Pelvic Floor Surgery Tidbits

Now that I'm 7 weeks post-op from my pelvic floor repair, I'd like to share a few things that helped during my recovery. It's not a lot of tips, but a few that may help some others.

1) Don't believe everything you read online. Everything I read suggested recovery would be horrible. Other than being tired, drained, and somewhat painful for the first week, it wasn't SO bad.

Now do remember, I didn't have a hysterectomy. Just a rectocele and cystocele repair.

2) Have what you need close by. Remote control, tissues, water, snacks, phone and charger, heck, even a laptop. Pills if you don't want to get up and to take them. Pillows and blankets nearby so when you're cold you don't have to reach far.

3) Things I bought (or had) to help and let me be clear - I have no affiliation with Amazon for these products. These are just things I thought would be helpful and were.

Perineum bottles - Something like this. I had leftover ones from childbirth.

Perineum ice packs - You can buy disposable ones or get them from the hospital if they give them out, but I found these on Amazon and really liked them.

Bedside table/tray - There are a few different ones. I liked this because it had the lip and things wouldn't roll off, however it does bother me when I'm typing on my computer.

Reacher - This helped me picked things up from the floor or reach things farther away when I didn't feel like moving.

Maternity underwear from the hospital - I asked for extra, they gave me some.

Sitz bath - Don't use until your doctor tells you it's okay. I don't use the bag. I just fill it up with hot water and sit in it.

Stool softener - Follow your doctor's orders. Something like these. I bought mine at the grocery store.

4) Let other people help. Spouse, children, mother, anyone around. Have them take care of other children, have them go to the store for you, have them clean, help with homework, have them cook you dinner. Yes, they will get overwhelmed. But this is what you do on a daily basis. Let them experience it. It won't be forever.

5) Take your recovery and return to life slow and easy. Start with one thing, then add another, and so on. I'm not 100% yet at 7 weeks post-op, so don't expect to be either. To me, this felt a lot like childbirth, and that took me a good 3 months to recover from. So that's the time I'm giving it. Then I'll try to get my act together a little more.

I hope this helps at least one person prepare. These things really helped my recovery besides pain pills.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Pelvic Floor Repair Update

It's been 6 weeks now since my pelvic floor repair. I had a cystocele and rectocele repair. The doctor built up my perineum again too.

How am I feeling? Meh - would be the word I use. I don't have a lot of energy. I find that I'm tired most of the time. But, still better than I was a few weeks ago. I don't have much pain unless I'm having a bowel movement or at the end of the day I seem to be "achy" down there - the perineum area. There's one spot at the back of my vaginal hole where it meets the perineum that has a bumpy feel to it and when I wipe or push there, it hurts. Every once in a while, I get a shooting pain inside, but nothing more than that.

Bowels - well, they haven't really gotten any better. I took the stool softener up until my 6 week appointment when the doctor told me to stop. I took Miralax for about 10 days starting day 4 after my surgery until that 2nd week follow up. After reading some things about it, I hope to never have to take it again.

So before my journey started I was going every other day and spent 3-4 hours in the bathroom. Formed at first, then mushy stool. I hated it. I hated the time it took, hated my kids were always complaining I was in the bathroom, hated that I had to plan my appointments around my poop. How stupid. I was weak and always felt blah afterward. So that's when I started my journey last year to try and feel better, to poop better.

I'm worried it failed.

I'm now going pretty much every day and it's always mush. I've tried suppositories, enemas, both to help clean out "quicker." BECAUSE 3-4 HOURS OF BEING IN THE BATHROOM IS INSANE!

This weekend I took a 3 day cleanse from Renew Life. It hasn't seemed to do anything different. I'm on the last day of pills though, so we'll see how I clean out today and tomorrow.

My next step will be adding 1-2 fiber pills a day, maybe more. Than 1 supplements one-by-one and really hope that something helps. I also bought Calm which has some sort of Magnesium in it. It's a powder to mix and drink. I just hope to find something to help.

