A couple questions... and curiousity about c section

Ok well I'm 35 1/2wks pregnant...... lol yes I'm so counting down to having her.... just 10 more days till c section and no more being hot constantly or back pain or having to pee a million times a day!!
Anyways my DD will drop when I lay down or sit down then when I get up she moved right back up north. Does any one else have this happen too?
At night when i sleep I go to sleep on my side, but at some time during my sleep I turn and sleep on my back.... then when I wake up(cause I have to pee 600 times a night) and when I get up my back hurts so bad. Like someone just smashed me in the back with a bat or something. When I walk around for a bit it gets better, but still..... I've tried sleeping cuddling with a pillow to keep me from turning and that doesn't work. In my sleep I end up throwing the pillow and turning anyways.... Just wanted to vent about that I guess.... not sure if there is anything else I can do... :(

Now about c section questions...... When you have a c section do you get a epidural or spinal block or what? I've heard different things and am just curious. What exactly is the difference between a epidural and spinal block?
After the c section what kind of pain medicine did they give you for pain? What about when you went home from the hospital?
How long did it take you to feel like walking around and not being sore after your c section??
Did you all get stitches or staples or what?

Thanks in advance..... I am starting to wish that I'd just go into labor once my doctor gets back in town on wednesday lol.... yeah I'm getting anxious!!

[pertykitty]

dark i had a c section 9 yrs ago.  while i pushed for 3 1/2 hours first , i did have an epi.   then they took me to the surg room and quicky he was born.  i was sutured internally and i was stapled outside. i had my son at 517 pm, and i was givin a drip of pain meds, very strong, morphine maybe?  anyway that was taken off that night and i took pain meds, not sure what.  i only took them for a few days.  they also have you up and walking the next day (well next morning for me) and you need to.  you are sore yes, but i wasnt dying in pain.  some have even less pain than i did, some more.  the first week was sore when getting up or coughing.  id say within a few weeks i was walking normally and in 3 i was walking my son out in his stroller.  it really is easier than it seems.  scary i know , but really not bad.

[ImmortalOne]

For my c-section, which was an emergency, they used my Epidural and pumped me full of medications to make sure I didn't feel it.  In the hospital they gave me some morphine, some Tordal (sp), then Vicodine and Motrin (the former alternated every 3 hours).  The key was to not let my pain go unmedicated for a period of time else it is hard to get back under control.  I was still sore and walking around a few hours after my c-section.  I am almost 2 weeks PP from my c-section and I'm still sore but functioning for the most part.  And I had staples.  Oh.... and bring a small throw pillow to press against your stomach when you need to move (cough, sneeze, blow your nose, getting up or sitting down), it helps tremedously!

Have they checked lung maturity yet?

[workingmamaof4]

I think the difference is an epidural is for pain management, and a spinal block is for complete and total numbness. for a c-section they give you a spinal. I think it's just a different medicine, because I had an epidural during labor with my first, and spinals with my planned sections with my 2nd and 3rd, and I couldn't tell any difference, just a needle in my back. except after the epidural I had some feeling, and with the spinal there was nothing.

With all 3 of my sections, I was given morphine (I think) for the first 24 hours, or something similiar that was super duper strong. Then the 2nd day they started me on percocet. they gave me that all through my hospital stay, and sent me home with some vicodin, enough for a week or so. after 2 weeks I feel pretty normal, ibuprofen a couple times a day works. and then after 3 weeks there's no pain.

I had staples that had to be removed with my first, and just stitches with my 2nd and 3rd. I much prefer the stitches, pulling the staples out hurt, and one of the areas came open and got infected.

just curious, how did you talk your dr. into letting you have it at 37 weeks? I was trying to talk my ob into 38 weeks, but she won't budge. it's scheduled for 39 weeks right on the button, unless I go into labor, which will never happen...

thanks for your comment under my question, you made me feel better.

