Q: In the first six to nine weeks after surgery, it is important to avoid heavy lifting, as well as any other activities that may increase the pressure or stress on your abdominal or pelvic areas. Ask your boss for modified duties at the workplace if you have a job that involves heavy physical labor.   Your doctor may advise that you do Kegel exercises to strengthen the muscles in your pelvic area following surgery. Be sure to follow your doctor's advice on when to begin strengthening exercises, and how many to do at a time, so that you do not put undue stress on your pelvic area following surgery. Also avoid sexual intercourse for 6 weeks following surgery, to allow time for a full recovery. If you are overweight or obese, this puts additional stress on the muscles and ligaments within your pelvis and vagina. Being overweight can significantly increase your risk of recurrence of the condition following surgery, due to the continual extra pressure in the area. Therefore, to minimize your risk as much as possible, and to ensure that the benefits of surgery last for as long as possible, you may want to consider weight loss.  Strategies to reduce your weight (if you are overweight) include increasing your aerobic (fat-burning) exercise, and improving the health of your diet, among others.   Click here for more information on how to lose weight safely and effectively if this is of interest to you. You will also want to ask your doctor to treat chronic conditions such as a persistent cough or ongoing constipation, which may put additional stress on your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. While the specifics of recovery may vary on a case-by-case basis (depending upon the severity of your prolapse), surgery is generally very successful at treating vaginal prolapse. You can return to normal activity fully by six to nine weeks after surgery, and your surgeon can advise you on a plan for a gradual return to activity during this time period.  Note that sexual problems may persist even after the surgery is complete. The surgery will most likely resolve the anatomic problem (the prolapse), but it will not necessarily resolve associated sexual challenges. If you are struggling to get your sex life back on track, you can ask your doctor for suggestions or for a referral to a physician who specializes in women's sexual health and wellbeing. Challenges that are common include pain with intercourse and decreased libido, among other things.
A: Avoid heavy lifting and other similar activities while you recover. Consider weight loss to prevent recurrence of your prolapse. Be aware of your expected recovery from vaginal prolapse.

Q: Most gloves and pads are made of leather and need a detergent with a pH of less than 10. Mix the detergent with water and dip a washcloth in the solution. Wipe the pads and gloves with the washcloth, removing any dirt and debris.  Adding a tablespoon of fabric softener to the detergent solution can help eliminate odors and make your pads and gloves flexible. You can check your detergent's pH levels by reading the label, checking online, or contacting its manufacturer. Do not put your pads or gloves in the dryer, as this can damage any leather or plastic pieces. Instead, stuff the pads or gloves with a washcloth or newspaper and let them dry overnight. Wash the lacrosse uniform after every game and practice to keep it fresh. Put your lacrosse uniform in the washing machine and turn it to the gentle cycle with cold water. You can use regular laundry detergent to clean the uniform, but do not add any fabric softener if your uniform is made of spandex. Most fabric softeners restrict the elasticity of spandex.  Washing the uniform with other clothes is okay so long as they can handle the gentle cycle with cold water. You can machine wash the pads and gloves as well, but use a non-acidic detergent. Put your uniform in the dryer immediately after your washing cycle ends. Set the dryer to low heat and check its dryness after the cycle ends. If the uniform is still damp, start another cycle and repeat the process as needed. Do not dry clean or iron your lacrosse uniform, as doing either can discolor the fabric.
A: Hand-wash your pads and gloves with a non-acidic detergent. Let your pads and gloves air-dry. Machine wash the uniform. Tumble dry your uniform.

Q: Pedal boards can be bought off the shelf or customized to your particular set-up. Whether you choose a small, medium, or large pedal board generally depends on the number of pedals you're using on a regular basis and the size of those pedals.  Generally, if you're using five or fewer pedals, you want a small pedal board. For more than ten pedals, on the other hand, you want a large pedal board. Also take into consideration if you plan to add more pedals over time. For example, if you currently use four pedals but plan on adding three more, it's best to go ahead and get a medium-sized pedal board so you'll have room for the others when you get them. If your pedals are oversized, you may want to get a large pedal board even if you're only using four or five pedals. This will prevent overcrowding. Whether you're buying a pre-built board or building your own, you need to make sure the pedal board will power all your pedals. While most pedals require 9 volts of power, some require more.  Be sure to check the power requirements of every pedal in your set-up – don't just assume they're all the same. You also want to check the power requirements of pedals you plan to add later on to ensure the board you buy can handle them. Your power supply needs to have the correct voltage as well as be able to handle the number of pedals you have or ultimately will have once your set-up is complete.  For example, if you have 10 pedals, all of which require 9 volts, you'll need a 9-volt power supply capable of handling 10 or more pedals. If you have one pedal that requires 12 volts, you'll need to look for a power supply that allows you to isolate pedals, because you don't want 12 volts running through the other pedals that require less power. While you do want to leave a little bit of space between pedals on your pedal board to keep it from looking cluttered, you still want to use extremely short patch cables to preserve the quality of your sound.  Choose cables with right-angle plugs rather than straight plugs, and this will cut down on the amount of space the cables take. If you have the tools to do so, you can pretty easily cut your own cables, which can both save you money and ensure that your cables are the exact length you need for your particular set-up. Avoid black cables, as they can get lost on a stage and you may not be able to easily identify the problem if one is unhooked or damaged. Because you may want to change the order of your pedals to alter your guitar's tone, use a non-permanent means such as Velcro to fix the pedals in place on your pedal board.  Particularly if you're working with a large number of pedals, you may want to stagger them so they alternate between the front and rear edges of the pedal board. This will make it easier for you to differentiate between them and hit the pedal you want during a performance. Make sure the pedals you use most often are laid out so they are easiest for you to reach with your foot. Keep in mind that the location of the pedals on the board doesn't necessarily need to follow the signal chain you've created exactly. However, you do want to follow it as closely as possible to reduce the length of the patch cables.
A:
Choose the right size. Check the power requirements of your pedals. Find an adequate power supply. Use compact patch cables. Velcro your pedals to the board.