To think this shouldn't happen after a swab!!

[TheHermitCrab]

Some of you may have commented on my post yesterday. I'm 4 weeks postpartum and started having yellow discharge and my external stitches are hurting and itching (have mostly internal stitches, not sure how they are doing but so swollen I can't fit a finger up there!).

I had a 3rd degree tear, internal stitches and one external stitch.

I went to the docs this morning and he sent me to the nurse to have a swab taken. She couldn't use a speculum, too swolen and painful. So she just took the swab. When she put it in - oh the pain! I nearly cried. I told her how much it hurt, and she said it can...

So that was 10am. So at 3pm I went to the loo and I had the worst pain in the world when I urinated, worse than cystitis, but the same kind of pain. When I wiped, there was a tiny bit of blood on the tissue. Red, so not internal or old blood.

Couldn't get through to the docs so I rang 111, who told me to just keep on at my docs to tell them my symptoms had changed.

So i spoke to the nurse who saw me at the docs and she didn't seem to care. "Oh it's probably a uti" On top of my sore stitches, pelivc pain and discharge? "yes you can infect the urethra when wiping"

Ok fair enough... but I urinated at 9am, fine, not urinated all day, then 3pm.. agony and blood. Do urine infections really happen this fast?!

Everytime I have had them I always need to pee like mad... no feeling like that at all. Just itchy sore stitches... :(

Told me to just bath in salt water until my results come back in two days....

Am I being unreasonable to feel angry and fobbed off? Or just being a soft worried git?

hi , sorry you're in so much pain. Something like this happened to me. I had to go back to the hospital with my dd a week or so after she was born. i could not sit down with the pain from down there. Anyway said it to the nurse , she got doc from the ward , he had a look and said yes an infection. Could you go back to the hospital?

When I was concerned about an infection 5 weeks after having DD and GP wasn't helpful I phoned the postnatal ward at the hospital I delivered in, they put me through to delivery suite triage and the midwife I spoke to asked me to come in, gynae saw me there. Is that an option? Otherwise I completely fail to see why they can't give you a broad spectrum antibiotic while awaiting swab results.

Hello!

Went into the docs with my urine, luckily the receptionist/medicine manager who was there was the one who has known me and looked after my mum for years, handed it in and she saw it and said ooh no you wait here we'll get this sorted!

She took it in the nurses room and made her test it and prescribe me now.

They've given me antibiotics but only for the water infection. But at least I can start fixing one problem!

I rang the post natal ward I was on a couple of times after I was discharged 5 days after birth. And both times they told me they don't re admit people and I needed to go to urgent care and start the process again. Which I did, and they sent me to another hospital miles away at 1am. Was a joke!

I live next to the hospital and birth centre, so it's crap they won't deal with me.

Oh and HV just agreed with me it was crap.

Little un is doing ok! she's dropped a centile (and she is already smaller than 75% of babies!) but she said it's fine and to keep doing as I am

I must say I'm a bit concerned that you haven't seen an actual doctor. I guess they don't see it's necessary unless you start vomiting or get a very high temperature which are symptoms of a more serious infection (cellulitis). When my daughter had this it was extremely serious and had to be treated within hours. But of course it might not lead to that at all.

Did you tell them about the swelling, did anyone actually examine you?

Glad your little one is OK. Well done making progress via doctor's receptionist. Hope the anti Bs help. You still need to be examined by a specialist imho. One consultant said to me: They get the baby out which is great but they don't think about the injuries sustained in childbirth and the aftermath.

While your in the stages of (hopefully) getting treatment, has anyone refered you for physio and a 6 month follow up scan.

I think you are getting shoddy treatment!

cottageinthecountry

I think I covered it in all my posts but there's been a lot. I did see a doctor, that was the first person I saw, he referred me to the nurse in the same doctors surgery to be examined and to take a swab to check for infection.

The nurse took the swab but didn't look at anything in particular, all my stitches bar one are internal, and since I pretty much screamed from the swab there was no way she could use the speculum and examine me inside. They couldn't even do that at the birth, only time I've been looked at inside was when I was having the stitching under spinal anesthetic.

I don't feel ill at all, and my temp has been between 36 and 37, I feel very weak but I'm sleeping only a couple of hours a night so that could be anything! I just have pain/heavy feeling/swelling and yellow discharge. Who knows - maybe it will come back and I have thrush, which has irritated an already tender area (yeah right I wish but I can only hope).

I'm sure if anything got worse I would be looked at closer, but at the minute the only thing that has got worse is the fact I have this UTI on top of it all now.

By tomorrow morning it will have been 48 hours, so I hope they will have some news for me by the afternoon!

IF it comes back I do have an infection I won't leave it at taking the antibiotics, I'll try and contact the hospital to have a checkup after the antibiotics.

Just keep a close eye on yourself. Any down turn in your condition just call GP / health visitor / midwife / urgent care / post natal ward -whoever the hell will help!! If no-one will help, there is usually a senior nurse or manager on call for a hospital 24 hours a day, and you could ask them who exactly they would like you to see!
Hope you feel better soon.

I think your wound has become infected (plus UTI). You need abx. This is bollocks. I've had vaginal surgery for prolapse repair and my wound became infected. Fucking agony. Surgeon couldn't examine me properly I was so swollen and it was so painful. I'm so sorry you are ill and they are pissing you about.

cardamom - she's on antibiotics but for the UTI, if there is an infection it might need a different type - I guess that's what all the urine samples are for - to test what type of infection it is and therefore what ABs to progress to if necessary.

Urine sample won't determine bacteria in the wound infection. They should have just given her a suitable broad spectrum antibiotic whilst waiting for cultures to come back. You don't to muck about with these things and have them turn into an abscess and for the stitches to break down.

Hey, the post natal ward have to see ladies for 6 weeks after delivery; so they shouldn't be telling you to go elsewhere. Just turn up at triage or maternity day assessment tomorrow ( all maternity units have them) unannounced, they have to see you, & they're covered by an obstetric doctor 24/7.

Agree with previous post, post natal ward must see you. Someone with knowledge needs to look at stitches and GP is probably not best person. Ask to speak to senior midwife if they won't see you.

Mouthfulofquiz will do! Tat's why I contacted them again when the uti symptoms came up, because I didn't have that before the docs.

I did consider it was a prolapse, since I seem to be carrying a lot of weight in that area, always aware of the area even when it isn't hurting. I can imagine any examination being agony since the swab was enough to make me cry!

48 hrs from my appointment will be tomorrow morning, so as long as they make sure I'm sorted tomorrow there's no more I can really rush them now.

Jackanory1978 I remember being told I had 6 weeks to come back, then everytime I called they just told me to see gp or emergency care.

Anyone I speak to now will just tell me to wait for my results because they should be pretty imminent. If the docs haven't called me by tomorrow morning Ill chase them up.

Nothing more can be done now.

But IF they come back and tell me I have an infection that is related to the stitches (because who knows? I could have thrush/vaginitis that has just inflamed the stitches, you never know!), and I need antibiotics I'll take them, but also contact the clinic I'm booked in for my pereanal check up in March and ask if they can take a look at me sooner after the antibiotic course.

I'm still getting blood and discharge when I wipe. Minimal blood, almost like there is raw skin or a graze up there, it's not dripping out onto a pad. Discharge is on the pad, dark yellow but this could be light yellow with blood mixed.