r/DiastasisRecti

Hi all! I had a laparoscopic, robot-assisted surgery to repair my severe umbilical hernia and diastasis recti 10 weeks ago. (3 c-sections, last one in June 2025.)

Last night, I noticed a sort of hard ridge in my upper abdomen, mid-line. I don't recall having it before, and it feels ever so slightly tender when I press on it. The surgeon did say I would have a ridge for up to 3 months, but I thought he was referring to the one just above my navel.

I'm concerned I may have opened something up from the DR repair or given myself an epigastric hernia based on the location.

Has anyone else had this happen to them? I'm hoping for someone to say this is completely normal! 🤞🫤

INFO: I believe moving my co-sleeping one-year-old from one side of me to the other in the middle of the night or sitting up while holding her may have contributed to this. (Poor form while lifting caused strain... Haven't started PT yet.)

I’m looking for someone to exercise with to fix and heal my diastasis recti. I am 35, a mama to 3 girls 14,2 and 3 and I am a CG so my hours are all over the place. I need someone to push me in the right direction 😊Let’s heal together!

Has anyone had diastasis and or umbilical hernia fixed by a surgeon in Washington state and if so would you recommend them?

Bio: 37 y/o woman, 12 weeks postpartum after 2nd c-section

Hernia: incisional, ventral, reducible, 3cm, slightly left of midline

Other complications: significant abdominal wall damage, 4cm diastasis recti, significant scar tissue adhesions, prior open appendectomy and two c-sections

Surgical repair: Robotic, retrorectus with 12.5cm round polypropylene ProGrip mesh, DR repair with sutures from belly button down; four small incisions with the largest being one re-cut over my prior appendectomy scar

Pain report: Insanely better than a c-section. No comparison. Day 0= 0 (still high af, went to bed); Day 1-5= 3; Day 4-10= 1.5. I've been more sore than in pain but stayed ahead of it by taking my meds on a strict schedule for the first 4 days. After day 4, I just took them as needed. Only took one oxy the night of day 1 and one the night of day 2. My surgeon administered Exparel which I think was a life saver. I was scared of the pain after it was supposed to wear off but I didn't even notice. I had a bit of a sore mid back from trying to avoid using my core for about the first 7 days.

Hi all! I'm 10 days out from my hernia and DR repair and wanted to pop in to help anyone who might have similar circumstances. I read this sub constantly for weeks before my surgery and was actually quite terrified and appreciated the positive stories to ease my anxiety. Hopefully my story helps. I am 3 months postpartum after a second c-section that had significant complications afterward due to surgical injury that led to two abscesses and a subsequent hospitalization when I was 3 weeks pp. The abscesses led to a damaged abdominal wall which is believed to have caused the hernia. Hernia was confirmed by examination and CT with contrast on May 20, 2026 and I had surgery June 19, 2026. Surgeon did discuss possibility of waiting up to 6 months postpartum to allow scar tissue and inflammation from the c-section to settle more, but I elected to just get it over with.

I will say I was so so so anxious about this surgery that I almost canceled it but knew my quality of life would be impacted as surgery would be inevitable at some point. I arrived at the hospital in the morning, changed into the gown and grippy socks, was prepped by a nurse who got my IV started and offered me a benzo to ease my nerves. I accepted. Highly recommend taking the drugs!! I spoke with the surgeon and he answered all of my questions and also let me see the mesh they would be using. He also let me take a piece of it home lol. I was wheeled into the OR and anesthesia informed me they had started the meds and last thing I saw was the light above me fade out. Sugery ended up being more complex than initially thought due to the extent of scar tissues and abdominal wall damage so it took about 6 hours when I was originally told it would be 90 min to 3 hours.

I woke up in the recovery bay feeling great, was quite high and in good spirits. The most discomfort I felt was the gas pain. Staff had me up and walking short laps immediately, I ate a popsicle, and then my husband came to bring me home after about 2 hours in recovery. Overall, I was at the hospital for 12 hours which I believe is quite a lot longer than most people who have this surgery.