My 6 week checkup went okay. The doctor said I am healing well. I have no restrictions other than to not move or pick up anything REALLY heavy (like furniture, heavy boxes, or big kids). And no sex for a few more weeks - but with the pain, I'm not looking forward to any sex. She said I can exercise, run, kickbox, squat, whatever *I* feel up to. Start slow and easy and work my way up. Seems so different than what I read online. My doctor said she wants me to have a full life, not a life full of restrictions.

Next post: Tidbits.

Post Op Appointment #1

Since I wrote last, I've had ups and downs. Good days and bad. Some days I hurt and others I'm okay. I went without an ice pack a few days, but most days need it after a BM. The BMs have been diarrhea. Sometimes easy and forceful to get out. Other times it needs help. I'm still taking 2 stool softeners and 1 dose of MiraLax every day. Keeps it diarrhea like. But it's hard because it usually hits around midday. And I never know how long it'll last.

Today was my first post op appointment. The doctor did a very gentle exam. I didn't even feel it. I was worried it was going to hurt, but she was awesome. She said I was healing nicely. No popped stitches. She said I can take sitz baths now, drive, and do normal things. Still no lifting more than 5 pounds, no squatting. I can go upstairs as long as I feel good. No running, no aerobics, nothing like that. But the rest, take it easy. Do what I can.

I go back in 4 weeks and she said I can start PT at that time. Told me to keep on the laxatives if that helps. I missed today's dose though.

Things are going to be okay. I'm not sure how okay, but okay. I'd like to make a post with all the things that helped me and hope to do that within the next week.

I hope the things I've been posting about have helped someone out there.

Recovery From Pelvic Floor Surgery - 9 Days

It hasn't been easy. Hasn't been horrible either. I've read horror stories online and am extremely glad I'm not one of the small percentage of people who have enormous pain or problems after surgery. I had my second BM since surgery on Wednesday, 2 days after the last BM. This time though, I just sat on the toilet and soft snake-like poop came out. I sat there about an hour. Every 10 minutes or so, I'd go again. And then the last 2-3 times were more like diarrhea. The nice thing was the ease of going. No straining. I did then have some more diarrhea later in the day and right now my tummy is making so loud noises. I'm still taking 2 stool softeners every day and 1 dose of Miralax mixed in my OJ. We'll see what happens.

Pain wise - not too bad. I had some sort of ovulation cramp - which is weird since I think I just had my period (hard to tell with all the bleeding from surgery). The cramp came out of nowhere, was one sided, and intense. I immediately took pain meds and got a hot pack on it. The pressure made my perineum hurt, so I got an ice pack down there. Weird day.

There is one part down there that looks white-ish. I'm a little concerned that it's not healing right or I popped a stitch or something. It's hard and bleeds when I touch it. Sitting is still difficult. So I lay around a lot. Walk some. My energy is okay. But, today was my anniversary and I didn't want to go out. With he diarrhea and the uncertainty and the not wanting to sit down for long, I thought it was better to wait. Thankfully hubby is understanding.

I'd hard to remember not to bed over and squat down. Nothing hurts when I do. I just have to be very careful and try and let other people do it. It's hard with the kids. They're rambunctious and I'm afraid they're going to hurt me.

Sleeping has been hard too, so back to Klonopin or some sleeping pill to keep me from tossing and turning all night. The weighted blanket has been a good help too.

My follow up with my doctor is next Tuesday. I will update before then if anything changes or is new or I'll update then. Please comment if you have any questions.

Prolapse Repair Day 8

OMG. I slept like a baby. My husband rubbed my shoulder, I put some Arnica on it, then a hot pack. I took a Klonopin. I slept on my stomach again under my new weighted blanket (12lbs) and I didn't toss and turn. I fell asleep and I slept until 8am! It felt so good. I got up to pee and went back to bed for 2 more hours. No pain. No poop. Just tired and wanting to rest. I got up, showered, had lunch, and plopped back in bed to bing watch Lost (since Netflix is removing it on Jan 4th). I didn't get too far before I had to go on my first outing to a post op for a nasal polyp I had 3 weeks ago. He seemed pleased out the outcome and my mom stopped at a couple stores on our way home. I walked slow, but it wasn't too fun. Every time I turned just right or walked just fast enough, I'd feel a prick, like a needled being jammed into my vagina for a second.

