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Multiples
C-Section Advice?
After a blood pressure roller coaster ride these past few weeks, my C-Section is scheduled for this Wednesday at 10:30am. I REALLY wish I could carry until at least 37 weeks, but my peri isnt comfortable with my BP numbers or the way I'm responding to meds and refuses to take any chances.
Anyway - I'm not nervous about anything (aside from my babies' well being) except for the C-Section. I've never had any major surgery & I'm really worried about recovery & how horrible it will be to have my abdomen sliced open. I'm worried I'll rip the incision, that I will be so out of it that I wont enjoy my girls' arrival, and - of course - I'm worried about the pain.
Any advice or "I wish I would have knows"?
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Re: C-Section Advice?
For me- my c/s was SO easy to recover from compared to my vaginal birth - i would do a c/s over and over again- and NEVER want to experience a vaginal birth again!
don't worry about the surgery- it doesn't hurt. you will feel some tugging- it's werid. The only part i truly disliked was when they were putting me back together - the room was really hot and i started sweating (i thought it was just me but they told me it was the room...then got me ice packs for the back of my neck that helped a lot).... and i just didn't like the sensation of them moving everything around - but it lasted just a couple minutes so it wasn't a big deal.
recovery was pretty easy... make sure you do get up and walk as soon as they will let you (usually once they remove the catheter). My surgery was at 7am and I was up walking later that evening.
Getting out of bed hurts- make sure to take deep breaths - and holding a pillow over the incision helped me. Once I was up walking didn't hurt so bad -- and the more i did it- the less it hurt. When i was in bed too long- getting up would hurt more- hence, why you should walk a lot - because too much rest actually makes it hurt more.. but don't over do it either
I was in the hospital for 4 nights - then at home had to do stairs to use the bathroom- and had no problems at all. I actually had to remind myself to go slowly - because I started to go up fast totally forgetting that i just had surgery
one thing i can say that i wish i did--- don't be afraid to clean the incision well - i was so scared to clean it too much - that it got gross (never infected, just gross).... also- make sure it is really dry --- ues the hairdryer on low to dry it after every shower- and keep a paper towel (or maxi pad) tucked in there to get any moisture. For me it was bad b/c it was summer and sweaty - my incision took a LONG time to heal - didn't hurt or get infected, but just took forever to truly heal up.... i think b/c early on i did not do a good job of keeping it dry.
Take your meds every 4 hours- then the pain will never get that bad. When you are home write down when you take it so you will always know when you can take the next dose. I was only on pain meds for 2 weeks during the day one more week at night so sleeping was easier.
You'll do fine! Just watch that your older one is gentle on your lap - that hs been the only real issue with me - making sure griffin doesn't make the area pull when he's on my lap.
your babies are far along- they will do fine! Best of luck!!
Every body is different but I have to say my c-section was an absolute breeze. I had a spinal and my body shook pretty bad in recovery but that was the worst of it. I was up walking the next day. I had pain meds for 3 days and only took Motrin my last day in the hospital. I never had to fill my pain med prescription when I went home. I was able to drive right away because I wasn't on any meds. I just couldn't lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for 2 weeks. By the end of 2 weeks I felt like nothing had happened!
Good luck to you, everything will be fine!!
I was the same way as you - kind of a wimp about the c section : ) (Ok, I am a HUGE wimp.) But it was so, so, so much easier than I thought it would be. Getting out of bed the first time sucked, but it was only really bad for probably a minute and recovery was a piece of cake. The gas pains were the worst part for me. I only took the pain meds for one day and thereafter maybe 6 tylenol total. It was not bad at all.
And the actual surgery is fun. Seriously - you don't feel any pain whatsoever and it is so exciting. Good luck!
It really wasn't bad for me at all. The worst part was getting the spinal, but that didn't last too too long.
I delivered because of mild pre-eclampsia, and I was on a magnesium drip for 24 hours after the birth because of that. So I wasn't allowed to even get out of bed for 24 hours. Which (aside from sucking because I couldn't go to the NICU to meet my boys) was fine because I was sooo out of it. But I do wish I'd been able to get up a little earlier, for recovery's sake. On the other hand, my recovery wasn't too bad. It hurts, don't get me wrong, but every day it gets significantly better.
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I've had 2 c/s and they were both easy recoveries. I had an epi with my first and spinal with the girls. I had crazy shakes in recovery with my girls that lasted for about an hour. I also threw up in the OR with the spinal (but that may have been more my nerves b/c I had worked myself up into quite a tizzy the second go 'round). I definitely got to enjoy my girls' arrival.
Just don't do too much too fast, but also move as soon as they'll let you and as often as you can. I think it hurts more if you are stationary too long (especially a few hours of sleep). The pain really isn't that bad. I would suggest for the first couple of days to take pain meds (at least some) as preventative, but I didn't take any after that point unless I started hurting (rare for me). They gave me 2 different pain meds but I only ever took 1. It was all I needed to keep the pain down in the first day or two. And, I agree with Goldie, a gas med would be good. Honestly, the thing I hated most was the iv in my hand and being filled with iv fluids so much that I could've floated away. GL!
I had the shakes in the operating room. Definately take the gas meds. I still have some really really bad gas pains, they are horrible. Even going to the bathroom hurt really really bad because of the gas. I couldn't even stand up because of how bad the gas was.
Also, I had some pain on my shoulders and the nurse said it was dissasociated pain, it was from the air that got in from the c section. It was awful, I had dh masaging me for hours.
