To ask about your C-Section scar?

[HelloBunny]

Aibu to think that mine might have healed nicely by now? Or do some scars never really fade away to the fabled feint line?

I had EMCS almost a year ago. The recovery was brutal... The scar was very raw / lumpy, and took ages to settle down. I used a medicated lotion on it for the first three months.

Now, it’s still quite delicate. I never really touch it. It’s livid, purple, and sticks out as if it was a long earth worm across my front. Behind it the muscle (or whatever) is hard.

It still feels tight at times & gets “tired” after long walks / housework, etc... I haven’t done any heavy exercise (or lost much baby weight). I’m not a young woman, so maybe that’s a factor!

Funny thing is, I have no stretch marks & my pink freckly skin behaved quite well during / after the pregnancy (I did lotion or coconut oil every day). I’m not left with hang-y skin, either (well, perhaps when I lose more weight...)

The scar is quite low down, but catches on knickers that are not granny pants (I would to give them up!). I’ve had my bikini days, so I’m not much worried about that...

Yanbu - it will eventually improve.
Yabu - you’re stuck with it for life.

Mine was the stitch end too where it was lumpy
I was out of it but remember them saying they would dissolve then paranoid I still have stitches in it 😂

I don’t wear any underwear at all possible times to reduce rubbing!

I remember when the huge padding / plaster was removed, before I left hospital, and I had a look in the ward bathroom mirror... The horror! My legs were swollen to twice their size too, I thought I’d never recover from the whole thing!
But then I often think, it’s going to be something whether it’s your belly sliced open or your downstairs stretched / ripped to pieces... The main thing is that baby got out safe & sound. It’s good to know that my scar might eventually fix itself, in time.

My first one healed perfectly, the second one not so well. It’s 13 years old now and both are just tiny white lines, barely visible, but still feels lumpy when I press it. I never regained feeling after the second one and have a big numb patch from the scar up to my belly button. I can’t wax or shave anywhere round there now as it all feels too weird.

Oh and I get weird itching around the numb area still which is maddening because it’s numb and no matter where I scratch it doesn’t relieve the itch because it feels deeper than the surface. Bizarre.

I've had 2 c-sections, the last one about 2.5 years ago. Scar is still very much visible although has faded a lot. I still get weird pains occasionally, although better now I've lost some weight. Also patches of numbness around it that I'm guessing the feeling will never come back. Also the itching! Every now and then it comes on and it's awful, it feels like it is inside that is itching and I can't scratch it away.

@TwoleftUggs

Oh and I get weird itching around the numb area still which is maddening because it’s numb and no matter where I scratch it doesn’t relieve the itch because it feels deeper than the surface. Bizarre.

The itching is what I get too, it's awful.

15 years later and all it does is create a fold / overhang in my stomach # even when my weight is low 😞

My second has been tougher going. It’s been 18 months and it still twinges if I overdo stuff (or, tmi alert, if I’m constipated ). First time round, the numbness took about a year to go. This time the numbness has been les pronounced but there is more sensation at one end.

I don't really look at mine. It's hidden under my overhang. I had two sections in two years, six years ago now. I still have numbness around my scar. And I do still feel pulling internally sometimes around my scar if I've been too strenuous.

It depends.

My first was an emergency caesarean done in England in a really busy, overpopulated area by a houseman in the middle of the night. The consultant who did my second in a different country refered to it as third world medicine and butchery, but I guess neither of us died...

I’ve had 1 EMCS and you can see the scar but not feel it. Mine healed really well and quickly. But honestly, mine felt a bit sore for the first 12-18 months if I did any exercise. 2.5 years later and I don’t notice it at all unless my underwear is rubbing on it, but even then I find myself more comfortable with underwear on my bikini line now. I’ve been put off any more children thanks to it but I’m hoping to try again once I get more confident. They don’t tell you the full extent of the healing process will of a C-section. I feel for you op, I hope it gets better with time.