I didn't drink my Miralax until I got home, which was dinnertime. No poop today. Not sure if that's good or bad. My bleeding was heavier yesterday and today. Did I do too much yesterday? Do I have my period? Did I pull a stitch? I don't know. And probably won't until next Tuesday. Oh and apparently I yanked off my underwear last night. Don't remember doing it, but I didn't have any on this morning. Oops. Thankfully the bleeding wasn't so much that it got all over the place. Just my PJs.

Today felt okay. I was up more, but tried to take good 30 minute breaks every few hours. I took a sleeping pill tonight and am about to curl up in bed with my blanket and see if I have another good sleep.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Just hope I'm strong enough to face it.

Prolapse Repair Day 7

It's Christmas. My tummy hasn't felt good in a couple of days. It's like building up poop in there and just waiting to explode. I put off drinking the miralax until presents were unwrapped and then I started having horrible cramps. Thankfully all the fun morning stuff was over and I disappeared into the master bathroom.

The first few were small and hard. Not pebbles, good size, round, hard pieces. It was VERY hard not to push or bear down or do the things I normally do. I had 3 hours of this. Then after some hard ones, it turned to mush -- must have been when the miralax kicked in -- and that was just as hard to push out.

For me, my body doesn't know how to poop properly. Stupid right? I have dyssynergia. This is a condition when "external anal sphincter and the puborectalis muscle contracts rather than relaxes during an attempted bowel movement. There is the sensation of incomplete emptying of the rectum. Normal bowel movements involves relaxation of both of these muscles."

So basically I never learned how to poop. My mom laughed at this. She asked how is this something that is taught, you just do it. I don't know. I never taught my kids to poop. I just said when you feel the urge to go, sit down and go. 

So this mushy poop was sitting there, giving me cramps. It wasn't diarrhea or loose like I had expected the Miralax would do. More of a forceful evacuation. But there was no normal, formed poop siting on my anal sphincter telling it to open up and let it out. So it was a very hard, difficult day and it sucked because it was Christmas. I spent hours in the bathroom. Hours! Some of it in tears wishing I could be normal. Some of it in pain because of the surgery. Some of it wondering if the increase in bleeding was from a ripped stitch? a failure of the surgery, or my menstrual period. My period was due days ago and I'm not sure if it's here or what. It doesn't seem as heavy as usual, but it's heavier than what the bleeding had been. 

I don't see the doctor for another week for my follow up. Unless it gets worse, I'll keep doing what I'm doing and hope it gets better. 

My shoulder has really been bothering me too. Slept in in wrong? Something happened in surgery and was just in a bad position? Also the IV spot hurts. I mean really hurts. If it touch it in the wrong place, it's like pins and needles and weird feelings. I told them that day it hurt and something was wrong. It was like upside down in my hand. I hadn't had an IV like that...ever. I didn't like it. The anesthesiologist said they'd change it in surgery, but once they found out I was going home, they left it alone. 

Tonight I'm taking a Klonopin. I think I'm done with the Tramadol. Too strong. Can't mix the two. Haven't had the Tramadol today, so I think I'm okay. That and laying with my new weighted blanket. I hope it helps. 

Prolapse Repair Day 6

When I got up this morning, I didn't feel as good. I did use both pain meds overnight. But I also slept on my tummy and I think that was a bad idea. I got up in the middle of the night and my back hurt. Oh did it hurt. So I slept some other way for the rest of the night.

I noticed more blood this morning. I actually put on real underwear last night because I hadn't had any blood drips and found them stained with blood this morning. Sigh. Then I remembered that my regular period was due and maybe this was that. However, the blood loss has been minimal throughout the day. So maybe not. I don't know. I'm sure my uterus is confused.

I've had more perineum pain today. Not bad pain. Aches. It aches.

