Post by baytosa2013 on Jul 2, 2015 19:51:13 GMT -5
Hi ladies I have a question. I had a c section and I was wondering for those of you that have also had one, whether it was this pregnancy or a previos one, how long did it take to recover? Was your tummy still tender for a while?
I'm 4 weeks out today and my tummy has been tender the last couple days. I had my scar checked at 2 week and they said everything looked good. I looked today and I feel like I have one spot at the putter edge that seems a little red. I'm terrified I have some sort of infection. I go to the dr on Thursday for my post partum appt.
I'm 2.5 weeks pp after a c-section. My stomach is a little tender under my belly button and above my scar...I'm assuming it's because the incision in my uterus is still healing. My outer incision isn't sore but I also have one spot (the first stitch) on the each side that is still a little red/hasn't completely healed yet. I don't see my OB again until 6 weeks pp so I'm hoping this is normal.
Post by laurenlou83 on Jul 2, 2015 21:40:15 GMT -5
I'm 5 weeks PP and I mostly feel great. However, just the other day I was really sore and tender around my incision. I think if I overdo it a bit, walk a lot, etc I get a bit sore. I think it's normal to still have a little tenderness at this point, it is manor surgery and there are internal incisions, too, that are still healing.
Post by baileybaileybne on Jul 2, 2015 22:03:53 GMT -5
I'm the same as pps above at almost 3 weeks. I had mine looked at yesterday for other reasons and they said it was normal. There is still a lot going on under the skin so I expect it to be tender for a few more weeks yet. If your scar is hot or has any angry red sore spots I'd have it checked, otherwise it sounds normal.
I'm only a week out, but with my first, it took at least 6-7 weeks for the ends of the incision to heal all the way. I kept having DH look at it to make sure it wasn't infected. Dr said it was completely normal.
My scar doesn't hurt or itch and it stopped bothering me by 3 weeks. Im 4 weeks pp and my belly area still feels a bit tender. Also doesn't help that LO likes to kick my tummy when we do side lying BF.
Thanks everyone! I am mostly paranoid about infection but I did walk 2.25 miles the othe day. it was so nice out and i was feeling good so i just kept strolling. Im hoping I just over did it. It's definitely most tender at the ends and has been since day one. I keep thinking I should be all good by now but then realize its barely been 4 weeks. They don't tell you any of this in your birth class! They had a separate class for csection info that I didn't take because I didn't know I was having one till the last minute.
Post by periwinkledaydreams on Jul 3, 2015 4:03:16 GMT -5
Thanks for starting this thread! I almost did the same yesterday with the same type of question, because Im 2 weeks out from a C and one outer corner seems to not want to stay closed and is leaking some fluid. I called to have my doctor look at it cause Im not about to let this thing get infected and they are being so nonchalant in my opinion. I thought it would be a bigger deal that it was open and oozing at 2 weeks but I guess I still have a long way to go. I think I really over did it around the house last week chores wise and lifting baby, I really should have asked for help a bit more in the earliest days and I think I just maybe busted a stitch in the outer corner at that point so it is now taking the longest to heal.
Anyway I think there are a whole mess of concerns that I have that were not addressed in my discharge paperwork or by my nurses in the hospital and sometimes I feel really overwhelmed by the fact that I had major surgery on top of delivering a baby and it scares me that Im doing something wrong. I like the idea of having a place for section mommas to chat if we have questions for each other, so thanjs for this!
I am so thankful for this... I was also about to post yesterday. I am 2 weeks 2 days pp. Everything looked good at my check on Monday, and I have been feeling good... Then I started tapering off the vicodin and was surprised how sore I got. I think I am still over shooting on the activity level just doing crap around the house. I am going to keep taking motrin to deal with the soreness and dial it back a peg or two on the chores. I noticed that the first stitch hurts the most too, and has since right after surgery.
Im only a week out from mine, but my doctor did tell me to expect the ends to hurt longer and take longer to heal due to the twisting and manipulating that is done. That's the only thing I can offer as of right now!
YES! the outer corner on the right side has been torture! It's slowly getting better but the first 2 weeks it burned like crazy! The nurses said that literally everyone complains about one side hurting more than the other and she thought it was because the anchor stitches are on the sides and that's where they put the doodads that open you up so it messed with the area more.
The NP told me that there are 4 layers to cut through and then heal. I need to remember that and give myself a break. I'm not use to sitting around not doing much :/
I am so thankful for this... I was also about to post yesterday. I am 2 weeks 2 days pp. Everything looked good at my check on Monday, and I have been feeling good... Then I started tapering off the vicodin and was surprised how sore I got. I think I am still over shooting on the activity level just doing crap around the house. I am going to keep taking motrin to deal with the soreness and dial it back a peg or two on the chores. I noticed that the first stitch hurts the most too, and has since right after surgery.
