Third degree tear 12 weeks on, what's normal?

[Hazel1988]

Hi, hoping someone might be able to provide some advice as to what I should consider to be normal vs. concerning 12 weeks on from a third degree tear. I had a good recovery and at my 6 week check was told I had healed well. However the past few days (Bub is now 12 weeks old) I have been experiencing ongoing rectal pain, particularly during and following a BM or passage of gas, I went to the GP who noticed that a sharp stitch was poking out (!), they trimmed the stitch however the pain has not gone away. Just wondering if anyone is familiar with this experience, is it normal for stitches to still be in there, and for them to hurt? I assume that it's the stitch causing the pain, which is freaking me out somewhat. The GP also said there is a chance of infection occurring which is a little scary. Anyway, would really appreciate hearing of others' experiences of the dreaded third degree tear. Thanks in advance!

Hi Hazel.

I had a 3b (bad one) about 9 months now and would say felt completely better after 7 months. I had strange stabbing pains in that area for a while but some physiotherapy and time has helped healed and I have been confirmed as everything fully healed.
Hope your recovery goes well x

Hi thanks for your reply! That is encouraging to hear :-) glad you have recovered fingers crossed I will too!

I had a 3rd degree tear - I took lactulose for a while after as bms definitely felt uncomfortable! I think 12 weeks I didn't feel ongoing pain but definitely uncomfortable sometimes. Am 9 months pp now and on the whole all seems to be fine. I would say it took longer than I thought to feel normal again so some discomfort is to be expected but if you even suspect an infection definitely get checked out. Good luck, hope your recovery goes well.

Hi, I had a third degree tear, was very lucky in a quick recovery, no pain or issues after 2 months.
Just wanted to say, as part of my postnatal care, I had an appointment with a gynaecologist at 3 months and also post natal physio. I would ask your GP for this to make sure you get the best possible recovery. My gynaecologist put a camera in my anus (sorry, tmi!) to check healing and ensure everything was ok. The physio was specifically trained in helping women with bad tears. If you are experiencing pain/discomfort, this would help reassure that there is nothing wrong.
Good luck!

I am only 6 weeks pp of a third degree tear and from others I’ve asked what your experiencing sounds normal. It’s fruststing as I want to feel better already. Although externally it appears healed. I know there’s a long way to go to feel ‘normal’ as such.

Just got to rest and take it easy. It’s the achy feeling I get when I walk about that is doing my head in.

@anna2006 at 17 weeks pp I still get tired from walking in a way I didn’t before, but it is so much better than a month or two ago (I was also so slow for many weeks, I had no ‘rush’ mode at all). I have been really vigilant in doing my pelvic floor exercises, as well as some specific abs exercises given to me by the physio and they have made a huge difference. I think, alongside rest, that’s made the biggest difference to my recovery as my internal muscles are slowly getting stronger.

I had some very 'stabby' pains. After speaking with a friend I think it may have been everything knitting back together.
One thing I feel is helping me is the NHS Squeezy app. Recommended to me by my physiotherapist.