No BM. Double sigh. I mean really? 2 stool softeners everyday and now 1 dose of Miralax a day and still nothing. I drank my 2nd dose this morning at 10am. It's been hours and nothing but stomach cramps now and then...period related? BM related? I don't know. I'm scared of what this poop will be like. I hope I don't have a big problem and I hope it doesn't hit me tomorrow morning - Christmas morning.

It's a little itchy down there too. Trying to be good and not itch. Sometimes I'll use hot water and just spray it. Other times I have to distract myself.

Prolapse Repair Day 5

Day 5? Day 4? Whatever it is. I took both pain meds overnight. I felt "okay" this morning, but still no BM. I drank a dose of Miralax at 11am. It's been 3 hours, nothing yet. I know it says it can take days, but I was hoping to blow some poop out already. I guess I'm scared my poop will be really big and hard and it will hurt the repair. Ugh. This sucks.

I am having some bloating? Gas pains? An unsettled tummy? I don't know. Something. 

I spent most of the day "up" and by up, I mean watching TV or watching one of the kids play a video game. I didn't nap. I walked around inside the house a little. 

I don't know what else to report. I'm bored, but glad to be doing nothing if that makes sense.

Prolapse Repair Day 4

I slept fitfully last night. My shoulder bothered me from sleeping weirdly. My ears too. I was hot and cold. Just didn't rest nicely. Being in bed too much is not a good thing.

Today though has been better. I did get dizzy and a bit nauseous this morning after getting out of the shower and I decided to try not to take the Tramadol. I made it until 5pm without any pain meds and then I was achy down there, so I took the Ibuprofen and put an ice pack in my undies. 

I think the Tramadol is definitely the culprit for the dizziness and sleepiness. Not that I'm wide awake and ready to run, but maybe if I can stay off of it during the day, I'll have more energy to walk around and that will help. 

I haven't had a BM. That's the bad news. I'm taking 2 stool softeners every day, but nothing has dared to come out of that hole but some gas. I think I might have to drink some Miralax. Blech!! I'm not sure when...tonight? Does it work overnight or will it hit me at 3am? First thing in the morning? What if it takes days? What if it hits on Christmas? UGH! If it's explosive poop, will it hurt? How do I keep it gentle? I can't believe I'm blogging about my poop. 

I got a cool present today. One of those hospital bed tables. LOL! It's neat. I can eat, use my laptop, whatever. Slides under my bed. It's very adjustable so I might end up using it often. 

Prolapse Repair Day 3

It's day 3, if we're counting the day of surgery as day 1. Technically it's been about 48 hours. I set alarms on my phone for every time I need to take medication. Tramadol every 6 hours, Ibuprofen 600mg every 6 hours. I alternate them. I'll do the Tramadol at 12, Ibuprofen at 3, and so on. I did add an extra 200mg to the Ibuprofen pill. After giving birth, I always got 800mg of Ibuprofen. That helped. I also let 2 Arnica "pills" dissolve under my tongue. Coupled with the ice packs, I'm handling my pain okay.

I haven't had a BM yet. Lots of gas. No BM. I'm not looking forward to it.

The kids are loud. Our master bedroom is right next to the living room, and when the kids are playing video games, it gets ridiculously loud.

My husband and mom have been a great help. Helping with mealtimes, keeping kids busy, handling things.

The pain seems less so that's good, but I'm still feeling dizzy and weak, so that's not good. Blood has slowed to just spotting.

Prolapse Repair Day Two

I have to stay on top of my meds. If I don't, the pain is bad! The pain is pretty bad as it is, but I don't want to know what it's like without the meds. I have Tramadol and Ibuprofen 600mg. I'm sure it's helping, but it doesn't feel like it's touching the pain. Right now, it kind of feels like when you have a baby and tear, and they stitch you up TIMES 100!!!!!!!! Pain. Pressure. Ouch!

