Epidural ? for the mommies

HarleyQ8 · January 2010

I have decided to ask for the walking (or light) epidural. I do have a few concerns. 1) How bad did it hurt when they put it in? I know it is better than labor pains but I am curious.....and

2) I know they say you have to hold perfectly still when they put it in. How hard it that to do? I am worried I wont be able to hold still.

desabean · January 2010

I don't remember it hurting....but who the hell knows, there was a LOT going on at that point ; ) I was really anxious about not moving too but I made it through and am so happy I did the epi (I was going to try to go without--- what a fool!) the nurse stood in front of me and helped me stay steady.

mechanicsgirl · January 2010

They numb it first, and that hurts worse. It burns a little. Kind of like a bee sting. But it goes away quickly. I didn't even really feel the epi go in.

It's hard to sit still, but it's harder to sit through a contraction. The anesthesiologist started right after my last contraction to get max amount of time without contractions.

futureMrs.Eanes · January 2010

I couldn't feel the epi at all. It is absolutely nothing to worry about. The hardest part was having to hunch over, but the nurse stands in front of you to help.

MayDayGirl · January 2010

It didn't hurt at all. When I got my epi I was transitioning to 10cm, of course we didn't know it but as soon as I got it we realized it was time to push, so being that I was at the most intense part of my labor without any prior pain meds, It was hard to hold still, not going to lie I was terrified because I had been shaking and vomiting previous to the epi, but it was over quick!

Mrs.Babbsy · January 2010

1. It doesn't hurt. I had the stronger one, the one that stayed in and you just feel pressure and when the numb the area you feel bee stings.

2. I had a nurse in front of me helping me along. I also had a pillow there. It wasn't bad.

choco_lab · January 2010

I agree with PP that it felt a little like a bee sting. It didn't really hurt at all. I don't remember it being hard to hold still either. I was in labor and they just waited until I said I was ready. The anesthesiologist was great and I could tell it was very important to him that I be comfortable before, during and after the epi was administered. This really was only a blip on the screen for the whole labor process!

TheSkimmy · January 2010

As I was getting my epi my new nurse started her shift. I started screaming and she came running over and held my hand - BUT it's just because he had to reposition the TAPE- yup the tape was the worst part for me! It was so worth it!!!!

GypsyEsq · January 2010

I had a regular epidural after laboring w/o meds for 24 hours. It wasn't bad at all. In fact it was very much a non-issue in terms of pain and they had to do it twice b/c the doctor missed the 'sweet' spot the first time. However, are you sure your hospital even offers a walking epidural? And are you sure that a walking epidural would allow you to walk if that's your goal. During my birth the hospital didn't offer walking epidurals (but that's based on the anesthesiologist on call I believe) and even if they did they required you to stay in bed for monitoring at that point for legal reasons and also for continual monitoring of the baby.

krissyh21 · January 2010

My biggest fear was the epidural and how they administer it. I only felt a pinch when the put it in. They gave me a table to lean on and it was not hard at all to remain still, I just placed my head in my arms and it took him about 2 minutes to place it. He walked me through everything he was doing so there was no surprises and that helped me not to move.

muppet.fan · January 2010

I had a horrible time staying still, but that's because I didn't get mine until I was 8 cm and I was having contractions every minute or two, so there was no good time for them to do it in between contractions. But I had an awesome nurse and she really helped me stay as still as possible!

I remember it hurting a little when it went in, but nothing like the contractions I was having, so I didn't care a bit!!

Courted · January 2010

I don't think it hurt too bad when they gave me the epi; however, after hours and hours and hours, it appears to have worn off and I had to get more to kill the pain....but it didn't really work.

The only problem I had with holding still was whena contraction kicked in while they were shotting me up and it is pretty hard to hold still when you feel as if you are being ripped in half. Hopefully your ocntractions will still be far apart enough to not have to worry about holding still.

Try no to worry about all of this because it certainly never seems to go as you assume it will go. Just have to go with the flow.

tnkrbl21 · January 2010

I had a c/s so the epi was the thing I was most nervous for becasue I knew that I would be able to feel it. Honestly (and I dont know if it's the same if you have a c/s vs vag) but the only thing I felt was the needle before the epi that numbed the area then the epi was more pressure than pain. I was nervous too about staying still but it was over pretty quickly and I didnt really have much time to move.

Steph9-17-04 · January 2010

I didn't think that it hurt at all. The numbing shot that they gave before the epi burned, but it didn't hurt. I was really happy with the doctor that put mine in, he was wonderful.

As for sitting still, the nurse stood in front of me and held my shoulders so that helped a lot.

sweetpea18 · January 2010

Apparently, I'm the special snowflake of the group...

I just about passed out when I got my epidural. Part of that could have been from the mag sulfate that I was on, though. The nurse actually had to give me oxygen!

I was 7 cm when I got mine. I only got it because I was put on mag sulfate and had to have a catheter. I couldn't get out of bed and the cath hurt more than my contractions.

The nurse will help you hold still and the dr will wait until you aren't having a contraction before he puts it in.

Goldengirl16 · January 2010

I had the epi where you don't move from the bed at all. I honestly couldn't feel a thing with the numbing medication or the epi since my contractions were far worse. It was sheer heaven to get the epi! The nurse put a table and a pillow in front of me to lay on and held my shoulders while they put it in. It was a great experience for me! Good luck!

HarleyQ8 · January 2010

Thanks everyone for your input. Your responses definitely made me feel less nervous about that part!

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