Did your Epidural work?

Nickiechan

I was wondering if you Epidural worked for you? Also what to expect when you received one. Most of all my friends complained to me that their epidural did not work for them and they where in extreme pain the whole time since they didn't prepare for it not to work. I am researching other methods to get though the pain without a epidural, however I was still interested in getting one. What should you expect when you receive one? Do they require you to stay in bed? What about going to the bathroom? Could it give you a more higher chance of c-section? Does it slow down labor?

 

*Sorry if this is in the wrong board... just wasn't sure where to ask the question.

madhatter2003

Mine worked great with my DD, not so much with DS...but there were other factors there.

When you get one, they have you sit up and lean over the nurse while the doc inserts it. You'll get a local first to numb the area, then the cath is inserted that delivers the medications. They'll give you an initial dose to test the placement, then it's hooked up to a drip. My hospital also had the happy button so that you could increase the dose if you needed more relief (obviously it's controlled so you can't OD).

You will be confined to the bed or close to it (I could sit up, etc) and I had enough feeling to use a bedpan but most of the time you'll have a cath at some point to drain your bladder before pushing, etc.  It depends on how much feeling you have really.

You'll also have an IV for fluids and a blood pressure cuff, so you are pretty limited once you get one.  For me it was worth it with DD since I'd been in labor so long and needed rest. With DS it never worked after the initial dose....I don't think they turned the pump on, but I went so quickly we never sorted it out. I went from 5-10 and delivered in under an hour, so it was an odd situation all around.

 

boyorgurl

hey 1st of all congrats!!!! im having my 4th baby and i have gotten the epidural twice the 1st time i was induce and i was in a lot of pain so i got the epidural and it work greatt you dont feel nothing from your waist down. the make u sit and u cant move and the insert the needle to your spin. my secound child i didnt get nothing because i had him super fast got to the hospital just to push him out. my 3rd baby i got it again because i had a little of fever and i had to relax but it didnt work so i had to lay on my side and they put more medicine then it work good i could still fell a little bit but it wasent nothing compare without it i think it speeds labor because u are relaxed and could take a nap and if u are relaxed the baby is relaxed and everything comes faster the only thing that i could complain about the epidural is that in the winter your back where they put the needle hurts but other than that its a good thing to get if ur not so good with pain like me. hope i help a little. oh ya u have to stay in bed and u cant drink or eat anything.

Tcarrol12

From what I have read and heard lately apparently I had an AMAZING epi. It did take the anesthesiologist 6 tries but it was worth it I was in 0 pain. The contractions are usually so painful by the time you get it that you do not notice them doing it. My biggest problem was staying still between the puking and contractions.

** to answer some of your other questions most hospitals require you to get to 4 cm. before they will give it and most wont give it after 8 cm. because it usually doesn't have time to work. You really cant move to go to the bathroom so you get a catheter. I was so numb from the waist down at one point I almost fell out of the bed when I tried to sit up luckily DH was right there.  Your on a lot more monitors and machines once you have it on top of the extreme numbness so your pretty much stuck to the bed.

ckolak:-)

I had 2 with DS. Both wore off within 3 hours of getting them (I had a 16 hour labor), and I did not get complete relief. I will not be getting one again.

FWIW I think 70% of women get complete relief, 20% get partial relief, and 10% get little or no relief from them. 

Dman85

Thanks for asking this question OP...I've always wondered it myself!

forensicmama

Mine didn't work at all with my daughter - well, I was numb from the knees down. I had to stay in bed because of that while I labored. It would have helped to have been able to move because my daughter was posterior and she really needed to be shifted by my moving onto my hands and knees. I labored for 12 hours with a posterior child - which is the average amount of time for a normal birth, surprisingly enough. Next time, I plan on not having an epidural at all. I'm confident in what I can do and I think I will have a better birth if I can learn laboring positions and maybe be able to labor in a tub.

forensicmama

ckolak:-):

I had 2 with DS. Both wore off within 3 hours of getting them (I had a 16 hour labor), and I did not get complete relief. I will not be getting one again.

FWIW I think 70% of women get complete relief, 20% get partial relief, and 10% get little or no relief from them. 

I would have been in the 10% category. 

GettinNervous

Yes, they did!! Loved them. I could not get out of bed. I was numb from the waist down. It might have slowed down labor, but I didn't care. I did need a C with #2, but the cord was around her neck.

I was numb even when I pushed with #1 and didn't feel a thing.

OctoberMomma28

When I was admitted, I was 5cm. They gave me Stadol which helped for about 2 hours then I got the epi. The only thing I felt was when they gave me the shot to numb me.

He had to insert it twice because the first time he hit a blood vessel, but I felt nothing. It was immediate relief and it lasted the duration of my labor. I couldn't get out of bed, obviously, but I had a cath. Once she was delivered, they turned it off and within a few minutes, feeling was returning in my lower half. I felt no pain, but did feel the urge to push when she was beginning to crown.

It was wonderful and made labor much more enjoyable. I would definitely recommend it, and will have it again if we decide to have another baby.

Good luck!

missdelica

Mine worked great for the pain. The only thing that bugged me was that I could feel one of my legs but I could feel the other. With me they had me use a cath. I have heard of people being able to control how much meds they get with the epidural. basically you just get enough of the meds to take the edge of the contractions, so you can still feel everything but I guess it makes it so that your in A LOT less pain. also with most epidural they give you pitocin as well just in case the contractions slow down. As for the risk of a c-section I think with the epidural it would be easier for you just in case you would have to have a c-section. Hope that helps.

