Wondering if I'll ever feel fit again?

[ChineapplePunk]

I gave birth to my wee DS just over 2 and half weeks ago. The birth wasn't too bad. I found my contractions fairly bearable for the majority of my labour, but I progressed fairly rapidly, I think?, in comparison to most of the labours you hear about on MN. I was 4-5 cm dilated when I arrived at hosp at 3.30 in the morning and was fully dilated by just 6 in the morning and gave birth at 6.14 :). I only had gas and air but I was definitely tuned to the moon as I delivered, because apparently things did kick off big time according to DH. The crash team arrived and they were preparing me for an emergency CS just as DS decided to make an appearance and things changed again. Subsequently I did end up with a 4th degree tear and episiotomy and was whisked away to theatre for further surgery as the surgeon discovered that I also had an anal fistula? She thought I probably already had a weakness there and the birth obviously aggravated it. Bottom line is that I feel my recovery has been fairly easy. I really haven't had much discomfort or real pain from all the stitches down there. BUT, I am absolutely knackered whenever I do anything more energetic than walking the length of my flat. Took a quick trip down to the shops today as DH looked after bubs and felt as if I had been hit by a bus by the time I got back. It's really annoying. Has anyone suffered from similar birth injuries and did you eventually regain your fitness? I'm not the youngest new mum in the world (41) but I currently feel like a 90 year old woman. :(

Wow, it sounds like you had a fairly tough time of it.
I admit that I was not quite as old as you when I gave birth, and I didn't go through what you went through, but I can assure you that it is completely understandable to feel like you've been hit by a bus only 2 1/2 weeks after going through all that. I felt rough after my births too.
Give yourself time to recover. It will take time and patience.
However, you will recover and your body will gradually get back to something like how it was before.
Take it easy on yourself.

I am 4 weeks post partum and had a third degree tear - so not as bad as your experience - but I still get worn out and achey 'down there' if I overdo it. I'm gradually feeling better though, so think it is just a case of giving it time and eating well - lots of iron-rich foods etc.

Go easy on yourself, if this is your first it is a steep learning curve compounded by lack of sleep, if you have more than one like me you will be busy trying to give enough attention to older children plus coping with the demands of a newborn.

I am 10 weeks post my 2nd EMCS. Started doing Gillian Michaels 30 day shred 3 weeks ago (as an when I can not every day) and I have already noticed the difference, DH has commented on it too.

Start gently with swimming when you feel ready/doc says you can and work your way up, also do your pelvic floor exercises. Pilates/Yoga also good for your core muscles if you are better with low impact exercise.

I had an episiotomy...no further complications at the time... i was knackered and didnt put any make up on for 8 weeks whcih is when bubs started sleeping through the night...and I am a MAC accredited free lance make up artist....
dont think i even brushed my teeth daily ...was so tierd all the time.. i had full time help and my parents stayed to help out ...still the feeds every two hours took it out of me ...so dont worry about it too much ...
have you had your iron checked? Sounds like you may have lost some blood and being anemic can really make you feel lethagic...vit d shortages can also attribute to fatigue...and finally have a bloodpressure check ... a low bloodpressure can wear you out

After 2 months I did get back to myself slowly ...

I think I tick all the boxes mentioned. I know for a fact my iron count went back to being quite low after birth. I was on 630 mg's of ferrous fumerate a day during pregnancy, and my HB count did eventually reach normal levels. I have been prescribed another load of iron tabs post birth, which, is a bit of a pain because of the constipation it can cause. I'm taking fybogel and lactulose to try and combat this (was taking lactulose all through pregnancy). It's crap taking all these medications that work against each other. I've got co-codamol as well but am only taking it when I really need to (also adds to constipation), which luckily has only been a few times over the last two weeks. Really don't fancy being bunged up considering all the injuries down there :)

My BP has always been quite low too. Christ, I'm beginning to realise why I feel so run-down. Silly me. :)

Thanks for the exercise advice. I will really need to make a good effort once I have healed up a bit more.

Yeh, the lack of sleep is probably making all this seem a 100 times worse.