Some CS questions - would appreciate answers!

[Angelico]

Hi ladies, having ELCS in 12 days. Was wondering if anyone could answer a few questions:

1. People recommend arnica. Is that tablets? Where do you get / how many do you take? Do they actually work???

2.Trapped wind pain - is it common? Got some peppermint oil capsules, when do you take them? After CS or start before? Does peppermint tea help?

1. Did you get good pain relief or should I take in some of my own painkillers? They will give me a suppositry and consultant assures me they will give me painkillers and to take them (ie don't be a hero) but I know wards get busy...

1. Senna tablets or lactulose - useful? Or did you just eat prunes and things?

1. Am probably getting spinal rather than epidural. Is this a good method? I know it can't be topped up.

Thanking you in advance!

It does make me mad that so many people have issues with pain relief - and it does seem to be a bit of a lottery. The funny thing is I had bowel surgery before (my reason for having CS) and although the pain was much less I was given ARMFULS of painkillers. Now, after major surgery, I get given OTC medication

The one thing that is really helping me is acupuncture and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone post-CS if you know of a reputable acupuncturist. I got the name of mine from community mw and I am positive it has accelerated my healing and pain-relief. If I was ever stupid enough to go through all this again I would be sorely tempted not to breastfeed just so I could get some decent tablets - and that is such a shame :(

Wheresmespecs I'm angry but not surprised you got a negative reaction from MWs about your ELCS :( They all wanted to know why I had mine which tbh I found quite intrusive and nosey when I was recovering. They were only slightly more sympathetic when I explained about my surgical history AND the fact that gestational diabetes and scans seemed to be indicating a very large baby (she wasn't in the end but that's a whole other thread about how crap scans can be...! :) )

I think tramadol is not particularly pleasant in terms of side effects, it can quite commonly cause delirium in older patients, and I imagine could do similar things to hormonal sleep deprived new mums! It was discussed as an option for me, as I could not take diclofenac or any other NSAID, due to having a history of stomach ulcers, although it was kind of considered a last resort, and I didn't have any in the end.

I had plenty of other opioids though, and I breastfed. Afaik the only issue with opioids and pg/bfing is I'm guessing they might make baby more sleepy, but this was not the case with my dd, and certainly not at night!

Mummys they gave me a few Tramadol in the hospital and they were fine. They were actually the ones I was given after previous surgery although never needed them in the end. This time they wouldn't give me any home - they seem to have become a controlled drug? Maybe they weren't when I got given boxes of them before!

Nothing much to add from my experience (2 crash emcs) but for post cs comfort I'd recommend

Yoga pants with the big turn up waist band (Hush, Gossypium).
Shower gel on a hook (Radox)
A water bottle with a sports cap so you can drink lying down
Decent lip salve (maternity wards are very hot)
Shoes you can put on without leaning down (I wore Crocs)

Good luck

Was anyone else given injections of the anti-clotting drug Fragmin to take home after their ELCS? I was a bit surprised to be prescribed it as I don't think I'm high risk for blood clots and didn't get it last time. But I was 33 then and am 37 now, so maybe that's why. Anyhow, DH had to inject me each night. Which neither of us enjoyed. Couldn't have done it myself, though...

I had 5 days of an anti-clotting drug - the community mw came round each day to do it though, I didn't do it myself.

Hey Elpis I had 5 days on anti-clotting injections, did them myself as they had a little 'rebounder' which made them easy enough to do - you just pinched, jabbed them in, plunged and then the needle popped out itself. In NI they seem to give them as standard to anyone having a CS, regardless of age.

Oh - and think mine were Klexane, something like that?

angelico - did you find the tramadol helped after the section?

Eliza they helped a bit for 'breakthrough' pain - which tbh I had a lot. Diclofenac and paracetamol just didn't do it for me. I would push really hard for co-codamol or something stronger, threaten to give up bfing if necessary. TBH I think it was just the hospital I was at. I've had surgery before and coped really well with the pain so I'm surprised it hurt me so much - but there are a couple of other girls on our Oct thread who seem to have coped really well, managed on just the standard painkillers. Maybe I just have a particularly tender abdomen :)

And I REALLY recommend the acupuncture - I've only had 2 sessions but I can feel the difference so quickly. The guy I go to is Chinese and does traditional Chinese medicine too so he has given me herbal stuff which is safe for BFing to promote healing. It's disgusting but optional :o

I had Clexhane injections to take home too. I had to get DH to do them, or I wouldn't have done it. I think everyone who has been inactive for a while gets them. I had them when I was hospitalised with hyperemisis too.