Turning down epidural to push?

WineNot511 · July 2014

I hear/read that a lot of dr's or hospitals turn down or turn off the epidural to push. Has anyone had experience with this? Is this the dr's policy or the hospitals? Has anyone not had their epi turned down to push? In my pregnant lady imaginary world, I would like to ask to keep the epi on and give pushing a whirl. If its not going right or I'm not pushing effectively, then to start turning it down.

I'm going to talk to my dr about this tomorrow at my appointment, but curious to hear others stories.

Thoughts and stories appreciated

+RBL+ · July 2014

I could still feel when I was having contractions, just not the pain/pressure associated with them. I don't think they touched my epidural while I was pushing. If I wasn't able to feel well enough to know when I was having contractions, I would guess they would have turned it down.

Once LO was delivered it took a little while for the epi to wear off (my guess is 60-90 min) so that I could get around and shower.

caybeh · July 2014

They never turned mine down. I only had it about half an hour before I started pushing. The nurse told me I should be able to feel the pressure. I didn't feel anything until right before he came out. I never told them that I couldn't feel anything. I was rather relieved at that point that I couldn't feel anything.

My SIL said she felt it all when she was pushing. I don't know if hers had just worn off by that point or if they turned it down.

WineNot511 · July 2014

noodles84 said:

I had to wait for my epi to wear off a bit before I could effectively push. Mine had a button I could push to get more--they told me to stop pushing it. I had no pain up until active pushing--but I think I could pretty much feel everything when it came time to push and getting stitched up after. I don't think it is like that for everyone though.

This is what I'm trying to avoid, if possible LOL

kshare18 · July 2014

Such a good question! They told me at my labor class that they will turn it down so that I could feel when to push. I wonder if that could be optional? If it is, I will ask that they do not touch it.

kshare18 · July 2014

^ Dagnabbit.... I figured that was going to be the case, but a girl can dream.

WineNot511 · July 2014

kshare18 said:

^ Dagnabbit.... I figured that was going to be the case, but a girl can dream.

I'm going to continue to dream! I do understand that you need to feel something, but I'm hoping my dr is open to at least letting me TRY to push without turning it down. You never know, I could be a pushing pro and not need to feel a thing! haha

MereDe3 · July 2014

I'm not an epidural expert by any means, but with both my previous deliveries, at different hospitals the Dr was very clear that the epi would help the pain but not the pressure you feel when it is time to push. And they were both right. Once I got the epi contractions were bliss, I felt nothing. But when it came time to push it was very very obvious and it felt like the epi was doing nothing, even though it was still "on."

tahitiansun · July 2014

I guess I am the odd person out. My epi was not turned down and I felt some pressure (not pain though) and then it was time to push. When I pushed, I couldn't feel anything- my OB would just tell me when too. No real pain at all

Raclla · July 2014

I had no pain either. They told me we'd probably try to push in about 30 minutes and I made sure to hit the button for extra about 10 minutes before the nurses came in.

Pushed for 45 minutes.

I guess if I hadn't been productive they might have lowed it, but it wasn't necessary.

ungraceful13 · July 2014

Didn't do it but also got the epi at 8cms and could still feel the contractions but they just didn't hurt so bad anymore.

lookame3639 · July 2014

They had to turn mine off. I couldn't feel a damn thing and the monitors kept slipping off me so they couldn't tell i was contracting and they also kept loosing DS heartbeat. At one point my ob ripped all the monitors off me and put his hand on my stomach. Every few minutes he'd tell me to push.

i pushed fine but they tell you to push like you would a bowel movement...after a couple of times of pushing they told me i was pushing like i was constipated (wut!?) and i needed a more effective push. Pushing time including an episiotomy was roughly 10minutes.

calibroncosfan5968 · July 2014

WineNot511 said:

I hear/read that a lot of dr's or hospitals turn down or turn off the epidural to push. Has anyone had experience with this? Is this the dr's policy or the hospitals? Has anyone not had their epi turned down to push? In my pregnant lady imaginary world, I would like to ask to keep the epi on and give pushing a whirl. If its not going right or I'm not pushing effectively, then to start turning it down.
I'm going to talk to my dr about this tomorrow at my appointment, but curious to hear others stories.