Besides the meds, I'm using perineum ice packs. I found some on Amazon. They don't stay cold as long as I'd like, but they are put in a warm place so that's to be expected. They really help. I'm very, very sleepy. Not sure if that's the surgery, after effects of the anesthesia, or the pain pills. I keep dozing off. My mouth is dry and I got dizzy once today - think those are both side effects of Tramadol. I use the peri bottle to help me pee when I don't get a lot out the normal way.

I do laps around the inside of the house. 4-5 of them. Then back to bed. I try to get up to do my own stuff. Get an ice pack, or drink. Something that keeps me up and walking.

Oh! I noticed they shaved me down there, like half of it. Weird. I trimmed the other half because it just looked strange. Still does, but whatever.

I had a sandwich for lunch and a small piece of chicken parm and spaghetti for dinner.

I ventured a peek down there... bruising, no redness, no signs of infection. Not ugly. I didn't look long.

I took a couple Arnica pills, hoping they'll help. Got a new ice pack and heading to sleepy land now.

Cystocele and Rectocele Repair

Ten years ago, after baby number four, I found myself seeing a Urogynecologist who suggested repairing my prolapses. The way they explained it, they would use mesh to hold things in place and I would have a bunch of restrictions for the rest of my life. No carrying laundry baskets, no carrying children - and at that point not only did I have older children, I had a toddler and newborn. They also said I wouldn't be able to go up and downstairs. Oh and no more kids.

That was crazy to me! Being in my early 30s and never being able to do any of that?? So, I put it off. And put it off. And put it off some more.

This past year, I decided to look into it again. Our family is now complete, our deductible had been met, so why not? I found a urogynecologist I really liked, she suggested some pelvic floor therapy first. I did that. She had some other suggestions, but nothing really impressed me. I needed to have the surgery. I hoped that it would help my frequent urination, painful sex, and most of all my stupid, horrible bowel movements.

The best thing was the surgery had changed...no more mesh, she'd use my own tissue. Restrictions were only for 6 weeks. I would be able to do my laundry, go up and downstairs, etc.

I scheduled the surgery for the week before Christmas. Not sure why I thought that'd be a good idea. So much to do. Too much holiday stress. Throw in a surgery. Sure, no biggie. But my mom was going to be here to help and that's one reason I decided for that time.

Pre-op appointment with the doctor about 3 weeks before, pre-op with the hospital the week before.

Two nights before surgery, I took a magnesium 500mg pill. I pooped the next morning for hours. I kept my meals light. Half a sandwich for lunch, soup for dinner. I took two enemas that night.

We left for the hospital at 7:30am Tuesday morning, got there about 8:15am. We waited in a waiting area for a bit until I was called back to get ready. The pre-op room was "nice." It was private, had my own bathroom and a TV with a fireplace on. I had to give a urine sample. I changed into bear robe which they then hooked up to some warm air vent. Got all my vital stats taken. Then came the IV lady. Oh that mother hurt! Worst IV I've had in a long time. I couldn't move my fingers.

They brought my husband in and he stayed with me until it was time for me to go (about 11:30am). Of course, the doctor and anesthesiologist came to talk to me first. They sedated me first. I don't remember too much else. Don't even remember waking up. I DO remember them filling up my bladder with water, taking out the catheter, and made sure I could pee. And I did. I was SO happy. I didn't want to go home with a catheter. I hated that idea. I am surprised they let me go home while I was so loopy.

So...day 1...I don't remember much, just that I hurt. I had pain meds and ice packs and slept on and off throughout the rest of the day. Had Panera chicken noodle soup and bread for dinner.

Chordee Repair 3 Years Later

It's been 3 years since my little guy had his chordee repair and I still don't like it. It still points to the side and has some skin bunched up underneath. He had an appointment with the specialist about 6 months ago and he said my son looked fine, there was no problem, it all looked good. I disagreed. But there's nothing I can do about it now.

I still regret it. 

I wish I could go back in time and tell the doctor no.

I wish I had kept my son intact.

My advice to others who would like to keep their son intact...you can always do it, but you can't undo it. So make sure you're doing the right thing.

