Hey moms.
I have had a miserable go of it these past 9 days. I had a baby girl on the 5th of this month via planned c-section. The first week has been SUPER stressful since she will not nurse AT ALL. Believe me, we have been to multiple lactation specialists, tried the shield, tried letting her get hungry, not be hungry, pumped until milk let down...everything. She still is not nursing. She is, however, taking all the milk from a bottle that I am pumping for her. I had to go to the doctor of lactation specialist every day since her birth, yesterday was the first day I didn't have to go anywhere for her. BUT...had to go somewhere fo rme!
I broke out in hives 2 days ago. I don't even really know if they are hives, but it's a rash. The back of my hands and wrist are flaming red, little bumps go all the way up my arm into the pits. My chest is covered in the "rash" as well as my belly and breasts. Even my aereola is totally rashy.
I called a nurse line yesterday and they told me to go to the ER, so i did. They said that I am having an allergic reaction to "something" but they don't know what. Gave me benedryl, and two other antihistamines to counteract the reaction and it hasn't done a thing.
I am miserable. I itch everywhere, it is all over my neck and making it's way onto my face! I can't get into my doctors tomorrow and the ER doc seemed to be wrong. Anyone have any ideas as to what is going on with me? MY c-section area looks great, my usband has been helping keep it clean and dry. There is no noticable infection.
What can I do? Is this just from stress? How do I get this horrendous rash to go away??? I can't stop itching!
Are you taking anything to manage the pain? Some perscription pain meds can cause an all-over rash. Very uncomfortable!!
This could be from a number of things. You could be having a late reaction to something that you were given during surgery or your hospital stay. You could be having a reaction to the pain meds you came home with. I going to guess that the stress level has a lot to do with it though. My mom gets terrible hives from stress. I would continue on the benedryl if that helps and absolutely see your own doctor ASAP.
Oh, and an oatmeal bath...as in dump a ton of regular oatmeal into your bath...will do wonders for the itching.
Not familiar with this myself but you are not alone here is another post about it...something might sound similar. I do hope it goes away for you soon! Being a new mom is uncomfortable enought then to have this on the side...sorry :( Hugs
Are you still taking the medicine prescribed to you at the hospital? I had a c-section on December 29th, and they gave me hydrocodone. A rash is one side effect of it. If you have not yet stopped taking the pain meds, are you at a point where you can? I suppose they checked that when you went to the ER, though. Stop taking everything if you can and go to a bland diet. Try oatmeal soaks or some other type of soothing bath, and don't stress over the breast feeding. It sounds like you are doing all you can. But definitely let your doctor know if you are still taking the pain meds, because hives are considered a serious side effect to some of the pain meds.
Send someone to the store for homeopathic Apis 6c or 30c. You can go to a health food store to get it. Call ahead first and ask if they have it. Take it 4x a day for four days. If the rash stops itching and loses the red coloring stop taking the remedy. It has worked.
Baby place her head on your breast, mouth near your nipple touch her lightly on the cheek opposite your nipple. She should begin rooting around to grab your nipple and suck.
Yes it is very stressful not to be able to get your baby to nurse when you want her to.
You can also pour a bath of clean warm water and get in it with her and hold her close as I told you above. The bath will relax both of you and your milk is likely to let down.
maybe it is from stress of not being able to breast feed her. could you be having a reaction to any pain pills they sent you home with from the delivery? what about anything you have come in contact with that is new...like did you bathe the baby in anything that could have then come in contact with your skin while trying to bf her? i know it is stressful to have a c section and then try to get the bf'ing down on top of that. sometimes babies are just a bit fussy - keep trying at the bf'ing thing...dont get down about it. getting stressed about it makes it even harder for you and for the baby. i had to get the hang of doing the "c" hold on my breast and then putting it in her mouth and that really seemed to help and then she caught on. good luck!
Have they checked for contagious diseases????
If so, then what is the impact on your baby?
MAYBE.. you are reacting to the Epidural or pain meds... during your surgery.... have they considered that???
Some people have an allergic reaction to it....
Or it can be a systemic yeast infection....
have they considered that???
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/yeast_infection_skin_rash/...
http://www.livestrong.com/systemic-yeast-infection/
Here is a link:
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/sympto...
all the best,
Susan
I had a c- section last feb. Before they made the incision, they put some kind of sterile adhesive film over the area. I had an itchy rash for over a week that I think was caused by that. It went away, but was annoyingly dry and itchy for awhile. Maybe yours is similar but more severe?
i'd recommend going to a good craniosacral therapist or cranial osteopath who has experience with infants, to help baby with latching and sucking. and maybe try yet another lactation specialist and la leche league leaders (they don't all have the same expertise - i'd explain the situation to them over the phone to see if they think they could help you). it sounds too like your extreme discomfort could be getting in the way of her being able to latch - don't give up! you might consider a different way of feeding her that is more like breastfeeding, such as finger feeding or SNS or a special bottle that is more like a breast, to help her make the transition to breastfeeding more easily. it does sound like the latching problem is the baby's, although the shape of your nipples could be a factor as well. another possibility is that if she was suctioned or intubated at birth, there may be some trauma associated with that, which could resolve with some gentle encouragement and empathy. also i'd have her evaluated for a short or tight frenulum, which could be clipped or gently stretched, and could make a big difference in her ability to latch. i'm sorry it's been so hard - i hope it gets better soon. and good for you that you're giving her your milk, even if she needs to have it in a bottle.
Sounds like hives to me. You might need a something stronger than Benedryl but that might not be possible if your breastfeeding. I agree with the others that it's a side effect of meds or stress.
I've had 3 c-sections and about to have my 4th (scheduled) in late April. I can tell you what you have described does indeed sound like an allergic reaction to something. It could also be hormonal as well. I wouldn't worry too much about it. IF you doctor says it's okay, then I would take the Benadryl, but only if he/she gives approval since you are breastfeeding. I understand your misery. Every one of my c-sections brought about some sort of misery. Did you doctor tell you to keep your incision dry? I believe this is a bit strange as my doctor never instructed me to keep mine dry. I guess every doctor's orders are different. I promise, however, you will begin to feel better. It does get better as each day goes by. Hang in there.
For a week or so after I had baby #2 via vbac, I broke out in hives all over my back for seemingly no reason. I had taken the pain meds before, so I knew it wasn't that, and I never figured it out. I'm chalking it up to stress and change. I only lasted about a week and benedryl sucked to take since I was already so tired, but it helped alot. I hope you feel better! Congrats on the new baby girl!
After my 2nd baby, I got hives. They started two days after giving birth and lasted for about 6 months! I'm on a daily prescription allergy medicine and added Benadryl as well. It did help and I eventually got used to it and didn't get drowsy after a couple weeks. I didn't take pain meds after having the baby since I was allergic so I know it wasn't a reaction to anything. I've gotten hives before from severe stress and I think that's what it was this time too.
The same thing happened to me after my first born. I did not have a c-section. I'll bet it's stress. Benedryl helped me some. It went away after a bit, sorry I don't remember how long, *baby* is almost 7 yrs. now.
