C/S ladies, how are you recovering?

[copper.kettle]

Wow, this recovery has thrown me for a loop!  I can't believe there is such a thing as "elective" c/s... who would choose this?!!

When I think back to how easy it was to recover from a natural, vaginal birth... man this is a whole different ball of wax.

I've been needing pain meds around the clock, although I have to say starting last evening (post op day 3) I've been able to wait a little longer in between doses.  My activity tolerance is so low.  One day in the hospital I walked the halls for like, maybe 10 minutes or less, and that night my bleeding and pain were so much worse.  I really have to force myself to not do much at all, which sucks because when the pain meds kick in, well, I want to move!  I want to get back to normal!  I want to play with DS!

Deep breath.  It's been a HUGE lesson in listening to and honoring my body and the healing process. 

I was so surprised at how swollen I got.  My legs and feet and periarea and face were all really swollen.  My incision is healing well, but is kind of numb, which I was told is normal, but also surprised me.  I didn't really get much post-op teaching, so I spent a few days kind of overwhelmed and confused about what was happening.  I think laboring for so long and getting so close to birth before surgery made everything worse, too.

Anyway, just wanted to throw this out there in case anyone else is recovering and confused or discouraged! 

Hope everyone is healing and feeling better each day!

[JoyFilled]

Take it really easy.  I did nothing for 2-3 weeks after my c-section.  I think a lot of people really don't understand what is involved.

As I try for a VBAC and have to fight off the people telling me just to sign up for a c-section, it's remembering the time required to heal that keeps me hoping for a natural birth this time.

[Chaika]

copper.kettle, I totally agree that anyone who chooses this is nuts!  It's been a week for me and I still can't move in certain ways without pain in my incision.  I was in the hospital for 3 days after the section, because they wanted to keep an eye on Anton, who spent his first day in the NICU.  I was having really bad headaches.  I talked to the nurses about it and they said "you're just exhausted" and gave me Tylenol and told me to rest (but then proceeded to come in my room constantly when I was sleeping and wake me up to take my vitals, give me pain meds, or tell me to feed my baby - who was also sleeping - but I digress).  It wasn't until my last day in the hospital that a new nurse took me seriously about the headache.  She went to get someone from anesthesiology, who told me I had the classic symptoms of a spinal headache.  They wanted to keep me in the hospital for yet another day to pump me full of fluids with an IV, but I was so sick of the hospital that I begged to be discharged.  So they discharged me, with instructions to lie flat on my back at all times (except for eating and bathroom breaks), drink tons of water, and have 3 caffeinated beverages a day for 48 hours.  After that, the headache did go away. 

But...yeah.  The tough thing is that I knew next to nothing about c-sections, because I was so sure I would never have one.  I had prepared all kinds of treatments to heal myself from a vaginal birth, but this is a whole different ball game.  Thankfully, the OB who did the section said she took care to do it, and suture it, in such a way that she is confident I can have a VBAC in the future. 

Also, my steri strips haven't fallen off yet...I wonder if I should take them off?  I'm kind of scared to.

[Lynann]

I just wanted to send big hugs to all the Mamas recovering from c-sections.

Copper I had a long labor then c/s with DS, and it took me a while to not feel like I'd just been hit by a semi-truck. I was sore in parts of my body I didn't even know existed, and was so swollen that I couldn't bend my knees for the first 24 hours. I felt like I was being scolded when the nurses tried to make me walk and I could not physically move my legs from the swelling. I will say that I did feel much better once I got the staples removed at 6 days postpartum (should have been 4 days but it was the weekend and I had to wait until the Monday for the visiting nurse.)

I took it really easy and rested as much as possible for the first few weeks. My only tasks were to sleep and to nurse DS and everything else just had to wait. The long recovery is part of my motivation for my HBAC. I could not recover from surgery with a 14 month old AND a newborn to care for, and DH couldn't take that much time off work. I'll never understand why women do elective c-sections either.

[FischK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoyFilled 

Take it really easy.  I did nothing for 2-3 weeks after my c-section.  I think a lot of people really don't understand what is involved.

As I try for a VBAC and have to fight off the people telling me just to sign up for a c-section, it's remembering the time required to heal that keeps me hoping for a natural birth this time.

I was really surprised when I found out after my c/s-section what the physical consequences were. During the last weeks of my last pregnancy, I was so looking forward to getting back to an active lifestyle, but because of the section, I had to postpone that for weeks to come. I healed well, but not nearly fast enough for my taste. 

