Those who had an vag birth w/epi..

just kita · March 2012

Did you want it because of the pain, or because of fear/anxiety? Did it take care of either/both?

I waited until 6-7 cm to get mine, and at the time I thought the pain wasn't much worse than bad period cramps. I was just really scared about how much worse it would get and didn't want to miss my chance to get the epi. Labor was basically one long anxiety attack until I got it, and afterwards I was much more relaxed and calm even though I still felt a lot of pain while pushing.

CarlaAndJames · March 2012

I don't even remember asking for it and getting it, thanks to a combo of ambien and stadol during my early labor. (Was on cytotek so they could induce in the morning, but the cytotek put me into fast labor and I never needed pitocin. Yay for a quicker night, but it's strange not even remembering most of my labor!)

DH said I went from being in a lot of pain to being sound asleep. I really credit the epi with letting me get a little bit of rest so that I had the energy to push in the morning, so I'd do it again in a heartbeat! It didn't have any negative affect on me, LO, or my labor.

hepcats · March 2012

I had wanted to try to go natural if I could, because I have a fairly high pain tolerance, but they gave me pitocin and there was NO WAY I was gonna make it all the way through on that ish. I don't remember having any anxiety at all but I did have some severe pain by the time I gave in. It felt so nice not to have my uterus feel like someone was squeezing it in a vice.

thatgirl84 · March 2012

Both. I had pitocin. Contractions were two or three with no break. Turned off epi at 9cm. OB wanted me to know when to push. Believe me...epi was gone during pushing phase. Not too bad. No screaming.

DowagerCountessofNJ · March 2012

I got it so I didn't have to deal with any pain because I know myself and know I would have just fell apart without the epi. I did not have one ounce of pain before I got the epi and I was induced. I got the epi because I wanted them to break my water.

O2BaMom · March 2012

I had an interthecal (sp?) basically a short term epi, mine wore off after 2 hours...so just in time to push, it was perfect for me.

I took it because I had been up for around 26 hours when I got it, I was seriously concerned about not having the energy to get Liam out. It gave me two glorious hours of rest (not sleep), I also feel like it helped me relax and dialate...I went from 4 to 10 in those two hours and was able to deliver L with no problems. No regrets about it.

sunset+skies · March 2012

I had planned to go med free, but I chose to get a last-second epi. Like, we're talking the anesthesiologist probably should have refused me. I had made it through over 30 hours of contractions, the last 5 of them being horrific back labour. My goal in getting the epi was a brief reprieve to gather my strength and build up the willpower to push. Had I not got it, there is a chance I would have given up mentally, and possibly ended up a c-section. In the end, the epi wasn't fully effective because of the rush, but it was enough to take the edge off so that D could be rotated to face down manually in the birth canal. He was sunny side up, and coming out that way could have dislocated his nasal cartilage or caused a lot of bruising. However, from what I felt through the epi, I never would have made it through the rotation drug-free.

casirdms · March 2012

I had planned on getting one. I don't deal well with pain .. but after they started the pit and broke my water, it took 3 hours for the anesthesiologist to get there because they were in with a stat c section or something so by the time they finally got there I was in some pain .. but obviously not as bad as it could have been. 2 hrs and 15 min later I had Collin

MommaA117 · March 2012

fear of the pain and the pain. I always knew that I wanted one but once my water broke it got VERY intense. epi was the best thing ever.

MommaA117 · March 2012

CarlaAndJames:
I don't even remember asking for it and getting it, thanks to a combo of ambien and stadol during my early labor. (Was on cytotek so they could induce in the morning, but the cytotek put me into fast labor and I never needed pitocin. Yay for a quicker night, but it's strange not even remembering most of my labor!)
DH said I went from being in a lot of pain to being sound asleep. I really credit the epi with letting me get a little bit of rest so that I had the energy to push in the morning, so I'd do it again in a heartbeat! It didn't have any negative affect on me, LO, or my labor.

exact same story about the induction and not needing pit. Most of my action happened before the ambien really kickin (contractions and water breaking). then I got a few hours of sleep before I was at 10cm. the pushing part is where I start to forget little bits and pieces. I despise that. they just had no idea I would progress so quickly and be drugged during it all. The word ambien even makes me sad

klv · March 2012

Pain. I got it at 4-5 cm and had Hannah 3 hrs later.

