Comments on: How would you describe your pain while recovering from a cesarean section?

By: Missy

Missy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:15:19 +0000

For me it was not bad at all!!! Ask for the Dermamorph with the spinal and it helps the pain for the first 24 hours. After that don’t be a hero..take the pain meds they offer because it really helps you get up and move and that’s what will help you heal!!

The pain for me was more of a stinging at the incision site. Nothing unbearable at all. As someone else posted it was mostly when I’d get out of bed or turn a certain way. But tolerable. I was up and moving that night and was out walking the day I got home from the hospital.

Moving as soon as posslbe after surgery made all the difference in such a quick recovery!!

By: Jess

Jess — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:49:05 +0000

My pain was all over. The incision hurt a lot, but so did my abdomen and my pelvic area. I was sore for weeks and definitely used pain meds. I had a 3rd degree tear with my HBAC and the c-section pain was way worse for much longer.

It DOES get better, I promise. Hang in there. You’ve been through a lot for your baby, take care of yourself.

By: Jeffrey's Mom

Jeffrey's Mom — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 09:15:59 +0000

Most my pain was due to the fact that I felt almost every bit of my c section( like them cutting on me etc), but after that it was all in my incision. Until they had me get up and walk within 12 hrs of having surgery. But after I got used to it. I learned easier ways to turn and didnt need pain meds. I only took the pain meds for the day after I had my son so I really didnt call the nurses that much.
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By: sweetienat123

sweetienat123 — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:43:59 +0000

Right after the procedure, I had a lot of pain around the area of the incision. I took both vicodin and ibuprofen to ease that pain. I would call the nurse every 4-6 hours for it but sometimes I would wait longer. By the time I left (3 nights later), I hardly needed it. They gave me a prescription with a refill but I didn't take very much of it.
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By: Barbara S

Barbara S — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:06:59 +0000

It felt like I had been cut in half. That wasn't far from reality - my daughter's head was big, and when my scar was fresh, it was almost foot long. (Now that it's healed and my baby weight has come off, it's shrunk a considerable amount.)

The first couple of days were the worst. The first day and a half I was on a morphine drip. When they removed it, I took oral pain medication (Darvocet) every three hours. The oral medication seemed to be more effective than than the morphine.

Not even 12 hours after my surgery, the nurses had me up and walking the hallway. That first trip post-op was horrible. I still had the morphine drip at the time, so I don't really remember a lot of what happened. That stuff kind of makes you forget the pain more than it actually relieves it.

The worst of it was getting in and out of bed, sitting up and lying down, and getting up and down from a chair. If I could get somewhere and get comfortable, it wasn't really that bad.

5 days postpartum, I was up and walking, going up and down stairs once a day, and able to get around much better than I ever thought I would.

Two weeks later, I was pushing my daughter around the block in her stroller. She was born in late February, which is usually snowy and cold here in Ohio, but that day in early March was unseasonably warm and beautiful - just right for a light sweater and a quick stroll.

10 months later, I find it hard to believe I ever had major abdominal surgery.

Good luck!
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By: Sheila K

Sheila K — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:39:59 +0000

The pain when I initially woke up from the anesthetic was the most excruciating pain I've ever felt. However, I had a general, not a spinal anesthetic - I think that when you have a spinal, they make it last long enough to prevent that immediate post-op pain. For a couple of days I had quite severe pain, at and around the incision site. I was on morphine for a few days, but hated it because it spaced me out and gave me vivid nightmares. By the day I went home, the fifth day after surgery, I refused the nurse's offer of Tylenol. I was really surprised at how quickly I felt better.
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By: baby girl

baby girl — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:56:59 +0000

The pain was in the incision right after the surgery. Immediately after the surgery (after the spinal block wore off and I could feel my legs again) and right before the morphine drip kicked in, I was in some serious pain. We were taking a picture at the time with my husband and our baby and I started screaming because the weight of my baby on me hurt so bad. After that I was sore in that area bad and needed help getting out of bed for a few days. I stopped taking pain medication after 2 weeks and was fully recovered after about 6 weeks.
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By: stillttc#4

stillttc#4 — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:37:59 +0000

Maybe it was just my experience, but I didn't have a hard time at all. It didn't really hurt at the incision site, it was more of a pulled muscle type of pain. I only took pain meds once or twice the day she was born, after that, I just took Aleve or something like that and that was enough to take the edge off. The big thing is to not let your fear get the better of you. It is never as bad as you make it to be in your mind. Best of Luck!
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By: Noah's Mommy & Marine Wife.

Noah's Mommy & Marine Wife. — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:12:59 +0000

For me it was ALL on the incision but only when I got out of bed or turned. It felt like an extreme burning sensation in that area.

I never called the nurse for pain meds. They brought some in to me the first day but after that I handled the pain myself. I just had to watch how I did certain things.

Unfortunately I developed anemia after I got out of the hospital and an infection in back that required a trip to the ER so I had to take a whole different course of medication for those things.
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