c-sections

[Lilsquish]

Currently in hospital having underwent a section yesterday.

AIBU to expect/request stronger pain relief other than two paracetamol??

i mean, for christ sake, 16 hours after major surgery they are requesting that i get out of bed and shower with 2 paracetamol for pain relief???? why??

its not like you cant have anything stronger, they even have it stored on their little drug trolleys, so why not offer it? or better still, when i say im really struggling with the pain, offer the bloody morphine without insinuating that its a major deal!!!

Any midwives/doctors shed some light on this?

im getting a bit fucked off feeling like i need to beg/justify reasons for getting stronger pain relief every 4 hours.........

Post natal women are routinely treated like utter shit and this is no excpetion.

Can I go against the grain and say I’ve had 2 sections and the sooner your up on your feet the better you’ll feel. I know it’s shit at the moment but please try and get up for a shower and a walk it will help so much

I requested more painkiller about 18 hours after my c section, having struggled all night without any and begging passing midwives/nurses to help me with my baby because I couldn't sit up. DP arrived shortly after (it was the morning and the beginning of visiting hours) I was refused painkiller as I had fallen asleep from exhaustion and therefore was clearly not in pain.
So I got one shot of morphine immediately after surgery, and from then on I had to manage on paracetamol and ibuprofen and I had a very hard time getting that in hospital. I had to remind them when it was time, and wait at least an hour after that.

To the poster who said you couldn’t breastfeed and have oramorph this is absolutely not the case- I was given this whilst breastfeeding. It is all very well that some people were able to manage with less pain relief, but this is irrelevant as the op has said the pain is not manageable,
This thread has made me so angry- reading about all the shitty experiences women have had post c-section totally agree with the poster who said that if men gave birth it’d be different - they’d have new meds invented especially

I was offered and took three lots of morphine but declined a 4th (what was I thinking?). I went on to paracetamol and ibuprofen and just about coped. Maybe I wanted to be more clear headed? There was no compulsion for me to refuse.
I do remember the poor young woman in the bed opposite crying and asking for pain relief and being told ‘well, what do you expect, you had a baby’ I think there was a bit of age discrimination going on there as I was probably twice her age and being offered good pain management.

I'm shocked to read people's experiences here. I had a planned caesarean in September, and on my postnatal ward every woman was given paracetamol, ibuprofen and oramorph to self administer. Anything left over you could take home. I found the recovery completely doable, but let the pain meds wear off by accident twice in the first few days and actually cried. I definitely believe it was the oramorph that did it though. I cannot believe you're having to beg for more than paracetamol, that's horrendous! I would seriously consider complaining to PALS after you've been discharged, if you don't feel comfortable kicking up a fuss now.

WRT mobilising: yeah yeah, of course we need to move. Takes a hell of a long time for the spinal to wear off enough to move your feet though! DS was born at noon, I got out of bed around 7pm, and that was at my insistence - the staff weren't sure I was ready. Someone mentioned a shower, I said I didn't feel up to it, and that was that. This is how it should be, patient led!

All of this was on an NHS postnatal ward.

Pain relief should be given out on an individual basis as each person has different pain thresholds. I’ve had 3 sections and was given paracetamol and ibruprofen which worked well for me and I reduced myself down just to paracetamol after 3 days and I was up and walking round 6 hours after each but I also have friends who suffered terribly with pain and paracetamol and ibruprfen just wasn’t enough for them. I really do feel for you all. But I do think getting up and moving around as soon as you are able to aids in a quicker recovery.

I suspect the MWs can't be bothered to get the prescription sorted. Ask to see a doctor about pain relief.
Getting up is probably a good thing though (if you can).
Btw oramorph can make constipation worse. I think there are other BF friendly alternatives.
Congrats OP!! I hope you get to leave the horror of the post natal ward behind you soon.

Youre right, it does aid recovery but as has been said a few times, pain management is key to mobilisation. If the pain isn't being managed appropriately she will find it much more difficult to mobilise.

I was given suppository (diclofenac)

I had horrific afterbirth pains with my second and was given nothing, so when I went in to have my third I brought my own paracetamol and ibuprofen. I had an instrumental delivery and they never asked if I was in any pain at all. Fuckers.