Chordee Repair 7 Months Later

A reader asked me to post an update and fortunately our son had an appointment yesterday, otherwise I'd have nothing to say. It's been about seven months since our son had his chordee repair done and six months since the last time we saw the doctor.

The urologist says that our soon looks good and that he is happy with the result of the surgery.

That being said, we're not happy. Both my husband and I regret allowing the surgery. Mainly because now instead of pointing down, our son's penis points to the left. This is okay with the doctor (his words: Left, right, up are all okay. Down is not. We fixed the down.) The doctor asked if we had seen him have an erection. No. We haven't. The doctor said that with an erection, his penis should point straight. Great. So do guys have erections when they pee? So now instead of peeing on his feet, he'll pee on the person next to him. Yes, that's a joke, hopefully it'll never get that bad. I guess it could fix itself?

I also asked about the extra bumps underneath and was told it would fix itself as he grew bigger or straighten out with an erection. That still doesn't help the locker room type thing. Will other boys notice a difference?

I struggle with the outcome of this decision. I still have regret that he's now circumcised. I feel like I should have protected him more and I pray that he won't hate me for this one day. As parents we're supposed to do what's best for our children. Sure, I suppose in the eyes of the medical community, we did what we were supposed to do. We had a doctor "fix" the problem. But...deep down...I feel that it created other issues that we'll have to deal with. Maybe we should have just left it alone and let him decide when he was older.

I'm sure that would be hard if he decided to do the surgery at age 16 or 20. Maybe he'd hate us for not doing it. It's so hard to understand something that you can't see or feel and that he can't either - at least for another 16 - HOPEFULLY MORE - years! It wasn't hurting him. Wasn't bothering him. Only the doctors saw a problem and that was only because our son was there for a different issue. Had we not had that issue, we wouldn't have known for a long, long time. Was it really a problem? Or more the surgeon's "need" to cut?

I'm not trying to sway anybody out there one way or another. Just trying to tell our story. I couldn't find a lot on chordee repair after the fact and I wanted to make sure there was something out there people could read. Maybe the surgery is the way to go. Maybe not. Maybe your child's is worse than ours. Just make an informed decision.

I'll update when I have new information :) Thanks for reading and if you have questions, leave a comment.

Insanity Month 2

Month 2 started with a 25 minute fit test - okay, no big deal AND then a 59 minute and some odd seconds workout. Seriously? I had a hard enough time finding 40+ minutes to workout during the day, now I have to find an hour. And with the fit test, it would be an hour and 25 minutes. With 6 kids, that's kind of impossible.

I did the fit test in the morning. I went to do the workout in the afternoon. I got 4 minutes into it. When they started kicking their feet over their heads in the air, I paused it, laughed, and decided there was no way I was ready for this yet.

My husband and I decided to do month 1 again. I decided that since my waist is what I really wanted to work on was that I'd do the workouts when I could and add in the cardio ab workout. If I didn't have a lot of time that day, I'd just do the cardio abs.

That's the plan now. Wish me luck.

Insanity - Done With Month One

Finished month one over the weekend. Four weeks of grueling exercise. Some of it wasn't so bad, some was. After a couple weeks, it got kind of boring, but I kept going.

This week is the core cardio and balance. It's nice to have a break from the fast paced stuff, but my shoulders and arms are killing me!

Measurements. I don't know off hand. I could get off my butt and go look at my paper, but I'm too lazy. I started around 110lbs. I'm not doing this because I'm overweight. I'm doing it because I have a few inches of baby flab that need to go away and I want to be in shape. I'm down to 108. More importantly, I've lost a few centimeters around my belly. That's what I like :) So I'm happy. I hope to lose another inch before vacation.

Will I continue after this next month? I don't know. Maybe just less. It seems too much to do 6 days a week when I have 6 kids. Maybe 3-4 days a week? We'll see.

That's my update :)

Insanity 3

Still doing it even though I don't really want to be. It's hard. It's long. It gets kind of boring. Very repetitive. You would think for over $100 they would mix it up a bit more.

