Sore episiotomy

[Meganc559]

I had my son just 4 days ago and had to get an episiotomy with 6 stitches
Half of them internal.

I m really sore when peeing and have been using pads against my.stictches to cover them but it still stings, I had one poo( sorry tmi) it wasn't too bad but I m so scared to clench after, is there any tips or anyway to make these things easier?

I had forceps and episiotomy 6 weeks ago now -you’re describing exactly how I was ! The first poo was easier than I thought I was going to be too haha. Clenching afterwards is painful I had to grit my teeth, pouring a jug of warm water over whilst peeing dilutes the wee and doesn’t make it sting so much. Other than that get some lavender oil for your bath, just over a teaspoon of milk poured into your bath and 5 drops of lavender oil worked wonders. I didn’t know about this til something like day 6 but I instantly felt much better and could feel the stitches getting better and less pully. Use daily in the bath until you feel better I stopped using mine 3 weeks after birth. Avoid any other bath soaps / bubble bath. It does get so much better!!

Oh god the first few days after episiotomy were hell. Unable to sit upright and every trip to the toilet ended in tears.

I think mine started to get drastically better at the day 4-5 mark so hold on in there congratulations on your new baby

Thank you ladies, I had one this morning but felt.i needed one earlier but held it in a bit, I hope I ve not started blocking myself up

Start taking lactulose - it saved me. And eat prunes. Lots and lots of them. I had serious poo fear and ended up being blocked up. It was unbelievably painful and really upsetting

Lactulose saved the day. I also put a couple drops of lavender and tea tree oil on my pads...it gets better.
Good luck
And CONGRATULATIONS

Also, where possible, go free range! No undies as the fresh air on ones nether regions speeds up healing rather than being "cramped up" in undies n pads n whatnot.

Agree with pp about not wearing underwear where possible. Have a towel underneath you. I found being religious about taking paracetamol and ibuprofen on time helped - I could tell if I'd missed a dose. Also do pelvic floor exercises even if it hurts. It increases blood flow to the area which helps the healing process. I found I was noticeably better with the pain by day 6.

Ooh I remember it well, get done tea tree oil & some lavender oil, a couple of drops in a lukewarm bath will really help.

The smell of those still remind me of those painful days 7 years ago, it will be better soon OP!!

I 2nd the pouring warm water over whilst on the toilet helps massively, also bend forward it kind of directs it away from the stitches. I always made sure to have a tea tree bath every night for first few weeks even just sitting in it for 5-10 mins was great! Congratulations on the little one!

Witch Hazel!! Midwife in maternity ward gave me a little bottle of it. So nice and cooling on my stitches and helps to heal. She gave me medical gauze squares to soak it in then I put the gauze directly on the sore bits. I ordered a bottle off Amazon for this time. You could pour some directly on your pad too.

Keep hydrated so that the wee isn't too concentrated. I weed whilst in the shower which helped. I also stopped wearing pads after about day 7 as they irritated me (sensitive skin) but I think the extra air to the area helps as pp have said. I just went through lots of granny pants. Eat dried apricots. I found that bowel movements weren't too painful in the end but I Was terrified for the first one! I've also heard that pelvic floors help. Good luck :) hopefully will be over soon I'm 17 days post partum and almost feel back to normal

I second witch hazel. That stuff is magic! Get a bottle of distilled witch hazel. Pop some in a spray bottle. You can spray on pads or directly onto sore bits. DD2 is 8 days old and my midwife suggested mixing witch hazel and cold water, then pour into a pad. Popping that on for a bit will massively help! It’s really cooling and helps with swelling.

I used arnica tablets with DD1. She was only a 1st degree tear (DD2 was a 2nd degree). Not sure if it was the tear difference or the arnica tablets, but I found recovery much better with DD1.

Also just keep an eye on it not getting worse - if it starts to get more red and tender, go and see the gp as it might be infected.

Speaks the voice of bitter experience...!

I had an episiotomy after ventouse delivery. Dreaded having a poo but it wasn't too bad. I had a spray bottle of warm water to spray on when I peed and used with hazel particles from the freezer. The absolute worst thing for me was coughing, it was absolute agony but I remember it getting easier after 5 or 6 days.

What do you mean by 'clench', like do you mean (crassly) pinching one off?