3rd degree tear

curlybob

Not for the faint hearted!! Apologies in advance for gorey details.

Didn't want to post this in the pregnancy thread as anyone approaching labor won't want to hear my query so here goes. I was just wondering if anyone has experienced a 3rd degree tear and how their recovery went?

I had our beautiful little girl 4.5 weeks ago...I had an induction and ended up with a vaccum delivery which resulted in a 3rd degree tear.

After I got home the tear was infected and I had a course of double antibiotics which then caused thrush...

I am over all that now and I am still having excruciating pain with bowel movments (and they are not hard stools) which also leads to bleeding....when does this stop?

Also I feel I will never be able to have intercourse again, it is just so tight. We tried very gently and it was just too painful. When will I be back to some sort of normality?

Im not complaining by any means, our little angel is worth every bit of it, I am just wondering if I could be doing something to heal better.

Thanks in advance.

theteal

the woman falling asleep on my lap made a face when i asked what a 3rd degree tear was. then she said "about 8 weeks to heal" when i asked your question

edit: she's awake now, were you seen by a physio in hospital, op?

Ayla

Don't have personal experience to share but have known others who've had considerable tearing and their recoveries took months.

I would imagine it safe to assume that you could be looking at longer than 4.5 weeks for recovery...gps don't even recommend sex for 6 weeks after birth (and that's for people who haven't had the trauma that your poor body has).

If you aren't already, try baths with a small bit of tea tree oil for keeping the area clean.

curlybob

Thanks Guys....theteal I did see a physio who told us about exercise to do and gave us a leaflet but she never mentioned tears or intercourse. I have been doing the exercises. Ayla, I never knew that docs didn't recommend sex for 6 weeks so thanks for that...thats a relief to hear anyway! but sex was never mentioned at all at the hospital! thx guys.

-Corkie-

My wife had a fourth degree tear in mid July. She is still not perfect even though she went private and the stitching was done very well..

LegacyUser

Going anon for this. I had a third degree tear as well. It healed perfectly, luckily, but I was still pretty shook by the whole event.

I had no bowel troubles. You should talk to the doctors or the midwives about that.

But sex was definitely very uncomfortable for the first few months. After about 4 months I had a checkup in Holles Street and was given stretches to do with a tube of local anaesthetic. It was the same idea as perineal massage, but concentrating on the bit that was stiched and therefore sensitive. That helped and things have been back to normal more or less since the 5 or 6 month mark. I certainly wouldn't be doing anything after four and a half weeks!

Also don't forget your pelvic floor exercises.

Hope you feel better soon. It's a lousy thing to happen.

de Faoite_girl

Was induced too about 2.5 years ago. Delivery with vacuum and forceps in the end. To be honest, I was in pain down there for six months afterwards because of episiotomy and internal bruising from forceps.

To this day, I still am in pain when having intercourse as it is too tight and it seems that the scar reopens everytime. The scar would be sore and would bleed a bit each time I am having intercourse, which is not making it that enjoyable during and after.

Went to the gynecologist a year ago who said that the scar had apparently healed well but that there might be some scar tissue left. One solution: to reopen the episio and do it again... To which I dais no thanks.

I am just learning to live with the pain and the tightness now. It gets sore and stingy after every intercourse but it goes after after a couple of days.

Sorry for not being able to be more helpful...

January

-Corkie- wrote: »

My wife had a fourth degree tear in mid July. She is still not perfect even though she went private and the stitching was done very well..

Was the stitching done by your wifes consultant? I only ask because I assume everyone gets the same care while they're in labour whether they're public or private, the care you pay for is antenatal and possibly post natal if you get a private room.

Cat Melodeon

I've had 2 second degree tears. The first took about 2 months to initially heal, although intercourse was pretty much a no go for 4 months and it was 9 months before it became properly enjoyable again (and that was without any infections or complications like yours). The second was fine 3 weeks later, but as others have said, you shouldn't be having sex until after your 6-week check, even after a trouble-free birth & recovery. With your tear and subsequent infection, take it slowly. Don't feel pressured - by yourself, your partner or any 'friends' who say they were back in the saddle 2 days post-birth - as you will do yourself no good whatsoever. Your body has suffered a serious trauma; give youself a chance to recover, physically and emotionally. By all means resume sex, but that shouldn't involve intercourse just yet.

To help yourself along, kegels kegels kegels. Work your back passage as well as your front one. They not only rebuild muscle strength but also promote healing as they increase the flow of blood to the area. Piles are also normal, as are slack rectal/anal muscles. Watch your diet, eat plenty of fibre & fresh fruit & veg to keep things moving and drink loads of fluids. Postnatal pilates or yoga can also help - Limerick maternity run free classes for new mums - check if your hospital offers the same.

As for sex, like I said, hold off for a while yet. If you force it the scars may be emtional as well as physical. When the time IS right, heaps of foreplay and plenty of lube are your friend. If you are too tight, build up the action over time to slowly stretch things out. For most people things do resolve themselves, but revisit your GP and get a gynae referral if things continue to be painful.

curlybob

Oh God...I had no idea..I just thought tears were par for the course and I would be back to normal before long...I had no idea this was going to be for a few months ....I was feeling so good otherwise...anyway thanks for sharing... regardless its a small sacrifice for my little woman..just guess she will be a lot longer waiting for a sibling than we had imagined.. (not that we were going trying again, it was just for intimacy reasons, having said that we were hoping for another child without too much of a gap)

thx

deelite

It does get better but it takes a while.