I had to pump and dump once but was cleared to breastfeed after, however I chose to give it 24 hours post-surgery to feed my baby again. That night, I went to bed, was able to lay down flat and comfortably. This is something I couldn't do after a c-section. It was also completely fine getting out of bed. I really never had any pain pain, I would call it more discomfort and soreness than anything. Anyway, I'm healing up great, my belly is still swollen a little bit but otherwise I'm very happy with my choice to get the surgery. Happy to answer any other questions.

Hi everyone. ❤️
I had a twin pregnancy in 2020, and ever since then my tummy still looks like I’m about 7 months pregnant. It has really affected my confidence, and I often feel sad and embarrassed about it.
I’m hoping to avoid surgery if possible. Has anyone been able to improve this naturally through exercise, physiotherapy, or diet? If so, I’d love to hear what worked for you and how long it took.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. 💕

Hi all,

I have pregnancy induced DR. I have a gap of about 2 fingers. While doing core excercises like toe taps and dead big, I am feeling the effects on upper thighs and lower back instead of core. Is this normal?

My last baby is about to turn 3 yrs. I have a visible ab separation and I started exercising to lower my momma pouch but I want to make sure I'm doing this right. Which exercises work best to lose weight, tone muscles while having diastasis recti?

I have a 26-year-old, 24 year old, 8-year-old, and 6-year-old. After my 6-year-old was born, I realized I had severe diastasis recti. I assumed that spending months and years on PT exercises specifically targeting the problem would lead to a difference, but it has not.

I permanently appear as though I am 8 or 9 months pregnant.

I am extremely active, consistently exercise, eat healthily, and I'm at my ideal weight. It does not matter.

As a woman who has experienced decades of poor medical treatment and advice (I have diagnosed everything I have ever had despite relying on "experts" who consistently came up with wrong diagnoses), I am beyond outraged that the pain, discomfort, and even the "little" things like never being able to find clothing that fits me appropriately is written off as "cosmetic" and insurance will not cover appropriate surgical treatment. (And to give you an idea of what it has taken me to get to this point - I home birthed all my kids and even had our last kid at home unassisted to avoid all the covid nonsense in the hospitals. I don't just not work on myself and my body and rely on drugs and doctors to fix everything for me). So for me to get to the point where I actually feel like I *need* surgical repair is a pretty huge deal, lol!

I just want to know how people can manage to have perfectly healthy breasts and genitalia and whatnot surgically altered or removed and it is covered by insurance yet I - as a woman - have a legitimate medical need being denied as "cosmetic". (I'm not arguing for/against trans surgeries - I'm strictly referring to the physical function and health of the body, not the need for appropriate gender-affirming care).

I don't identify as a woman with diastasis recti! I know this sounds crazy, but I've even thought that if I somehow wrap this up into a gender identity issue, I could somehow get this much needed surgery covered and then just not get the other surgeries done. I am getting totally desperate here.

Does anyone else have any personal experience and/or advice for this situation? The physical issues are back pain, abdominal pain, and it also drastically interferes with what I do for work. Any support, advice, or words of encouragement are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I told by Emory that I would need two separate surgeries and that I would need to go to a plastic surgeon for my diastasis recti repair.

The plastic surgeon told me that my only option was an abdominoplasty, which I don’t want.

Anyone have any recommendations on who I should reach out to?

I know this isn’t exactly a menopause-related question, but do any of you older ladies have separated abdominal muscles? I’m pretty sure mine are, and I’m concerned that the planks & crunches I do may not actually be stabilizing my core. I have a lot of lower back pain that used to feel better with that kind of exercise; lately, nothing helps. Any suggestions?

Hi Everyone. I'm seeking your knowledge and input.

I want to get diastasis recti surgery, but I dont want synthetic surgical mesh. For me the risks seem too high.

I want a surgery where there is no mesh, or a dissolvable mesh. Does this exist? Does it work?

Im a 56m. I've had diastasis recti for at least 20 years. The DR goes from the bottom of my sternum (zyphoid process) to my belly button. At the sternum it starts at 2+ fingertips width and tapers down to about 1 fingertips width at my belly button. Also my rib cage has definitely flared up and out over time, as its not anchored in the center.

