pp healing (physical)

[herins]

I am curious about your experiences with healing from vaginal birth. Having had a c-section last time, this vaginal pain is entirely new to me! I did tear, but am not sure to what extent. For the first few days, I was extremely swollen and couldn't sit. The swelling slowly went down and I started to feel more control over my muscles. Then, at about 6 days pp, I started feeling more pain. For the last few days, I really can't handle sitting or standing for more than a few minutes. I went to emerg. last night because I was getting worried, and the doc said it "might be the start of infection" and gave me a prescription for antibiotics. I won't fill out the prescription without knowing it's actually an infection, but I also don't know if I should be this uncomfortable 9 days pp. I find it weird that I could go for a walk around the block 5 days ago, but now can't make it to the kitchen without horrible pain. My hubby is out right now picking up Witch Hazel pads, and a friend brought me some Epsom salts to bathe in. Any ideas, concerns, feelings, comparisons, hugs???

[GoGoGirl]

I didn't tear, so I don't have any personal experience with this, but mama that sounds so painful! I'm sorry you're dealing with this!



FWIW, my mom and sister told me that vaginal pain often gets better, then worse again. They said 4 days PP tends to be the worst day, but maybe for you it's a little later?

[cairomama]

I had a 2nd degree tear but was not swollen and it really didn't hurt, there was just a little soreness. I hope you feel better.

[Malva]

That sounds more painful than it should be imo.

This time around I only got a small scrape on the inside and it hasn't hurt at all but with the other two kids I had some discomfort while sitting and stinging while peeing.

[corrie_cat]

This does sound like too much pain. I had one 2nd degree tear, stitched, and was taking long walks (and having no pain while sitting) by 9 days ppm. I did us witch hazel pads over my maxi pads all the time for 2 weeks or so... I would certainly start doing that - it really helped - and definitely see a doc. Hope this heals up soon!

[eewieew]

i (very luckily) didn't tear, so i can't commiserate based on personal experience, but what you are describing does sound like an infection. were i in your shoes, i would rest and take those antibiotics. this is not the time to be taking any risks with your health!!!

[JillyD]

I have a good friend who had some tearing and she, 1 year later, is still dealing with issues because of her tears. So, yeah, do whatever you can to fix it ASAP...whatever that takes. If I were you, I'd call my midwife or OB and see if they can help...sometimes they have more experience than someone at the ER.

Good luck - and hope you heal quickly.

[herins]

Damn. I will call my ob/gyn on Tuesday (good time for a long weekend) and hope he will see me since I transferred to a midwife's care. This sucks. I started using witch hazel last night and just had a long soak in an epsom salt bath. Maybe I'll be miraculously healed by Tuesday.

On a happy note, my best friend just gave birth to her first baby - 8 days after my babe was born! Now, if only I could get off the couch to go see her!

[javilu]

nak
i tore in 2 places and it was quite painful, especially walking and sitting (and peeing). i don't think my swelling went completely down until 4 weeks PP, but it stopped being super uncomfortable within a week of birth and started to improve around 3-4 days PP.

[YayJennie]

Are you using disposable pads? I had a similar experience to you...a minor tear that was painful and swollen the first few days, but seemed to heal up rather nicely, and I was doing well. Until about day 7, and suddenly things started hurting again, and it was so painful I couldn't sit comfortably. I called my midwife and asked if maybe I had a UTI or something, and she figured out it might be a reaction to using disposable pads for a weeks straight. It was! I stopped using the pads (luckily my bleeding was so little at that point I could go with nothing and just changed my underwear frequently, but you could try cotton washable pads or just use a prefold diaper or washcloth that's 100% cotton), and a few days later, I was feeling OK again. Now, 19 days pp, I don't have any pain or soreness! I hope it's that simple for you, but if not, I would take the antibiotics. I wouldn't mess around with an infection right now!

Also, it helped to freeze comfrey tea in a disposable pad and sit on that for a few hours each day. I thought the frozen pad would be too cold, but it felt FABULOUS.

[JMJ]

I wrapped frozen peas in an organic cotton prefold and slept that way for about a week. It felt so good on all my swelling, and it went down pretty quickly. It's still not gone completely at 2 weeks PP, but I'm feeling much better. I haven't used my peas in a few days, and maybe I should start again because I'm less comfortable after stopping, but it's nothing like it was before.

[javilu]

nak
i forgot to say, at the birth center, they gave me tucks pads for cleaning/soothing along with castor oil to put on my maxi pads so they wouldn't stick to my skin and cause further irritation.

[bethannek]

I would ask your Midwife what kind of tearing you had. I have a 4th degree tear in the rear and as it started to feel better I got a new irritated spot (about 4 days pp) in the front. I called and she said it could be a skid mark. They don't get stitched and heal a little differently. She said to watch my temp and come in if I had a fever or any other signs of infection.

The Midwife also recommended getting some sun and air on my perenium. I had to skip that one because my backyard is just not that private. I stopped using the peri bottle yesterday and that actually seems to have helped. I also blowdry my nether regions with the hairdryer (on "cool") after I get out of the shower to keep things from getting too moist. In the early days I used a lot of maxi pads soaked in witch hazel then frozen. They felt devine but then I realized it probably wasn't the best thing to have all that moisture (after melting) in the area.

Hope your Midwife can give you some answers and that you feel better soon.

[herins]

I saw my obgyn today. The nurse I spoke too was really, really rude about the fact that I had seen a midwife, but my doc. was fine. He said that there's a spot that lost its stitch and is taking longer to heal, and that the stitches that are still in are tight but will heal properly. I was surprised to hear that there are still stitches in there on PP day 12. He also told me to stop taking the antibiotics (of which I had taken 5). I am taking probiotics now to try to counteract the effects of what I took.

YayJennie, my midwife had told me that Always pads cause some people problems. Mine didn't seem to be plasticky like Always, but I went out and bought some new ones today to see how that works.

Bethannek, when was your baby born? Does your skid mark still hurt (and what does it feel like - if you can describe it)?

Thank you for your suggestions! I soooo hope I can walk soon.

[Devaskyla]

I found the pads were causing me some pain, too. Not the chemicals or anything, just the way they bunch up was putting a lot of pressure on the tissues when I was sitting (most of the time with a hungry newborn). I switched to ultra thin pads & the pain got a lot better. Might help, if you haven't already tried that.