right - time to ask some questions cos i'm so damn confused
firstly - where i'm at - bubba is 7.5months, have had one AF since her birth. she is BF regularly round the clock. had IUI (similar to IVF but not so invasive) to get her, so my ovaries have been traumatised a bit. c/s birth
my questions are kinda all over the place - so stick with me!
firstly, for the BF mummas - do you find that your nipples hurt like all hell at different times in your cycle? i'm not sure what my "cycle" is doing, but i am getting painful nipples when i THINK i'm ovulating. had it late last year, and thought at the time it may be thrush or something as i didn't think i would get AF back for a while (DD was still exclusively BF and feeding through the day and night again). i had some pains in the tum around the same time, but can't remember if it WAS the same time - really wasn't taking notice
got AF Dec 10 or 11 last year - but i can't say how long before that the nipple pain had been getting to me. it was bad though - i was ready to wean DD - but it only lasted a couple of days
last week (probably tues or weds) i got the nipple pain again. DD was super fussy on the breast, i was getting pains in the tum - and i eventually thought maybe it was O time (yup, i'm really really smart - it took me quite a while to think that!). so, if it was O, i'd be expecting AF mid week this week.
now, onto the other questions - is O more painful post birth (never had pain before on the odd cycle i had that wasn't forced using drugs - and nowhere near this pain even WITH the ivf drugs). if you get AF related pain, how long before AF (or after O) do you get pain. i know AF related pain can be pretty bad, but i've never really had it except when forced cycles - and my ovaries were always swollen from that so i kinda expected it kwim?
i'm just confused about what the hell my body is doing. i would say the AF-ish pains started late Wednesday-ish. it's still going - just changes intensity. it's not fun! so we're looking maybe 7days post O for pain - i would think it's early - but i'm not sure what i should be expecting given i had the c/s!
i've also heard first post partum AF can be ok, second a lot nastier - so maybe my body is gearing me up for a shocker - has that been your experience???
stupid damn body - no cycle (so to speak) for all the time we were TTC - but i pop out a kidlet and she's back, uninvited, 6.5months later!
hi BG,
Firstly, it had never occurred to me that a c/s may have affected the way my body feels around O or AF time so your post gave me something to think about!.
I have noticed since having DD (now a loooooong 7.5 years ago) that I get O pain and I swear I did not prior to having her and also get "twinges" (not actual pain) up to 7 days prior to AF whereas before DD I just got twinges a few hours before and then whammo - AF was here with full on pain.
I always put my cycle changes down to a) just having had a baby and b) aging (as I was over 40). Also went from a VERY regular 30 day cycle prebaby to a regular 26 day cycle.
Maybe having a baby will give that body of yours a bit of a lesson in how to behave and you will get a cycle going!
ETA - Forgot to say - I did not have any nipple or fussy baby issues with AF or O so can't help there. And actual pain level with AF did not change post c/s.
Last edited by anney; January 9th, 2010 at 02:16 PM.
BG I cant help much as I could not breast feed so I went back on the pill so my af returned to normal pretty much straight away.
I can say that O time hurts alot and so does AF - I never really got O pain or painfull af but after DD and after my CS it really really hurts!
And my scar hurts BAD during af, also I only ever had sore boobs when I was preg never when AF was due - well thats changed also!!
My first few AFs after CS were real shockers...since then my cycles have been all over the place - anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks, anywhere from light to very heavy...never had this before, I was always clockwork regular 25-28 days. But the AF pains did go away after a few months. I never noticed any O pains...although a gf who developed adhesions after her 1st CS complained a lot about pain at o time.
I have found things have changed since I had DD by c/s. My cycle was always around about 30 days and has now gone to 28 days on the dot.
DD was fully breastfed (we recently weaned at 16 months) and AF arrived when she was about 10 weeks old.
Before DD I would get get pains that would increase to crippling pain for the first 2 days of AF. Now I notice that I do get pain after I ovulate (or when I think I have O'd) but nothing that warns if AF is coming like I did. The pain during AF isn't too bad but like other I have noticed that my scar does hurt quite badly.
I haven't noticed anythgin about my nipples though.
I've only had AF back once since Nate was born - on the first day of our Lindeman Island holiday in early december BUT since then for a couple of days I had hugely sensitive nipples - I thought i had thrush, but I bet you're right. It was O! Whatdya know....so yes in answer to that q. Nate however is a guts and would feed all day if I let him so I didn't notice any fussiness. I can't remember with Darcy.
After my first c/s no, I didn't notice that O was more painful but I have had some nasty cramps over the last couple of months, so I'm thinking that this time something has changed.
I always got really nasty AF pain for a whole 7 days before it, but this time I have noticed severe nausea added into the mix as well. However I don't know if that's due to the c/s or the fact that I've now had 2 children and it's been a really long time since my hormones were in balance and allowed to do their own thing IYKWIM? I can't tell you the time between O and AF since I've only had one noticed cycle - but now you mention it I'm going to track just to see.
kim - by fussiness, i meant more that she was on and off the boob a lot - like the flow wasn't what it usually is so she was trying to encourage a let down (and of course, that doesn't help the pain factor at all!)
i'm going to track a little as well, but not obsess over it - i guess i wanted to know i wasn't abnormal lol
Interesting that you bought up the nipple pain. The last couple of days have been quite painful to feed and I am due to O arund now on CD15. He has also been fussier, but not sure if thats related to O or just the heat, and him being more interested in solids atm.
I got AF back when DS was 3 months and straight back to regular cycles of 26-29 days. But I don't get any AF pain. Before pg I suffered with bad cramps and nausea just before hand, so no pain is a bit of a novelty for me!
As for O pain, I feel twinges some months but thats about it.
i guess there isnt' a one fits all situation (is there ever lol) - but it's nice to know i'm not the only one with nipple pain (well, provided it was related to O!)