Thoughts and stories appreciated

They turned mine down right as I started to push so I was able to push the "right way". I only really knew they had turned it down when my Dr. stitched me up. It wasn't unbearable just obviously uncomfortable...

raquelynn714 · July 2014

OMG this thread is cracking me up! I may need to pull a @caybeh‌ and conveniently neglect to mention I can't feel anything. My OB wants to give me a stronger epi anyhow so I can minimize pushing due to my severe hemorrhoids. Bring on the drugs!

blushingbride_08 · July 2014

I asked for my epi to be turned down. At the hospital where I gave birth they allow you to administer your own hits. Dh was the one doing it for me...bad idea. Instead of giving me 1 hit he would give me 2 at a time. I was numb from the neck down lol. I asked for the epi to be turned down bc I wanted to feel while pushing. I pushed for 20 mins. I didn't feel any pain just pressure. Getting stitched up was another story. I'm definitely getting local anesthesia this time. And Dh will not be charge this time of the epi!

pmpkn219 · July 2014

I couldn't feel a single thing. I asked my labor nurse to tell me when the monitor showed a contraction starting so I could push. I pushed 5 times, and he was out, so I guess it didn't impede anything

caybeh · July 2014

raquelynn714 said:

OMG this thread is cracking me up! I may need to pull a @caybeh‌ and conveniently neglect to mention I can't feel anything. My OB wants to give me a stronger epi anyhow so I can minimize pushing due to my severe hemorrhoids. Bring on the drugs!

Yeah, I'm normally the kind of person that would say something if I knew I was supposed to. But that day, I was so relieved to finally have some relief, I just kept my mouth shut....I only pushed for 20 min, so I must have done a fine job even though I couldn't feel anything!

caballablanca · July 2014

Mine was turned down. I have scoliosis so I could feel pressure on one side and not the other. It was so strong, it didn't wear off enough for me to get out of bed until after midnight. They turned it off around 7. My ob got into the nurses for giving me so much ( I was thankful though since I could feel everything on one side without it high)

WineNot511 · July 2014

MereDe3 said:

I'm not an epidural expert by any means, but with both my previous deliveries, at different hospitals the Dr was very clear that the epi would help the pain but not the pressure you feel when it is time to push. And they were both right. Once I got the epi contractions were bliss, I felt nothing. But when it came time to push it was very very obvious and it felt like the epi was doing nothing, even though it was still "on."

This may be a hard question to answer---but I hear a lot of women talk about feeling "pressure" but not necessarily pain. Is there anything, anyone, can compare that "pressure" feeling to? Again, I know it might be a hard question to answer as it may be a feeling solely tied to childbirth. I'm just a person who likes to be overly mentally prepared and likes to know as much as I can.

When I think of "pressure" it makes me think if like pushing down on a part of my body with my hand. Are we talking that kind of pressure feeling?

bcbuzzafsu · July 2014

You feel like you need to poop @WineNot511

Edit: I felt no pain btw after the second epi took. I had a herniated disc that was preventing the meds from going down one leg, but rolling on my side helped. Then all was fine.

WineNot511 · July 2014

bcbuzzafsu said:

You feel like you need to poop @WineNot511

Ahh! Well, I've had the hardest most painful poops since I've been pregnant, so I guess I should be all set then! haha

bcbuzzafsu · July 2014

It's not like pain or pressure from constipation, but more of a "Oh, man, I need to go to the bathroom right now" feeling.

At least for me.

@WineNot511

Jennicillin · July 2014

Yep, pretty much, you feel like you need to poop real bad lol

I also had the epi where I could administer my own "hits" My first I never took an extra hit of it, and that's saying something about it's effectiveness, because I was on pitocin

My second, they asked me to give myself more after I delivered but before she stitched me. I regret it, what I had was still working, and the the result was it took me FOREVER to be able to pee (read as a long ass time before I got to be moved from L&D to recovery)

Bottom line is this, there is absolutely zero way to know how your body will respond to an epi until you have one AND even then every epi is different. It's hard to hear, but trust your gut in the moment and trust your doctor too. You'll know whether or not you need to feel more or less, I promise :-)

Allison7 · July 2014

@noodles84‌ were you at Magee the first time? I know they have a continuous low dose epi with the clicker to give your own boosts. The nurse on our tour said they do it that way because people will often use less medication if they have control over it than if they don't. They also like the continuous, so you don't have to worry about it wearing off too early.

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