Painkillers at home after C-section?

Yes BFC, I'm planning to BF as I did with my first two. I seem to be so unlucky regarding engorgement as none of my friends seemed to get it so painfully! I remember it being worse than the pain from the cut itself. Standing under a hot shower helped the most, or I'd put warm cloths on before feeding, then cold ones afterwards as someone suggested that, which also seemed to help. Any other suggestions welcome :) (Apologies for late reply.) Sorry to hear you suffered so badly from engorgement :(. Some mums do seem to be more prone to it, and IV fluids can exacerbate it, but hopefully getting bf off to a good start will minimise your risk of severe engorgement. The most important thing in the prevention and treatment of engorgement is to breastfeed as frequently as possible, at least 8-12 times in 24 hours, and allowing baby to drain the breasts as fully as possible by letting him finish one side of his own accord (i.e. till he comes off the breast looking content, or falls asleep after more than a few minutes at the breast). It might be worth talking to your doctor about procedures immediately following your c-section. If things go according to plan, there should be nothing preventing early (even immediate!) breastfeeding and keeping your baby with you to allow unrestricted access to the breast thereby promoting good breast drainage from the beginning. Side-lying and laid-back ("Biological nurturing") positions can be really helpful after a c-section - I guess you may have mastered these from before, but give a shout if you'd like a link to details :). If baby is sleepy after the birth, then it may help to consider ways to wake him/her up, and then awake at the breast (gently tickling baby; rubbing crown in circular motion; even damp facecloth on face; then breast compressions to keep baby feeding actively). Call on the hospital LC if there is one! If engorgement does set in, then keep up the shower and cold compresses between feeds, warm after that you found helpful last time. Cabbage leaves have been found to help, as Kiwispiers suggests (just leave them in place until your breasts feel "different" - leaving them in 24 hours may actually reduce your supply too much). When you feed, as mentioned above make sure to allow baby to "finish" one side first before offering the other. This will promote full drainage. If baby doesn't want the second side, you can always express to comfort and then offer this one first next time. Using a pump is not always a good idea, particularly if engorgement is wholly or partially due to retained fluid from IV - this can just bring the swelling forward into the areola and nipple area. If you are too swollen for baby to latch on properly, then Reverse Pressure Softening can really help. See www.llli.org/faq/engorgement.html for description (and some other great tips for engorgement). If expression is necessary, then hand expression in the shower (face away from shower, warm water on your back) might help. Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen (as mentioned before for c-section pain) may also help, if your healthcare provider agrees. Most painkillers are deemed to be safe for breastfeeding, but just a word of warning about codeine. It's fine for most mums and babies, but some people are "ultra-rapid metabolisers" of codeine which means that their body converts it to morphine faster and more efficiently than most people. This can be dangerous for babies of these mums. There's no way of telling who is an "ultra-rapid" metaboliser without a test, so caution is recommended if taking codeine while breastfeeding. Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy, and looking forward to hearing of your new arrival come January! xx

Hi ladies, The trick is to alternate the meds, try to take them within four hours of each other ie Voltarol/brufen (8 hourly) then four hours after panadol then Voltarol/ Brufen four hours after that . Should stop the break through pain, oh and REST you've just had a big op :) x

I only had panadol and brufen after my c-section post op and at home. A lot of strong meds make me vomit and they were scared I would bust my stitches so just gave me panadol. Its probably not advisable if you can take stronger meds but even with just the panadol I was up walking about that night, albeit it in a fair amount of pain.

I had 24 hours IV pain relief after the surgery and then I was given panadol and offered voltaren, but was fine with just the panadol and really didn't need anything by the time I went home, but every surgery seems to be different. Codeine is illegal in Doha, not sure about Dubai. For engorgement, hot compresses and massage right before a feed, and cold cabbage leaves in the bra and as BFC says, feed feed feed so you don't stay engorged!.

I had my csec in the UK but was given paracetamol, diclofenac (voltarol) and codeine. It seemed like a lot but I was told to take them all not for just the pain relief but for anti inflammatory purposes to aid healing. Within 10days I was fully active and well on the way to recovery. I believe you can buy all of these over the counter but double check and they were all fine to take whilst breast feeding as I breast fed all the way through. Good luck.

Hi there, I had c-section at City H. A month ago and pain management was excellent. I felt no pain, spent 4 days in the hospital and for when i returned home they gave me Voltaren and of course Panadol. Good luck.

I've had 3 c sections... 2 nd here and 3 rd here just 5 days ago, have been given ponstan forte which can also be brought over the counter had it after both c sections with just normal panadol painkillers. It's always been enough for me after I've left hospital. They give u stronger meds in hospital straight after if needed. <em>edited by fairycakeyumm on 29/09/2011</em>

Sorry, can't help with painkillers, but if you are going to be breastfeeding then the absolute best thing to do for engorgement is to feed feed feed! If you let me know if you will be breastfeeding or not, then I can offer some more suggestions either way. xx