BG, I get nipple pain too, and DD (not so much now, but definitely around your DD's age) would always get fussy in the lead up to AF.
I got my first AF exactly 28 days after my lochia stopped (I used to have extremely regular 28 days cycles before IVF) and my first AF PP was quite light. The next 3 or 4 after were really unpredictable - one was a doozy after around a 42 day cycle and the others were lighter after 16 days each (I assume no O on these ones). I've been back to a regular 27-29 day cycle since then.
I get a little bit of nipple pain before O and quite a bit more in the lead up to AF - sometimes really quite sensitive. DD would get really fussy in the lead up to AF - I think as much because of the taste as anything else, but also perhaps because of supply, I don't know exactly. One thing I do have a gut feeling on that once my hormones regulated and I settled back in to a really regular cycle with O everytime, my oversupply quickly settled down, and I tend to be undersupplied if anything (DD sucks me dry constantly, and she is demand fed still).
AS to pain during O and AF, I have much less painful AF overall now - much less cramping in my uterus. I used to have shocking AF pain, right from about 14 years old. But now instead I have much more ovary pain during both O and in the lead up to AF for about a week - and I do really attribute that to my ovaries being beat up by all the IVF treatment.
Some of our symptoms sound quite similar, so I guess you could say that things like O pain could well be because of the AC treatment leaving our ovaries "different" and perhaps more sensitive now, and the fussiness/sore nipples when BF when your cycle starts again is quite common, as I've read several threads with that happening to people on BB, including myself.
HTH, and I hope that the pain will settle down as your body adjusts to ovulating and AF again. Hang in there with the BF hun - I used to always put some Lansinoh on and some nice soft breastpads on when it was really bothering me, as I always found it soothing, even if I didn't have any cracks/grazes. Maybe you could try that?
i'm a trooper - i keep going cos i want to BF DD as long as possible - but if there was formula in the house (or a shop within cooee of here) it might be very very different! i have thrush treatment here, i have lansino, i have yummy breast pads - and i'm not scared to go nude for a while when my boobies are really sore
i guess i am just relieved that at least other people have been through it so it's "normal" (ish) - i'm not so freaked out by it all. i'll just keep riding the waves as they come up...
Yeah, you're a trooper hun And I know the feeling about if there was formula in the house - not for want of stopping breastfeeding, but just for stopping the difficulties and discomfort at times. Keep riding those waves, you're doing brilliantly.
thanks Acacia! i think i get to the point of just thinking "it's only a few more minutes" and i am glad to get her off the boob. but we get through it. maybe that's part of the fussiness - i'm more tense to let down takes longer??
anyhoot - we have gotten through worse when she was born - and i'm sure there will be more trials as her teeth arrive - so for now, we just ride it out.
i'm mostly being a frugal wench with the BF - if my boobs are working and giving her what she needs, why would i put her on formula and have that added expense? i know sometimes people have no choice but to formula feed, but personally, in our current situation, i can't justify the expense (whats with the expense anyway?)
I think that is a real possibility, BG. I find that if I'm really tense, and/or then concentrating on wanting to have a letdown ASAP it inevitably takes longer for the letdown to happen! I think it's a matter of trying to relax you're upper body, especially your arms and shoulders, and maybe that might make a difference? I feel like it does for me.
As to expense, that's one of the beautiful things about BF - it costs nothing, so when it is happening and happening well (sometimes even with the times where you can't wait for a feed/feeds to end!) it's another positive thing to think about.
Just got to take each day as it comes, and congratulate yourself on getting through another day/week etc. when things are hard, so I'll congratulate you too!
i agree that even the difficult BF's are worth it when you're saving dollars that you really can't afford.
i had a bit of a shocking start to the BF game (milk not in for 5 days, expressing and feeding round the clock cos DD lost too much weight, cracked nipples, bubba jaundiced yada yada yada - not to mention extremely flat - may as well be inverted - nipples) - anyway - they pushed for me to put her on formula and i refused - and until she started solids at six months, i was it - it was with a great sense of achievement that we got to that point. i used to think i'd stop if it got hard - but i know now that we can get through it
As for the cycle stuff - i'm in the land of confuzzlement big time still- am very under the weather today and am hoping it's due to the heat and stuff, but i have no idea. maybe AF is on her way or something. was so much easier to understand my body during the IVF cycles - i KNEW what was happening every step of the way!
ok - time to update and share some more confuzzlement - cos honestly - i have NFI what my body is doing!
so, AF arrived - on Jan 31, 7.5 week "cycle"
no drama there - i figured it was normalish to go for a longer cycle straight up
anyway - i bled for maybe 10 days each time - not unusual for me - annoying, but not unusual.
so, i finished AF on around the 10th of Feb - Feb 17, i start spotting again! it's not heavy bleeding, but it's been spotting off and on for the past few days! grrrrr not happy! DH and I haven't been DTD much due to DD teething and him working early mornings and stuff, so i can say we did it the day AF arrived (cos i started bleeding straight after), we welcomed valentines day, and now the 17th we again DTD and i started bleeding
told DH we're never DTD again cos i don't want to bleed! but i'm confused as to what is going on!
need some help with cycle post c/s
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BUT since then for a couple of days I had hugely sensitive nipples - I thought i had thrush, but I bet you're right. It was O! Whatdya know....so yes in answer to that q. Nate however is a guts and would feed all day if I let him so I didn't notice any fussiness. I can't remember with Darcy.
(I used to have extremely regular 28 days cycles before IVF) and my first AF PP was quite light. The next 3 or 4 after were really unpredictable - one was a doozy after around a 42 day cycle and the others were lighter after 16 days each (I assume no O on these ones). I've been back to a regular 27-29 day cycle since then. 
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