what do OBs prescribe for afterpains?

[crsta33]

I know we had a thread not too long ago about dealing with afterpains, but I got to thinking, what do they give you at the hospital for them?

I think my friend who hospital birthed around the time ds was born was given Anaprox (naproxen sodium) which you can get OTC, but I don't know the dosage.

I'm just not willing to suffer through this again "naturally" if there is something that's considered safe to take that I can get my hands on.

Anyone know what they prescribe and what dosage they use?

Christa

[starry_mama]

I think they will offer you tylonel 3 (with codeine). Thats what I was offered last time. But there is no way I can take that and still take care of a baby. I would be so loopy!

[sg784]

Not in your DDC but saw this in NEW posts.
When I had DD my CNM perscribed Darvocet.

Edited to add...
For what its worth, I took one and didnt feel stoned or anything, but then just asked for reg tylenol. Didnt think they were bad enough to need a REAL drung.

[Nitenites]

Originally Posted by sg784

Not in your DDC but saw this in NEW posts.
When I had DD my CNM perscribed Darvocet.

Edited to add...
For what its worth, I took one and didnt feel stoned or anything, but then just asked for reg tylenol. Didnt think they were bad enough to need a REAL drung.

They get worse with each child. With my first, I didn't take anything. With #2 & #3, I did. I took Anaprox, but I don't remember the dosage. (It wasn't OTC, it was a scrip.)

[starry_mama]

Sorry - I wasn't trying to pass judgment on those who took/take medicine with codeine or whatever - I just have a low threshold - I cannot even take cold medicine without being high as a kite.

[guest9921]

Was given vicodin - and they barely touched the pain.
I'm a homebirther, who isn't telling my OB I'm hbing, so I'm significantly worried about the pain. Arg.

[transformed]

Originally Posted by Katfka

Was given vicodin - and they barely touched the pain.
I'm a homebirther, who isn't telling my OB I'm hbing, so I'm significantly worried about the pain. Arg.

Yeah, Vicodin. Thats what I have heard they give you. : Don't take narcotics if you are breastfeeding though...unless you have some really good info that it wont hurt your baby.

Vicodin isnt safe while bf.

Afterpains suck. Trying not to think about it. This is #4 for me and its going to freaking suck.

[kittywitty]

They really gave y'all that??????

Wow. I got ibuprofen if I complained *a lot* to the nurses.

[hubris]

I was given 600mg of ibuprofen in the hospital after DS1 and DS2. I think they offered percocet but I didn't want to be zonked.

Had a homebirth this time around and took 400mg IB every 4 hours and also took AfterEase with a little water whenever I needed it.

My afterpains after DS1 weren't even noticeable. After DS2 they were like strong cramps, very uncomfortable. After DS3 they hurt like hell and seemed to last longer (more days).

[guest9921]

I was wrong - I believe it was percocet instead of vicodin. (Oxycodone instead of hydrocodone + acetaminophen.)

Safefetus says its a B category, and you just have to watch for sedation and changes in feeding habits.

---

Its important for me to be '200% there' this time, those first few days are so important, and the slight hormonal changes are so significant to the bonding process. I'll probably just cry a lot this time.


Also - I didn't even ask for them, they were just given to me. Odd.

[crsta33]

Oh wow, I didn't realize they prescribed narcotics. I can't tolerate them either...someone else would have to take care of the baby. I just assumed most ppl got an Anaprox script. Though I do think my friend had lortab as well (isn't that synthetic codeine) but I understood it was for episiotomy pain (her baby was a face presentation and she had a very large cut )

I have some toradol for menstral cramps but I'm not totally sure that's okay for breastfeeding. Does less medicine get into the colostrum than breastmilk? By the time my milk comes in, the afterpains are much more tolerable.

Christa

[zjande]

Hm, after my 3 hospital births, I was never given or offered anything besides ibuprofen! This time I'm going to try Afterease & ibuprofen. It's baby #4 & I'm scared out of my wits about the afterpains.

[transformed]

whatever they give you-try to check with Dr. Thomas Hales' "Medications in Mothers Milk." I think the most recent is the 12th edition...

Someone around here is bound to have it.

I have it but I have no clue where the heck it is!

LLL leaders often have it....its got great information.

[MCKH]

Vicodin is preferable to codeine. They are moving away from ever using codeine postpartum because a very small percentage of mothers are "hyper metabolizers" of it and in those women it can seriously and fatally affect the nursing baby. Sometimes, though, moms do need prescription meds for serious tears, episiotomies and swelling.

[transformed]

bummer that they even do episiotomys. They could reduce the need for narcotics by not doing unnessicary procedures.



Oh well...the US continues to lead the world in unnessicary birth interventions. c'est la vie.

[pamama]

After my first I was given Aleve, which I think is the OTC version of Anaprox? Not sure though. The afterpains were not that bad, but I had a 4th degree tear, so I took it for a couple days. After my second (the afterpains were absolutely horrendous!) I was given a choice between Tylenol and Ibruprofen. I'm pretty sure that once we got home I just took extra strength Tylenol every 4 hours because it's what we had and it seemed to do the trick. I was NOT warned that the afterpains would get worse with each baby, though. This is #3 and I'm wondering if I'll have to get something a little stronger than Tylenol. But my OB never actually prescribed anything either time, just told me to take the OTC stuff.

[Belleweather]

Originally Posted by transformed

Yeah, Vicodin. Thats what I have heard they give you. : Don't take narcotics if you are breastfeeding though...unless you have some really good info that it wont hurt your baby.

Vicodin isnt safe while bf.

Afterpains suck. Trying not to think about it. This is #4 for me and its going to freaking suck.

Vicodin is LC2, and is fine while breastfeeding although you want to watch out for sleepiness in the newborn and constipation in both you and the baby. It's best to feed the babe and THEN take the pill so as to reduce the amount that transfers to the newborn.

I took literal mountains of Vicodin when I was PP with DS, because I had a gallbladder infection that went on for 9 days and Vicodin was the only thing that kept me from going insane until they took the stupid thing out. I really *wanted* it to be non-BF safe so that I could march in there and insist on immediate surgery, but alas, I had to wait.

And, to put the cherry on top of the craptastic cake, the Vicodin didn't do a whole heck of a lot for the afterpains either. I'm hoping maybe this time if I combine it with cramp bark and cal/mag supplements it might help. Some.

Originally Posted by crsta33

I have some toradol for menstral cramps but I'm not totally sure that's okay for breastfeeding. Does less medicine get into the colostrum than breastmilk? By the time my milk comes in, the afterpains are much more tolerable.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Toradol isn't safe for BF. I wanted it for cramps when my period came back (at 6 weeks postpartum, because God hates me) and was told that I had a choice between tylenol, ibuprofen, naproxen and narcotics because nothing else was BF-safe.

[Diva Mama]

In case you'd prefer to go the natural route:

Tinctures of Motherwort and Crampbark are recommended, as is wearing something supportive of your abdomen (girdle, spanx, etc)

[transformed]

Is cohosh or rrl effective?

I wonder if I will have really bad pains because I am taking these to tone it up right?

[Momma2DoubleCuties]

I was offered 600mg of ibprofen. That really seemed to help, if I remember correctly.