"Turning off" Epidural near time to push

Uwannalala

Ahh, the lovely things you learn AFTER you get pregnant.  I always was naive and thought you got the epidural and it was smooth sailing!

Then you learn the truth- that it doesn't always work and that when its time to push then lower it/turn it off so you can feel pushing.

 Let me tell you- that scares me to death.  I am (naively) not scared of  contractions at all.  But, "the ring of fire" TERRIFIES me! EEK! The reason I wanted the epidural (before I learned about how childbirth really was) was to NOT feel the pushing/tearing part.

 Do they turn the epidural completely off?  Or just turn it down? Are you still a little numb? Is there a reason you aren't numbed down there with a shot for tearing like you are for an episiotomy?

I know you guys.. im a big baby.  Doctors and procedures have been my fear my entire life! Thanks ahead of time

 

Meehanbride

I do think that when it came time to push I wasnt given anymore epidural but that stuff doesnt really wear off that quick. I mean if you were pushing for an hour...maybe but, after I had DD, it was like an hour or better before I could stand on my own 2 feet without falling down due to the numbness in my legs still.

I never felt a thing, contractions, pushing , tearing...none of it.

JenJune3

My epideral with DD never worked, so they never had to do anything as far as turning it off. Honestly I don't remember any "ring of fire". I pushed for over 4 hours with DD and honestly you don't just don't think about tearing and whats going on until after the fact.

Caitlin224

I don't exactly know how to answer you sugar.  I had an epidural with my first pregnancy and while it was nice and took the edge off....I still totally felt the contractions and pushing and stuff....it was just tolerable to some extent. 

I don't think that they turn it off per se, but I think there might be a limit of meds they give you or something like that.  I know that if you get your epidural too early in the labor process it can just wear off.  Any other ladies have more accurate info here?  I'm not entirely sure.

As for the tearing....for me, it all just felt like one big pain instead of a bunch of individual things happening.  I don't know if this helps to ease your mind but this is all stuff you can handle. 

I want to say that you are building this up in your head, but I don't want you to be insulted.  I have found that sometimes the idea of things can be worse than they actually are.

Question....did you think childbirth was pain free?

olivia_eve

They can, but I don't know if they always do.  I know I definitely did not feel the ring of fire or any pain when I was pushing, and I pushed for 4.5 hours with DD.

lj smith

They never turned mine down. I even had a button that I could push for an extra dose. It worked wonderfully!

Uwannalala

Caitlin224:

I don't exactly know how to answer you sugar.  I had an epidural with my first pregnancy and while it was nice and took the edge off....I still totally felt the contractions and pushing and stuff....it was just tolerable to some extent. 

I don't think that they turn it off per se, but I think there might be a limit of meds they give you or something like that.  I know that if you get your epidural too early in the labor process it can just wear off.  Any other ladies have more accurate info here?  I'm not entirely sure.

As for the tearing....for me, it all just felt like one big pain instead of a bunch of individual things happening.  I don't know if this helps to ease your mind but this is all stuff you can handle. 

I want to say that you are building this up in your head, but I don't want you to be insulted.  I have found that sometimes the idea of things can be worse than they actually are.

Question....did you think childbirth was pain free?

 Oh, im not insulted at all LOL. Im a total freak.  I have a tendency to do this with everything in life. I think about it and think about it..  build it up and drive myself crazy... and once I go through with it it was NEVER as bad as I thought it would be.  I have a feeling childbirth will be like that.

Did I expect it to be painfree? Absolutely not.  If i'm completely honest, although I am married and want children, this pregnancy was unplanned. So I expected pain.. but not this soon   Now, im super excited but imjust trying to wrap my head around it and be prepared but maybe it's better if i stop reading birth stories and just sit back and relax!

amdraza

I don't have an answer to your question, but idealy I want to wait until thae last minute to get my epidural, so that it will work better for the active pushing part.

Who knows how things will actually go though.

ETA: Most of my Cousin's labor was truly pain free. Especially towards the end. Her mom was her labor coach and she kept making the doctor up her epi, so my cousin said she felt nothing and barely even had control of her legs. That seems like too much to me.

 

StefandTodd

See, one of the reasons I don't want an epidural at all is because by feeling the contractions and feeling when to push and when to ease up on the pushing, I've read that women who don't get the epidural have less chance of the tearing.  The more you can feel, the more you may be able to control it all (obviously, of course, not the case for every birth or for every woman) so I think it almost sounds more ideal to be able to take the edge off the contractions, but feel the pushing if it really worked like that.  I've never heard of this at all though.

84Lauren

StefandTodd:

See, one of the reasons I don't want an epidural at all is because by feeling the contractions and feeling when to push and when to ease up on the pushing, I've read that women who don't get the epidural have less chance of the tearing.  The more you can feel, the more you may be able to control it all (obviously, of course, not the case for every birth or for every woman) so I think it almost sounds more ideal to be able to take the edge off the contractions, but feel the pushing if it really worked like that.  I've never heard of this at all though.

This!  I could be open to an epi during laboring so that I'm well-rested for pushing - don't want to be exhausted from 8 hours of painful contractions - but I guess if I did end up getting an epi I would specifically want it turned down when it's time to push so I can feel what's going on!  Not feeling my own legs freaks me out way more than pain!

