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Childbirth

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

Gabapentin for painful scaring

2 replies

Benjy · 30/11/2008 18:37

Have posted about this in another thread here, which will hopefully get picked up but wanted some quick advice. I had an instrumental delivery and tore badly: an internal 4th degree tear that should have been sutured in theatre but wasn't picked up at the time! And an external 2nd degree tear going backwards through the perineum and upwards through the urethra and up to my clitoris. I now pee sideways

The external tear tore through nerve as well as muscle. This tear was stitched but the scaring is very, very painful. Sex has been extremely painful spent biting my lip trying not to scream (and not in a good way!) though will not give up mainly because I do not want to admit to the end of my sex life at the age of 36.

Was referred back to gynaecology about above problems. Appointment finally came round last week. Internal 4th degree tear finally diagnosed as well as multiple prolapse (bladder/bowel/uterus). They dismissed my concerns about the scaring and sex and told me there was nothing they could do. It was only when I broke down and the doctor I was seeing went off to get her consultant for a second opinion that I was given Gabapentin. The consultant believes the pain I am having is not because I was stitched too tightly but because of the way the nerve endings have healed in the scar tissue. He is giving me Gabapentin for 6 weeks and if that doesn't work will put me on the list for a Fenton's procedure. I'm not keen on this though because he said that although he can cut the scar tissue away, he will have no control how the nerves will heal in this new wound and I could end up worse off.

Does anyone else have any experience of this kind of problem and if so, were you given Gabapentin and did it work for you? Is there anything else other than surgery that might work for me?

OP posts:
nofunanymore · 30/11/2008 20:58

Ouch! Gabapentin is often given for chronic nerve damage, although I think it's main use is for epilepsy. It was given to my grandmother for chronic pain in her knee, but I'm sorry to say, it didn't help. I really hope you get sorted - this sounds like an absolute nightmare. Keeping my fingers crossed for you...

Lotster · 30/11/2008 23:14

Oh my sweet, what a nightmare. Will go and post back on our original thread, so many experiences shared and it shold keep going.. Will see you there.

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