Can anyone help with a quickie please?

[Rhubarb]

I gave birth 11 days ago and since then I've suffered from what I thought was trapped wind, only it's become much worse. I now get pains whilst moving around and standing, sharp pains that take your breath away. They were mostly in my sides but are now all over my stomach and nothing that I do seems to ease them. They can be absolutely agonising and it's making it difficult just to get around. The only relief I get is if I lie down or sit still in the same position.
Has anyone had any experience of this? Could it still be trapped wind or something else? I do feel my bowels moving, but these pains seem to be in my stomach muscles too. Any advice at all?

I can't give you any advice, Rhubarb, but it sounds pretty unpleasant and I hope someone can help you. Good luck!

I had pains like that a lot, its hard to say what yours are and wouldn't like to. Mine were my womb contracting back to its old self. Could you have a word with your health visitor

I would love to have a word with the HV but as it's the Christmas hols I doubt anyone will be up and about. I have felt my womb contracting but these feel different, I wonder if I've bruised my stomach muscles with pushing. WWW said she had tore her stomach muscles, could this be the pain I am feeling or can trapped wind really be this bad?

Have you tried NHS Direct?

If you have had a baby before - which I believe you have - you do sometimes get contractions after the birth which can be pretty unpleasant. Apparently worse when you breast feed. Do the pains feel contraction like - my youngest is nearly 4 so your memory of labour pains will be much fresher than mine!

Hope you get it sorted out soon before christmas is upon us!

I had the same thing. I didn't say anything though but when midwife felt my stomach she said I was badly constipated I didn't fully believe her though since I was quite regular but she insisted I was and within 2 weeks the pains had gone.
HTH

Thanks Bekki, that's reassuring. I have phoned NHS Direct but they said they can't make a diagnosis over the phone and to see my GP, which is impossible over the Christmas period. We do have a walk-in clinic at the hospital for emergencies but I'd feel a bit silly going in for trapped wind! I just wondered how severe trapped wind could be, if that's all it is I would feel reassured, it's just the thought that it could be something else that is haunting me!

They don't really feel very contraction like, just like bubbles of trapped wind but ten times worse.

Hi Rhubarb, I've only just seen this, I'm wondering whether you've pulled some stomach muscles too, my pain from that was agonising and it hurt to move - if you think about it, you use your stomach muscles for evrything so logically it would hurt to do anything. Are you sure your GP won't come out? Mine did when I explained there was no way I could move or walk and that I'd only had a baby 3 days earlier. It was a relief to have a diagnosis, these things can be scary can't they? I was told to rest and take Ibuprofen (but only ok if you're not bfeeding) and it finally got better about 2 weeks later. Or could your midwives come out? Presumably they're still visiting you? The pain I had was completely different to afterpains as it was on one side, agonising and not in my womb. That's what the midwife tried to tell me it was at first though. I hope someone agrees to see you. Happy Christmas.

Hi Rhubarb, I experienced exactly the same pain you are talking about and it WAS trapped wind! I couldn't for the life of me fathom out why having a baby should have caused this or how on earth it could have been so agonising (worse that labout at some points) but that's what happened. The only difference - and a pretty important one - is that my problem sorted itself out within 4 or 5 days of giving birth. Sorry, I don't know if this helps or not!

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