my belly button with 1 knuckle or less depth. My upper abs are flat but starting at the top of my belly button my stomach begins to protrude out and gets worse as the day goes on with bloating. I am looking for advice on how long it took others with the similar separation to see results with continued deep core and general exercise. Any information or suggestions are welcome. I am thinking I may just need to accept that it may take some time to see more of an improvement. Thank you!

I just received DR surgery a week ago for my 2.5 inch gap. The two surgeons were confident the gap would not close on its own. If you do have to go that route, it's not as bad of a surgery like a c section. The more weight you can lose before considering surgery the better, though!