I'm a MAT Muscle Activation Techniques specialist, and I'm able to self treat the abdominal muscles. Meaning some of the abdominal muscles get inhibited: weak, low endurance, slow to contract, decreased ROM. For me the most problematic muscles are R upper tva, L lower tvs, R external obliques, R internal obliques, R&L sternalis, and R&L rectus abdominis 3rd & 4th division. They chronically get inhibited and need treatment 2-5 times per week.

I have a lot of back and neck pain. After I treat the inhibited abdominal muscles, the back/neck pain is diminished by 50% to 90%. And then slowly over the course of days, the muscle function decreases and the pain comes back.

I think I have realistic expectations. I dont expect the surgery to be a miracle cure. My hope is that the surgery will restore some integrity to the abdominal function, that the loss of function that I experience will slow down, and that I wont need to spend so much time on self treatment.

Thanks!

Interested in your views on optimal period between postpartum and getting the surgery done. My DR is really bad, about 10cm. There’s a chance that I can have it done on the UK public health system the NHS.
For this it would likely be 1.5 to 2 years away. Or I can get it done 3 to 6 months postpartum but would have to pay from life savings. At least it would be done whilst I have a small baby rather than a toddler who wants picking up all the time. In a year, I’ll be back at work anyway so in the ‘waiting’ scenario I would then have to take six weeks off work
Opens to thoughts either way!

I have a 2 finger gap above my belly button but I don’t feel a gap underneath my belly button.. is that normal? I have a bit of a pouch and I’m guessing it’s due to the diastasis recti but the bulge is low, so I would think I would have a gap below my belly button as well. I’ve been doing exercises to heal it and it seems to be looking better but the gap doesn’t feel any different

Backstory:
Due to an abdominal surgery with improper closure(medically proven) and subsequent pregnancy within a year I developed severe diastasis recti.
I was an odd case and since it was primarily caused by improper muscle closure(everything from my belly button down was not closed) physical therapy did not help. After about 4 years it had extended up my entire midline and I developed 2 hernias. At that point my primary referred me to a plastic surgeon who said it was the worst he had ever seen and referred me to the head of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the university of Iowa, he also said he’d never seen a case this bad. My entire abdominal wall had atrophied and he was very blunt in saying I was standing upright and keeping my insides inside by sheer willpower because my muscles were not doing anything. They were not capable of holding a feather upright. Anyway surgery was scheduled since insurance was now willing to pay due to the hernias and he plead the case he needed to fix all of it or I would just keep developing hernias. It took a 6in x 12in piece of coviden progrip mesh to close everything up. I have had nonstop pain and issues from that mesh because it is essentially like a giant piece of Velcro that my muscles grew into and my body does not want it there.
Removal is not possible.
Because of this and some other unrelated conditions I have had a hard time with exercise. I attempted PT everywhere within an hour of me and nothing they worked on was helpful. Most of it was OT, showing me ways to do things without using my abdominal muscles which was the exact opposite of what I was working for.
I am about 5ft, 115lb and have recently gotten back into going to the gym. I’ve really been trying to tone up my belly since the way it is now is just a constant reminder of what I went through and it’s gotten to where it’s causing a lot of back pain.
So now to my actual question:
Has anyone experienced swelling from working out? The more I work those muscles out the more edema and swelling it’s causing around the mesh and it’s causing some pretty significant jolts of pain. I have a drs appointment scheduled in a few weeks to check it out but I am curious if anyone else has had a similar experience.
I’m not doing anything super crazy, abdominal wise just light weight crunches, inclined sit-ups, rows, things like that. But my abdomen is just so painfully swollen and feels like I have a giant bag of jello stuck to me now.
*my repair was 4 years ago now

I know this is a weird question, but I’ve had it twice now currently a 2 finger upper diastasis, both from pregnancies. First one lasting about 3 years, and seemed after my bloating went down, and I stopped sleeping on my side due to co-sleeping, to have healed on its own. And I can’t help but think that sleeping on your back causes you to breathe correctly and if you’re doing it for hours every night could back sleeping heal a diastasis?