C-sections - recent experiences of pain relief provided please!

[Falcon1]

I am having an ELCS next week and have been told that it is now Kingston Hospital's policy not to prescribe any pain relief stronger than paracetamol and ibuprofen after C sections. After my last one I was given 10 days worth of Co-codamol and Diclafenac and I still struggled with the pain. So now I'm really worried! Especially as they want me to do the 'enhanced recovery' path which means being sent home the next day.

According to the Midwife, the policy has come about because of concerns about the effect on babies through breastmilk of stronger painkillers, despite having prescribed them with no problem for years.

Does anyone have any recent experience of being refused decent pain relief and how did you manage on just paracetamol and ibuprofen?

Many thanks.

I was prescribed paracetamol and diclofenac post emcs. Diclofenac irritates my stomach and gives me gastritis so told them I can't take that. Was given co dydramol instead. Discharged on paracetamol only after 2 nights in hospital. 2 days later hobbled into gps surgery in tears saying I couldn't cope with the pain so he gave me max strength co-codamol which I took for a good week or so until I weaned down on them to regular strength then off by 3 weeks post op. It was possibly my fault for accepting rubbish pain relief to go home with. I'm having an elcs tomorrow and won't be making the same mistake again. Will have a chat with anaesthetist pre op and make sure ive got decent pain relief post op and to go home with this time. Did find the codeine made baby sleepy and had to set alarm to wake her in the night to feed for first couple of weeks. Had a de brief with consultant after a truly traumatic experience of her birth and mistakes I felt were made and she said co codamol was an inappropriate drug to be prescribed by the gp but I don't know what would have been ok instead. Will find all this out when I see anaesthetist in the morning.

Littlepink please let us know what they say at your appt! Good luck

So 11 hours post c section today I've been prescribed ibuprofen, paracetamol and oramorph should I need it. Haven't moved yet so comfortable at the moment but tomorrow morning might be a different story!

Will be sent home on Ibu and para. Anaesthesist didn't want me on codeine, too constipating. Fair enough, will see how I go anyway.

Had oramorph and diclofenac in hospital (5 day stay), sent home with paracetamol and diclofenac, pain was fine after the first few days, didn't finish what I was given. Was also given pre-emptive antibiotics as they were worried my scar might become infected (it didn't).

First EMCS in 2012, i spent 8 days in hospital due to my infection and poorly DD. I was given oramorph, dicolfenac and tramadol. As it was an emergency c sec i was in a lot of pain and sort of did the trick but still in pain. I expressed for my DD whilst i was worried about the drugs affecting my baby the hospital werent.

Second planned c sec in 2014 i was out of hospital in less than 24hrs and not given anything to take home - i was warned before hand so spent weeks buying ibruprofen and paracetomol as you can only buy 2 packs at a time! I did use them for a few days but the pain was a lot less and it did the trick. I was up and about after two days

I had two sections, the first in 2010 I was given paracetamol and diclofenac, the last one in 2012 I was weighed and due to being little I was given a child dose of paracetamol (half what I take for a headache) and ibuprofen. I struggled but due to breastfeeding and being pretty sensitive to meds that cause drowsiness I was worried about being too away with the fairies to be able to take care of my little girl. I managed without the Tramadol I'd been written up for, but the pain was hard going, I had a hell of a time getting to the toilet.

As I'd been in hospital 3.5 weeks by that point (complete previa) I was desperate to go home and originally planned to discharge myself the day after my section, not stay that last night. Tbh, I couldn't have walked to the car, and only just managed to do so without passing out on the second day. I had to go home to top up the paracetamol dose and once I did that I coped loads better and didn't need anything else.

I have to say, I was surprised that considering how little medication I was taking, that trusting the schedule and sticking to it seemed to do a pretty good job of managing the pain so long as I was resting. I had it explained that preventing pain is easier than getting rid of it, so pre-empting it by taking regular doses of painkillers worked pretty well.

I suppose what I am saying is don't be afraid of the paracetamol and ibuprofen system, it works better than you'd think, but definitely having the option of stronger stuff is peace of mind in itself.

Well I'm 5 days post section now and thought I'd share my experience of the pain relief and enhanced recovery at Kingston Hospital.

Firstly, I cannot fault the care I received - Kingston was brilliant. I had a midwife who was dedicated to looking after all three of us 'enhanced recovery' c section women on the day and she basically coordinated everything. She was amazing and very supportive when I mentioned how concerned I was that paracetamol and ibuprofen might not be enough pain relief based on my last experience. She said that she would ensure I get oramorph whenever I needed it whilst in hospital. This was a relief as in the end I needed 3 doses of it. Brilliant stuff. As I was obviously struggling with the pain she spoke to the pharmacist about getting me prescribed something stronger to take home and it was agreed that I would be given Diclafenac and CoDrydamol (a third less codeine than in Co-codamol).

I ended up staying 2 nights as there was no way I was ready to leave after 24 hours. I still couldn't pee and felt very faint on getting up. They were fine about this and I was even moved into my own private room. Unfortunately my nice midwife was no longer working the next day and I had to fight to get the drugs that had been agreed the day before...but as it was in my notes they were (somewhat) reluctantly given to me. Thank god they were because I've really struggled with the pain this time round.

Anyway, my advice to anyone having a c section at Kingston is that don't worry - you will be really well looked after but do be vocal if you're in pain!

Glad all went well for you, congratulations!

Just to add my experiences (in case anyone else wants to know in future) - in 2005 I was given Diclofenac and 60mg codeine whilst in hospital (11 days) and given some to take home afterwards as still in a lot of pain. That was an EMCS.

My ELCS in 2012 was so much easier and less painful. I was offered Oramorph if I needed it, but I didn't. I coped with just Diclofenac and paracetamol for a few days. They told me that codeine isn't used these days due to a documented case of a baby who died due to the mother not metabolising it properly and it overdosing the baby via BM.

There does seem to be a massive difference in pain and recover time with EMCS and ELCS. I didn't really believe that before, after all it is the same operation so how can it hurt less? Very odd, but true in my case. Or maybe I just knew what to expect so wasn't as scared of the pain? I was very surprised how quickly I recovered second time round anyway.

I was given Diclofenac at Kings in 2012 (as well as ibuprofen etc) but was told by a friend they don't offer it any more - so stocking up on ibuprofen and paracetamol sounds like a good idea. Is it worth getting Nurofen extra or anything 'enhanced'? I have some special nurofen for period pains which I never actually used, can anyone recommend whether is better than the regular stuff?

I have booked in to have a second ELCS in 2 weeks so just got to prepare a bit now...I found the pain much better than expected 1st time, but worried to hear second sections may be more painful! (Not planning any more kids after this so am not planning to have a 3rd section!)

My other big worry about a second section. Is the length of stay - I could not sleep on the ward last time and was in for 3 nights. I'd gone perhaps 72 hours with only a couple of hours sleep in all that time so was desperate for my own bed, even if i'd crawled upstairs.

Congrats Falcon! So pleased you got good care and pain relief! I'm less anxious about my impending section at Kingston now. Did you request a private room? I would like one on my first night but I think you can pay to do this?

Hi cherryade8,

You can pay for a private room or try your luck and see if one is available anyway (as it was in my case). I think they like to keep all the c section mothers together on a ward on the first night though.