LiebeMama

Back labor the whole time. Nothing could have prepared me for the pain of labor. I begged and begged for my epidural early and got it at 2 cm. It lasted from 2-6, and then totally wore off. Well, except I had a completely numb right leg. What the hell, lol! Let me tell you, my numb leg felt to gross to the touch! It just felt like detached meat or something. Of course come time for LO #2, I will request an epidural later than 2 cm and hope it lasts longer. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Nothing made me laugh harder than watching the contractions on the screen spike and not feel a thing. Sure I lost that excitement after it wore off and I started screaming bloody murder, but, It was awsome while it lasted.

hilwithonelary

Mine kind of worked.  It helped some with the pain in my stomach, but it did absolutely nothing for the vaginal pain.  I felt like I was being ripped in two.  I think it might not have had enough time to fully kick in because I progressed from 6 to 10 cm dilated and -2 to +3 station in about 30 minutes right after getting the epi, and then pushed him out in 25 minutes.  I was definitely not numb from the waist down.  I was in complete control of my legs while pushing.  I even had a charlie horse in my right calf in the middle of a push!

ETA: After labor, they tried to stitch my 2nd degree tear without any local anesthetic.  They assumed I was numb from the epi.  I guess they didn't pick up on the fact that I was screaming that I was being ripped in two, that I moved my legs around with no trouble, or that I had to have a nurse help stretch out my charlie horse during pushing After I screamed in pain a few times, they offered me a local, when stung when they injected it, but helped tremendously as they finished stitching.  Then I had a nurse try to give me a catheter.  I hadn't needed one previously because I hadn't had the epi very long.  She didn't even warn me that she was going to do it, and it hurt like a ***!  Once again, I guess she still didn't realize that I was NOT NUMB.  I kept jumping because it hurt so much, and then the nurse made a nasty comment about me squirming too much.  Finally my dr told her not to worry about it.  I walked myself to the bathroom and peed with no trouble at all about an hour later.  I absolutely will not get an epi again. 

JoBieger05

Mine worked great on one side of my body and not at all on the other.

lildevil968

It worked to well with DD, and didn;t work at all with DS. With DS they tried 3 times before I threw in the towel, and decided to go without. DD's worked perfectly right away, and I sailed through 17 hours of labor. The Epi has been known to slow labor down, but it has also been known to speed it up because your body can finally relax.

BeachTeach26

Mine worked for a few hours. Once I had it I had to stay in bed but only because my water broke, not just because of the epi. A few hours in it failed on my left side, I had a bolis to add more meds, and I was good. 2 hours later the right side failed. Bolis. Good to go. Rinse and repeat. Every two hours for the 26 hours I was in labor, and the 20 or so I had the epi, it failed. I did have a cathetor in which was great.

mollymurphy

Nickiechan:

I was wondering if you Epidural worked for you? Yes, it did.

 Most of all my friends complained to me that their epidural did not work for them and they where in extreme pain the whole time since they didn't prepare for it not to work. This seems odd to me...yes, they can fail, but it's hardly the norm. That said, there was still some pain, even with the epi, especially during pushing, but I had prepared not to have any pain meds and the amount of pain I did have was completely manageable.

 I am researching other methods to get though the pain without a epidural Good! It's smart to be prepared and have some techniques you can use in early labor, as well as if you encounter pain even if you have an epi.

Do they require you to stay in bed? No, but I got mine very late, so I had very little time between the epi and pushing.

What about going to the bathroom? I was able to walk and use the bathroom on my own even after the epi...but from what I hear, this is not the norm.

Could it give you a more higher chance of c-section?  Supposedly.

Does it slow down labor? It's possible, but not necessarily: I waited as long as I possibly could before deciding to go w/an epi to avoid the chances of my labor stalling. Everything worked out fine and I've not regretted the choice.

SuperThat1006

I got a beautiful epidural -- wonderful. I could move my legs the entire time and didn't have much pain.

As far as the bathroom, I had a catheter to drain my bladder and had no lasting effects from that (no issues once the epi wore off).

And mine sped up labor because my body relaxed. I went from 3 cm to 9.5 cm in an hour and 45 min.

emnoahmom

For my first three I opted not to have the epidural, but since my babies were getting bigger and my labors more difficult I decided for my fourth child I was definatly getting one. After saying to all the nurses that I planned on having one when it got closer to time they had to call the anaesthesiologist back to the hospital because he was on his way home...then for about ten minutes he poked at my back before announcing that I had too small of an epidural space! (Anyone heard of that?)I cried and kept telling my husband that it just wasn't fair. Just thought I'd put this out there since it's a possibility that I had no idea about:(

sapphire7787

For my first daughter the epidural worked fine, but when they did the epidural I was already in labor.  I literally do not remember much pain from when the epidural was placed in/nor do I remember much pain from birthing!

 On the other hand for my second daughter, I was induced with her and got my epidural an hour before I was induced (1am).  I was in a ton of pain getting it placed.  My epidural ran out around 6:30am and nobody knew that it was 'empty' until about 9:50am.  My daughter was born at 10:03am.  Needless to say I felt more than I ever wanted to but I do believe I could have done everything 'natural'.  When they did the stitches I did feel the injection they gave me to, and comparing to my first daughter, I never felt that!

 For my third baby I am totally undecided as to what I want to do yet!

 Best of luck to everyone!

 

melody921

Mine worked perfectly. I had gone into labor not sure if I wanted an epi. I figured I'd give it a little time then decide. Well, labor was fast and hard, so after a couple of hours at the hospital, I opted in. My son was born 5 hours later. He probably would have come even faster, if they hadn't made me wait to push because I had GBS and they had to get a full round of antibiotics into me. Once I had it, i had to stay in bed, but since I was well into labor at that point, I didn't care.