I got an infection in the first week some antibiotics cleared it up. It was a little lumpy to feel for a while but now it’s smoothed out and the scar is very faint

Still feels a little numb I don’t like the scar touched at all and during my period it feels like it’s pulling inside where the infection was it’s an odd feeling and come and goes for a few seconds for a day or two

Mine is visible and a bit wonky at one end also seems neater in some areas (more flat) than other parts.

I'm a size 8 and there's still this little pouch part been created that I absolutely hate. U never see it even when I wear a bikini as it's so low down but I detest it. I know it will never go away even when I lost even more weight after my first and was down to a size 6.

I also hate to touch it feels weird and still quite numb. I've had 2 sections 1 emcs and 1 planned that turned into an emcs. I had first child 4 yrs ago and second 18 months ago. I wa hoping second section might sort out the first one but I can actually see 2 lines at one part so they couldn't even follow the line of the first one properly 🙈 I feel like I look like I've been butchered tbh. It's still sore if my dd kicks me or leans on it etc. It's actually sore just now she kicked me earlier when I was changing her nappy little madam!

*also my right side is a bit more bumpy (it’s where I could feel the stitches knotted and poking out soon after surgery ), but I notice this much less is now than I did 12 postpartum

and yes, the scar and overhang from the first one are still visible sixteen years later.

However my body has been through all kinds of shit since then including two subsequent pregnancies and caesarean sections with different scar sites (second and third the same, apparently the first was in a weird place) and gaining and losing seven stone due to stress and sleep deprivation. I have a lot of loose skin but despite that thexforst scarvis visible.

I look good in high waisted bikini bottoms though now I'm back to prepregnancy weight 16 years on from pregnancy number one

Massage it, regularly with a good quality oil. It’s still pretty fresh! It’s major surgery, hundreds of stitches, many layers of flesh. The silicone plasters are meant to be good.
MyMabels scar is amazing- mine doesn’t look like that and mine is five years old now! I’ve no fear of ever wearing anything where it could be seen anyway .

Mine is just a feint line now and can hardly be seen; however, it is still numb on one side and extra sensitive on the other and because I'm overweight my overhang is quite large and gets irritated easily. I also have lots of stretchmarks.

Oh and that's after 10+ years.

Yes, Until, mine was all done so quickly, in the night, too! It wasn’t the birth I’d hoped for, but I was so happy with how it all turned out. I had quick-thinking people in the room, who made the EMCS happen, and both DS & me had a good outcome! The scar is only a part of the story...

I used these OP. Anything similar should be fine.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Q1GWRMF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Sorry for ugly link.

Do you mind if I just in and ask if anyone else gets pain/discomfort they didn’t have before their CS but that’s not behind their scar?

I get the occasional burning type pain a few inches up and to one side. Possibly adhesions or something. No pain around or behind the scar itself but still get this a couple of years on.

Mine is 8 years old and barely visible. Healed really well. I had laparoscopy and that scar is worse.

I’ve had two EMCs a decade ago. The scar is very low and wonky but invisible. Still feels numb, hopefully that’ll go away some time.

HelloBunny in the end we're living with the scars from emergency, life saving surgery. I'd never have cosmetic surgery because I almost died during my first emergency caesarean. DH thought I was dead as he was left alone with DD when I was rushed back into surgery due to internal bleeding and didn't see me for another five hours. He was frantically planning to take DD back to his home country and move in with his mum...

Its nothing like a planned caesarean - I had two of those layer due to predicted big babies combined with the messy state of my womb...

People who've survived life threatening accidents or cancer treatment have scars too - it's no different and shouldn't be.

Bringing children into the word is a brutal, dangerous, life threatening business and we shouldn't be expected to downplay it tbh! If men did it the attention focused on the battle scars would be rather different...

I had my c section nearly 3yrs ago now and it healed really well. To be fair I apparently had one of the most highly regarded surgeons do mine. All the staff at the hospital kept telling me how lucky I was to get this particular surgeon, as she usually does much must complex surgeries, but has to do a certain number of routine operations (like c-sections) per year. My scar was just a red line to begin with, faded purple and at around 18mths went silvery white and I can barely see it now. Yours does sounds like a keloid scar.