Stitches

Can someone help me with a question about after delivery stitches?

Last June, I had a surgery done to remove cervical cancer. When I was delivering my child on Wednesday, I couldn't stretch as much as needed due to it and ended up having severe tearing inside and out, in every possible direction. I'm not sure exactly how many I have but my doctor said he stopped counting after 30. I have a few questions about them, though. 1. My doctor said to not take a bath. What do you recommend for pain relief besides the pain medication he prescribed? 2. How long should it take for the stitches to go away and for me to heal? 3. Should the areas where I have stitches have a burning pain sometimes? 4. How can you tell if you have an infected incision or a ripped stitch? 5. Has anyone been through something similar to this and have more advice for me? Thank you for any answers or advice. I really appreciate all help I can get!

Public Comments

1. 1. Tylenol or Motrin is an option if you don't want to take prescription drugs. A cold ice back (wrapped in cloth) may help the pain for the ones closer to your opening. 2. It will take you a few weeks to a month honestly, but the pain should get better from week to week. 3. Some burning is fairly normal yes. If it becomes severe I would call your doctor. 4. If any of your stitches rip you will get more intense pain and more bleeding. The burning pain will become severe and you'll most likely get some discharge (sick colored, ie green or yellow) if you have an infection. You'll also probably start to run a fever. Fevers usually are always present with infection as your body will start to try to fight off the infection.
2. it takes 6 weeks...and i couldnt bath for 12 weeks until i had a 12 week check up ( that was with a c section) if u have a infection it will smell yucky really bad and it will be a odd colour.... burning is normal as its a wound.... i would ask ur dr what medication ur allowed to take....they can advise the best for ur situation... congrats on ur baby x
3. I recently had 16 stitches after giving birth and my doctor told me to have salt baths to help the healing. I found them very relieving. It took me 8 weeks to feel "normal" again
4. I had a vaginal birth that resulted in over 70 stitches. It was horrible for the first couple of weeks after delivery. Thing burned every time I moved, and using the toilet was excrutiating. My doctor didn't give me any pain meds, so I mostly used motrin. I also used ice packs to help relieve the pain. Most of all, I just tried to stay still. I found that the more I moved, the more it hurt. Good Luck!