3rd Trimester

What if you CAN'T get the epi

and you've been planning for one from the beginning.  Then what?  Panic?  I think "I'm having the epi, so I don't need to go to childbirth class or learn anything" backs you into a corner.  What if you go into labor and based on some unforeseeable situation you can't get the epi?
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Re: What if you CAN'T get the epi

  • Get something to ease the pain and scream like hell and then hold my baby.
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  • Why would someone not be able to get an epi? You mean because of a poorly placed tattoo? Or are you talking about some other reason? Please explain....

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  • That's why I am taking the class...even though the teacher made us hold a bag of ice in our hands yesterday to mimic contractions while we practiced controlled breathing. Holy crap, I'm a wimp.

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  • What? You deal with it. What do you think the other options are?

    Lots of people "plan" to have them. It doesn't mean they're totally ignorant on matters of childbirth.

    FWIW, ask an OB if they can tell you which people have taken CB classes and which haven't. They'll tell you that they can't tell in 99.9% of cases, beacuse people revert to what is natural to them.

    imageimage
  • imageSpringPeeper:

    or it doesn't work completely.

    Have your read those birth stories? I can't imagine expecting to get relief and nothing. or only one side...

     

    Yeah it doesn't always work for some. My coworker had to have one (not for birth) but for something else and she said she could feel everything and it didn't numb shit. 

  • that's what happened to dereks_wife. ?you deal and you deliver.

    i think, no matter what your "birth plan" is, you need to have an open mind. ?anything can happen once you're in the delivery room... which is why i never really understood official birth plans at all. ?you can't plan for everything. ?it's nice to have a semblance of an idea, but until you get there, you just don't know.?

  • Then life is totally going to suck for a minimum of several hours.
  • This is why I plan to roll with the punches. I have found in my few years on earth that if you plan something over which you have no true control, it most likely won't happen your way.

    I'm just thankful for an AMAZING doctor and support system. I can make it through anything. :)

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  • imageGASuzuki:
    That's why I am taking the class...even though the teacher made us hold a bag of ice in our hands yesterday to mimic contractions while we practiced controlled breathing. Holy crap, I'm a wimp.

    Hahah we did that too except our hubby's held it on our necks. 

  • It's not like it's the end of the world.  And I'd tell anybody who IS planning on an epi that they still need to attend childbirth classes. 

    Don't get me wrong - was my labor much more enjoyable after the epi?  HELL YES.  I felt like I was high just because I'd been in pain for so long.  BUT....Could I have gone the extra 4 hours to get through it?  Yeah, if I'd HAD to. 

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  • imageJennyCraig:
    Why would someone not be able to get an epi? You mean because of a poorly placed tattoo? Or are you talking about some other reason? Please explain....

    because you could be laboring / progressing too quickly for them to give you an iv before you get the epi. ?sometimes, there is no time. ?or the epi provides very little pain relief or stops working altogether.?

  • imageJennyCraig:
    Why would someone not be able to get an epi? You mean because of a poorly placed tattoo? Or are you talking about some other reason? Please explain....

    My cousin's water broke and her labor progressed so fast that by the time she got to the hospital she wasn't able to get an epi because she was too far along. Her baby was born like 45 minutes later.

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  • imageJennyCraig:
    Why would someone not be able to get an epi? You mean because of a poorly placed tattoo? Or are you talking about some other reason? Please explain....

     You may have progressed too far by the time you reach the hospital for them to give you one...

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  • imageJaylea:

    What? You deal with it. What do you think the other options are?

    Lots of people "plan" to have them. It doesn't mean they're totally ignorant on matters of childbirth.

    FWIW, ask an OB if they can tell you which people have taken CB classes and which haven't. They'll tell you that they can't tell in 99.9% of cases, beacuse people revert to what is natural to them.

    jaylea said it perfectly. If you can't get an epi then you just deal. Our grandmothers didn't have all of these special classes and then somehow birthed their children. There is something natural inside of you that will help you through the process.

     

  • imageDeegirl322:

    imageGASuzuki:
    That's why I am taking the class...even though the teacher made us hold a bag of ice in our hands yesterday to mimic contractions while we practiced controlled breathing. Holy crap, I'm a wimp.

    Hahah we did that too except our hubby's held it on our necks. 

    A bag of ice in your hands or on your neck is not anywhere close to mimicing contractions. What is the reasoning here?

    imageimage
  • imageJennyCraig:
    Why would someone not be able to get an epi? You mean because of a poorly placed tattoo? Or are you talking about some other reason? Please explain....
      if you are too far along  in labor you wont be able to get it
  • Duh, Jessi - that's why you pack vodka in your hospital bag.
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  • imageJennyCraig:
    Why would someone not be able to get an epi? You mean because of a poorly placed tattoo? Or are you talking about some other reason? Please explain....

    You don't get to the hospital on time would be my #1 concern.  I'm sure it doesn't happen often but it would still worry me enough to prepare for as many outcomes as I can.

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  • This happened to me!!! My DD had fetal distress everytime I had a contraction so they wouldn't let me have the epi.

    I ended up having a c-section anyway but it can happen where you don't get the option of having an epi.

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  • So true - sometimes you cant get the Epi - in a lot of hospitals there is only one or two people who can do the Epi and if they are backed up and you are moving forward - guess what?  No Epi...I have heard of this happening quite a bit....

    As for me - well its a mute point - even though I am having a C-Section - I still signed up for the CB classes but the teacher told me to save me money I could just take home the videos of the classes since I was just have a C-Section there is only a small section that speaks towards my condition.  I wanted to take the classes just because I want to know what I am "missing" so to speak. 