LexGator · March 2012

I never considered not getting one. I have very little tolerence for pain, so by 3 cm, I felt like I couldn't breathe and was going to pass out with every contraction. I asked for one then. I didn't really have any anxiety about labor, probably because I knew I'd get the epidural.

CarlaAndJames · March 2012

MommaA117:
CarlaAndJames:
I don't even remember asking for it and getting it, thanks to a combo of ambien and stadol during my early labor. (Was on cytotek so they could induce in the morning, but the cytotek put me into fast labor and I never needed pitocin. Yay for a quicker night, but it's strange not even remembering most of my labor!)
DH said I went from being in a lot of pain to being sound asleep. I really credit the epi with letting me get a little bit of rest so that I had the energy to push in the morning, so I'd do it again in a heartbeat! It didn't have any negative affect on me, LO, or my labor.
exact same story about the induction and not needing pit. Most of my action happened before the ambien really kickin (contractions and water breaking). then I got a few hours of sleep before I was at 10cm. the pushing part is where I start to forget little bits and pieces. I despise that. they just had no idea I would progress so quickly and be drugged during it all. The word ambien even makes me sad

same here! I had planned to refuse IV pain meds since I was getting an epi anyway, but DH said I agreed to them (again, I don't remember!) If I am induced again, I will say no thank you on the ambien for sure. It's not like I actually slept, I was just in a loopy fog all night, and lost most of my memory from the night. Mine wasn't as fast as yours, so I was in labor for 6ish hours and the ambien was worn off by the time I did all the pushing, so I'm happy that I can remember most of the actual delivery.

I will say though, after all the horror stories I read here, I was really glad I went with the cytotek! I got into a discussion about it with my dr and he told me I could have cervadil if I wanted it instead, but there as a good chance it would not work and most likely I'd go through a lot of hours of pitocin induced labor, with a good chance of ending in a c section. So I trusted him, and never even ended up with the pitocin, so yay! I actually only ended up getting 1/4 pill of cytotek anyway, they came back to give me the second dose and I was dilated to a 6!

TCUFrogMom11 · March 2012

I got one after 18 hrs, just because of the pain. I kept throwing up because of the pain. 7 hours later she was born. I got it at 6 am because the anesthesiologist was going to be in surgery for most of the day.

kas80 · March 2012

I got it after I was in labor for 24 hours and still hadn't progressed past 5. It was 4am and I knew we were going to go into the next day and I was afraid that if I didn't get at least a bit of sleep I wouldn't have the strength to push. I went to sleep, woke up about 5 hours later and was at a 9 so I'm glad I made that decision.

I could have handled the pain if there was any progression at all. It was intense but I have a very high pain tolerance.

imoverit · March 2012

Im proud to say I had an epi. Best decision I could have made. I was able to sleep during contractions and not feel a thing. I did however feel the pain once I had to push him out. OUCH!!!

hollster8 · March 2012

I was induced and once I started progressing contractions were back-to-back and intense because of the pitocin. I couldn't breathe, my heart rate and blood pressure shot up, and I wasn't getting enough oxygen so I got one. I was planning on it anyway because I was nervous about the pain.

I don't think I could have made it without one, looking back. My contractions kicked my a$$ because of the meds. In fact, DH said I screamed, "I can't do it! I can't do it anymore!" lol

AuburnGirl20062009 · March 2012

I honestly don't remember asking for an epi. I don't remember half of my labor thanks to a cocktail of Ambien mixed with Phenergan due to nausea. My mother was there for the entire labor and according to her I asked for the epi around 7 cm.

MommaA117 · March 2012

CarlaAndJames:
MommaA117:
CarlaAndJames:

I don't even remember asking for it and getting it, thanks to a combo of ambien and stadol during my early labor. (Was on cytotek so they could induce in the morning, but the cytotek put me into fast labor and I never needed pitocin. Yay for a quicker night, but it's strange not even remembering most of my labor!)

