Ladies who got an epidural.

ksales31 · May 2011

Did everyone have an amazing experience with it? I keep reading all these birth stories praising it. It makes me want to cry because mine did nothing, neither did the spinal, or the morphine put directly into my spinal. Did anyone else have issues with the epi? Please tell me it won't be the same experience next time I have a baby!!!

theaustins05 · May 2011

Everyone is different and reacts differently. Mine was a right place right time deal. A hour later mine might not have worked. It did slow my ctx so I had to do pitocin. I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

meghancmm84Wed21413 · May 2011

Eh, mine wore off a few hours before I started pushing, even though I got it as late as possible. It really only lasted about 2 hours total. (Except my left thigh which stayed completely numb for hours after the delivery - Had to have my hubby pull it up to my chest every time I pushed because it was too numb to feel anything). They gave me a bit more of the epidural meds before pushing, but it did nothing and they didn't offer any other sort of medication in place of it, so I ended up giving birth without anything. While that was not my plan initially, at least I know now that I can handle it without any pain relief. (Not preferable, but oh well). This is my first, so only time will tell if my body handles it differently during any future deliveries

I'm sorry to hear that yours didn't work at all.

theaustins05 · May 2011

megwest84:
Eh, mine wore off a few hours before I started pushing, even though I got it as late as possible. It really only lasted about 2 hours total. (Except my left thigh which stayed completely numb for hours after the delivery - Had to have my hubby pull it up to my chest every time I pushed because it was too numb to feel anything). They gave me a bit more of the epidural meds before pushing, but it did nothing and they didn't offer any other sort of medication in place of it, so I ended up giving birth without anything. While that was not my plan initially, at least I know now that I can handle it without any pain relief. (Not preferable, but oh well). This is my first, so only time will tell if my body handles it differently during any future deliveries

I'm sorry to hear that yours didn't work at all.

My left leg was the same way! Both legs had to be held for me though. They were dead weight. Couldn't even fix my socks!

mrbear83 · May 2011

Mine either completely left me debilitated or just knocked the edge off. I could still fel pressure, move my legs and feel bone pain (which was the worst).

disneyfan0511 · May 2011

I hated the epi, never again. My first one only took to my right leg so I had that removed and replaced. Even with the second one I still felt every contraction in my back. So next baby I'm not even bothering.

MommyHarrison · May 2011

It worked like a dream for me...but I do have an encouraging story for you.

My SIL has a 3 year old. She was induced and given the epi and it did nothing for her. Fast foward 2 years...she had her youngest son, got the epidural, and was laughing and joking through the whole labor and delivery because she couldn't feel a thing.

Hopefully next time it'll work for you!

etteyam · May 2011

The second time around, it was pure bliss! With DD1, while the epi helped take the edge off while I was in labor, I suffered from spinal headache afterwards, which I was told, was a rare complication. It was the worst headache of my life...all I could do was lay flat on my back for 2 days before they did a blood patch.

bcnoelle · May 2011

Mine didn't work on my left side nearly as well as might right side, so they kept giving me bolus after bolus...which made my legs complete dead weight and for me not to be able to move positions at all:(. I was in a lot of pain for much of my labor and it was completely bizarre not to feel my legs at all.

Bakes4u · May 2011

I'm sorry to hear that. Mine was amazing. Was it maybe the doctor who administered it? Maybe they didn't get it in the right section of your spine. The doctor who did my epi said it has to be administered in the exact right spot otherwise many things could go wrong.

fluffybuns · May 2011

My epi with my first was crap and it only worked for a few hours of my 26 hour labor! Did nothing from about 7 cm on. I was miserable! And no one would do anything about it.

This time? Completely different story!!! My epi was great. I waited until I was 5 cm to get it this time, I had a midwife, and was much more relaxed with the second delivery.

Temp38995750004016 · May 2011

I loved mine! I could feel a pleasant pressure when I had contractions so it helped me know when to push. I'm not sure that's super common though, all the nurses kept commenting that I had a very good epidural. Mine was put in almost 12 hours before I gave birth and it didn't wear off. I didn't know they could wear off.

deo · May 2011

I loved mine. It was a great relief after being in labour for so long. I think everyone is different, it could be different for you next time. It also depends on your anesthetist.

My only issue was that it worked so well that I could barely feel the contractions, so when it came time to push I had to have one hand on my stomach to feel when it got tighter to know when the contraction was happening so I would know when to push. Otherwise I had no idea I was having a contraction... the monitors weren't picking them up that well.

I also had good control of my legs, I was able to push on all fours.

munsterdani · May 2011

My epidural was good except it has left me with a numb right leg d/t an irritated femoral nerve.

UndecidedChange · May 2011

I didn't get an epidural (It was impossible, due to a previous surgery that I had in my spine for scoliosis) but I had a sacral caudal (which is the preamble for epidurals) and it worked like a dream for the last 14 hrs. I didn't feel a thing, no pressure, no nothing. It was a bit challenging, since when it came down to push (which took 5 hours), I grabbed my legs and they felt like anvils, I couldn't control them too much (thank God for the help that I had from the nurses and midwives and my husband) but the whole "bearing down" and pushing down was weird since I couldn't feel a thing. Good thing that I "practiced" the "j" based pushing, since I did that pretty much on faith that it was working, and DH told me that he saw the pressure gauge (they had to put an internal pressure-meter) and every time I pushed, the pressure augmented exponentially to the top (i.e. I was pushing the hell out of my child!).

But I hear that it's different for every biochemistry in every person. Which sucks, really.

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