CS Pain?

[lucsdad]

hey guys,
did anyone ever notice anything that seemed like your child was in pain.
because lucas goes through periods where he gets fussy and holds the part of his head that has the CS. i asked my dr. if it hurts, she said no.
can anyone relate to this? has anyone dealt with this.
lisa

[Jennifer]

Emily was EXTREMELY fussy prior to her surgery. The NS said that the scan showed no signs of pressure or anything...that she was probably just a fussy baby.....immediatly after her surgery (4 1/2 mnths)- she was a totally different baby. She was much more calm and relaxed-( even after the pain meds were gone :giggle) At her one week post op, her NS did say that during her surgery there was a definantly 'release' when the her forehead was removed...so there was probably pressure that just didn't really show....

She was too young to say it hurt or anything, but I truely believe she had some sort of discomfort.......

[Katie]

I completely feel that Dillon was in pain previous ot his surgery. As newborn he would stay awake crying for 10 to 12 hours at a time. We were told many time by his pedi that it was "just colic". Turns out that during surgery it was discovered there was some compression on his brain. There were imprints of gyri (swirl marks on brain) on the inside of his skull. It was nothing that caused permanent damage, but it sure was enough to make him uncomfortable. After surgery, he was such an incredibly happy baby.

[mom2mykidos3]

Yep!! Miriam would just start to cry like she was really hurt for what seemed like no reason. I know no doctor will say it causes pain, but how does anyone really know because the patients are all babies.
Miriam seems to be doing fine and hasn't had any of her crying spells sense surgery.

[Matthews Mommy]

I really do feel that they do too. Matthew had intracranial pressure though his CS was also progressing very rapidly and was starting to show signs of a lot of complications so they got him his surgery very quickly after diagnosis.

[Melissa]

I think they probably do. And I know that there can be pressure that doesn't show up on scans. Bryson had Chiari Malformation and our NS said that there was no sign of pressure (he had CTs and MRIs both), but before surgery Bryson had lots of problems - headaches, increased hearing loss, irritibility, anger issues for no reason, problems with confusion, comprehension issues, short-term memory loss, etc. As soon as he was good and awake after the operation we found that the hearing loss was much improved (all of a sudden everything was too loud). Then once the pain from the operation faded a week or so later we found that all the other problems were gone, too. So I know that there had to be a ton of pressure in there that just didn't show up on his scans for some reason...

[Mom2William]

I agree with all the others. Will had pain too and started complaining of headaces prior to the surgery. He was finally verbal enough to tell us! He also had pressure when the PN came out to talk with us during surgery. He had the "hammered" marks on his skull and places where the skull had actually thinned in places.
Many people commented on how much more social William was once he recovered from surgery, looking back I think he always dealt with some degree of headaches but did know how to let us know.
Your surgery is very close and I hope you notice a difference once he recovers from the surgery! I know you must be getting anxious!
Kisses to Lucas and many hugs to you too

[saraweise]

This is one of those times where I am so glad to have this forum - it helps me realize that I am not imagining things. :wink

Before Joseph's surgery he was very irritable. He would nap for only 20-30 minutes at a time. He did not have a colic cry but he was always fussy. Only constant stimulation would soothe him (firm pats on the back, rocking in his carrier, loud static noise, etc) but only for minutes at a time. Just like everyone else his ns said that there was no pressure and no way to prove he was in pain. Darned if after the surgery all of that slowly went away. Now he has no signs of pain.

I am so glad other moms and dads are saying the same! Joe and I knew he was hurting...there was just no way to prove it.

[Melissa]

One thing I've learned over the past 14 years - the medical world is constantly changing. The things we know to be true today are things that we thought impossible 'yesterday', and 'tomorrow' we'll know the truth about things we think impossible today.

Heck, 14 years ago when Bryson was born, it was thought that kids born with Pfeiffer must have inherited it from some family member somewhere - now we know that most often it's a new genetic mutation. And back then it was a common belief (thank goodness not one held by our own doctor) that kids born with a cloverleaf skull (all sutures closed) like Bryson would end up with mental retardation. Bryson may have a couple of learning disabilities (hearing loss, mild dyslexia), but he is FAR from mentally impaired. Today the neurosurgeons may say that our kids don't have pain, and tomorrow they may realize that yes, they do, and be able to do something about it...

[frankiesmom]

Did any of the children rub their heads where the sutures were closed?? Frankie has CS on the right side, he is constantly, especially where tired rubbing his hand over his eye and forehead on that side though he really doesn't cry...at least not yet...we have about 2 months for the surgery, maybe it will get worse???? I will get the surgery date on Nov 10 when we meet the NS at our apptm with the CS.

[Matthews Mommy]

Matthew banged his head a lot on the floor, but he is also autistic.

[lucsdad]

yes, lucas rubs his head alot!
i believe CS must be painful for all of us to share a similar story.
lisa