DH said I went from being in a lot of pain to being sound asleep. I really credit the epi with letting me get a little bit of rest so that I had the energy to push in the morning, so I'd do it again in a heartbeat! It didn't have any negative affect on me, LO, or my labor.

exact same story about the induction and not needing pit. Most of my action happened before the ambien really kickin (contractions and water breaking). then I got a few hours of sleep before I was at 10cm. the pushing part is where I start to forget little bits and pieces. I despise that. they just had no idea I would progress so quickly and be drugged during it all. The word ambien even makes me sad

same here! I had planned to refuse IV pain meds since I was getting an epi anyway, but DH said I agreed to them (again, I don't remember!) If I am induced again, I will say no thank you on the ambien for sure. It's not like I actually slept, I was just in a loopy fog all night, and lost most of my memory from the night. Mine wasn't as fast as yours, so I was in labor for 6ish hours and the ambien was worn off by the time I did all the pushing, so I'm happy that I can remember most of the actual delivery.

I will say though, after all the horror stories I read here, I was really glad I went with the cytotek! I got into a discussion about it with my dr and he told me I could have cervadil if I wanted it instead, but there as a good chance it would not work and most likely I'd go through a lot of hours of pitocin induced labor, with a good chance of ending in a c section. So I trusted him, and never even ended up with the pitocin, so yay! I actually only ended up getting 1/4 pill of cytotek anyway, they came back to give me the second dose and I was dilated to a 6!

are cervidil and cytotek not the same? I thought they were both cervix softeners. I got the cervidil (a softnener) and my CTX started in abuot an hour...my water broke soon after. I was only at 1 cm at that point and went to a 9 in like 3-4 hours. No pit needed. At first I didn't even know they were CTX because it was just soreness in my back. Then I realized. Then it moved to the front and I was begging for IV meds. Then before they could being the IV meds, POP went my water. Then OOOhhh Shizzzz, epi NOWW. LOL. It was all sooo fast!

of course I had a crappy cervix and just needed to soften that scar tissue from my stitches and it was on...

MommaA117 · March 2012

oh and I should mention that I always see women post that you should feel "something" to be able to push. I felt absolutely NOTHING at all and was a great pusher...

beanersmommy · March 2012

I was in labor all day on Sunday, but the contractions were not painful and irregular. They became regular around 6pm that evening and went from not painful and irregular to very regular (like every 2 minutes) and strong. By the time I was on the monitors at the hospital I was having contractions right on top of one another. I was like 4-5 cm dilated, and the nurse said I could get an epi whenever I wanted. I had a feeling I would be in labor all night, and with not break in contractions I decided to get one. I delievered the next morning at 6am. The epi was great. It wore off some after the birth. I felt enough pressure to push effectively, but when they sewed me up I could feel the needle, so they gave me a local.

aniceucchik · March 2012

The first time i didnt get the epi until I was probably 8-9 b/c they were unable to check me b/c it hurt so bad AND they sent me home the first time I went to the hospital and by the time I got back I could no longer speak.

The second time I was 6 when they finally gave it to me b/c they wanted to break my water...they didnt wait enough time between the epi and the water breaking to allow the epi to take affect, however. WOW.

Jills83 · March 2012

CarlaAndJames:

DH said I went from being in a lot of pain to being sound asleep. I really credit the epi with letting me get a little bit of rest so that I had the energy to push in the morning, so I'd do it again in a heartbeat! It didn't have any negative affect on me, LO, or my labor.

This! Like OP I waited a long time to get my epi - about 8 cm and I didn't think the pain at that point was that bad. What I really needed was rest from the constant contractions. By the time I got to the hospital, I had worked a full day, done laundry, labored at home for hours, and been awake for almost 24 hours. I really needed some sleep before I did all the pushing. Once I got the epi I was able to relax a bit.

JsMama11 · March 2012

I asked for an epi to help with the pain. I KNEW my baby was huge despite my doctor promising me "7.5lbs tops". They even turned my epi down when I was getting close to pushing. Well, he was 10lbs and it hurt and I tore like a mofo. Definitely getting the epi again.

jellybeanjean · March 2012

Had an epi for DS1 and went med-free with DS2.