[Darkestlight]

ImmortalOne- Apparently here it takes no time to get a amnio back so we are doing it the day before. I'm pretty sure her lungs will be ready especially since the last BPP they did she didn't stop breathing movements and is already weighing 6lbs 14ozs... Plus it's just a feeling I have. Plus I honestly don't know how much more I can take lol.

Workingmamaof4- I haven't seen you on this site for very long so I guess you haven't been around to read lots and lots of my posts!! lol it's ok though understandable. Welcome if you are new. I have a rare life threatening medical condition. I won't go into the name unless you are truly interested then I don't mind. But a lot of doctors know either nothing about it or very little about it unless you live in a highly populated area. I was lucky to get a High risk ob here who knew what it is and has seen it before(he's from another state) My doctor was actually willing to take her at 36wks provided a amnio looked good with lung maturity, but I figured I'd give her a extra week even though it's killing me. I've thought about retracting that statement many times.... lol. But along with that I've developed GD and already been hospitalized 3 times this pregnancy. So provided lung maturity she will be here sept 14th. Unless I go into bad condition by my next apt which is Thursday in which case he won't hesitate to take her immediately. They almost took her at 28wks due to a adrenal crisis I went into, but we calmed that down.

[MissMommy]

I have VERY similar problems with my baby moving and dropping and not letting me sleep at night. My doc gave me some Lunesta to help me pass out at night so it won't bother me so much and I don't wake up as often to pee. It's not a miracle worker but I take one with two Tylenol pms and although it doesn't cure me, I don't wake up twice an hour anymore. More like once an hour now lol I've also noticed that once my fiance leaves for work I sleep a lot better because theres more room on the bed to stretch out in odd posistions so she's not hurting me as much.
I'm wondering, how come your doc is giving you a c section so early? I asked mine about early induction and she won't do anything before 39 weeks. I'm exactly as far along as you are though and I am sooooo ready to get this done with!

[ImmortalOne]

[ImmortalOne]

Please be careful about counting on ultrasounds for size.  They said Lilith was 6lbs 3 weeks before she was born... she ended up being only 6lbs 5oz.  Also while they can watch the breathing movements with ultrasounds (they did all this for Lilith too), it isn't reliable, she didn't stop breathing and everything looked good but her Amnio came back as immature lungs.  Are they giving you steriods to make sure the lungs are more mature?  I hope they are just in case.

What is the medical condition you have hun?  I know how it goes with people misunderstanding certain medical situations (my doctors were baffled with my Graves' Disease for months and even diagnosised it wrong at first).  

Any word on the DH and if they are going to let him come home for the birth of the baby?

[Darkestlight]

Ahh yeah I know your story girl. No they aren't giving me steroids for her lung development, but I have to talk steroids every day to live so maybe that has played a role in her lung development. If her lungs aren't developed on the 13th and I'm not having problems they just won't do the c section... we will wait another week and try again. But I have a feeling everything will go smoothly.

I have something called congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

I have given up hope that DH will be home in time for the birth... Miracles do happen, but I find it unlikely since Washington and Atlanta is taking their damn sweet time with ****.

missmommy- read the post I left before yours and you will read why they are agreeing to take her early.

[peekawho]

Yes, if its a planned C/section, you will have a spinal and not an epidural.  The difference is that an epidural is located just outside the dura, the tough covering around the spinal canal.  During an epidural, they thread a tiny catheter in and hook you up to a machine that dispenses the local continuously.  It can be used for long periods of time.

The spinal is a one shot deal.  They will bring you into the OR, attach you to monitors, and sit you up on the side of the table.  They will clean and numb your back, and insert the spinal needle into the spinal canal until they see a tiny amount of spinal fluid.  Then they inject the anesthetic right in there, and pull the whole needle out.  They will then quickly lay you down, and put in the catheter (which hopefully you won't feel b/c of the spinal), wash your tummy off, and drape you.