This has been the hardest part for me. I have so much more energy now compared with third tri, so I think I've been trying to do my nesting now. Adjusting expectations for myself since I'm BFing Z all day and still being sore has been rough. I hate looking over the house in the evening and realizing I got nothing done.
I am so thankful for this... I was also about to post yesterday. I am 2 weeks 2 days pp. Everything looked good at my check on Monday, and I have been feeling good... Then I started tapering off the vicodin and was surprised how sore I got. I think I am still over shooting on the activity level just doing crap around the house. I am going to keep taking motrin to deal with the soreness and dial it back a peg or two on the chores. I noticed that the first stitch hurts the most too, and has since right after surgery.
This has been the hardest part for me. I have so much more energy now compared with third tri, so I think I've been trying to do my nesting now. Adjusting expectations for myself since I'm BFing Z all day and still being sore has been rough. I hate looking over the house in the evening and realizing I got nothing done.
+1 on the looking around and realizing nothing got done! I feel like since I'm home my house should be spotless...not that it was before but whatever. It's been hard to just sit and I laugh at the people who say nap when she does. Does anyone actually do this? I think I've done it maybe 3 times and it new fails that I just get to sleep and then my DH comes home and wakes me up. Womp womp
Im only a week out from mine, but my doctor did tell me to expect the ends to hurt longer and take longer to heal due to the twisting and manipulating that is done. That's the only thing I can offer as of right now!
YES! the outer corner on the right side has been torture! It's slowly getting better but the first 2 weeks it burned like crazy! The nurses said that literally everyone complains about one side hurting more than the other and she thought it was because the anchor stitches are on the sides and that's where they put the doodads that open you up so it messed with the area more.
The NP told me that there are 4 layers to cut through and then heal. I need to remember that and give myself a break. I'm not use to sitting around not doing much :/
I was told one end usually hurts and is more tender than the other because that's where they anchor the stitches. When they stitch it, that end is constantly yanked and pulled.
I'm almost 9 weeks pp and I still get a bit of soreness on occasion. It's mostly if I lean against the counter while doing something, or I have something pressing on my incision directly. But nothing too major. It did take up until about 4-5 weeks pp before my abs didn't hurt like the dickens every time I tried to sit up.
baytosa2013 and turtletyme totally agree. I find it very hard to nap when she does, mostly because I never know how long she'll sleep so half the time, by the time I fall asleep she's up again and I feel worse than before because I only got like 20 mins of sleep! LO woke up 4 times btw 3:00 and 6:00am today and when I went back to bed crying after the last time, DH was like "It's ok babe, you can just nap when she does and you'll feel better." I wanted to throat punch him! Plus if you sleep whenever she does, you never shower or eat. Choices, choices.,,
baytosa2013 and turtletyme totally agree. I find it very hard to nap when she does, mostly because I never know how long she'll sleep so half the time, by the time I fall asleep she's up again and I feel worse than before because I only got like 20 mins of sleep! LO woke up 4 times btw 3:00 and 6:00am today and when I went back to bed crying after the last time, DH was like "It's ok babe, you can just nap when she does and you'll feel better." I wanted to throat punch him! Plus if you sleep whenever she does, you never shower or eat. Choices, choices.,,
Pretty sure once my DH went back to sleep after a comment like that, he would never have woken back up! Men can be so dense sometimes!
Post by periwinkledaydreams on Jul 3, 2015 15:21:52 GMT -5
I am SO grateful for this thread right now! I thought I was alone and now it seems it is excatly the same.. one corner is just really taking its time healing, I am super sore now as I taper off the vicodin, I did way too much around the house for being only in my 2nd week pp and its so hard to stop myself from doing chores yet so hard to nap when she naps..
Did anyone else here labor before their section/ go into it unplanned? I labored for like 30 hours before finally having to deliver C section and I feel like I was just already SO WIPED OUT going into it I havnt been able to catch back up. Then I dont feel like the hospital really gave me a whole lot of information about c section recovery at all and just treated me as they would any delivery. They literally were letting me get up and do whatever on my own the next day when I felt like I couldnt move a muscle, luckily I had my mom and SO to help me it just felt like the protocol was extremely nonchalant.
