I'm 5 weeks out from c/s #2. Apparently c/s #1 left me with major adhesions between my bladder and uterus. All along the transverse scar and up the left side some. Because of this my second scar is independent of the first and on the far right side.
C/s #2 was with a different (very pro-vbac) doc. She was quite surprised to see so much adhesions. She's a glass-half-full kinda girl and said on the bright side I'd never have a prolapsed bladder or uterus because they'd be holding each other up. She said at the time of the surgery that she couldn't break up the adhesions surgically because they were very strong. Also to consider may have been that I'd been in labor 3 days and by the time of the surgery was running a temp of 102. I haven't been for my 6 week visit yet, obviously.
I'm wondering if I should do anything (surgical?) about the adhesions. Maybe I'm at greater risk for more from the second surgery because of forming them the first time? What if I ever *need* surgery again. Will it be a problem?
As far as I know there isnt much you can do about adhesions since going in to fix them will only create more. I hope they arent painful as time goes on. I have adhesions from my c/s and they do hurt at times.
Surgery can cause more problems, but some people do get some relief through medical procedures designed to break up the adhesions...there's a lot of info on the International Adhesion Society website (http://www.adhesions.org/).
On your own though you can do scar massage (best if you do it every day) and get deep tissue massage along the scar area to help prevent adhesion growth and break up existing adhesions. It's not fun, but it can make a difference (and personal scar massage is free!).
I don't know if this will help, but fwiw... I was terrified to do any physical exercise after my c/s and didn't do ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING until after 8 weeks. when I started my yoga practice again, I did something really simple and scared the bejeesus out of myself - I stretched my arms up over my head, like, really really reached and stretched toe to fingertips. ANyway the reason it was scarey was because I had that same unzipping feeling as I did when my abs split during pg. I thought I'd "redone" it. but that wasn't it, because they were still together. This happened several times over the first couple of months getting back into my practice, and always when I was doing stretch or twist that involved my lower abs. I believe what happened, and my chiro agrees, is that I was forming adhesions but stretched them "loose." There is, of course, no way to know for sure. But I'm telling everybody I know, because if it's possible to minimize adhesions by just doing gentle stretching like that on a regular basis, then who wouldn't!
There's a book called (I think) Bounce Back After the Baby or something like that. It's in the natural family c/s resources sticky and it's on the LLL "good book" list.
Anyway, it's an exercise book written by an "exercise type person" after she had a c/s with twins. It's aimed at all new mamas but has special stuff for c/s mamas. Parts of her program are actually recommended for all people who've had ab surgery so it's a pretty universal sort of gentle exercise program (it uses a birth ball/exercise ball, which is where the slightly cheesy title comes from...when dd was tiny she loved "exercising" with me bouncing on the ball). And she has a wonderful chapter on scar massage...that book was the first place I'd seen anything about this self-therapy and it made a huge difference for me.
Go to an experienced deep tissue massage therapist who knows about adheasions. I just had a good LMT friend of my massage the heck out of mine the other day. It brought tears to my eyes while she was doing it but I could breath better by the time she was done.
deep tissue massage is not necessary, as, LIke PP said, it's painful though effective... find a good craniosacral therapist, or even a therapist trained in myofascial release and you will see results, both of which are not painful but extremely worth the time and $$!! Hope to help!!
I would recomend Maya Abdominal Massage. It has worked wonders for me, feels awesome too. I went in for 1 treatment and they taught me and DH to do it at home. OB said she honestly has never seen such fast and thourough healing.
This is the Maya Abdominal Massage's website http://www.arvigomassage.com/
I would certainly suggest going the non-invasive route first! Definitely see if there is a Mayan Abdominal Massage (Arvigo technique) provider in your area. It's at least worth a shot! What have you got to lose?
this is me...i have had 3 sections and have so much scar tissue..my uterus adhered to bladder and colon however, thank the lord theres no pain yet...but i want another baby SO bad someday and the dr says no...anyone been faced with this? i dont know what to do my want for another baby is crazy...my dh and i originally wanted 6 kids when we got married and now we have 3 and that may have to be it...any advice? i dont think VBAC is an option due to where i live and fear of u/r
Originally Posted by Shenandoah
I'm 5 weeks out from c/s #2. Apparently c/s #1 left me with major adhesions between my bladder and uterus. All along the transverse scar and up the left side some. Because of this my second scar is independent of the first and on the far right side.
C/s #2 was with a different (very pro-vbac) doc. She was quite surprised to see so much adhesions. She's a glass-half-full kinda girl and said on the bright side I'd never have a prolapsed bladder or uterus because they'd be holding each other up. She said at the time of the surgery that she couldn't break up the adhesions surgically because they were very strong. Also to consider may have been that I'd been in labor 3 days and by the time of the surgery was running a temp of 102. I haven't been for my 6 week visit yet, obviously.
I'm wondering if I should do anything (surgical?) about the adhesions. Maybe I'm at greater risk for more from the second surgery because of forming them the first time? What if I ever *need* surgery again. Will it be a problem?
I really don't know what to tell you. I had severe adhesions after my first emergency csection in 1997. In 2002 with my second csection I had repair work done on my outside incision and had the adhesions removed. In 2005 when they opened me up, I had very little scar tissue (adhesions) and everyone was quite surprised. Adhesions can cause problems later on and be painful in pregnancy but if they are not giving you problems, you may just let them be. Its entirely up to you.
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