effects after cesearean?? need help!

[mandalamama]

emergency cesearean 10/15 here ... i feel at the end of my rope with what's going on ... i expected sleep deprivation being a new mom, but i haven't slept since before i went into labor with Willow on the 14th! i had a few half-hour catnaps in the hospital and one half-hour catnap here at home. i feel drowsy when i nurse so i've been lying down right after nursing trying to sleep, i feel sleepy and peaceful but no sleep happens. is this normal?? i'm getting more and more strung out, my husband is strung out as well, i'm physically so weak from getting no rest that he has to latch the baby on at all feedings now. i know i'm supposed to lose sleep, but did anyone else just NOT sleep at all?

i haven't been able to feel if my bladder is full since the surgery ... the dr. said it "could be normal" but offers no solution other than to do what i'm doing, which is go to the bathroom every hour on the hour whether i feel it or not. it feels SO horrible to not be able to feel my own bladder! then today i finally pooped (had to take a colace and it took over a day to work) and i *could not feel myself going poop!* is that normal after a c-birth? dr. said it might have to do with fluid retention which makes no sense to me. i'm afraid i'm going to mess myself! so i run to the bathroom every 15 minutes sometimes. i've been lucky to catch it so far but it feels awful not to feel myself goiing. has anyone else had this?

i also can't eat, too nauseated. i had an appetite until last night, then nothing. ugh.

TIA i'm feeling crazy with all this!!!

[Lucysmama]

I really don't have any specific advice for you, hon....just It must be so hard to be grappling with all of this at once.

One thought is you said in our weekly thread that you are really engorged. Maybe that is why Willow's latch has gotten shallower. Maybe she is having a hard time grasping the breast. Try expressing a small amount to get them a little softer, and make your nipples stand up a bit more (as being really engorged can kind of flatten them) and see if that helps.

Wishing you a good night's sleep!!!

[georgia]

i wanted to say that the inability to get her to wake to feed and her disinterest is VERY worrisome to me. w/my first, we had major bf issues, so i've been down that road....have you tried posting to the bf forum, calling your local LLL leader (www.lalecheleague.org) or hospital IBCLC?? how many wet and poopy diapers is she having?? please, please consider getting a second opinion! i'm not trying to freak you out----it's just that newborns *should* want to nurse more than you are describing. whatever you do---don't stop nursing. it's just the fewer calories they consume, the more lethargic they can become. vicious cycle. please let us know how things are going when you can!!! congrats---hope things smooth out asap!

[mandalamama]

*nods* to engorgement ... i was able to fix that, using the electric breast pump for just 1 minute gets the nipple/areola all ready for Willow to grab on much easier. whew! also using the pump to get some milk stored just in case and not waste it, i get 1/4oz. per breast per try, i wonder if that's right given how tiny Willow is (5lb 9 oz)? feels good to do it though.

called 2 LLL leaders, no reply yet. called the hospital's nursing line, they said just keep trying until the ped says otherwise (calling the ped again tomorrow morning). Willow had a LOT of poopy diapers from the very start. she had 3 wet yesterday and 3 wet today. 6 BMs yesterday and 3 BMs today.

i posted the BF stuff to the "life with a babe" forum rather than here, oops wrong place. it's just so depressing on top of everything else that she isn't feeding well. i meditate and keep myself peaceful with feedings so i hope it isn't my stress level doing this to her

[ctdoula]

Oh HUGS mama!! That just sucks. I have never heard of not sleeping at all as part of c-section recovery, but know it is linked to PPD, although it's a bit early for that. I may be that you're just SO exhuasted that you can't relax (that happens to me when I'm too tired, can't sleep).

Have you tried a glass of wine/beer? That may relax you enough to fall asleep (have your dh care for the baby). Or, there is always TylenolPM. It may be just enough to kick you over the edge, because you NEED TO SLEEP!! Your body can't heal with no rest.

As for the bladder/bowel issues, hopefully it's a temporary situation & the nerves are just messed up because of the surgery. Where in CT are you (who is your doc, I used to work closely w/HH & St. F in Hartford)?? I'm in Somers.

hugs & hopefully sweet dreams (oh, and I remember not sleeping that much after my dd was born, it was really hard for me to turn my brain off enough to fall asleep).

[rainbowmoon]

I had horrible insomnia after my c/s. I don't know how normal it is as I had complications with my c/s and was stressed..I hope you find some ansewrs and are able to get some good sleep soon

have you talked to your OB about the bladder issues? I would seek a 2nd opinion if he is telling you that is normal and you feel something isn't right. better to be safe than sorry.