Im not so great at coming out and asking for help, so I guess I wish in those first few days that it had continued to be offered. I think thats where I strained the most. Im wondering what others experiences were as far as nurses helping you ie to shower, get in and out of bed, walking the halls, that sort of thing. Did you have help or did they pretty much leave you to figure it out for yourself?
baytosa2013 and turtletyme totally agree. I find it very hard to nap when she does, mostly because I never know how long she'll sleep so half the time, by the time I fall asleep she's up again and I feel worse than before because I only got like 20 mins of sleep! LO woke up 4 times btw 3:00 and 6:00am today and when I went back to bed crying after the last time, DH was like "It's ok babe, you can just nap when she does and you'll feel better." I wanted to throat punch him! Plus if you sleep whenever she does, you never shower or eat. Choices, choices.,,
Ive been debating whether or not I have enough time left on this sleep to grab myself a quick shower lol.. for long enough that I definitely could have showered already! Damnit! Now I for sure don't have enough time...
I am SO grateful for this thread right now! I thought I was alone and now it seems it is excatly the same.. one corner is just really taking its time healing, I am super sore now as I taper off the vicodin, I did way too much around the house for being only in my 2nd week pp and its so hard to stop myself from doing chores yet so hard to nap when she naps..
Did anyone else here labor before their section/ go into it unplanned? I labored for like 30 hours before finally having to deliver C section and I feel like I was just already SO WIPED OUT going into it I havnt been able to catch back up. Then I dont feel like the hospital really gave me a whole lot of information about c section recovery at all and just treated me as they would any delivery. They literally were letting me get up and do whatever on my own the next day when I felt like I couldnt move a muscle, luckily I had my mom and SO to help me it just felt like the protocol was extremely nonchalant.
Im not so great at coming out and asking for help, so I guess I wish in those first few days that it had continued to be offered. I think thats where I strained the most. Im wondering what others experiences were as far as nurses helping you ie to shower, get in and out of bed, walking the halls, that sort of thing. Did you have help or did they pretty much leave you to figure it out for yourself?
I was a scheduled c-section because she was breech at 37 weeks and never turned. It went all kinds of wrong though because the spinal didn't take and I could feel it when they were doing the test pokes. After that everything went really fast and next thing I knew everyone's voices got really loud then really muffled, my world started spinning and then it went black. After my DH said I was cringing and making noises and he asked if I could feel it and the Anestesia guy said yes but I wouldn't remember. I woke up in pain and they pushed 4 doses of Demerol that did nothing before giving me morphine.
The nurses were fantastic though! They were so nice, so helpful. The first over night nurse told me they would try to get me up the next morning and she helped me by letting me lean on her. I'd only had liqueds for over 24 hours so I got light headed And nauseous from the pain and had to sit back down. They helped me so much, it really gave me an appreciation for that job. I even went back to the hospital for an appt. 2 weeks later and brought them a thank you card calling out several of my favorite nurses from post partum and the nursery staff.
I am SO grateful for this thread right now! I thought I was alone and now it seems it is excatly the same.. one corner is just really taking its time healing, I am super sore now as I taper off the vicodin, I did way too much around the house for being only in my 2nd week pp and its so hard to stop myself from doing chores yet so hard to nap when she naps..
Did anyone else here labor before their section/ go into it unplanned? I labored for like 30 hours before finally having to deliver C section and I feel like I was just already SO WIPED OUT going into it I havnt been able to catch back up. Then I dont feel like the hospital really gave me a whole lot of information about c section recovery at all and just treated me as they would any delivery. They literally were letting me get up and do whatever on my own the next day when I felt like I couldnt move a muscle, luckily I had my mom and SO to help me it just felt like the protocol was extremely nonchalant.
Im not so great at coming out and asking for help, so I guess I wish in those first few days that it had continued to be offered. I think thats where I strained the most. Im wondering what others experiences were as far as nurses helping you ie to shower, get in and out of bed, walking the halls, that sort of thing. Did you have help or did they pretty much leave you to figure it out for yourself?
I labored for 28 hours before needing the c-section, so I can relate in being wiped out! I'm 5 wks PP as of yesterday and just in the last week/week and a half have I started feeling normal' again. I'm sorry your hospital wasn't very good on post-op info! I feel like those first couple of days are so important. My nurses and Dr were awesome in that regard, so I can't complain.
I am SO grateful for this thread right now! I thought I was alone and now it seems it is excatly the same.. one corner is just really taking its time healing, I am super sore now as I taper off the vicodin, I did way too much around the house for being only in my 2nd week pp and its so hard to stop myself from doing chores yet so hard to nap when she naps..
Did anyone else here labor before their section/ go into it unplanned? I labored for like 30 hours before finally having to deliver C section and I feel like I was just already SO WIPED OUT going into it I havnt been able to catch back up. Then I dont feel like the hospital really gave me a whole lot of information about c section recovery at all and just treated me as they would any delivery. They literally were letting me get up and do whatever on my own the next day when I felt like I couldnt move a muscle, luckily I had my mom and SO to help me it just felt like the protocol was extremely nonchalant.
