Post c-section question...

[crace]

I have had two previous sections, and having my third in late May. I am trying to be proactive about a particular "side effect" of my past c/s. Which is lovely enough, horrible constipation. So badly that it's usually about a week post op that I can finally "go". Not so bad except for I am in absolutely agony until that finally happens. This is actually the bit I am dreading the most, not the scar pain, not the afterpains, but the severe constipation.

I started on lactulose last time 2 days post op but it still took 5 days on it before things resumed normal again and with it, immediate relief.

Has anyone either dealt with this beforehand, or found a way to get around this? I.e. lactulose before the operation, having empty bowels before I go in, or get the consultant to start me on it straight away?

This sounds ridiculous, even to me, but it's agony and I am dreading it

huge sympathy. I had the same thing. With number 3 I started on fibrogel 2 days before the op and got up and on my feet within 6 hours of the op. Was much better getting things going and everything kinda worked the following day.
Constipation is so painful

might help to organise ocado or somesuch delivery of tasty iron filled and nutritious treats to eat in hospital. am convinced that part of my constipation was a direct and indirect results (aenimic so given iron tablets) of the food i got given to eat in the day or so following my section.

Hmm what breastfeeding women who has not eaten for 3 days because she has been in labour can survive on a cup or soup and a triangle of white toast for 12 hours?

Oooh, is that possible needmorecoffee? You know, on the other hand I am afraid to get things going "too early" just in case I am not on my feet fast enough. Just no making me happy, is there? Did you find that it helped things move again, albeit slowly? Also, what did you eat leading up to it?

Thanks, witchandchips - I am sure you are right. I am going to bring dried fruit and prune juice in with me. (ick) but I am so desperate to not have this happen again, and add to my pain, which is most certainly did. I felt human again, and almost pain free once the constipation was sorted.

Forewarned is forearmed?

day before I had a giant curry
with section no 3 they have me rectal volteral for the pain which I'd never had before. Its marvellous and so allowed me to totter down to the shop 6 hours after my op (abandoning ds2 in his plastic cot) so I could get a choccy bar and the paper.
Being up and about was much easier cos I was pain free and that, the curry and the fibrogel meant I didn't have the constipation issues I had before.

and I left hozzie the following day cos there was a heat wave, no a/c and they were stacking mums and babies up in the corridors.
Midwives were none too happy but I'm much happier at home. Even with 2 toddlers.

And hopefully a good case of the nerves will help clear out before I go in. Sigh.. is there no dignity left for women?

Thanks for the suggestions, good to know that this worked for someone out there I am a not mad to try it. Phew.

Wow Needmorecoffee - gotta take my hat off to you being on your feet within 6 hours - am seriously impressed!! My first section was at 11am and it was almost 24 hrs before I was up. Second was at 1pm and I was nagging the midwives to help me up from 7.30am - they wouldn't let me out of bed the night before. Third section is in May and I'm dreading it although second was infinitely better than first (except for spinal ) - am reading the constipation remedies with interest because between that, wind pains and afterpains I was in agony at times.

I was up and about 12 hours after an emc and I'm sure this would help stop the digestive system becoming sluggish.

The pain killers you are given probably don't help, so make sure you drink lots of water and fruit juice, and eat anything which you know makes you poo

Good luck xx

I had wind pain with my second, in my arms and shoulders. Agony.

Was the wind better the 3rd time, with the constipation sorted?

crace Me too! I ended up with an awful anal fissure due to the constipation after my c-section. Am 12 weeks pg now and dead scared about what state my bowels will be like this time (it will have to be a c-section). I am afraid to say I starved myself for a couple of weeks in the end because I was so scared to poo.

Stool softener is the best thing for it, but I wasn't allowed to have it because I was bf. I'd be interested to know if any other mnetters have used the stuff and bf without anything awful happening.

Bags of good luck that you get it sorted this time round. x

Really, why weren't you allowed it? I exclusively bf my dd and was on a course of lactulose in hospital. No doubt it did make her have runny poos too so as soon as I was ok, I stopped.

I am definitely going to be eating food high in insoluble fibre this time around and asking/begging for lactulose as an immediate start.

I was terrified of this, so I made sure after my section I had lots and lots of water (oh the bliss of having a catheter for 12 hours!) and made DH bring in kilos of grapes and lots of dates - full of fibre etc. Must have worked as I didn't have a problem at all. Lots of fresh fruit when I got home to make sure things carried on working too.

I had it with my first c-section and not my second. It was due to taking iron tablets that I didn't need and one of the pain killers gave me constipation. For the second one I made sure I didn't have either of those tablets. Also the other things that were different that may have helped were having to get from the bed to a wheelchair and then a wheelchair to a bed 2 hours after the op and also getting up and walking around 6 hours post-op too.

There is a more powerful stool softener than lactulose, I think its called Movicol. I had it once after another op and it worked wonders. I thought (and felt) that lactulose just pumped everything through you a bit faster and for me that aggravated my problem, the movicol just softens it.

eeewwww!

Sounds like a plan then! Thanks everyone for replying!

It is ewww isn't it? All dignity must go with childbirth I suppose!

Thanks again

I always find all bran helps. Also codrydamol has that effect so if you can manage it take paracetemol instead. It really helped once I was discharged.

I had exactly the same problem and it was really horrible, so plenty of sympathy! I was up within 12 hours and walking around a lot as ds was in SCBU 5 floors down, didn't seem to help me. Codeine can be constipating - I stopped taking it in the end and survived on paracetamol - that and copious amounts of lactulose and fibrogel finally sorted me out. I was bfing (well expressing) and it wasn't a problem.

Also I ate a large dominos pizza the day after the birth, which in hindsight was a big mistake. No one told me to eat lightly after the op but I later heard the midwide telling someone else to stick to soup and sandwiches for a few days.