Concerning numb incisions: that is normal, but there is a chance that the area will stay numb for quite a while. Until quite recently when my uterus began to stretch the area, my scar felt numb, and this is two years later. 

Steri strips: just let them fall off by themselves. They're not pretty, but they keep things in place.

Just take it as easy as you can. Rest. Start walking short distances when your daily activities don't exhaust you. And wait on doing ab exercises even if it is very tempting to do them asap.

[copper.kettle]

Joyfilled, recovery from a vaginal birth is a cake compared to this!  You are going to be SO HAPPY you resisted a repeat section :)  After my natural vag birth, I was up and walking around after about 40 minutes.  I was a little sore in my girl bits for a few days, but I don't even think I needed to take motrin.  My activity and comfort were back to normal after maybe a week.  Good luck with your vbac, you won't regret it!!!

chaika, omgoodness, spinal headaches are awful.  I've never had one, but people say they are the worst.  I am so sorry you had to go through that on top of this recovery, too!!  IDK about taking off the steri strips off.  It will prob hurt, and if you pull at the wrong angle it could pull at your incision.  I'm having a 1 week post partum check up, are you having one?  I think I'd wait.

[Chaika]

I'm not having a checkup for another 3 weeks.  I thought I remembered that they told me the steri strips should fall off between 5-7 days but I could be wrong about that, how long did it take for you ladies?  I have been showering every day and though I don't really do anything with that area I thought the water might make them fall off.  Anyway, I guess I'll just leave them, seems like it can't hurt.

[Agatha_Ann]

I have been talking about mine in chat, but I'll post in here too. This has been the worst recovery I have ever had. I am 18 days out today and I am still on meds around the clock. My incision has opened 3 times and I have an infection in my uterus. I had a great birth, butif there is such a thing as recovery trauma, I think I have it. 

[cakemama579]

Because this is my 2nd secion, I knew what to expect.  VBAC was what I was shooting for, ut in some cases we just have to roll with the punches, right?    I'm 5 days out from surgery and things are going well.  As long as I don't overdo it, my incision doesnt hurt so bad anymre and /i'm fine with taking motrin and tyelenol rather than percocet.  My biggest problem?  Constipation!  I'm almost positive they rewired my digestive system  so tha it no longer has means of letting anything escape froom my body.  /maybe since I'm not on the percocet anymore things will start moving again???  I'm also experiencing terrible pitted edema in my feet and ankles that I never had with DS.  Good thing I'm not keaving the house anytime soon--I dnt have any shoes that fit!!

Chaika-- just leave the steri strips.  they will eventually come off on their own.

[copper.kettle]

agatha!  holy cow, you poor thing!  i don't follow the chat thread b/c i just can't keep up; i had no idea you were going through this is the infection resolving?  do you have enough help with your other kids so you can focus on this healing?  i can't even imagine how hard this must be for you!

cake, i took colace twice/day for 4 days, and started taking 1 sennakot/day as well, and i've been able to poop a couple of times.  pooping made a huge difference in my gas/bloating/belly pain.

caika, they glued my incision, i don't have steri strips.

[Agatha_Ann]

I am starting to feel better now. Quick little summary...I was doing the normal recovery, a little better each day until the 4th or 5th day and then I started getting worse everyday. More pain and nausea etc. My incision hurt like crazy and then it felt like fire all the way up to my ribs. They took my staples out on the second day even though I was not comfortable with that. It was very painful, some of them were stuck and they had to manipulate them causing even more pain. I was honestly in tears and bleeding. My incision then continued to open over the course of the first 10 days at home and it was bleeding and oozing. My steri strips were starting to fall off, so I peeled them and replaced where it needed it. When I pulled off the strips in the middle, there were two staples still in me. I was beyond mad. One of my close friends is a family doc so she came over and took them out.

Anyway, it has been a rough road, but I am doing better now. My mom has been here since the baby came (with an exception of a couple days when she had to run home). She is leaving tomorrow, but I think I will be ok.

[Beckily]

I'm feeling mostly okay. I don't have pain if I don't move ;) I just had mine yesterday, though, so the big meds only wore off about six hours ago.

Apparently it looks good and you can't really even see the mark - it's in a crease. So that's cool. Standing is okay, except for the part where sometimes it feels like all my guts are going to fall out. My feet and ankles are very swollen, so I've been walking a bit. Walking helps, actually. Not with the swelling, but with pain. Not sure how that works.

I'm afraid to stand and hold Charlie, but have started to do so this evening.. and finally got to change his diapers today! In bed, but still :) I really like changing his diapers..