When having a smear test the nurse said she could see three bumps inside (she had that magic light thing). I was sick with worry (my youngest was 6). Smear test results came back fine but asked my own doctor what the bumps could have been - she explained it was the scar tissues the smear taker had seen (one for each child).

crazy cat lady

Which hospital did you attend? Holles St have a 'tears clinic' for women who experience 3rd degree tears. Might be worth trying to get an appointment?

I had a episiotomy (equivalent to a 2nd deg tear) and sex was a no no for about 4.5 months. Even now my scar can be a bit uncomfortable if 'conditions' aren't right. But otherwise have a very normal sex life now!

Don't try and rush your body to heal. Bring up all of your concerns at your 6 week check up and make sure your GP (or whoever you are seeing for the check up) thoroughly checks everything out for you.

In the meantime, maintain an healthy balanced diet and drink plenty of water to prevent constipation, and take some paracetamol for the discomfort if needs be. This wont constipate you or interfere with breastfeeding if you are doing so.

Hope this helps and congratulations on your little girl. You've lots of fun times ahead x

Squiggler

What the girls have said above, it takes time to heal.

Also, it is possible that the discomfort and bleeding while pooing is a result of Hemorrhoids and not related to the tear. You should definitely get that checked out with a doctor either way.

charlie2505

I would strongly suggest to let your GP and your consultant (whoever is doing your 6 week check up) that is is hurting-esp when going to the toilet. I didn't make a big enough fuss and ended up having problems for a long time after-had an epi with forceps and 3rd degree tear-sounds similar to where you have yours. To be fair, the epi healed up well and was ok after a month or so but sex was/is still a bit painful-TMI alert-lube all the way!! Makes things alot easier-I went to Holles St clinic re tear and was no good at all-said it was healing nicely and nothing they could do but that it would take "time" but that was just my experience.
As for the "other" end-that was a bit of a nightmare. The pain was just horrible and was not just painful when going to the loo, but for hours afterwards also. Then I think my body decided it wasnt going to go and got into a viscous cycle of not going and then of course really sore from not having gone a few days and tear reopening every time I went. Even if you think you arent constipated, you probably are-took me along time to accept that constipation was keeping the tear from healing up. So in the end I took double dose of senokot plus fibregel twice a day for a few weeks-this caused diahreah which wasnt nice but meant no pain for me. THis is not recommended as can make your bowel lazy but this was after 8 months of chronic pain every day while trying to look after a little baby-I was desperate. All the creams and painkiller and difene in the world just wasnt helping and what needs to happen is that the tear completely heals-not just partially and then you go to the loo and open it all up again. So before resorting to desperate measures-even if you think your not constipated, <snip> drink water like you havent drunk in days-10 glasses plus a day. Plus lots of fruit and veg-dont overdose on fibre as that bulks up your stool which can make it worse just go for fruit and veg and seeds which are easier on you-then when things improving try and increase your fibre in your diet a bit more to be more regular. Put it this way if you arent going every day at least once, then chances are you are constipated. I know everyone is different but that is what I think fwiw. Hopefully you wont be in pain anywhere near as long as me-was months before I began to do something about it properly apart from painkillers-so dont leave it that long and then you can really enjoy your baby! Congrats by the way-iccle girls are just amazing xxx

January

charlie2505, please do not suggest a user takes any medication without first consulting their GP. I've snipped your post accordingly. Please read the charter, specifically the section relating to medical advice.

cynder

I had a 3rd degree tear, pretty nasty, however at my 6 week check up i was told they didn't stitch me up too good , that i needed reconstructive surgery(i should have been stitched up more but she spent over an hour down there stitching me up). I ve had no problems except im not as tight as i used to be, and therefore have no friction pain.

Had pain while passing stools for a while, and i had to support that area while passing stools to prevent it from bursting open, i would get bit of blood now and then. i drank loads of prune juice to ease the pressure.

I had a 2nd degree tear with my second that burst into a 3rd degree tear with my 3rd, i had to stop pushing otherwise it would have ended up a 4th degree tear. i went form just the midwife int he room to every tom, dick and harry being in there all wanting to have a look and offer advice. I eased my little lad into the world! but felf like pucing him out faster than a bullet (which i did with the second guy) thank god for the epidural....

-Corkie-

January wrote: »

Was the stitching done by your wifes consultant? I only ask because I assume everyone gets the same care while they're in labour whether they're public or private, the care you pay for is antenatal and possibly post natal if you get a private room.

Yes her consultant done the stitching.

BengaLover

9 yrs on with mine and still having minor discomfort occasionally, heavily scarred down there, she had a head the size and shape of a large turnip! Bleeding lasted for over 6mths, even tho it wasnt heavy or anything, intercourse very uncomfortable for almost 2 years. Lanacane cream helps with itching and discomfort, keep an eye on the possibility of developing haemmaroids/piles, and even though its the last thing on earth you feel like doing, keep regulare gynae checks to make sure the cervix & bladder arent starting to prolapse, just think of those episodes of Embaressing Bodies...better getting these things seen to early.
A ventouse delivery plus 3rd degree tear can take a while to heal, the scarring itself even when fully healed can cause problems..