[gottaknit]

Meli. I didn't know you were having so much trouble. I'm sorry I have no advice to offer you. But I hope you feel better soon. Hang in there. (And I second the glass of wine idea - works every time for me. )

[momto l&a]

I dont know anything about c/s but I do know for me after both births I never knew when I had to pee. guess there so much room in there since there no baby that the bladder forgets to tell us or something :LOL

I also had bm problems afer the birth of my first, dont know what happened there except things werent coming

All of that to say I dont think its to blame on the c/s.

[Lucysmama]

Did they give you any Darvocet or Percocet to take home with you?

[stafl]

Insomnia could be a result of pain meds you are taking, or even whatever anasthesia they used during the surgery. It could also be a bit of ptsd, which I suffered with after my cesarean, and still suffer with to a certain extent. If you need to talk to anyone about what you went through and how you feel about it, please don't hesitate to pm or email me!

I never could tell when I needed to pee after either of my girls were born. I figured it was a result of not having the weight of baby pressing on my bladder anymore and I just had to get used to not being pregnant. Make sure and eat easily digested, non-binding sorts of food to keep everything moving along. Abdominal surgery tends to mess things up in that respect.

I read your thread in Life with a Babe, and it worries me, too. 3 wet diapers in one day isn't enough. If baby is too tired to nurse, try waking her up by dribbling just a little water in her mouth. Watch her soft spot, if it looks really noticeable, you need to get fluids in her. Is she jaundiced, too? both of my babies were and needed extra fluids. I didn't know this with DD1, and she ended up back in the hospital it got so bad. With DD2, I gave her a little bit of water, which woke her right up and then she would nurse much better. Put her in the sunshine, and by the time I saw the ped two days later, she had no signs of jaundice or dehydration.

[Ekatherina]

oh melli ... sorry you are having so much problems...was just looking at the pictures of ur sweet baby ....i'm sorry don;t really have any advice to offer...but maybe try warm milk with honey for the insomnia...hope things get better for u soon....

[mandalamama]

finally talked to the OB that did the cesearean. she's a bit stumped, there was no need for her to cut near the bladder or bowel (like scar tissue or whatever) so she called the anesthesiologist to ask if it could be an aftereffect of the spinal (nope). she then called neurology to ask if it could be a side effect of the Percocet, which it could possibly be. i've been cutting down on how much i'm taking and will cut down even further, i can get by 7 hours at the longest with no pain meds before i have to take a motrin even. anyway the bladder and bowel should return to normal a week after i don't need any percocet, but will get better a bit each day that i cut down. i wish i could just go off it entirely! but then i can't pick up Willow to nurse her, at this point that's more important

i had been taking trazodone for sleep before the baby came, i'm going back on it. i was hoping my insomnia back then was some weird pregnancy hormone thing, but trazodone won't harm breastfeeding or the baby at the dose i'm on and it'll head off PPD before it gets a chance to get bad, so it'll be ok. i slept in a few half-hour bursts last night and i already feel a lot better! my visiting nurse was telling me that each day will be better than the last one, so just to concentrate on that.

peace,
meli

[tammylc]

If you're finding you can go 7 hours in between Percs, why not drop that and take more frequent doses of Ibuprofen and Tylyenol instead? I didn't take any of the heavy drugs after my c/s - just one of tylenol and motrin every 2 hours on alternating 4 hour schedules (ie. tylenol at 8 am, ibuprofen at 10 am, tylenol at noon, etc). I never waited until I was already in pain to take the meds, and had a really easy recovery.

I took Trazadone for insomnia before my pregnancy, and was told to stop taking it when I found out I was pregnant. I haven't investigated it again since giving birth - DS is such a frequent night waker that I don't see how it would work anyway!

[mandalamama]

tammylc: the trazodone is safe for bf'ing, less than 3% of it makes it into the breastmilk and that's only for the first 4 hours after a dose. i'm watching Willow carefully to see if i need to pump and finger-feed during that 4 hours, so far so good. trazodone has never knocked me out, i just sleep in little 2-hour bursts as needed (perfect for life with a babe! *grin*), and it's also going to help me with PTSD and PPD *knock wood*

i pooped today! :LOL it's amazing what things we can get excited about isn't it i'm definitely regaining feeling down there. damn, it was scary as hell though!

i'm going as long as possible without the percocet, i take it when i can't straighten up anymore. unfortunately the few half-hour naps i've had, were right after getting a bit drowsy from the percs. i wish that was predictable though. i did get 3 hours rest today, not sleep but lying down peacefully.

peace,
meli

[tammylc]

Thanks for the info on the Trazadone - I'll look into it if my insomnia gets too bad again.

I really strongly encourage you to play with your medication types and schedule so that you're not waiting until you're actually in pain before taking anything. I just think it's much easier on your body and spirit that way.