Im not so great at coming out and asking for help, so I guess I wish in those first few days that it had continued to be offered. I think thats where I strained the most. Im wondering what others experiences were as far as nurses helping you ie to shower, get in and out of bed, walking the halls, that sort of thing. Did you have help or did they pretty much leave you to figure it out for yourself?
I labored prior to c-section but only for 9-10 hours. I progressed quickly and it took them forever to get an IV in (that's what I get for being at the pool on the hottest day of the year!) meaning I didn't get my planned epidural until 9cm. At that point I'd been in labor for about 5 hours. Then he hadn't dropped so we waited another 2 hours before pushing for 2 hours. He was sunny side up and very stuck so my OB called it. I'm only 9 days pp so I'm still very early in recovery. My nurses were great about getting me up and very encouraging for me to ask for help. DH was there almost the entire time so he was helpful. They even made sure to try to treat me for labor and a csection. Owen was never fully engaged so I had no aftermath of labor. I'm sorry that your experience wasn't so great.
Im only a week out from mine, but my doctor did tell me to expect the ends to hurt longer and take longer to heal due to the twisting and manipulating that is done. That's the only thing I can offer as of right now!
YES! the outer corner on the right side has been torture! It's slowly getting better but the first 2 weeks it burned like crazy! The nurses said that literally everyone complains about one side hurting more than the other and she thought it was because the anchor stitches are on the sides and that's where they put the doodads that open you up so it messed with the area more.
The NP told me that there are 4 layers to cut through and then heal. I need to remember that and give myself a break. I'm not use to sitting around not doing much :/
Oh, thank you! That explains why this hurts so much more than the first time. Once they opened the uterus, DD was basically trying to squirm her way out on her own - and started trying to cry before I was all the way open, and they had to hurry the last bit.
On laboring beforehand - I feel that's half the reason I didn't progress. I labored 26 hours (a count that starts after a night of sleeping between contractions 15-10 minutes apart), and was falling asleep between 90 second contractions that were under 2 minutes apart - then waking in a panic seconds later. The second I was laid down after my spinal, I was OUT. The poor anesthesiologist had the hardest time convincing my OB that she had not, in fact, put me under general (except that I did kind of wake up when I heard "No, I SWEAR. She's had no sedatives. She's just... asleep." The OB noticed my eyes opening.)
I am SO grateful for this thread right now! I thought I was alone and now it seems it is excatly the same.. one corner is just really taking its time healing, I am super sore now as I taper off the vicodin, I did way too much around the house for being only in my 2nd week pp and its so hard to stop myself from doing chores yet so hard to nap when she naps..
Did anyone else here labor before their section/ go into it unplanned? I labored for like 30 hours before finally having to deliver C section and I feel like I was just already SO WIPED OUT going into it I havnt been able to catch back up. Then I dont feel like the hospital really gave me a whole lot of information about c section recovery at all and just treated me as they would any delivery. They literally were letting me get up and do whatever on my own the next day when I felt like I couldnt move a muscle, luckily I had my mom and SO to help me it just felt like the protocol was extremely nonchalant.
Im not so great at coming out and asking for help, so I guess I wish in those first few days that it had continued to be offered. I think thats where I strained the most. Im wondering what others experiences were as far as nurses helping you ie to shower, get in and out of bed, walking the halls, that sort of thing. Did you have help or did they pretty much leave you to figure it out for yourself?
I think I'm in the minority of those who did not labor beforehand. I'm SO grateful for that, since they tried to convince me on multiple occasions to "give natural labor a try" before moving to the c. I really feel for you ladies who are recovering from both! I can't imagine how hard that must be. Because of my health issues, I can't take any narcotics that I have to digest. I had IV narcotics till Wed (my 3rd day in the hospital) and since then I've been on just a combo of Tylenol & Motrin. I actually made my husband tear up my prescription for Percocet so I wouldn't cave in and fill it when I got home. The good thing is that I was very aware of my limitations since I could feel the incision pretty well, so that helped me to pace myself and not overdo it. I don't think I could've held out if I'd labored first though. I'm thinking of you ladies as we all continue to recover!