They usually put Duramorph in the spinal, which helps keep you semi comfortable for 24 hours.  If you have breakthrough pain in the meantime, there will be other meds you can ask for.  After 2 hours, they usually pull your IV and catheter (the catheter sometimes comes out much sooner) and will start you on oral pain meds such as Percocet, Vicodin, Motrin, or others according to the practice of your OB.

You'll get up anywhere from 8 hours later to 24 hours later, again determined by what your doctor orders.  Some places feed you right away, others wait 24 hours.  

[peekawho]

The spinal last a couple of hours, in case you were wondering.  Usually, you are ready to go to your room within 2 hours after you hit the recovery room.

[pertykitty]

i heart percocet

[lynne1276]

I had an emergency section so I already had the epidural in.  I delivered him on thur at 8:45 and they didn't take out my epi till friday night at 11.  They give you drugs through that and a little push button for when you need more.  After that they gave me percocet.     I had that to take home too.  I was up walkin around by 8 that night.  I got out of bed without any help and walked the hallway.  The only time I was in really bad pain was in recovery and my meds wore off and they ignored me for 3 hours to give me more till I was in hysterical tears.  I have a big tolerance for pain but that was nuts.  All in all the experience wasn't bad for me.  I was out shopping 4 days after surgery.  Hope yours goes smothely!!!

[peekawho]

Why is there no edit button here?

"After 2 hours, they usually pull your IV"---------Make that after 24 hours, they usually pull your IV.

[Darkestlight]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Thanks peek for the info. It really helped.
My mom told me she had a spinal when she had my brother and no one told her not to lift her head after wards and she got real bad head aches for a long time. Ever heard of that?

[nermineagain]

in my c-section i had the spinal because it was a planned c-section due to my health condition, you will feel numb and you hear everything but rarely can talk, you will be so sleepy and tired. i had staples wich were removed a week later. they did not gave me food until i passed some gas (sorry tmi) and they wanted to walk the very next day, i had my baby at4:00 pm and they wanted me to walk at 8 in the next morning, but because i was so deprssed i didn't and i yelled at the nurses and cried untill they left me alone... well i tried in the afternoon but couldn't stand up, i was very sore, and feels like my incesion will be wrapped on, so i did not get up unti the 3rd day. they gave me pain medecine whenever i wanted, but i don't know if that will be the case with you, since i did not had the baby so no fear about the milk, they also gave me a pain medecine to home, it made me sleep too much, it was ok for me also since there is nobaby who wants to eat every two hours... good luck hun!

[Cheyenne_08]

My c-section was not planned, and they gave me a spinal block. The way they described the difference is that a spinal goes through the center of the spine and the epideral is given to the left or the right of the spine. The spinal causes complete numbness from the shoulders down. Through the spinal I was given a pin medication that lasted 24 hours. After that I was given percocet and tylenol for pain. My stitches were taken out on the 4th day following the section and I was released that day from the hospital. The first few weeks were really rough for me, plus my incision got infected and I was put back into the hospital for 3 days. I had to walk just hours after it was done, and was not able to see my baby until I could get up and walk to my wheel chair! Good Luck!

[peekawho]

They don't really tell you not to lift your head anymore, unless you develop a headache.  Even then, they have other things they can do to help that.  But not a lot of people get headaches after spinals now.  

[RuthiePee]

I read the spinal is a one-off injection that can't be repeated but the difference with an epidural is that you have a tube left in place so they can keep topping you up. Is that right? Hopefully I won't need either ;)
Ruth xx

[cantwait4baby]

I had a c-section - not scheduled and already had the epidural then they gave me even more drugs during the section.  I had my staples removed 3 days later.  I got up and walked the next day - it hurt bad but I did it because I knew it would help and sure enough I was feeling great within a couple weeks.  I went home with drugs but didn't take them.  I love the c-section.  Just make sure you walk as soon as they let you.  The more you lay still the worse it is.  Early mornings were really the only time I felt pain.  good luck.