I was in pain when I got it (6cm), but mainly caved because of anxiety. I had another mama in the room next to me going super fast and screeeeaming...she had completely lost control and I was terrified I'd lose it. I deliver on the floor that I work, so losing it in front of my coworkers was probably the biggest reason I ended up with an epi. I wouldn't change it, though -- it was a great delivery (epi turned off before I started pushing) and it insipired me to go med-free the next time.

magnoliablossom00 · March 2012

MommaA117:
oh and I should mention that I always see women post that you should feel "something" to be able to push. I felt absolutely NOTHING at all and was a great pusher...

I WISH I had felt nothing. I felt everything, including the doc pulling her out of me while I wasn't even contracting! I screamed. Awful. I also felt ALL of the stitching, which took almost 2 hours. I finally broke down and cried and begged the nurse to give me something for pain. (My doc wouldn't believe me that my epi failed- even though she wasn't in there except for the last 5 minutes to rip her out!)

Horrible. Definitely switching OBs!

Sa2827 · March 2012

I got mine at 5-6cm I'm not one for pain! I was already labouring at home for a day. With no sleep which I just wanted energy to push. But the epi slowed my contractions so I got pitocin and my epi didn't work after an hr but I got some sleep! They replaced my epi and that didn't work either!

So we will see if I get one again I don't think it's worth it.

mari_gold · March 2012

For pain, both times. I got it at 3cm with DS (I was stalled on pitocin) and it is the ONLY reason I was able to avoid a c-section.

With DD, I showed up at the hospital at 7cm and I had it in my head that labor was going to take hours again. I was handling the pain just fine but didn't think I could do it for a long time. I got the epi at 8cm and a little more than half an hour later, DD was born.

CarlaAndJames · March 2012

MommaA117:

are cervidil and cytotek not the same? I thought they were both cervix softeners. I got the cervidil (a softnener) and my CTX started in abuot an hour...my water broke soon after. I was only at 1 cm at that point and went to a 9 in like 3-4 hours. No pit needed. At first I didn't even know they were CTX because it was just soreness in my back. Then I realized. Then it moved to the front and I was begging for IV meds. Then before they could being the IV meds, POP went my water. Then OOOhhh Shizzzz, epi NOWW. LOL. It was all sooo fast!

of course I had a crappy cervix and just needed to soften that scar tissue from my stitches and it was on...

Both are cervical softeners, but they are different meds. I think cervadil is generally considered the safer of the two, because cytotek is actually made for something different and can be agressive (and in the past, drs have not done a good job of monitoring and dosing it, so there are some uterine rupture horror stories) I thought I remembered you having cytotek too, but you would certainly remember better than I would!

Spartanmama722 · March 2012

I got mine for neither. I would have gotten it for the pain eventually, but my doctor recommended it pretty early to help with my blood pressure (I was induced because of severe hypertension). I loved that it took away the pain, but it made me more anxious once I had it since I couldn't move or feel my legs at all. I liked it much better when it started to wear off and I could feel again.

rattlecanqueen · March 2012

The night I went into labor my "BH" ctx were getting uncomfortable. When I went to the bathroom and my water broke, my real ctx started INSTANTLY, and they instantly started hurting. I'm mean to the point where I'd have to stop packing, walking, etc. I couldn't even time them. SO it took like 40 minutes to get it together enough to go to the hospital on top of a 45 minute trip to the hospital. By the time I was admitted they were 1-3 min. apart and I couldn't talk through them anymore. I got my epi (Bless that woman and her medicine), about an hour after I got there and settled. I'm a huge sissy too, so I liked the idea of going med but knew it wasn't going to happen. My whole labor took 4 hr. 50 min. I pushed for maybe 10 minutes, but he was small/early.

akayf · March 2012

I had a successful vaginal birth after being induced with my 1st. I had a an epi with him because they started inducing me at 7 PM by breaking my water and giving me pit. By midnight-1AM, the contractions were too much for me to be able to sleep. I was only about 4 cm then and knew it was going to be a long night. I got an epi so I could sleep. I didn't want to be too tired to push the next morning or afternoon.

With A, I got the epi at around 5 cm. I was having trouble dealing wiht the pain at that point so I figured why suffer. I wound up with a c-section once I hit 10 due to fetal distress when I pushed(his cord was getting compressed)

march2008 · March 2012

I ended up choosing to get the epi b/c of psychological reasons. I had a bad experience with my first vaginal exam when I was a teenager and since then I have a really hard time getting pap smears even to this day. My OBGYN was aware of my fears and was awesome about limiting the number of internal exams that I had to get during my pregnancy, but he obviously had to examine me quite a few times during labor. I was afraid that my anxiety levels might stress the baby, so I got the epi so that I wouldn't really feel the nurse and doctor touching me and I was able to relax a lot more.