Post by whoopsadaisy on Jul 3, 2015 21:27:25 GMT -5
baytosa2013 - I'm with you. I labored for 20 hours before the baby's heart rate started dropping and they took me for an emergency c/s. So lost that day of sleep and got about 2 hours the next two nights in the hospital because of having LO rooming in, general anxiety and nurses coming in a lot. They left me in bed the first day and I has able to walk once to the bathroom with support from the nurse that evening. After walking a couple of times with the nurse they decided I was steady on my feet and could pull the foley. No one helped me shower, but I guess I wasn't asking for that? I'm so grateful for my DH who could pass me the baby when he cried because I definitely could not twist and sit up to get him out of the bassinet. I thought the nurses were as helpful as I needed them to be, if that makes sense. They encouraged me to call for help, but I'm not great at asking for help and I rarely did that. During discharge teaching they gave me some ideas of what to expect as far as my physical recovery - they told me to limit using stairs for a couple of weeks, no lifting more than the baby, no long walks, etc basically just take it easy and remember you just had surgery so let other people take care of you. Not sure if that's what you were looking for...
I'm still wearing the abdominal binder from the hospital because anything rubbing against the incision is not quite painful, but very irritating. My OB said I should look into massage for around the c-section site so I "don't end up with a pooch and need plastic surgery later." She's rather blunt and ridiculous. I do feel like there's a bit more fat on one side of the incision than the other, maybe they didn't match up the edges perfectly before sewing it up? Thoughts? Anyone heard of massage for more equal distribution?
baytosa2013 - I'm with you. I labored for 20 hours before the baby's heart rate started dropping and they took me for an emergency c/s. So lost that day of sleep and got about 2 hours the next two nights in the hospital because of having LO rooming in, general anxiety and nurses coming in a lot. They left me in bed the first day and I has able to walk once to the bathroom with support from the nurse that evening. After walking a couple of times with the nurse they decided I was steady on my feet and could pull the foley. No one helped me shower, but I guess I wasn't asking for that? I'm so grateful for my DH who could pass me the baby when he cried because I definitely could not twist and sit up to get him out of the bassinet. I thought the nurses were as helpful as I needed them to be, if that makes sense. They encouraged me to call for help, but I'm not great at asking for help and I rarely did that. During discharge teaching they gave me some ideas of what to expect as far as my physical recovery - they told me to limit using stairs for a couple of weeks, no lifting more than the baby, no long walks, etc basically just take it easy and remember you just had surgery so let other people take care of you. Not sure if that's what you were looking for...
I'm still wearing the abdominal binder from the hospital because anything rubbing against the incision is not quite painful, but very irritating. My OB said I should look into massage for around the c-section site so I "don't end up with a pooch and need plastic surgery later." She's rather blunt and ridiculous. I do feel like there's a bit more fat on one side of the incision than the other, maybe they didn't match up the edges perfectly before sewing it up? Thoughts? Anyone heard of massage for more equal distribution?
I heard about massage for scar tissue. It's supposed to help with pulling if you have tight scar tissue but I haven't heard of it for distribution.
I am SO grateful for this thread right now! I thought I was alone and now it seems it is excatly the same.. one corner is just really taking its time healing, I am super sore now as I taper off the vicodin, I did way too much around the house for being only in my 2nd week pp and its so hard to stop myself from doing chores yet so hard to nap when she naps..
Did anyone else here labor before their section/ go into it unplanned? I labored for like 30 hours before finally having to deliver C section and I feel like I was just already SO WIPED OUT going into it I havnt been able to catch back up. Then I dont feel like the hospital really gave me a whole lot of information about c section recovery at all and just treated me as they would any delivery. They literally were letting me get up and do whatever on my own the next day when I felt like I couldnt move a muscle, luckily I had my mom and SO to help me it just felt like the protocol was extremely nonchalant.
Im not so great at coming out and asking for help, so I guess I wish in those first few days that it had continued to be offered. I think thats where I strained the most. Im wondering what others experiences were as far as nurses helping you ie to shower, get in and out of bed, walking the halls, that sort of thing. Did you have help or did they pretty much leave you to figure it out for yourself?
I labored for over 20 hours before they told me I had to have the c-section. Only difference for me was that the surgeon decided to also cut out my old scar tissue from back surgery when making the incision so he made two and then pieces it back together. It definitely is more sore on one side though from where he tied off the stitches he said.
Nurses offered me help post-op but I didn't really take it minus pain meds. But they also wouldn't let me see my son unless I was mobile since he was on IVs in special care nursery so I made myself get up and walk down the hall pretty quickly after surgery. It hurt but it was worth it.
I found the nurses encouraging, but not particularly helpful. I feel like I have so many questions now as I try to recover.
Today I was the most active I have been yet. Went on a walk and also pushed the stroller through sams club and buy buy baby. I don't feel too bad, except I have been having terrible gas pains. Is that a thing? Getting stuff moving perhaps? I thought gas after a section was only something you had to worry about for the first couple of days.
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