    Actually I have experienced Labor Pains - and I know for a fact that mine couldnt have been that far into it - but what I felt was unbelievable...but then like I state previously I am a whimp when it comes to pain.

  • Although I am one that is for a whole cocktail of pain meds (ok, not really but I am shooting for an epi) I am also educating myself on natural ways to cope with the pain as well as taking childbirth classes. You really never know what will happen so why not try and prepare yourself for it all.

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  • imageJessimurph:
    and you've been planning for one from the beginning.  Then what?  Panic?  I think "I'm having the epi, so I don't need to go to childbirth class or learn anything" backs you into a corner.  What if you go into labor and based on some unforeseeable situation you can't get the epi?

     Huh? The childbirth class I attended was much more than just about an epidural.

  • im a huge believer in mind over matter. it sucks, it hurts like hell, but i figure if my mom can do it, i could if i had to. Just remember that screaming and crying actually makes it worse because you arent focusing your strength where it needs to go.

    I love the epi, but i do like to labor as long as i can without it. for me it allows me to feel like i experienced the birthing process and then i can relax and enjoy the rest of it more. I went into my first labor wanting to do it without an epi but i was induced. i made it to 5-6 cms before getting the epi (maybe it was 7 with abby and 5-6 with mikey, cant remember).

    anyway, so theres my story.

  • I might not be able to get an epi because my platelet counts are low.  If they fall below 90,000 at the time I deliver I won't be able to get an epi or a spinal if I would need to get a c-section...I would need to be knocked out.  I am very upset about both of these possibilities.

     I attended a childbirth class and will practice breathing and relaxation techniques, but I always wanted and still hope I can have an epi. 

  • imageJaylea:
    imageDeegirl322:

    imageGASuzuki:
    That's why I am taking the class...even though the teacher made us hold a bag of ice in our hands yesterday to mimic contractions while we practiced controlled breathing. Holy crap, I'm a wimp.

    Hahah we did that too except our hubby's held it on our necks. 

    A bag of ice in your hands or on your neck is not anywhere close to mimicing contractions. What is the reasoning here?

    Yeah no shit. It was just about trying to relax your body when you are faced with something that you don't normally feel. This of course is no way related to contraction pain. 

  • As much as I'd love to go through this without one, I will admit knowing that option is there definitely helps.  I'd probably feel a lot more panicked about the process if I knew going in that that options wouldn't be available to me if I feel like I need it.
  • imagenhonzel:

    imageJessimurph:
    and you've been planning for one from the beginning.  Then what?  Panic?  I think "I'm having the epi, so I don't need to go to childbirth class or learn anything" backs you into a corner.  What if you go into labor and based on some unforeseeable situation you can't get the epi?

     Huh? The childbirth class I attended was much more than just about an epidural.

    MOST of the people I run into IRL have said almost these exact words to me.  I've stopped sharing that I'm going to try for an unmedicated birth because of how negatively everyone has reacted to it.

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  • this is where yoga helps a TON
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  • Since the 3 epis failed, they gave me a dose of stadol to give me a break.  It was a nice 45 minutes.  Otherwise it was just a lot of  "OMG make it stop, and I'm so tired."

    I think what's really hard is that when your in labor for that long without an epi, your body gets super tired.  At least for me.  And when it came time to be able to push, I was so exhausted.  I just remember wanting it all to be over.

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  • Uh, I did go to childbirth classes. I "expect" (to use the word loosely) to get an epidural based upon my knowledge of myself and my handling of pain. I'm preparing myself so that I can delay receiving it until the optimal time (during active labor) and just case I can't get the epi for some reason (such as my own deep fear of big, scary needles...). Just because someone is "planning" on an epidural doesn't mean they know nothing about childbirth; that's pretty presumptuous of you to say.
  • imagePoundCake:

    Since the 3 epis failed, they gave me a dose of stadol to give me a break.  It was a nice 45 minutes.  Otherwise it was just a lot of  "OMG make it stop, and I'm so tired."

    I think what's really hard is that when your in labor for that long without an epi, your body gets super tired.  At least for me.  And when it came time to be able to push, I was so exhausted.  I just remember wanting it all to be over.

    Did we have the same labor? I had 2 failed epis. It was awful hoping for relief and not getting it. I was also jacked up on Pitocin (before I get judged for that - my dd was almost 2 weeks late and my placenta was failing) and was contracting every 2 minutes for 19 hours. I was pushing for over three hours and at some point I remember just stopping. I was so freaking exhausted. I said to the nurse - you might as well stop telling me top push because I'm not going to (I might have added a few expletives- I did call the anesthesiologist a little fuuucker). They eventually gave me some drug that relaxed me enough to get the baby out. Not a good birth experience at all. So yes, PREPARE for not having access to the epi even if you plan to get one.

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  • imageSpringPeeper:

    imageCroco:
    Uh, I did go to childbirth classes. I "expect" (to use the word loosely) to get an epidural based upon my knowledge of myself and my handling of pain. I'm preparing myself so that I can delay receiving it until the optimal time (during active labor) and just case I can't get the epi for some reason (such as my own deep fear of big, scary needles...). Just because someone is "planning" on an epidural doesn't mean they know nothing about childbirth; that's pretty presumptuous of you to say.

     

    if you read some of the replies, she was basing it on comments she's experienced IRL where people actually said they weren't preparing because they are getting an epi... 

    I see that now, and yeah, those people are pretty foolish. I always have this problem -- everyone else posts a lot faster than I do!

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