looking for c-section recovery stories

[roseyroses]

I'm 6 wks pp after a rough long labor resulting in a c-section. I just went to see my midwife yesterday for my 6 wk check up and left feeling like I'm not healing normal. She seemed surprised that I was still spotting a bit of brown. She did an internal and said that uterus felt like it might just be a little bit high but cervix was high, so maybe that's why, but she thinks I should get a second opinion. I'm still feeling a bit of pain in my pelvic bones. It's not easy to get up yet, still have to use my arms and I feel a bit of tenderness/pain right when I get up.
Does any of this sound normal for 6 wks? How are/were you feeling around 6 wks?

[JustVanessa]

I had a c/s with my first ds. I had brown discharge until 6 or 7 weeks pp. I was definately still sore then as well. I think it was 8 weeks pp that I finally had no pain. I had pain around the scar for at least 6 months and numbness around it until ds was around 18 months.

What you are experiencing sounds normal to me.

[kltroy]

I had a c/s with DS but it was scheduled (breech presentation) so my experience was quite different from you ladies who had long difficult labors followed by a c/s. That said, I don't think what you're experiencing is abnormal - LOTS of women that I've talked to - especially if they have some emotional issues surrounding their c/s - feel pain when they touch their scar for months or even years afterwards. (This is not to say that I don't have some issues with mine - just a different set of them ) Physically you sound like you're doing ok. You may want to spend some time writing your birth story - I've found that the more I talk about the disappointment surrounding my first birth, the more OK I am with it. Some moms also find that writing an alternate version of their story - the way it SHOULD have happened - is healing too. Whether you find this a useful exercise really depends on how you feel about the whole experience. Either way, I wish you happy healing and a quick recovery. ...and congrats on your new baby!!

[Chryseis]

I had a C/S following a pretty long, rough labor the first time around. Like you I had postpartum bleeding for a good 6-7 weeks also, so I think it can be pretty common. My cervix remained somewhat open (more than normal) for quite a while (had a Mirena fall out), so that may have been the cause.

I also had some numbness around the incision for the whole 2.5 years it took until my second C/S. It had definitely lessened some, but there were still numb spots. As for pain, all of my incision pain was gone by about 3 weeks postpartum. However, I've learned that I'm a complete freak of nature when it comes to major surgeries (getting my wisdom teeth removed was a cakewalk--I had forgotten I'd even had it done after 3 hours), so my experience is probably NOT the norm.

While all of my incision pain was gone, I did have some pelvic pain from having my daughter wedged quite uncomfortably in the birth canal. I think that continued for a good 8 weeks. It took a long time for my hips and pelvis to get back to "normal."

[Aries1985]

I had a c-section 16 days ago after labor. I've been bleeding with a day on, a day off for a little over a week now. The pain was horrendous for the first week; to the point that it would bring me to tears. I also didn't rest nearly as much as I should have. Now I'm feeling some tenderness around the incision but that's about it. When I was still having a lot of pain I found that putting an ice pack on the inicision helped so much.

[bean's mama]

Soaking in a tub w/ sea salt and/or appying a warm herbal rice pack helps a lot. I've had 2 sections. The first after 56 hours of labor; the 2nd was planned. Needless, to say it was a lot easier to recover from the second. I'm kind of a freak when it comes to surgery though. I was up and showering both times the day after delivery and shopping 1 week pp. I did experience numbness on my old incision until I had Rex. The surgeon removed some scar tissue and already have a lot more sensations than I used to. As for bleeding, I bled for 6 weeks the first time. I don't know how long I bled this time. I just didn't pay much attention. Everything you are experiencing sounds normal to me.

[roseyroses]

Thanks everyone, it's nice to know there are so many others that didn't follow the exact template of recovery. My scar isn't really numb it is still sensitive around it though, but I think part of that might have been the steri strips because they kind of took a bit of skin when I tore them off( after 5 weeks) I also seem to have a bit of nerve pain around it, getting much better though. The main thing that gets me paranoid is the midwife saying that my uterus might not seem quite small enough. I guess I'll wait a couple weeks and either go back to her or to a doctor, blehh..
The spotting is really faint now, just a bit of brown now and then.
I agree writing down my birth story is a good idea, I started it but it was a bit rough, even just thinking about it is pretty emotional, getting much better though. I can't believe that so many other mamas go through similar experiences, it has to be pretty much the polar opposite of the labor I imagined.
Thanks again for all your stories and support.

[Spider]

I stopped occasional spotting @ 4 weeks. I think I felt better by 2 weeks and doc let me start exercising at 4 weeks. Scar looks thin but still purple