There isn’t much point in her shuffling about at midnight either. Wait until tomorrow OP

It’s fucking ridiculous.

6 years ago I had DS1, was given diclofenac and codeine (strong doses) and discharged with 2 weeks’ supply. The midwife was very clear I should take them for two weeks and I shouldn’t try to be a hero.

Last year I had DS2 at the same hospital. They gave diclofenac only and tried to discharge me with nothing and were really pissy with me.

I called my doctor and told them whilst I was awaiting discharge and she spoke to the midwife. Suddenly it wasn’t a problem and I was given 3/4 days supply.

I’m still angry about it.

It’s the last thing new mothers should be worrying about when it’s so easily sorted out.

i was given the same after c section. had it at 1am and by 8am i was told if i wanted any breakfast i could get out of my bed and go get some from the trolley, outside the ward. i couldnt move so i text DH to bring my a mcdonalds breakfast on his way in!

also I'd get your own ibuprofen/paracetemol brought in as my nurses repeatedly ignored my requests for more with "I'll be right back..." never to be seen again

Don't be afraid to ask and keep asking. I had a mixture of paracetamol, ibruprofen and codeine after an unplanned c section. The best advice from one of the nurses was to not be afraid to take the pain relief and stay on top of the pain until it was manageable.
Hope you are ok OP and congratulations on your baby.

This is why I was so confused about all the CS “too push to push” crap, it hurts! I was up & showering the next morning after mine & then packed off home with paracetamol & ibuprofen.

I had my appendix out 15 yrs ago & was on a morphine drip & kept in for 5 days.

Ask for diclofenac, sevredol or dyhydracodeine

Not sure on any of the spellings.

I was sent for a shower 4 hours after mine, fainted twice! Only paracetamol given and they kept forgetting to even give that. Then they refused to allow me (we could hear them moaning about the lady in bay 2) to pull my catheter out- it was hurting me and I felt like I needed to wee so didn't think it was in properly- a midwife finally came 5 hours later and yanked on it so hard I yelped in pain.
Then there was my baby showing early signs of infection that got ignored. Couldn't possibly be anything wrong, must be mum not feeding properly. 3 days later back in A&E then NICU with sepsis.

I've had 4 sections and took my own stash of decent pain relief in with the last one after only getting paracetamol with number 3 and it was always really late too.

I’ve had two c sections now, both emergencies for different reasons.
The last one was 9 months ago and I definitely got less painkillers without asking but still got paracetamol, diclaphenic (I’m
Sure that’s spelt wrong) as standard and an oral morphine thing upon request. Was encouraged to start moving slowly and carefully fairly fast after the op.
Did you have a spinal for it?
I did for my second and because of the large dose of painkillers given with it I couldn’t have more of them for AGES (like half a day at least I think)
If you don’t feel up to doing something kick up a fuss until you get help. Use that buzzer as much as you have to.
Another thought, they tried to send me home a day after my second csection saying I hadn’t needed to many painkillers so I was fine, could they be trying that with you?

I hope you feel more yourself soon and Congratulations!!!!!!
The pain will fade soon and it’s all worth it for your little one anyway

Was given diclofenac (I also can't spell it)! and sent home with 2 weeks worth.

I had an EMCS at 7.07am and was expected to get up and move at 10.30am! I managed to do it whilst crying through severe pain, only to be told later on that I should have been given pain relief and time for it to work before trying!
I have to stay in for a further 4 days and most times my medication was late, sometimes not being given at all until I asked the senior midwife when I should be having it, and she was furious that doses had been missed!
The first night baby was here, my DP set me up with everything I needed within reach, 10 mins after he left they moved me to another ward and left my bags, etc at the old one! I had to buzz someone to come and hand me the baby in the middle of the night and bring my stuff through because he needed changing!

I had paracetamol and a strong anti-inflammatory and that mostly kept it at bay. Paracetamol is better than you think. The sooner you're up and moving the easier it is - if you wait too long your body starts to heal in the wrong position and it hurts more to stand up. I've had three laparotomies (including a C-section) so I have experience!

OP did you have a medical condition that caused you to need the c-section in the first place? If so it could explain why you weren’t offered anything stronger. Some pain relief increases the chances of blood clots post-birth.