Keep up with your pain meds! Also, you will not rip your stiches out, there were so many times that I felt my stiches were going to rip open but the nurses kept assuring me that they would not. My incision is so thin, I could barely see it, they used glue to close it.
I didn't get to see my babies until the third day I was there. I had HELLP syndrome and was on magnesium, then I became really anemic and they wouldn't let me stand up. I also got a really large hematoma which didn't help matters.
Also, be prepared for dark purple bruising. I still have some on my sides, it looks like I was beaten, but they don't hurt at all, it's just where the blood pooled while I was laying down, which was from the HELLP syndrome (thinned my blood and it wouldn't clot)
Good luck, I"m sure you will do great!!!
I feel like I am for sure in the minority with a C recovery. I am having some post bleeding issues--large clots and flow---and I had mine 13 days ago. The clots thankfully are starting to go down in size, but it's been a rocky road.The whole procedure though start to finish has NOT been a bad experience!
That aside, the actual C was wonderful! I didn't even feel a thing! All I heard was my first born, Georgia, cry out and I was shocked as I didn't even know they had cut me open yet!! They have you majorly sedated/numbed up! And you don't see yourself open, so no worries!
Tips:
1. Be sure to take your time getting up in the transition to the post partum room. I was in my L&D room and they went to transfer me to my recovery room and I threw up several times. I had the shakes/chills but they didn't last all but about an hour or so after the C.
2. Take the pain meds on a schedule! It will help with alleviating the pain BIG TIME!! I took them like clockwork and didn't have too bad of discomfort while in the hospital. Continue to do at home, too.
3. REST UP and ALLOW OTHERS TO HELP YOU once you are home. I spent 3 nights in the hosptial and my DH had to return home to NY the SAME day I got outta the hosptial with my girls. That has been AWFUL and extremely hard to heal/ rest as need be after a major surgery!! I feel this has really caused the mentioned delays for healing b/c I had to over do it caring for 2 (once I had to go back into the dr. and had him lecture me on asking others to help, my mom has come and really helped me! thank God!)
4. Buy HUGE granny panties to wear post C--cotton ones. I laughed at the gigantic ones I swore I'd never buy and they are lifesavers!!
5. Try to walk after the C. I made it down the nursery the morning after my surgery and I looked silly, but it helps speed up the pain and recovery process!
Good luck! I know you will do GREAT!! And congrats on making it this far! I remember you posting many weeks ago with the threat of delivering super early...I'm so happy that you've held up and have cooked your LOs all this time! Best of luck and pls. keep us posted!
I vomited a lot during the surgery but luckily they gave me 2 shots of something and then it passed.
I wish I had known that I would have to scoot myself from one bed to another to get out of the recovery room. This is so weird, IMO. My legs and feet were so numb, even 7 hours after surgery. They were starting to get annoyed with me in recovery. Like I had a choice! I also wish I had known that nursing students are super annoying and I should have just said no to their assistance. Also, at my hospital lactation consultants don't work weekends.
I was petrified of the c/s. And it wasn't bad at all. I thought getting the spinal was the worst part and that wasn't that bad. It was weird not being able to feel your legs and arms, but not painful or uncomfortable.
They let MH come into the room after they gave me the spinal and made the initial cuts. The babies came out pretty quickly. And he went with them (well actually with Ava to the NICU, Sofia went to the regular nursery). After they were out, I got really really hot. I was dripping wet with sweat. I asked for a cool rag on my neck and it was there within seconds and helped. I started to feel nauseous and they put something into my iv and it worked very quickly. I didn't feel the tugging that most people do.
When I was in recovery, they pushed on my belly a few times to get the placenta out and that wasn't pleasant but they gave me more dilaudin and it was fine.
I had my c/s at 9:30 pm. By the next morning, I was not taking pain medication and taking ibuprofen. I recommend keeping on top of whatever pain meds you are taking, even if it is just ibuprofen. It helps a lot. Getting out of bed was uncomfortable. The nurse helped me and I took my time the first few times I got out of bed. They showed me how to pull myself up with my arms and scoot a little bit. Once I was out of bed the first time, I sat in a chair for a few hours. And that made a big difference.
Take your gas medicine after you eat and the stool softener too.
You will be fine. I had pre-e so they were really monitoring my bp a lot during my entire stay. My babies were born at 35 weeks exactly and they came home with me. Just stay calm over the next few days. Enjoy them. And pretty soon your babies will be here. The c/s was not bad at all. We are already trying for another baby and I completely wouldn't mind another c/s.
My recover was awesome. Because the c/s was scheduled, the OB took his time and the incision looked great--barely noticable now. Just get up and walk as soon as possible, but DO NOT LIFT! Let someone else bring you the babies. The hardest thing for me was standing straight up again. I walked with a bit of a hunch for a few days, but that went away. Take the pain meds. I was able to just take 600mg of Motrin every 4 hours (I think, maybe it was 6 hours) and didn't need the stronger stuff. And don't wait until you feel the pain to take it. Take it religiously even if you feel okay.
If you're going to have a spinal, that made me a bit nauseous when they first did it. It was because I had gone almost 12 hours without eating. The put me on a glucose drip and I immediately felt better. My anesthesiologist was so great.
Just listen to the stuff they tell you not to do, like stairs. I was limited to one trip down and one trip up a day.
FWIW, I never even realized that I was cut open. Once Baby A (Eli) was out, that's all I could think about!
I think that's it! Good luck!