Did it hurt a lot when they first made the incision?
Could you feel and move your feet immediately after (while they were stitching you up)?
Also, were you in a lot of pain immediately after?
I'm trying to determine whether I had a horror story experience, or whether my situation was typical. 
34 votes
clementine / 878 posts
I was asleep but not under general anesthesia so I didnt feel anything. I remember my toes starting to numb up just before but then the next thing I recall is waking up after it was all over. Then I could feel my toes but the pain in recovery sucked. So glad for pain meds.
cherry / 231 posts
I didn't feel it when they made the incision. I didn't start to feel my feet until I was in recovery for about 20 mins or so. I wasn't in pain until I was back in my room & tried moving to get myself more comfy in bed.
clementine / 916 posts
@gracecat: How were you asleep?? Did you fall asleep?? The pain meds helped so much, but I was in the recovery room for 2+ hours before they started working. OMG.. worst 2 hours of pain of my life. Thank God partially DD distracted me.
@littlehunny: That's how I thought it was going to be.. Until I yelled when they started making the incision b/c it hurt so bad. The anesthesiologist put something good in my IV b/c I can't remember the next 30 min..
clementine / 878 posts
No they gave me something to sleep... Not sure what exactly but I was glad because I really didnt want to see or feel anything. I am a big chicken!! Pain didnt kick in until I tried to move.
coconut / 8234 posts
I don't remember about my feet, probably because I was in shock from what had just happened. The anesthesiologist did have to increase my meds twice because I felt like one side wasn't completely numb. They kept saying it was pressure but I don't think pressure feels like you're burning. I had a horrible experience but the doctor said it was an abnormal experience and according to my friends who have had them it was.
pomelo / 5789 posts
Wow that sounds awful. I had no pain until the next day when I asked too long between pain meds.
Don't remember if I could move my feet
pear / 1579 posts
I can't remember moving my feet but immediately after I was shaking like it was nobody's business. My husband was dressing out asking the nurses what was wrong. I shook for at least an hour, maybe more, afterwards.
I had an epidural, but once I didn't progress and they decided to do a csection, they gave me a spinal block. I couldn't feel a thing.
cherry / 231 posts
@LaineysMom: Yikes! I'm sorry to hear you didn't have a good experience. I remember they pinched me before they started & asked if I could feel it, but I couldn't.
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
I couldn't feel anything and it took an hour or so before I could move my toes afterwards. I didn't really feel any pain until the next day but then omg did I understand what they'd actually done to my belly, lol! Sorry you had such a painful experience, I think that typically, it's not meant to hurt that much.
persimmon / 1205 posts
OMG, you poor thing! I'm so sorry that happened to you. No, I did not feel the incision nor could I even feel my legs for probably an hour after we were finished. It sounds to me like your spinal didn't take. Did they not check you before they made the incision? They poked and actually made a small cut to be sure I couldn't feel anything.
persimmon / 1472 posts
Yikes I'm sorry you felt the incision and pain so soon! After the spinal kicked in, the anesthesiologist used a metal tool to test y level of numbness from my shoulders down to see how far it went. I couldn't feel anything below my chest. I was able to move my legs about 20-30 minutes after but they felt like lead logs.
blogger / pomegranate / 3300 posts
Nope, I didn't feel anything but pressure. It took awhile for my feet to move and I didn't feel much pain for about an hour or two
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
Sorry to hear this. I had a similar experience! 
grapefruit / 4817 posts
They tested different spots of my body with this little stick thing to be sure everything was asleep well before they did the incision. And it was probably 30-45 minutes before I could feel my feet in recovery. I couldn't move anything but my toes for another 30 min past that.
pomegranate / 3053 posts
Wow, I'm sorry you had to go through that. How terrifying! Like @bree72 my OB actually pinched me with some tool until I couldn't feel anything. I actually saw where he pinched afterwards but it was no big deal. Better a few scars than to feel it like what happened to you. With my second c-section it took a while for the spinal to take effect b/c they purposefully injected it into a lower spinal area b/c with my first section they must have did it too high that I had trouble breathing twice during the procedure. It was quite scary! With my first I didn't feel much when they were telling me that I'll feel lots of pressure. With my second I felt A LOT of pressure and it tickled! I started giggling during the procedure. I'm sure that was nerve wrecking for my OB. Haha! But he joked it off by saying we can name our son Elmo. 
I'm glad everything's okay though. You might want to talk to your OB about your experience and see what he/she says. Also, if you plan on having another section, tell that anesthesiologist about your first experience and he/she will adjust as needed. I did that the second time around and I didn't have any chest pressure like I did the first time.