This past week was spring break and it was very hard trying to find time to workout without an audience. Seems like every day at least one of the kids was there watching and commenting. "Do it better, Mom", "Faster," "That's the wrong way," "Oh look at that girl go". UGH! One day I skipped completely. And then I skipped the weekend. I just didn't have it in me.

I plan on getting back into it tomorrow. It's been hard to find the right time to workout. Before the little ones wake up? During nap time? Before lunch? Separately or together?

I honestly can't wait to be done. I wish I could just stop...BUT I want to be thinner or more in fit. Whatever.

Hopefully when I update this blog next week, I'll be able to say I did all 6 days!

Insanity Update Week 2

We had a lot to do last Saturday, so we swapped days and worked out Sunday instead of Saturday. Other than that, we've stayed on course.

We've been trying to do our workout as soon as we wake up in the mornings. Usually 2 of the kids have gone to school and the rest are sleeping. It's a good time. Today I woke up with a bad headache. I took some medicine and hoped it would go away.

It didn't. Not quickly anyway.

I tried exercising, but every jump I did made my head hurt. It felt like someone was stabbing my head with an ice pick every time I landed.

We stopped the DVD and rested. Thankfully, the headache went away an hour or so later and when I put the two little kids down for their afternoon nap, we exercised. This was the pure cardio. Yikes! I was sweating and panting and praying for the 38 minutes to be over quickly.

I measured myself before starting Insanity and I measured myself on Sunday. I lost about 1/2" around my belly button area. That makes me really happy! It gives me the motivation to keep going. Hopefully I'll continue to see good results.

Insanity

Yup, we're doing it. LOL! First off I must disclose a few things. I'm in my upper 30s. I'm not overweight, not even a little. But after having six kids, I do have a couple inches of flab hanging out in my belly that needs to go away. In pictures I have "rolls" I don't like. I can't wear tight shirts and bathing suits - just blah. My husband is overweight and both of us were wanting to do something. We want to look good in pictures on our vacation this year. And we both want to be healthier, have more energy, and so on.

The next thing I have to disclose is that I don't plan on changing what I eat. I'm a picky eater and don't touch leafy looking food or fruits. I do drink lots of water. I eat steak and potatoes. Cheeseburgers. Pasta. Chicken. And lots of chocolate. I'm not a huge soda drinker and when I do drink it, it's orange soda. I don't drink coffee. Neither my husband nor I smoke or drink alcohol.

We started off with an Intro week Insanity DVD. I don't think I would have gotten through half of the first regular DVD without the intro week. It was less than 30 minutes, but a good workout. I was sore day 2 and 3, but then it evened out and got a little easier.

Monday we started the regular DVDs. First one was a Fit Test. We took our pictures and wrote down our pathetic numbers. The second day was a good workout, the third seemed to be more focused on arms and OMG the next day my arms were like jello. Holding my 11 month old was very difficult. Thursday was an easier day, no cardio, but the exercises were still good. Today, Friday, was pure cardio. WOW! Definitely insane!

I am tired. My body aches. I don't feel more energetic. I'm not sure if I've lost anything because I refuse to check until at least Sunday. But I plan to push on and hope that it does do something for me. I like the instructor, Shawn T. He doesn't yell at you. He is encouraging. At least so far.

I'm hoping to post updates and reviews here to keep me motivated and hold me accountable.

Follow Up

My son had his follow up last week. The doctor saw him for a whole two minutes - if that. We were concerned about the underneath of his penis. It still looks bunched up. And it points to the side a little. The doctor looked and said it was fine. He said it takes a long time to heal, that the swelling would take a while to go away, and that it would get better with time.

Didn't look swollen to me. Looks just wrong.

He wasn't concerned about what way it was pointing. He said it should be fine.

He said to come back in six months for the next follow up.

I'll trust him for now. But if it doesn't heal...he's going to hear from me.

I still feel horrible for the little guy. My husband believes we did the right thing. I'm still kicking myself. I never should have put him through that. I should have waited and let him decide when he's older. I can only hope it heals good and he'll forgive me.