Episiotomy pain

[IslandMumToBe]

Reaching out for some moral support/advice.
Had forceps delivery with epistemology 12 weeks ago. My stitches came undone at the end of the second week and I've had delayed healing and terrible pain since. I've been able to walk almost normally for the past two weeks but get sore of i do too much. To touch, the scar is still extremely sore, almost like it's just been done. Sitting on certain positions is also painful. I've had a course of antibiotics (fluclox) but they didn't help.
At three months in, It's becoming quite depressing. I just wonder if I'll ever feel normal again. I've always enjoyed an active sex life with my partner, and i just can't see us having sex while I'm like this, and i wonder if I'll ever be able to enjoy my sexuality again. I have an apt in a couple of weeks with my GP to discuss and probably get a GYN referral. But have no idea how long that will take and what can be done. Does anyone else have a similar experiences with a positive outcome?

Hang on in there. Took 6 months for me to feel normal after mine.

You definitely need to see a GYN so I'm glad you got an appt. Took me over a year plus corrective surgery to finally feel like a normal being. Episiotmies can be hard so I def feel you pain.

But have no idea how long that will take and what can be done. Does anyone else have a similar experiences with a positive outcome?
To be honest It takes as long as it takes. I know doctors often throw around a time frame when you're suppose to heal but the majority of people to heal within that time frame.

I'm not too sure whats going on with yours as you haven't gone into much details but mine just never healed even after multiple rounds of antibiotics, and several trips to the GP. I kept on getting infections after infection. I had to have a revision surgery (you can google this) and then after a few more months of pain it finally healed.

3 years on I can say I'm OK now physically but mentally I can't get over and its the reason why I'm hesitant to have any more DC.

Thank you both for your messages. RuthW did you still have pain walking around and sitting at 3 months? I feel like I have some better days and some worse. Today is a bad day where I'm just sore whatever i do. It's difficult to focus on anything else.
It looks like everything has now healed over so I can't really understand why it's still SO painful. Maybe I'm just being impatient.. but it's difficult when everything i read says I should be back to normal by now.
I'm so sorry for your experiences, I really hope I don't have to go down the route of revision surgery and things will start to feel better soon. It really does take a mental tole doesn't it 🫤

@IslandMumToBe I’ve only just came across this thread and wondering how you are getting on?
My experience of my episiotomy wasn’t good. Like you after 3 months walking and sitting was very painful. My episiotomy wasn’t healing properly though, then after three courses of antibiotics (even though there was no infection) it went from not healing to ‘overhealing’; I had granulated scar tissue. Ended up seeing a gynaecologist privately who burnt away(open) the episiotomy scar with silver nitrate sticks (think that was worse than childbirth). Only then after a couple of weeks did my episiotomy scar and heal normally.

Oh bless you! I've had 3 episiotomy's and thr first took longer to heal. The last one was 8 weeks ago with a forceps delivery and I can honestly say it never felt uncomfortable, never had an issues. I would be down the doctors with an emergency appointment if it was causing me issues with walking!

Mine wasn’t painful to sit/walk after 3 months, but I couldn’t have sex. I remember one of my NCT friends announcing she was 3 months pregnant with her second (she’d had a planned C-section), and I thought - I’ve not even had sex yet!

so at that point I went to the GP, DC was 5 months old. The GP said it was still a little red, I think mostly it was just tight scar tissue. She gave me a sort of local anaesthetic cream and I used that before sex for quite a few months (it might have been ok after a while but I was too nervous to leave off the cream for ages).

So while I can’t give advice about the wound/scar itself, there is hope regarding sex one day again!