There was a point when DD's heart rate dropped drastically during labor and they shut off my epi b/c they thought they were going to have to do an emergency c-section, but they flipped me on my other side and gave me an IV med to slow the contractions and her heart rate went right back up. I didn't even have any pitocin, but I think my contractions were coming so fierce b/c the OB broke my water. So, I avoided the c-section but then they never turned my epi back on. I ended up feeling quite a bit of the actual pushing and birth because my labor lasted for so many hours and the epi was basically worn off.

runnergrl6675 · March 2012

I got it because I wanted to chill out and "enjoy" the birth experience. It was not enjoyable by any means. I was freaking out half the time because his heart rate kept going down and then I would hyperventilate and they would need to put oxygen on me. They called the anethesiologist in to turn off my epidural at the end because I could not feel pushing. It was awful. Felt like I was sh*ting a bowling ball out of my butt.

rainstar752 · March 2012

I ended up with an unplanned c-section, but in the 19 hours I was in labor beforehand, I got an epi for the pain. I wanted to make it to at least 4-5cm dilated before getting it, and I did do that, but I was so happy to have it once I got it. My contractions were every 3 minutes or so and I had been vomiting from the pain for about 12 hours, so I was very ready to be able to relax! I would definitely get an epi if I were going to attempt a vaginal birth again (though I think I might do another c-section next time).

skrichar · March 2012

I planned from the beginning to get the epi. Doc said I'd have to get to 4 or 5 before I could get it, and I planned to avoid all other meds prior to that point. But I labored at home most of the day before it sunk it that I was truly in labor, and by the time I got to the hospital I was far enough along to get the epi. It was sweet relief! Never felt pain after that point, even through delivery. All my labor pains were in my back though, never felt pain or contractions in my belly. The back pain was blowing my mind O_O

helenejr · March 2012

i was encouraged to get it because my labour was fast and hard but taking too long, after 8 hours of 1min long contractions with a min rest and still only at 6cm i got the epi!... I needed to rest... after about 4 hours - it wore off and i had my med free birth.

OpheliaChem · March 2012

I was talked into getting it for 2 reasons: DD's heart had decelerated so I was hooked to fetal monitors and not allowed to get out of bed (not part of my birth plan) and I had a bilobed placenta, which means the placenta is in two pieces instead of one. If the placenta would tear and only half would come out after birth, they would have to give me a general anesthetic in order to "go after" the other half. The epi meant that they could do a D & C instead. Since I was stuck in bed and afraid of how bad the pain might get, I caved. I'm still pissed at myself. Next time, I vow to be stronger! On the plus side, I did labor through contractions for 12 hours before getting the epi.

aanchor · March 2012

I did it because of the pain, I asked for it when I got to the hospital (4cm) but didn't actually get it until I was 10cm. Thank god he got there in time, I am not sure I could have actually pushed him out without it!!

MommaG123 · March 2012

I got one because of pain. I went into my birth not planning on getting one but if I really felt like I needed one I would.

I had an induction and after they started the pitocin the contractions came right on top of each other and were so intense. I only made it about 40 minutes before I asked for the epi. I was at a 4.5 before the epi and while I was getting the epi I dilated to an 8.5 (they checked as soon as I layed back down). It only took me another 45 minutes to get to 10 and then 20-30 minutes of pushing and she was here. It definitely took care of the pain.

egpitt22 · March 2012

I don't deal well with pain in general, so I went into it knowing that I would get one. With my first, I was in pain on the drive to the hospital, begging for the epi as soon as we got there, so yeah...there was no way I was making it much longer than that. I pretty much got it as soon as they admitted me.

With #2, I was induced & let them know right away I wanted one, so the nurses said to just let them know once the pitocin kicked in & they would page to have one put in place. I think I got to around 3cm without it & asked for it before the pain got too bad. I figured if I was getting one anyway, why prolong the process?

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