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animalcrckr
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C-section recovery advice needed
animalcrckr
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DS was born on 29 Jul via unplanned c-section. I never thought I would ever have a c-section. I knew it was a possibility but never thought it would happen to me - well, it did. Have only been home a few hours now and finally took a shower. I know I need to take it easy and let my body recover/heal.
Just looking for some advice from moms who have gone through the same thing or any helpful tips they do not give you at the hospital. Any help is appreciated - thanks!!!
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Re: C-section recovery advice needed
I had a c-section July 12, also unplanned (LO ended up being 11lbs... surprise!), and I just today was able to sneeze without it hurting.
I still have a sharp pain in one spot about an inch above the incision on the far right side, but my OB said it's totally normal. It usually hurts me if I roll out of bed funny or something. But up until a few days ago, it hurt like hell any way I moved. So hopefully you won't have that to look forward to.
Just take it easy for a few days, have your SO (or whoever) check the incision for redness or pus or anything out of the ordinary, since it might be hard for you to see it yourself.
Also, take whatever pain killers they gave you, and acetaminophen when you run out of those.
It's been almost 3 weeks for me, and I'm feeling at about 95% my regular self again, so don't worry! You'll get back to normal eventually!
"I'll gladly take cold sores over eye herpes" -ElieFin
"Unicorn glitter gives me UTIs." -Leila'sMommy
I was in the same boat.. never ever thought I'd have a c section, but my induction ended in an emergency c section. The good news is, I healed really quickly. I made sure to rest but to also get up and take little walks here and there. The belly band really helped the first few days. The first week and half, I was pretty miserable bc I was sooo swollen from the incision down. I remember feeling like a big fat bruise! Other than that, everything healed pretty quickly.
Make sure to put pressure on it with a folded towel or pillow when you go from sitting to standing. Helps a lot. Congrats and GL!!
I just had my second c/s. Here is my advice to you.
-If you are in pain and you need to take your meds.. Do it. Dont try to be a super woman and not. I am now taking normal tylonal as its needed through out the day and taking my Tylonal 3's at night because I dont like to feel sleepy during the day.
-Keep your incision site dry. a wet incision will become very uncomfrotable, start to smell, and begin to itch.
-Keep a pillow or a folded towl/blanket close by. it helps to hold it on your belly when you get up, cough, sneeze, laugh, etc.
-Walk around. It really is the best thing... it'll hurt but it really does help.
I have sharp pain on my right side every now and then. Its completely normal if you get sharp pains (especially on which ever side you use most, I am a righty.. so I tend you use my right leg, arm to get up first)
DS born July 16 also NEVER thought I'd have a c-section but after 24 hours of labor it was the only choice...
I agree with pp's.
Try not to use your stomach muscles too much when sitting up from laying down position - I did this and I think they ended up hurting more because I was just excited to be able to use those muscles again after being pregnant.
Do not think you are superwoman - take your medications. I tried to wean off them too early and felt miserable. I still ended up stopping taking them early but tried too early the first time.
Educate yourself. Since I had no intention of ending up on the operating table I didn't really know much about c-sections or recovery. There are some great websites - google 'c-section recovery.' There's a great deal of emotions that are involved with an unplanned section, at least for me there are, and knowing that what you are feeling is normal can be helpful. I also got the book The Essential C-Section Guide which I highly reccommend.
You will feel better soon. I'm just a day over two weeks past my surgery and am feeling so much better. My whole abdomen still feels sensitive to touch, it hurts when I sneeze or laugh hard, and I still can't walk as much or as far as I'd like. But everyday I feel better. I can't believe how crappy I felt in the hospital and still remember thinking I'd never be able to walk straight again.
Eat well - my mother has been making me meals which is a great help. She insists we don't order out but she is also making me really vitamin packed and nutritious meals which will help with healing. I'm also taking acidophilous which helps with healing and general wellness after surgery/giving birth.
Good luck!
I too had an unplanned c/s, and same as you, never thought it would happen to me so I always skipped over those parts of any pregnancy/delivery books I read.
My advice: take it easy as best you can, but do try to go for a small walk daily. Take your pain meds (I was feeling well enough to just take the ibuprofen, but DH became recovery police and made me take the percocet whenever he could tell I was hurting). Hold yourself when you feel a sneeze, cough, or laugh coming on. Don't be surprised if you bleed until your 6 week pp appt (esp. if you pushed before having the surgery). Try not to let your pants or underwear irritate your incision. Remember that you did just have major surgery. Even though it's been 8 weeks for me, I still get sore from time to time and I have to remind myself that I've been through a lot.
But for me the physical recovery wasn't as difficult as the mental recovery. I'm not sure if that applies to you, but definitely talk to your OB, friends, DH, mom, anyone who will listen if you find yourself in that position.
HTH. Congratulations and good luck!
I had an unplanned c-section too but wasn't upset about it - whatever needed to be done!! Anyway, just take it easy. By day 5 I was feeling SO much better. I never even filled the Rx, I just took Advil. I honestly think my emergency appendectomy recovery was worse since they cut through three layers of muscle and stitched them back together.
One tip on getting up from laying down - pull your leg in and put your hand behind your lower thigh right above your knee. Use the momentum of your leg going to sitting to pull your upper body up. I started doing this around day 5 or so. When you get to sitting you may have a few moments of intense burning at the incision, but it goes away quickly.
Stand up STRAIGHT. It's hard at first but the longer you wait, the worse it will be.
Only do the stairs 2-3 times a day. I started loading a light bag of stuff to take up/down with me when I'd go so I wouldn't have to go back up or down to get stuff I couldn't carry.
Don't lift anything heavy, keep the incision clean, after 2 weeks start putting vaseline on it (if they used glue - it helps dissolve it). I went to my doc at 2 weeks and was told I could do 5 min on the treadmill and light hand weights, so you WILL be feeling better quickly if you take it easy! Good luck.
Avery Corinne - Born 7/9/10 at 37w2d
i also had an unplanned c/s. i definitely agree with pp about managing the pain and staying on top of it. Though I was given percocet and the constipation pain was far worse than the incision pain, so I opted for motrin and it worked great.
Make sure you get up and move around, you will heal quicker. I definitely agree with the pillow thing, it made it much easier to laugh/sneeze/cough.
I'm just over 7w pp and i'm running again and feel great. I was surprised by how fast I did recover. Listen to your body and take it easy.
GL! You'll feel great in no time!
I also had an unexpected c-section on July 12th. Here's my advice:
-Take it easy! You just had major surgery.
-Wear the binder/belly band. It makes everything so much easier.
-I wasn't prepared for the emotional side of things. I cried every day for about a week and a half. I'm just starting to feel better in the last few days.
-I've been off pain meds for a little over a week. I was on vicodin and then started taking motrin. Take your colace or pooping will get ugly....or non-existent!!