As for pain afterwards, it was managed well through meds. They also actually started this new thing where they put a teeny tube where I had my section and that tube went into a machine that automatically injected numbing meds into my incision area for up to 3 days after the procedure. It was SO much less painful the second time around b/c of that. The only down side was that I had to walk around with a silly bag everywhere I went. It was so bad. I was happy to carry that around than to feel pain. I don't think I started to take percocet until after I was off that bag of numbing meds.
clementine / 828 posts
Omg, your experience sounds like my worst nightmare. I did not feel the incision but I did feel pain after LO was pulled out and they were doing something down there. I kept saying I could feel something but couldn't describe what I felt since I've never felt anything like it before. They kept telling me that it's normal to feel pressure. Well, it got so bad that I started to dry heave and the anesthesiologist injected something into my IV that made it so I didn't feel anything again. Afterwards, I heard my OB and anesthesiologist talking and it seemed that the spinal wore off too quickly.
So it sounds like maybe your spinal did not take from the beginning. They really should have tested that before making the incision!!
eggplant / 11824 posts
Did not feel any pain (or even pressure really) when they made the incision; couldn't move my feet for about an hour. Things came back without pain - I kept trying to wiggle my toes and suddenly one minute I could, and then a few minutes later I could wiggle more of my legs. That didn't hurt either. I can't remember when the pain first settled in - but definitely not while in the OR!! Yikes!!!
pomegranate / 3983 posts
I couldn't feel anything when they made the incision, definitely couldn't feel my feet for at least an hour, and it took even longer to start feeling any pain. Sounds like yours was pretty bad- sorry!
clementine / 916 posts
@autumnlove: Urgh.. horrendous! Was yours a scheduled or an emergency?? Mine was a little of both.
I was expecting something like what a lot of you are describing.. No pain, but significant pressure. I felt both. Urgh..
The time between my spinal and when they started cutting me open was less than 10 min b/c Lainey's daddy was only sitting by himself for 10 mintues..
I had a scheduled C-sec, but I think they were getting pretty worried since I had gone into labor and my baby's HR was dropping.
I remember them asking if I could feel them pinch me and I said yes, but it didn't hurt too bad. Gosh, I should have known when I could feel everything they were doing to me and I could still feel my legs when they started.
I know I was partially numb b/c I'm sure I would have passed out/jumped off the table if I could feel absolutely everything, but HOLY CRAP it hurt SO BAD. I remember them stopping and the anesthesiologist asking me if the pain was going down and I kept saying NO NO! Then I don't remember much after that.. When I became fully conscious they were closing me up and I was in SO MUCH PAIN. Luckily I had a perfect little baby staring at me.. 
I'm glad that my experience is out of the ordinary. After the whole ordeal I was thinking that maybe I was just being a wimp?? But luckily it sounds like I'm somewhat of an anomaly.. Good thing or else I would be terrified to have any more kids. I'm still probably going to be super freaked out next time..
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
@LaineysMom: Mine was a emergency C-section after 36 hours of labor. I told the anesthesiologist that I wasn't numb after the spinal so he administered more. He told me it would kick in. The OBs were pretty shocked when I cried and moved during the surgery. I had to be strapped down and pushed down by my husband, nurses and anesthesiologist. They finally gave me a laughing gas that calmed me down!
My next baby is due in April so I hope that was a fluke! Maybe without the labor...the meds will work?
I'm so sorry you had a similar experience! I'll let you know how my scheduled C-section goes! My OB is trying to arrange for an anesthesiologist attending to be present at my next surgery..hopefully that makes a difference!
kiwi / 673 posts
I could not feel any cutting during my c-section. However, I could feel intense pressure pain, which I don't think is normal. I was in enough pain to be screaming and crying, so they increased the medicine in my epidural enough that I basically passed out and fell asleep. Mine was an emergency c-section and I was able to feel pain from my back labor pretty intensely even with the epidural, though it did keep me from feeling contractions at first and make my legs numb.
My legs were numb for some time after surgery, but my nurse warned me about that and it didn't bother me since it was normal. I also shook some initially, but was told that was a normal reaction to the anesthesia.
pear / 1664 posts
I have not had a c-section but I have had other surgery with local anesthesia and have learned that I have to tell them "I am not sensitive to pain medicine." Otherwise it wears off before they're done. Maybe that's what happened to you? I had one experience where I could absolutely feel them stitching up the incision, because the med had worn off that area. So sorry!
squash / 13199 posts
I did not feel any pain during the surgery, you only feel pressure
I could not feel my legs or feet immediate after.
The pain set in gradually as the meds wore off
I think your experience was atypical
persimmon / 1085 posts
That's awful! They tested me before cutting to make sure it didn't hurt. I told them I did feel it, but they said that was normal, that the doc pinched me so hard that without the spinal I would have screamed in pain. So all was good...all I felt was pressure during the surgery. Didn't regain feeling in my feet/legs for at least an hour afterwards back in recovery. I'm so sorry you went through that!
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