anyone having complicated healing?

mrl02 · September 2011

So I had a csection (after 27 hours of labor and failure to progress) on 9/12. I have been feeling pretty good and the baby is amazing, but I am having a hell of a recovery. Basically, I started to get a low grade fever and my ob noticed the incision and above was a little red. So, I started antibiotics. But then today I had a major bleeding episode. It was so scary and I spent the morning back at the hospital. I had a pretty big hematoma behind the incision that caused it to open. I have to have it packed 2x a day by a visiting nurse. It's just so disheartening. The doctor did basically promise it will be ok in the end - but I am very scared. Anyone have experience with this?

mdotm0904 · September 2011

i personally didn't but my friend is going through it right now. i'm so sorry you're going through it. Try to stay positive (i know how clich? that sounds, but it really will change your outlook & perhaps even help with the healing)

mrl02 · September 2011

Thanks, I agree. I am trying to be very positive. I think I will feel better once I make it through this night - once the visiting nurse is coming I will feel like someone is really helping me monitor all this. Sorry to hear your friend is having a similar issue, but it's also helpful to know that I am not alone.

LoveIn07 · September 2011

This happened to me with my 2nd c-section. I was having a very sharp pain on my left side and it ended up being a large abcess that had developed and was draining through my incision. They had to squeeze and push everything out so the infection wouldn't spread more. After that I also had a visiting nurse come over to clean and pack it 2x a day. My healing time was significantly longer because of the open wound but like your Dr. said it will be ok. Although it IS a very scary thing to have to go through, the thought of having a nurse check you each day gave me a piece of mind. If she sees anything out of the ordinary she will know exactly what to do. Hang in there!

akayf · September 2011

I had a very diffiicult recovery. I spent nearly a month on the hospital. On the day I was supposed to be discharged, I was moved to CCU. After almost 3 weeks in the hospital, I was sent home. I wound up back in the hospital a couple days later because my hemoglobin dropped too low again. I had laparscopic surgery and they found a old nasty hematoma and all my organs covered in a pus like substance. They flushed the whole area and sucked as much of the gunk out as they could. I spent another week in the hosptial.

I felt like I barely knew my son when I finally got home. I was so weak that someone had to come over every day to take care of me and the kids. It sucked.

byrne15 · September 2011

I had an incision that re-opened and was infected as well. I also had a piece of placenta that was left in.

My recovery was tough and the infection didn't make it easier. Sorry you are having to deal with this.

mrl02 · September 2011

Thanks, everyone. It's nice just to not feel alone. I am sorry for some of your experiences too. Luckily, I am feeling much better today. The visiting nurse was amazing - my new favorite person. The packing didn't hurt nearly as much as when the doctor did it. And she only needs to come once a day - not twice. So it is all feeling so much more manageable! She had me shower while she was here and that will be the routine for a while. So I am feeling really good about how things are going. It's certainly not what I wanted or hoped for - but feels much more doable today.

pettycrocker · September 2011

I had mine reopened 2days PP (still in the hospital). I fainted in the bathroom after a shower, which caused some major clots to form.

The vna came once, when I was home to show H how to do it, then she came back once a week after that to check the progress. I was told to only change it once per day.

FWIW it took 6wks of packing for mine to close, and I still have a small (about 2 inches across) surface area that is open, I just keep gauze on it so it doesn't get irritated.

The showering was the worst part of it for me, just because I couldn't get over having a big open wound and just spraying water into it everyday lol but I got used to it.

I know exactly how you are feeling, initially I was devastated by it and basically sobbed on the couch for days. It was so hard to be that upset with a little tiny baby to care for because I felt like I didn't even want to be around her when I was so emotional. I got into a routine after a few days and things just settled into a new "normal" You will be ok. It will close up just fine. It's just going to take a little longer. Some good advice I got during the healing process was to eat a lot of protein and drinks tons of water.

Keep your head up

I never shared my birth story on here because I was just to upset by the way everything panned out. This is the first time ever even mentioning this on here, and it's nice to get to share it and hopefully help ease your mind a bit.

Good luck with everything!

mrl02 · September 2011

Thanks for sharing.Out stories certainly are scary and I never knew this could happen til it did. It isn't the lovely birth story we all want. But, it so helps to hear from those who are a bit ahead in the healing. I am so determined not to let this taint my early days with my beautiful son and I do feel a new normal settling in. I just hope that the worst is over. Thanks for easing my mind a bit. I am eating as much protein as possible as everyone has mentioned that - especially since I am breastfeeding. Sounds like it helped you. Thanks for everything.

ILoveRunning · September 2011

I'm late but wanted to chime in. My incision became infected shortly after surgery and had to be entirely reopened. I had a nurse come to my home and pack it daily. I had endured 65 hours of labor (wanted a med-free birth so badly) and ended up with an emergency c/s. Afterwards I felt so depressed. When I came home from the hospital, there were moments that I thought my life was over (seriously). I was having trouble with breastfeeding and felt like a failure. Somehow, through the kind words of my parents, the help from my DH and the wonderful care from my nurse, things got better. A month after surgery, my wound had closed. At six weeks we celebrated our first Christmas with our DS. Today, I feel better than ever. I look back at the first month and am amazed at how I was able to pull myself through it all. I wish that it hadn't happened because of how horrible I felt at the time, but looking back at it, I think that I learned some valuable things from that have made me a better person.

Want a personalized experience?

anyone having complicated healing?

Re: anyone having complicated healing?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards