Episiotomy Nightmare

[howsoonisnow85]

Hi all, had an episiotomy & forceps to give birth to DD on Monday & the agony is just relentless. Anyone had one & can give me any hope on when the pain fades?! I am just constantly crying & writhing to find a comfortable position, its really starting go ruin these first few days with her

Congratulations on your little DD! I had an episiotomy and 3rd degree tear, but I was stitched in theatre and discharged on painkillers and antibiotics so honestly never had any significant pain! Has your midwife checked the stitches? Pain can mean infection and you may need antibiotics

Ouch! I had an episiotomy and forceps to have DS1 and remember it being sore, but not that sore. Poor you. Do ask your midwife to check your stitches. Take paracetamol if you need to.

I sat on a soft cushion for a week or so until it started to feel less sore. I've heard of women using an inflatable swimming ring (can't think of the right name) for sitting on as well.

I had one with DS (not a big one though) and whilst it was painful for a couple of weeks, it wasn't unbearable - sore when walking for more than a few mins, or if sitting on a seat without a cushion, but otherwise it wasn't too bad and I stopped the ibuprofen after a couple days

I would get checked out just in case it's infected etc?

I Was sore after my episiotomy but pain got worse after a few days and some of the stitches had burst. If you can get pr difene it's magic stuff

You poor thing. I had an episiotomy and forceps with my DS six years ago and if I had my time again, I'd:

1. insist on getting it checked by the midwife until the pain had subsided considerably. If they sign you off, make a GP appt and make it clear that your pain levels are intolerable.

1. ask at your hospital whether they have a specialist clinic for women with birth injuries - I know some do.

1. don't use any form of lotion, cream, bath salts etc at all until you are totally sure everything's healed. Keep a jug of clean tepid water to hand when you wee or poo and use that to keep yourself fresh - don't wipe after you've been to the loo, give it a really thorough rinse and pat dry instead. Shower daily but don't blast the area with the shower head, be very gentle.

1. Take the pain meds you need. I'll be drummed off MN for saying this but if that means formula feeding your baby so you can take the right drugs and be pain free, that is an option worth considering. A mother in pain is not optimal for any baby, and being in chronic pain is a really easy way to end up with PND. Babies on formula grow and thrive just like breastfed babies.

Honestly it will fade. I felt better a little every day but felt "normal" at about 11 weeks post

I just laugh when people suggest paracetamol ( like my mw did when I started with labour). They don’t even help my headaches, let alone having your VJJ cut. Nobody would suggest such a mild painkiller to a man in such pain
Insist on exploring better options OP, if you are BF there still might be something they can do.
And congrats on the baby x

Had with both DS and DD...second time healing was a doddle and I put it down to baths every day with a few drops of lavender and tea tree oil. Ask for better painkillers too..

OP I think the painkiller I had was Diclofenac. Worked brilliantly!

Regular ibuprofen and paracetamol, bath once a day and shower once a day, use lavender oil or tea tree oil in the bath. Lie with legs open on bed to air dry for 5mins. Drink plenty of fluids and eat well. And ask your midwife to look at the stitches

I used regular ibuprofen and paracetomol religiously for 2 weeks and used spritz for bits which was amazing. I was feeling much more comfortable within 5 days or so. Could walk round no issues by day 4 so maybe get your midwife to check. I was stitched in theatre after a retained placenta by a senior registrar it's super neat.

Ask for more and better pain relief and take it religiously. You've had a major injury and it will take time to heal. Don't settle for paracetamol band ibuprofen if it's not working. You might need something stronger. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Mine was years ago and episiotomy plus 3rd degree tear. It all seemed to get much much better after 10 days.

Yes after the first 10 days l felt totally different, hang in there.

Mine stopped properly 7 weeks postpartum. What helped was lactulose, showering after every poo, and doing wees in the shower. The bonus of showering so often was that my stitches never got infected.

I had my baby 8 weeks ago so my experience is more recent.

Volterol suppositories!!!!

Get on the phone to your gp first thing and ask for these little bum tablets of glory!!

Anti inflamatory that goes up your bum and well... helps inflamation and sorness! Total Bliss.

Im not joking. Call them first thing and demand a prescription.

Im due in July and will stock up before labour.

@op try some ice packs on the area, it works a bit as takes the swelling down.

As others said, wash with water after every toilet use, change pad really often so you always have as much dry time down there. Swimming ring helps when sitting.

I had one with my first, it'll the healing was worse with it than when I teared. Unfortunately for me it took more than 2 months to completely heal, and was told to wait for intercourses over 3 months.

I've heard there are some wipes you can place on there and have some sort of natural remedies to help heal and take the pain. Don't remember their name but I saw it on a YouTube video. I will search for it to have for this birth.

You’ve had lots of good advice already but in case anyone hasn’t already mentioned you can also try popping some maternity pads in the freezer to help a little, and I also found cloth sanitary pads much more comfortable than disposable ones. I had an episiotomy where the stitches reopened and also got infected. I’m afraid I was in a lot of pain for several weeks and was still sore a few months later, however it got better all the tine. I also ended up seeing a consultant to have excess scar tissue removed. Hopefully that won’t be the case for you, but do keep pestering the gp if it doesn’t improve and they can refer you. In good news, I am totally pain free and can’t really tell I even had it now 6 months PP.

Also, other thing to mention is bowel movement! I was in agony for about 4 days after episiotomy and kept getting stitches checked and asking for more painkillers. I then realised that I had been constipated since the birth and the pressure on my stitches was what was causing all the pain. After a ton of laxatives the relief was instant! Was fully prepared for DC2 and taking lactulose straight away. Even after 2nd degree tear, I barely noticed any discomfort.

Get the cushion that looks like a doughnut, it was a must for me. I was so bad I couldn't get low enough to sit on the loo and had to keep carefully getting into the shower for days. I couldn't stand or sit it do anything really. I think by day 6 I was starting to find ways to manage it better. But it took 2.5 weeks before I was comfortable enough to drive.
Take the painkillers, get a spray bottle with water and lavender oil in it, keep it in the fridge. Spray when needed.
Take baths, just plain water no bubbles and add egg cup of milk that you put 14 drops of lavender oil in to the water. I promise it doesn't hurt. It is so soothing. That's what saved me.

Speak to your midwife or GP and demand better pain relief. I had forceps, episiotomy and a tear and was in agony. Paracetamol and ibuprofen wasn’t cutting it even though I was taking the max dose per day for 2 weeks!

I had an episiotomy and third degree tear when my daughter was born ten weeks ago and yes, I found it incredibly sore to start with. No way could I have sat down anywhere without a special cushion, I was struggling to get out of bed, walk, do fairly easy things like bend down to unfold the pram frame. It got better in about 3-4 weeks, and it’s almost fine now. I still find hard chairs uncomfortable though. A few points, some mentioned by previous posters:
Definitely get your stitches checked, either by the GP or midwife. I had a low grade infection brewing and my stitches were gaping. I felt a lot better after a round of antibiotics.
Check with your local NCT if they hire out something called a valley cushion. It’s midwife developed specifically for this and better for healing than doughnut cushions. You don’t have to be a member to hire them (I’m not). You can also buy them online, but they’re very pricey (about £130 I think). It was a lifesaver when I couldn’t sit even on a regular pillow.
There is very efficient pain relief you can have whilst breastfeeding. I was on co-dydramol; no way would paracetamol have cut it! I switched to ibuprofen and paracetamol taken together a few days later. Word of caution, codeine causes constipation, which will make the situation worse, so think of taking a laxative at the same time. Movicol and lactulose worked for me.
Avoid lifting, standing too long or walking too far if you can. They all strain your pelvic floor and stitches to start with.
And yes, yes, yes to showering after a bowel movement rather than wiping. Not so easy with a new baby to look after, I know!
Very best of luck. It will get better, though I know it’s so grim the early days.

I didn't have an episiotomy, but I had a 3rd degree tear with my first. I took both ibuprofen and paracetamol regularly and spent loads of time sitting on a cold pack. I found the cold really helped the pain and reduced the inflammation. Definitely take laxatives so you aren't straining on the toilet.

I had a 3rd degree tear with my first and episitomy with my second and the pain was much worse with my episitomy. I bitterly regretted not getting an elective C as offered as I thought I was going to be in pain forever.
3 weeks in and it's not sore any more. The first 2 weeks were hell, couldn't sit, couldnt walk, had to have a cushion to perch on my non padded dining chair for long enough to eat my dinner. I live in UAE so no codeine allowed, I had diclofenac and paracetamol. With the 3rd degree tear in uk I had dihydrocodeine on top and that obviously took away a lot of the pain.
I had about 4 baths a day until it felt better. Just water, would sit in there for hours.
Keep on top of your bowels, its 10x worse when you need to move your bowels. I'm very sensitive to laxatives so have reduced mine to every 2 days but do not let yourself go longer than that. Pour water on yourself every single time you go to the toilet. Dont even think of starting with toilet roll yet!

It will get so much better but seriously dont worry about getting your stitches checked. I was really stupid about it the first time an no one ever checked mine but I've had 2 obgyns check them this time and it's good to know everything is healing as it should be.