I was sore for quite a few weeks too but by my six week checkup my cut and stitches were healed. My el-cheapo version of the cold packs that bon mentioned was freezing those long icy-pop things (you buy them in packs at the super market) and then making a little hole in my pad and shoving one down it so it was a pad/cold pack combined. I used the green ones and DH ate the rest. I was tempted to offer my MIL a recycled green one but DH wouldn't let me.