Leah678

84Lauren:

StefandTodd:

See, one of the reasons I don't want an epidural at all is because by feeling the contractions and feeling when to push and when to ease up on the pushing, I've read that women who don't get the epidural have less chance of the tearing.  The more you can feel, the more you may be able to control it all (obviously, of course, not the case for every birth or for every woman) so I think it almost sounds more ideal to be able to take the edge off the contractions, but feel the pushing if it really worked like that.  I've never heard of this at all though.

This!  I could be open to an epi during laboring so that I'm well-rested for pushing - don't want to be exhausted from 8 hours of painful contractions - but I guess if I did end up getting an epi I would specifically want it turned down when it's time to push so I can feel what's going on!  Not feeling my own legs freaks me out way more than pain!

YES! I feel the same way!

itsmevkb

I had an epidural with my first and I could feel the contractions but they felt like slight pressure, it was not painful.  Feeling them can help you to push.  I had major tears and never felt myself tearing nor did I feel the ring of fire. 

With my daughter I had no meds and felt all of that and then some.  I'd like an epidural this time around.

jessicaclare

My hospital does a combined spinal epidural, meaning that before the put the epi catheter in, I got a shot of pain meds in my spine that took away the pain, but didn't numb me. When that wears off (about 1.5-2 hours), I got the epi. My epi both times was perfect, enough to take the pain away, but I could still feel pressure to push. You'll want to feel pressure, IMO, or it makes pushing a lot harder. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but I needed that pressure to sort of zero in on when I pushed.

To be perfectly honest, I don't think there is enough medicine in the world to numb you to how you'll feel when the baby is coming out, though. I wouldn't say its pain, but its really, really intense. Its over really quickly, but yeah, its intense. 

emeraldjl

I know I could Google this but I will ask you ladies (even though I'm reluctant!!!): WHAT is the "ring of fire"!?!?!?!?!?

vstevens

emeraldjl:

I know I could Google this but I will ask you ladies (even though I'm reluctant!!!): WHAT is the "ring of fire"!?!?!?!?!?

OMG I was literally just going to ask this, but then deleted my post because I thought "maybe I just don't want to know." 

The terms 'fire' and 'vagina' should never be associated with one another.  Ever.

jessicaclare

vstevens:

emeraldjl:

I know I could Google this but I will ask you ladies (even though I'm reluctant!!!): WHAT is the "ring of fire"!?!?!?!?!?

OMG I was literally just going to ask this, but then deleted my post because I thought "maybe I just don't want to know." 

The terms 'fire' and 'vagina' should never be associated with one another.  Ever.

What it feels like when the baby crowns.

ohfour

Ring of fire= burning sensation when baby is crowing and stretching everything, tearing, etc.

I thought it would be a lot worse than it actually was. Basically, it didn't last long, and although I was in a ton of pain, there was nothing I or anyone could do at that point except push baby out, so that is what I focused on. 

Caitlin224

Lauren,

Glad you're not offended honey....totally not my intention at all!  

I think that asking about it and learning as much as you can about it will help you with some of the animosity you might have.  

As you can read from the responses, a lot of ppl had different experiences with it, but ultimately it was manageable.

I like what PP said about there wasn't really anything else to do but push the baby out.  This captures the feeling perfectly!  It motivates you totally.

Give yourself more credit....I think you will do great.

tink7227

The pushing part actually doesn't hurt.  I only had "ring of fire" with DD2 and that was because her head was half out and the contraction was over so I had to wait for the next contraction to push it out. 

However, I was in pain but not yelling "ring of fire" or anything else at the top of my lungs.

laurel-poppy

Caitlin224:

Lauren,

Glad you're not offended honey....totally not my intention at all!  

I think that asking about it and learning as much as you can about it will help you with some of the animosity you might have.  

As you can read from the responses, a lot of ppl had different experiences with it, but ultimately it was manageable.

I like what PP said about there wasn't really anything else to do but push the baby out.  This captures the feeling perfectly!  It motivates you totally.

Give yourself more credit....I think you will do great.

Once you have your birth classes you'll have more information and therefore feel more in control. I've heard from a lot of women who have had the "fire" and they all came to the same conclusion "ok, I can stay pregnant forever or keep pushing". 

desmerelda317

I did not have any pain meds during my labor or delivery of DS.  And honestly, it wasn't all that bad.  Did it hurt?  Yes.  And the "ring of fire" is the point at which the baby has crowned and your perineum is stretched to its thinnest - it is the stretching that causes the burning sensation.  Anyway, it lasts a couple seconds because that is the moment right before baby's head comes out.  Then it is over - no biggie.  And I even had a 3rd degree tear with DS because he has a skull deformity and I didn't even know I'd torn.  At that point, there's so much going on in your vaginal region, that you can't really decipher what's tearing, what's baby, etc.  And you're also so focused on the fact that you're literally seconds from holding your baby that you push right through it anyway!

As far as turning down an epidural, that thought scares me more than going med-free completely.  I couldn't imagine not feeling any pain the entire time, and then suddenly feeling all the pain of delivery at the very end - I think that would kind of screw with my body from a psychological stand point.  But maybe not.  I haven't experienced an epidural at all, so I can't say what it is like to have one. 

Freshmaker05

I did not have an epi with DS1 and I am not planning to with DS2 if his delivery is a quick as DS1's was. However, my OB did inject a local numbing medicine as DS was crowning. It still stung, but I think the numbing helped and the bonus was that I was already numb when they needed to stitch me up. I only needed a few, but I couldn't feel anything by then.