Post c section symptoms/issues, anyone else?

[Cordypants27]

I had an ecs 12 days ago & I am suffering with a couple of quite extreme symptoms which I would like to see if anyone else has been through.
I am having intense & extremely painful spasms in my stomach, chest, lower back & neck lasting about 30mins with no explanation, my heart rate has lowered from a healthy 70 to 44 & I have the (sorry bout thi TMI) brightest yellow watery diarrhoea.
Now when I have mentioned this to midwife she just shrugs & says it's not normal but it's prob just post op, I don't want to ignore something because people just assume because you've had surgery it is just the recovery, but I also don't want to go on about it if I know others have suffered the same & it is a 'normal' part of recovery for some.
Thanks very much x

[Idefix]

Hi op please book to see your gp, 12 days is a long time to have diarrhoea.
I had two sections and don't recall this with either. Make sure you keep hydrated in the meantime.

Congratulations on your baby.

[Sparrowlegs248]

I had nothing like this at all. See your gp asap!

[BikeRunSki]

GP asap!! That is not at all normal.

[doceodocere]

This does not sound normal to me, at all. I've had three sections myself and have not heard of anyone else having these symptoms. You're only 12 days post section so maternity triage will see you, if your midwife isn't helpful then ask your GP to refer you, you can probably talk to them on the phone to request it.
Speedy recovery to you, and congratulations on your new bundle

[Fabulosososo]

See your GP they are trained to diagnose a much wider range of things than a midwife. Can't believe midwife didn't tell u to see GP!

[HopefulHamster]

I'd even consider seeing someone out of hours if you can manage tonight

[Acunningruse]

I am 13 days post caesarean and have none of symptoms you describe please call your labour or post natal ward ASAP for advice, ring tonight they answer phones 24 hours a day.

[Ninasimoneinthemorning]

Yep get to your GP you could have an infection some where. Hope you start feeling well soon

[pinguina16]

Call triage.
I called them 4 weeks postpartum because I was haemorrhaging and it was the middle of the night.
Either they'll tell you to come if they're worried or (like me) they'll tell you to go and see your GP first thing tomorrow.

[Shin3117]

Hi all sorry for hijacking this thread with my post but I'm new to the site and don't know the best way to get responses?! Never used a site like this before. Was wondering whether anyone could help me.

I had my first child via c section on 10/09/16. The labour and birth were both horrific and I was readmitted to hospital with sepsis, acute urine retention and acute constipation three days after coming home. I'll give a detailed account of what I've been through below for context, I'm looking for anyone out there who may have experienced something similar that could give me an idea of a recovery time. I understand that everybody's different so this might be impossible but I need to do something as I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel at the moment.

I was induced with a hormone pessary which caused me to go from 2-4cm within an hour or so. I was then moved to labour ward where I received gas and air and requested an epidural. The anaestist arrived some time later and the epidural was unsuccessful, leaving a patch on my right side in constant pain. I then had to wait hours for a different anaestist to come back to top up the medication, which lasted about 45 minutes. By the time the third anaestist came back, I was in agony. They repositioned the epidural and I lost all the pain relief.

I had been told I was 10cm dilated and ready to push at 8am, however the midwives handed over in between and I was then told that I was only 9cm, but encouraged to push as the midwife thought she may be able to move the last cm of cervix as the head came down the birth canal. This made baby's head swell and was unsuccessful. By this point I was vomiting with the pain and begging people to kill me. They gave me half a dose of pethidine (they didn't want to give the whole dose as at this stage in the labour it could make baby too lethargic at birth), which didn't touch the pain either and probably made my vomiting worse.

I was then given a hormone drop to accelerate the last cm of cervix, however this just made my contractions worse and continuous. I begged for a c-section at this point, knowing they would have to numb the pain. The surgeon performed a vaginal examination before performing the c section as he felt he may be able to deliver baby with forceps under the spinal. At this point it was discovered that baby was back to back and lodged within the birth canal.

