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Original poster

Painful sex after c section, ebf LO, doc wants to give antibiotics for PID... Help!

12 replies

lilsar77 · 11/07/2013 14:11

Am so stressed and worried can anyone give any advice..?

I had a c section 3 months ago and am breast feeding very successfully but when I eventually attempted to have sex with DH it was excruciatingly painful with a burning pain in the vagina but also the opening of the urethra, which looks very red and more 'open' ...
Doc started off with prescribing Canesten creme but didn't do anything.

Went back yesterday and she took swabs and I was in tears with the pain. She said it looks very red inside and the cervix is inflamed but said is "probably PID" and wants to put me on 2 weeks of strong antibiotics!!
I was crying so much from the pain and also because I don't want to go on yet another course of antibiotics which will get into the milk for my poor little boy (have already been on two courses for infected scar and UTI!).
Should I try to get a second opinion before popping yet more pills and also are there any long term effects for the baby if I do?

I have been looking up symptoms of PID and I don't think that is what it is - haven't had fever or stomach pains.
I am wondering if it is due to the bf and lack of oestrogen. I asked the doc about this but she said that wouldn't be that painful...?

I don't know how I would have gotten PID unless it happened due to the c section - if so this was 3 months ago and am now worried sick about infertility!!

Can anyone relate to this or help?

OP posts:

NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 12/07/2013 08:11

You can't mess about with PID. for you...you should call Laleche for advice regarding this....don't assume you need all of the symptoms for it to be PID....PID can affect your future fertility....you have to weight up the risks.....

Zaxter · 12/07/2013 17:59

Hi there,

I had exactly the same as you are describing but never got any diagnosis of PID. I also had c-section and was EBF. Sex was completely impossible just so painful - excruciating with the burning after that you describe. I tried to check how things were up there myself and that too was practically impossible.

I talked it through with the consultant at my six week check and she said that it was really quite common and that women were often very surprised as expected everything to be normal down there as baby came out via c-section. She said that the tissues become thinner (not sure if this is due to breast feeding or the surgery) and that this can make it painful. I personally felt like my whole pelvic floor had gone into spasm after taking the baby weight off it. The consultant recommended 'little and often' (!!) but dh and I just took it really slowly and its only now (dd is 8 months that things are back to normal). My feeling is that the change is due to her reducing milk now she's on food too and my hormones going back rather than any major body shift.

I read a few threads on here about it and one woman described that it did not get back to normal until 8 months but then was fine and this really reassured me.

Hope it helps. You are not alone, I worried so much about it at first.

Zaxter · 12/07/2013 18:02

Oh, and of course, I am not a doctor so by all means get a second opinion - I think an obs and gynae person would have far more experience of this one that GP

Original poster

lilsar77 · 15/07/2013 14:19

Zaxter thank you so much for this it helps just to know I'm not alone in this.
I just spoke to my doc again who has got two tests back and they are normal - she wants to wait til the third test is back which is for clamidyia - which I am sure will also be negative! However she says she still wants to put me on Antibiotics first as it was so red with discharge and then if still painful try oestrogen cream!! Am sure this is not necessary and am sure this is just what you described you had but she seems adament that a second option won't help!
Am so upset and cross that the first thing is always antibiotics even when she knows I am ebf LO!!
Feel completely stuck and helpless now so despite my tests coming back normal I still have to take two weeks of strong antibiotics!! :(

OP posts:

TrustISeek · 15/07/2013 14:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CakesAreNotTheAnswer · 15/07/2013 14:32

I had a C Sec and ebf and also found I was really dry and sensitive until about 8 months. Sorry.

Have you tried using lots and lots and lots of lube? It was the only thing that helped and I was still a bit sting-y afterwards. A cool rinse after with 1 part white wine or cider vinegar to 10 parts water helped too.

gamerchick · 15/07/2013 14:39

PID can put you in hospital.. I'm not sure why you're resisting so much. You do know you're risking your fertility don't you?

Go to your local GUM clinic.. They specialise in sexual health and it sounds like you need seeing to quickly.

valiumredhead · 15/07/2013 14:59

What gamer said, really don't mess around with this, if the gp says take anti b's then I would take them personally!

Original poster

lilsar77 · 15/07/2013 15:00

Am very worried about risking my fertility but from everything I've read about PID I just don't see how it can be that!
I've been with DH for 6 years and we are both 'clean' had all tests done a few years ago, why when I've just had a baby 3 months ago am I now being tested for STIs?
Nothing is making sense to me and I spoke to my midwife who says that antibiotics do affect the quantity and quality of the milk so I am wise to hold off if not 100 percent sure they are needed.
Still can't help being concerned about PID so feel stuck between rock and hard place.

OP posts:

gamerchick · 15/07/2013 15:52

You're being checked for STIs to rule them out. Chlamydia especially is a common cause of PID.

Go to the GUM clinic and get your second opinion. Don't see it as an STD check as they are more than that. They'll sort you out there and get to the bottom of your issue.

Put it this way, if you DO have PID and end up in hospital, how would you breastfeed your baby?

I understand your concerns but you have to take care of your health, some things can't be ignored with fingers crossed.

gamerchick · 15/07/2013 16:00

FWIW I wouldn't have said PID from your symptoms but im not a doctor. But I will be surprised if you don't need ABs for whatever it is but hopefully more BF friendly.

Original poster

lilsar77 · 09/08/2013 20:18

UPDATE:
After all my tests came back clear the doctor said she didn't think I should take the antibiotics but to go back in for another examination. I requested a referral as we have a private healthcare plan through my husband's work.
I saw the specialist today and she examined me and said that straight away she could see I was lacking in oestrogen and that I was very dry. She said from her 20+ years of experience she can tell just by looking that this is the problem and it is very common in breastfeeding woman. She said sex would be very painful and that this is caused by breastfeeding - I have very high levels of prolactin which in turn reduce the oestrogen levels.
She felt my stomach and internally and said that I don't have PID - was such a relief I almost cried!
She prescribed me Replens to moisturise the vagina first and then a set of oestrogen pessaries.
I am going back in 3 weeks for another check with her plus to get smear test results as she did this for me at the same time.

I hope this update is useful to others who experience this problem and have similar problems getting a diagnosis from their GP.
Thanks for all the comments above, at least I know I'm not alone and the pain should all go away after I have weened my LO.

OP posts:

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