Getting the shakes immediately after C-section

Sheazier

I had a c-section on January 2nd.  I had planned on a vaginal birth, but I lurked on this board to prepare myself for all options.  I am glad I did.  The best piece of advice I gathered from a previous post was that the medicine they give you to numb you for the C-sectopm can sometimes cause involuntary shaking, particularly of your hands and arms.  If this happens to you, do NOT fight the shaking.  Go with it and allow it to happen as the shaking is out of your control.  I had very severe shakes for about an hour after the C-section.  I held the baby for a short time, but had to give him to DH because I was shaking so bad.  When the shaking was over, I did not feel any pain from it.  The nurses had told me that women who fight the shakes often feel very sore all over the next day and they were happy that I had this little bit of knowledge prior to my emergency C-section.  If you can remember this piece of advice, it might spare you some unnecessary pain, so I thought I'd pay it forward!

rt4life

lol this is so true!  I felt like a crack addict going thru withdrawls.. I never told anyone this though  because I didnt want to scare them. But I guess I would have liked if someone told me!!

Daisy22

So true! I will say for me they were worse after my emergency c/s with DS1 then they were with my planned rcs with DS2. I hardly had the shakes at all after DS2. Not sure if it was b/c it was a planned cs or not.

mlf625

And also, mention that before your c/s if you plan to have a rc/s.  I had a slight reaction to the anesthesia the first time (incredibly itchy for a day afterward) so I let the anesthesiologist know about that before my second c/s.  He was able to put something in my IV to counteract whatever had made me itchy the first time, and I didn't get the itches at all.

rosesandpeonies

I haven't gotten the shakes yet, but I have heard they are bad.  I have had to get general though half way through anyway both times because of severe head and chest pain.  So maybe that is why.

I get the itching but usually many people do and it is actually a reaction to the pain medication they give you in your spinal and not the anesthsia itself. 

ChiTown Bridget

I actually had uncontrollable leg shakes from the pain meds I was given after the c/s. It was awful.

Daisy22

rosesandpeonies:

I get the itching but usually many people do and it is actually a reaction to the pain medication they give you in your spinal and not the anesthsia itself. 

Yay they told it was from the pain pump too.

hopkins5

Yep I remember being soooo cold and shaky. Everyone told me it was normal but it freaked me out.

KSimone619

You can definitely get the shakes from an epidural.  I had it the whole time I was in labor with DD and it was so annoying!  Hope you're feeling well

mrambo3

I almost didn't get to hold my son in recovery because my shakes were so bad. I had labored for 25 hours before my emercency c/s so I was so tired and the medicine just made it worse. Somehow I was able to control myself long enough to hold DS and nurse him for the first time

mommadawn1012

I never got the shakes with my first c/s, but the anesthesia always makes me nauseated so I have to remind them to have a nausea pill ready for me when they wake me up from recovery.

Alex26

I had the shakes real bad DURING the c-section itself.  My anesthesiologist (sp?) also told me not to fight it or it would be worse.  But they did say that they would give me something to stop the shakes which it did.  Within a couple of minutes of them giving me those meds I did stop shaking. 

shaindelr

My shakes were so bad, I couldn't hold my LO. They put him on my pillow so we could touch cheeks. The cold and shaking was so scary to me. They finally gave me some sort of shot in my thigh to make the shaking stop.

RaeAnt

Yup, shakes here to plus extreme drop in blood pressure, and feeling like there was a weight on my left lung. Heated blankets helped with the shakes for me.

cottonlily84

Demerol.  I would've jumped up and kissed my nurse anesthetist if I could have.  I started shaking as soon as I was laid on the OR table.  He followed me to recovery with the nurse and gave me the demerol in my IV I was shaking so badly.  It helped almost instantly.  He said they don't know why but it almost always works.  Really, I was so so thankful for him at that moment.  I remembered how bad the shakes were during 2 pregnancy surgeries.  Toward the end of my c/s they were so bad I couldn't even answer their questions.  But you are absolutely right, don't fight the shakes.  My arms kept bouncing off the table and he would just put them back up there for me. 

cottonlily84

mlf625:

And also, mention that before your c/s if you plan to have a rc/s.  I had a slight reaction to the anesthesia the first time (incredibly itchy for a day afterward) so I let the anesthesiologist know about that before my second c/s.  He was able to put something in my IV to counteract whatever had made me itchy the first time, and I didn't get the itches at all.

The lidocaine before the spinal makes you itch and they'll give you a counteractive antihistamine drug (like benadryl).  However, I was BFing so couldn't have the benadryl because it dries up secretions.  The anesthiology team knew all this and gave me something another numbing pain med.  I had no itching or rashes at all.  It's definitely something to ask about.  My guys were so good but my friend who delivered at another hospital got the lidocaine and itched really bad both times.  They never offered her anything to help it either.