During the surgery, my womb was cut by accident in another place, causing a haemmorage of 1.1ltr blood loss. They also damaged my bladder in some way and had to use surgical gauze on it which I've since been told has a blood clot on it from the surgery.

I was discharged the following day, and told to take paracetamol and ibuprofen.

The midwife saw me a day later and was horrified i'd been discharged so soon. She got me a prescription for codeine as I was in a lot of pain.

Two days later I was writhing in agony, again wishing someone would kill me. Paramedics eventually arrived after an hour and hooked me up to an IV and rushed me back into hospital. I had acute sepsis. They are unable to tell me where the infection was/is. I'm on two different antibiotics. I was also severely compacted, which days of lactulose, fibogel, suppositories and enemas finally shifted. This in itself was horrendous, I felt as if my stitches were going to burst. I had a catheter in for 6 days as I had CT scans showing I was in acute retention. My bladder was three times the normal size when I arrived at hospital.

I've been home for a couple of days now and I'm terrified that my bladder or bowels will stop working again. The hospital said that sometimes after a c section your bladder and bowels can just stop working if they didn't like being handled during the surgery.

Please can anyone relate to this experience and give me any words of comfort?

I'm living in constant fear and discomfort and can't see an end in sight.

[Idefix]

Shin I had a similar experience 17yrs ago but end up in hospital for 11 days after complications post the csection and with ds. I went in to spontaneous labour at 36+5 and dilated very, very quickly to 9cm with a lip. Ds was back to back and not engaged took several attempts to fit a scalp monitor. I was in a small unit which was full and before me there had been two emergency situation which I now believe impacted on their management of my care couldn't fit me into theatre instead I was placed on a drip to increase my contraction which stopped after the first 24 hrs of labour and had me push in two stages for over an hour and a half. At this stage they decided I should have an epidural as it was clear I would need assistance I remember repeating over and over no forceps no ventouse!--

I was lucky the epidural was amazing and I had no pain but I started to spike a temperature and was delirious I had a uti. Not long after this alarms started bleeping as ds heart rate was plummeting and I was rushed to theatre.

22 months later following my dd planned section a midwife who had care for briefly asked if I wanted a debrief of dd birth I said no but could we go through my ds (most of what remember is very sketchy and support by dh recollections). By the end mw was more tearful than me .
I was left with a small cystocele and a moderate rectocele (the muscle between my vagina and rectum tore internally) that has left me with poor function with my bowels and makes penetrative sex uncomfortable. Slowly coming round to the idea of a repair but am terrified of being left in pain and/or worse off as the procedure is not always successful.

I would strongly advice you to get support regarding your bowel function and bladder. Also to seek support if you feel it is impacting you psychologically. You will get over this but demand all the help you are entitled to. I am staggered that you were sent home so soon

Most importantly congratulations to you and your baby

[AnotherStitchInTime]

Cordypants I hope you have sought and are receiving treatment urgently, it sounds like you may have a severe infection, possibly sepsis. Get better soon.

Bit different to your situation Shin, but straight after my third c section birth I had a hysterectomy with bladder surgery, 7 litre blood loss, transfusion, bowel ileus and a catheter for 10 days. All function normal now 2.5 years on, save for a slightly weaker pelvic floor after 3 children and needing to wee more frequently. If you are still having then seek a referral to a specialist. I would also suggest a birth debriefing with the Supervisor of Midwives, they or your GP can refer you for traumatic birth counselling. I ended up with pnd and ptsd, I wish I had sought help sooner, but with 3 children under 4 to look after it wasn't until I was drowning that I talked to someone.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Because of your heart rate you should see someone as a matter of urgency. Anything like that should be checked out asap.

[pinguina16]

[Shin3117] You'll probably get more responses with a new thread.
If you're on a mobile, scroll down to the bottom of the Talk Childbirth page and choose Desktop site. Start a new thread should appear at the top.

I'm sorry for what has happened to you. The uncertainty is horrible. I hope you find people on here who have gone through the same as you.

[doceodocere]

How are you, OP?