4th Degree Tears

[KristieM]

Did any of you (mothers) sustain fourth degree tears as a result of delivery your large baby? If so, what was your recovery time? Were you healed by six months? Any nerve/muscle damage?

[Karen Hillyer]

kristie
I suffered a 4th degree tear which was repaired under GA immediately after Gavin's birth.
Recovery time? - I think it took about 6-12 months before it was no longer painful - but my perineal area is still very sensitive (Gavin is 12.5 years old)
and I have to be careful what bathtime products I use and also which toilet tissue I use as anything highly scented/coloured or not ultra soft makes the fragile tissue bleed.
I don't seem to have much nerve or muscle damage, but I did do a lot of PT following the surgery.
thankfully i don't suffer from constant pain or irritation so it's fairly liveable with
hope this helps
Karen

[admin]

I suffered fourth degree tears. I felt "human" again after six weeks but it was months before I really felt "good." I'd say it was maybe six months till I was 100 percent. I bet I would've healed sooner if I hadn't had to deal with the physical challenges of getting my son to PT and specialists' appointments several days a week.

No muscle or nerve damage that I can directly attribute to the tears, but my hips have never been the same since the birth of my son.

[admin]

Oh yeah....4th degree and then some. Took a colo-rectal surgeon to come in and repair it. It was fully six months before I felt decent, and I'd say a year before I felt myself. However, to this day - I'm altered. It's kind of embarrasing to go into details, but I have issues.........nothing I can't live with, but it still pisses me off.

[BarbH]

I also had a fourth degree tear. The perinium and the sphincter muscle broke down after it was repaired after the birth. I just had surgery to correct it on Dec. 29th. Now everthing is just the way it was. Please forgive my awful spelling.
Barbara

[KristieM]

Thanks for all of your input. Null, at what point did you decide to go to a colo-rectal surgeon? Did you wait until 6 months post partum? I guess I'm just curious as to how long I should deal with the side affects (I don't want to go into detail here). My new gyn said that by six months I should have re-grained all the control that I'm going to re-gain and we should be able to determine the permanent damage. Is this normal protocol?

[admin]

Kristi,
I had the colo-rectal surgeon repair it right after birth. I went straight to OR. He was amazed I recovered as well as I did. He thought it was going to lead to problems, but I was meticulous in my personal care after the surgery and it healed well. I wouldn't wait any more if it were me. Good luck...

[KristieM]

Guest - My ob sewed me up. I've healed properly, but "the muscle tone is poor to very poor" as the new ob puts it. I've been doing keigle exercises. It's helped some, but I'm still having issues as I'm sure you could imagine. How long after the "repair" did you regain your muscle tone?

[admin]

Kristi,
It took at least 6 months for muscle tone to be "good". Poor to very poor is unacceptable. Oh my gosh - you poor thing. Do look into it...

[admin]

I had the fourth degree cut as well. My baby is 6 months old, and I exercise everyday. My muscles still aren't the same and I keep wondering how much longer until I'll have the same muscle strength. It's very frustrating and I just keep thinking time will help. My new ob (not the one who delivered my baby) did say I had lack of muscle strength. Did this muscle strength come back for others? Will I ever be the same?