I'm difficult to freeze locally - will this affect getting an epidural?

MerBot

Is anyone else difficult to freeze locally? How has it/could it affect the epidural?

I've always had a really hard time being numbed for minor procedures

e.g. at the dentist they've blocked every possible nerve and I've still felt pain/had to wait quite a while for freezing to take effect.

and when part of a fingertip was severed, it took FOREVER and a lot of freezing to numb the finger enough to sew the tip back on - I was a child and maybe 75 pounds dripping wet at the time - they were stunned.

So I'm pretty confident that I'm hard to freeze... will this transfer to the type of freezing done with an epi?

celainev

Local freezing and an epidural are completely different. The only reasons an epidural wouldn't work is if it is injected into the incorrect place or if is too late.

cMichelle0423

chaelainev said:

Local freezing and an epidural are completely different. The only reasons an epidural wouldn't work is if it is injected into the incorrect place or if is too late.

Not necessarily true. Some women don't respond to epidurals well or at all. I'm definitely one of those women. They don't work for me at all.

Bigboobsmcgee

OP you should talk to your OB about this if you are concerned. It takes a lot of work to get numb at the dentist for me as well but the epidural worked just fine with my first baby.

celainev

cMichelle0423 said:

chaelainev said:

Local freezing and an epidural are completely different. The only reasons an epidural wouldn't work is if it is injected into the incorrect place or if is too late.

Not necessarily true. Some women don't respond to epidurals well or at all. I'm definitely one of those women. They don't work for me at all.

Well, epidurals are said to be 98%+ effective when placed correctly and at the correct time. You may be part of the extremely small percentage of women that the epidural itself does not work, or it may have been they did not place yours right or at the right time in your labour. I can find many references for this, but the one below I thought was the most helpful.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2505163/

maelic

I am very similar to you, local anesthetics work poorly on me (for biopsies, minor surgeries and dental procedures). I had a consult with anesthesia before I was due with my daughter and they came up with a backup plan in case the local didn't take for the epidural. Didn't end up needing it and the epidural worked great, but it was really nice to know that they were on top of it and took my concerns seriously.

Ask your hospital for an anesthesia consult beforehand, it's better if everyone is on the same page.

Buehler99

Hi there!! I'm a nurse anesthetist, and have placed hundreds of labor epidurals. As said, some people do respond differently to epidurals, and this can in part be due to placement. I agree - have a back up plan. If your epidural is not working, or only working on one side, anesthesia can pull it and place another one. Most epidural mixes are not just straight local anesthetic - we mixed pain medicine in there too, which also helps. Just remember that an epidural may not take away every sensation. You can still feel pressure, and some pain may still be there, but not as badly as if you didn't have anything. Hope this helps!!

MississippiCatfish

Buehler99 said:

Hi there!! I'm a nurse anesthetist, and have placed hundreds of labor epidurals. As said, some people do respond differently to epidurals, and this can in part be due to placement. I agree - have a back up plan. If your epidural is not working, or only working on one side, anesthesia can pull it and place another one. Most epidural mixes are not just straight local anesthetic - we mixed pain medicine in there too, which also helps. Just remember that an epidural may not take away every sensation. You can still feel pressure, and some pain may still be there, but not as badly as if you didn't have anything. Hope this helps!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for advising women to have a back-up plan for the chance that their epidural doesn't provide effective pain relief.  I would have given anything to back and hear the anesthesiologist that spoke during our hospital birth/newborn care class say something like this!  Three tries during my induction and it just wasn't happening - wish I'd had some coping mechanisms to fall back on!  I can talk about it without feeling emotion now, but I was completely unprepared at the time and it was a really tough labor and my post-partum experience was very much affected by it:/

Snoopylovesbelle

I have a hard time getting numb too. The dentist has to shoot me up like 5 times before anything gets even a little tingly. My epi with my first worked like a dream and I didn't feel a thing. I hope it works out for you.

Miss Lilac

You can always just aim to go without an epidural?

mac-n-cheesy

@Buehler99 thank you for the professional information. I have a history of a back fracture from a car accident 5 years ago that involved L1-3 and was worried about the epidural not working because of this. I did a consult with a CRNA and it greatly calmed my anxiety (a non-medicated birth is NOT in my plan). >-