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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Has anyone been restitched ?

40 replies

Egg87 · 17/02/2019 22:34

So my baby is 10months after delievery I had a 2nd degree tear, which I think was pretty bad as at first the midwife said I may need to go to theatre and would get a doctor to give a 2nd opinion this never happened and she gave me the stitches herself anyway I have been referred to a consultant to be restitched (this is after many visits back an forth to the doctors to get the referral). I have seen 2 separate consultants the 1st 3months ago who said I could be restitched but made it sound as if it wasn’t a good idea then I saw one this week who said yes be restitched but sex may be painful after..which is the whole point in why I’m getting this op done to solve this issue when I raised this with her she just said oh if that does happen we can just do it again in a few months if we need to, so I am now completely unsure to go ahead with the surgery or not and wondered if anyone had any good or bad experiences after being restitched

OP posts:

stillworkingitout · 22/02/2019 08:25

The level of misogyny in postnatal injury care is at times astounding. I had other issues too, such as a broken coccyx - although I don’t know for sure because the consultant examined me, and said probably broken but he couldn’t do anything about it anyway so no point in x-ray (I would have found it useful to know). I did have physio and they were excellent, but the overwhelming opinion of doctors seemed to be that it looked very neat and how marvellously it had healed (not whether it hurt)

SmellsLikeAdultSpirit · 22/02/2019 08:30

I was restitched about 8 months later
I had a ridge of scar tissue. I was dreading it but it was fine, recovery was quick and I don't have any lumps and bumps now

TheRhythmlessMan · 22/02/2019 08:55

I've been worried about my stitches too so watching here with interest. I'm 8 months postpartum with first dc.

I don't feel pain from day to day life at all but I keep needing to wear protection from trickling urine and DH hasn't been inside me- it does feel too 'tight' but I'm not sure if that's become psychological (like I've convinced myself he won't 'fit' so I can't relax...).

If I'm not uncomfortable whatsoever (apart from sex) is it likely it's just in my head?

Hope you manage to get yourself sorted OP.

wombatsears · 22/02/2019 09:04

So this is a thing! I was stitched after 2nd degree tear. Now 4 months post partum and the stitches are still making sex and pooing painful! This has encouraged me to see the GP as it’s obviously not normal. Hope you get sorted OP!

BumboBaggins · 22/02/2019 09:15

@TheRhythmlessMan no I had no discomfort whatsoever other than sex and it was definitely not all in my head! (as consultant obgyn confirmed by total agreement to operate)

TheRhythmlessMan · 22/02/2019 09:41

Ok thank you bumbo

DelphiMum · 22/02/2019 09:50

@stillworkingitout another broken coccyx here. Took a year before I wasn’t in daily pain.

stillworkingitout · 22/02/2019 09:53

Ah so mine was in 2014, so is mostly fine these days. But I do still get pain if I have to sit for an extended period of time. I had pre- and postnatal physio with DC2 and the physio was of the opinion that all the damage related to forceps delivery with DC1 and not second pregnancy

Original poster

Egg87 · 22/02/2019 10:01

@smellslikeadultspirit thanks for another positive outcome, I have my date 2 weeks today I think I’m going to go ahead..I just want to get it clear from consultant pre op exactly what they are doing and what to expect, my first consultant described it as a skin tag and literally looked for 30secs and I am not exaggerating where as the lady i saw last time was more through and could see what I was talking about but didn’t describe it as similar to a skintag, just described it as nerve endings where the scar had healed.
@wombatsears you should defiantly go back I started to go back GP at 4months PP and it’s only now 11months I have a date of surgery to get the issue sorted.

It doesn’t matter if it is only your sex life it affects that’s still an important part of your life so you have the right to one pain free!!!

OP posts:

DelphiMum · 22/02/2019 10:56

Yes mine was from rotational forceps with DC1. DC2 was uneventful. Physio was magic

Dreamer2019 · 22/02/2019 14:34

Those of you who had physio, did you need help for a weak pelvic floor too? Mine is pretty bad and wondering if I could ask my gp to be referred for physio?

stillworkingitout · 22/02/2019 14:54

No - fortunately continence was about the only thing that wasn’t affected. But if it’s a problem for you then yes, definitely should try and get a referral. The postnatal physio here happens in the urodynamics department so is an odd mix of people carrying babies and the very elderly. In addition to physio I’d recommendpilates for pelvic floor strengthening. You don’t need to suffer with this

JellySlice · 22/02/2019 14:58

I was restitched when dc1 was 8m. In my case the problem was that part of the internal wound never healed. I was in almost constant discomfort (rather than pain), wiping after the toilet hurt and sex was impossible.

The surgery was straightforward, GA, home within a few hours. Recovery was more painful than I had expected. It hadn't occurred to me that stretching to deliver a baby would have reduced sensation in that area, so I would feel a heck of a lot more this time around. But I recovered very quickly.

The restitching certainly resolved the issue of having a non-healing wound in my vagina, but TBH it did not resolve everything. I still had pain almost whenever I was touched down there. Just nowhere near as bad as before.

Sex life resumed, dc2 was conceived and born very straightforwardly. I tore again on the scar, but not as badly. This time the midwife stitched me (with dc1 it was the registrar) and I healed perfectly. No more pain.

I didn't tear at all with subsequent dc.

Overall I have less sensation now, which is a frustration for sex. I don't know whether that's because of tearing or repairing. I do not regret the repair, and I'm glad we didn't wait longer or try to power through to conceive our dc.

JellySlice · 22/02/2019 15:03

I'd forgotten that I was left with a skin tag afterwards. It grew back after each repair and was the main source of my pain once the non-healing wound was treated. I finally had it causterised when my youngest was a toddler. It never grew back and I have had no pain since.

Original poster

Egg87 · 16/05/2019 09:06

I wanted to write an update on here just so as to reassure anyone who may be in a similar situations. I have been restitched had the op about 6/8weeks ago and it has solved the problem..I am still seeing a physio as childbirth and an op in under a year Is going to affect your pelvic floor but the pain I had before has gone. The recovery was a little harder than I anticipated I felt pretty rough for a couple of weeks but that could be because I got an infection which they think was a result of the antibiotics they inject in theatre. I reacted to them but aside from that the recovery was obviously no where near as bad as child birth recovery.
My only regret is that I waited nearly a year and didn’t get it done sooner.
Ladies if you are not happy or concerned see your GP and don’t keep being told it will sort itself out yes everyone needs to give it time but everyone knows their own bodies and after a certain amount of time you know if something is not normal for you. X

OP posts:

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