Managing pain after birth

Lisadi

With my 1st Lo, I was induced with pit. (Low amnio fluid), but otherwise avoided epi, etc.
I was pretty spry and good to walk around right after birth, albeit quite swollen, then sore. I started popping the Ibuprofen as soon as I could, every 4 hours on the dot. I filled the rx for Percacet (sp? ... think that's what it was), but wound up not using it.
It seems a bit odd though to want a natural, drug-free birth only to be taking some drugs afterwards.
Have any of you been able to avoid pain medicine after the birth? Or, do you have any tips for recovery?
Thanks!

barista411

I also took ibuprophen afterwards. I had some pretty severe issues that left me in a lot of pain and I would have really struggled without something to help with the pain. I only took it for a couple days and then tried other options to dull the pain. Ice was a life saver and topical medicines. Last time I used tucks pads, dermaplast, and epifoam. This time I will also be trying Padsicles (pads soaked in witch hazel).

MississippiCatfish

I took ibu last time and I plan to again if I need it (which I really think I will). For me personally, it's a good thing to use it to decrease my pain to help me focus on baby. The late nights and other stress is just harder if I'm having uncontrolled pain, and I don't want it to interfere with bonding or healing:)

ETA: I didn't use the ibu for all that long and I did use the things PP posted about along with padsicles and warm baths.

aylafsu88

I only took a few ibuprofen after birth.  By a few I mean like 5 total that were spaced throughout the first week.  Honestly, it was the biggest mistake I made.  I had a second internal tear and I was in pain.  I was so worried about BF and LO lost 9% of her body weight that I did not want anything that might make her groggy.  I was miserable!  I am convinced the pain and discomfort made my early postpartum days even worse.  With my next LO I am taking the medication so that I can enjoy my LO and not be in so much pain.
I used ice pads to help with the pain and tucks.  Those were helpful but did not really take the edge off.  For some reason I never used the dermaplast that they sent home with me from the hospital.

sequoiasky

I don't think that taking pain meds after birth is the same as during birth. During birth you want your body to do it's job and not slow it down or get in its way..etc... after birth you are treating bruising/stitches/injury. I had no problem taking Advil in moderation, but I made sure to take breaks to see how I felt and if I needed any more.

Just my 2 cents.

ScorpioMum

I try to avoid medication when not pregnant and I have a high tolerance for pain. I did use ibuprofen with #1 but I had an episiotomy with him. The other three, I didn't use any pain medication.

oliversmommy32912

I'll admit it, I popped Percocet and Advil like they were going out if style. I had a really extensive tear that made it impossible to sit down. If I was late taking pain killers for it I was in agony. After two days I cut it down to half pills and a couple days later I was able to get by with only ibuprofen.

My choice to have a med free birth had nothing to do with wanting to be in pain or hating all medications. I wanted to go med free because I wanted the healthiest birth possible for my baby and I didn't want to inhibit my body's natural birthing process. Once the baby was out I had met those goals and was more than happy to take any medication I needed.

If I had experienced any other injury that required over a hundred stitches you had better believe I would take pain killers for it. I didn't see birth as any different.

Lisadi

 Thanks. Just curious if there were any other more natural remedies for PP care. I had read afterwards about Ibuprofen use and jaundice in newborns. LO had a pretty high level. Most of those studies were done on preterm infants though, and LO was definitely term.

 I recall after having LO hearing about people who'd received numbing creams, and wondered why my doctor hadn't prescribed those! I'll have to look into the Dermoplast and epifoam.

ncbelle

I didn't take anything after either birth but with my first I had only 2 stitches and with my second I didn't tear at all.  I promise I DO NOT have a high pain tolerance - just got lucky I guess!  Those little ice pack pads are pretty awesome for the first 24 hours for sure.  Although actually I don't remember using more than one the second time around.

sschwege

I rotated Advil and Regular Tylenol every 3 hours when in the hospital.  I just wanted to enjoy my babies and worry about them and BFing, not being in pain.  With my first they didn't offer me pain medication right away (not sure why) so two hours later I didn't even want to hold DD I hurt so bad.  The second time around I made sure my mother was in charge of reminding me to ask for pain medication right away, which worked out much better.

rooftop

I took two tylenol right after to help with swelling and that was the extent of pain meds but I didn't tear at all and I have a high pain tolerance if I had needed to I would have taken more. I'm sure the arnica tablets help heal me quicker than usual as well.