I think I might get some steri strips tomorrow before I leave? They had me take off the take and stuff in the shower today..

The belly binder is a big help, so if you don't have one -get one!

Constipation is not something I'm at all used to having - never had it during pregnancy - but I'm hoping that returning home will help. This hospital toilet is not nice to sit on! And peeing is weird. I pee tons, but my bladder doesn't feel that full.. and I can't really tell when I'm done. You guys, too?

[cakemama579]

Ok, maybe TMI, but the bowels finally, FINALLY started working again!!  Phew, I feel like a new woman. lol.

Did anyone else experience extreme itching at the hospital from the IV medication?  To me, that is almost the worst part of recovery, is dealing with the itching in every orifice in my body.  Benadryl just didn't cut it, either.

[JoyFilled]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement I was not really expecting it.  It helps my resolve.

[Chaika]

cakemama, I had some itching, but it wasn't too severe.  The nurse offered me Benedryl but also said it could negatively affect milk production, so I declined.  My itching only lasted one day.  I hope yours goes away soon!

Also, I totally got constipated, which never happens to me.  It was awful.  It lasted for 4 days, but thankfully everything seems normal now.

[copper.kettle]

Cake, the itching is a common side effect of narcotics.  I have a little bit even with percocet.

Beckily, sounds like you are doing great!  I found walking felt really good, but I would be in a lot more pain on those evenings :(  My activity tolerance was very low for those first few days.  I'm 1 week out now, and still have to hold myself back from doing everything I want to do.  Is Charlie being a good boy with latching on?

Agatha, what a nightmare.  You poor thing.  I'm glad to hear you're on the upswing.  I would be really mad, too.  Your babymoon has been hijacked!  I really hope things are smooth sailing for you from now on!

[Beth145]

Originally Posted by Chaika 

I'm not having a checkup for another 3 weeks.  I thought I remembered that they told me the steri strips should fall off between 5-7 days but I could be wrong about that, how long did it take for you ladies?  I have been showering every day and though I don't really do anything with that area I thought the water might make them fall off.  Anyway, I guess I'll just leave them, seems like it can't hurt.

They also told me that mine would fall off within 7 days, but when they started peeling around day 14, I started taking them off.  I felt more comfortable without them at that point as they would peel and get stuck to my underwear and pull....not fun!!

[Beth145]

I was also constipated from the Percocet. My midwife gave me stool softeners (NOT laxatives) and it helped A LOT. 

[Beckily]

He's good at latching, yes :) And he's already learned to bite hard and then jerk his head quickly backwards to try to rip it off.

I had my mom help yesterday to removed about 75lbs of horrible sticky glue from my lower belly. Most of the pain was from that attaching to something and pulling. My "dressing" when sent home is just stiches with a large maxi laid over it. They had us take off the dressing ourselves and never came to help with the Glue O' Doom.

Down to just using the ibruprophren for pain. Still hate that feeling of standing up and having all my intestines try to fall out. And there's still some glue yanking.

Feeling better overall, though my back hurts. Kind of whiny right now ;)

[Agatha_Ann]

Originally Posted by Beckily 

He's good at latching, yes :) And he's already learned to bite hard and then jerk his head quickly backwards to try to rip it off.

I had my mom help yesterday to removed about 75lbs of horrible sticky glue from my lower belly. Most of the pain was from that attaching to something and pulling. My "dressing" when sent home is just stiches with a large maxi laid over it. They had us take off the dressing ourselves and never came to help with the Glue O' Doom.

Down to just using the ibruprophren for pain. Still hate that feeling of standing up and having all my intestines try to fall out. And there's still some glue yanking.

Feeling better overall, though my back hurts. Kind of whiny right now ;)

My back always hurts the longest...until my ab muscles are strong again at least. And I hear you on the glue. I swear sometimes I think I am actually producing it from my pores because it just keeps showing up!

Still better and better, but no where near where I should be at this point. Off the percocet, but on lortab and motrin. I am walking everyday and I am up to 25 minutes. One side of my incision opened again on Monday and is still open about the size of a pencil eraser. That side is where most of my pain is coming from. The hospital called to follow up with me after I answered "not satisfied" on some of their survey questions. Basically all I got was this statement, "I'm sorry that happened and I wish the CNAs had checked with the Dr when you said you were not comfortable having your staples out, but to be honest he might have said to take them out anyway". Um....EXCUSE ME?? I guess it doesn't even matter since they didn't call him when I said that, but even if they did call and he said that, it is MY body! If I say NO that is the answer!