epidural

ElizabethSwann · November 2014

I hardly felt it.

Thea11 · November 2014

I can't remember if I felt any pain or not (so probably not!) It was amazing and I'll probably get one again. I would have gone without, but I was stuck at 8 cm for a couple hours and the doctor suggested getting one so that my uterus would relax a little. It worked! And I even got an hour of sleep too.

mhickey426 · November 2014

Mine hurt but definitely doing it again even though the nurse said it must have moved. I was able to move by myself right after giving birth n felt the dr cutting me down below. That's why she said it probably moved plus I was in really bad pain again at the end.

jennip68 · November 2014

For me it felt like a cold waterfall going down my back... And that's just how the dr said it would feel. It wasn't painful for me. But, it only worked on the right side of my body. They eventually got both sides feeling the same. I was able to still feel the birth but not the pain that went along with it.

ur_mom222 · November 2014

topaz7777 said:
I asked for mine only to find out that because I was on thinners during my pregnancy that I would have to have a couagulation (sp?) panel done. That was a test that delayed my epidural for a little over an hour. If you are on any blood thinning medication, keep this in mind... I'm glad I asked for mine early!
When they placed mine, they hit a nerve that caused me to jump, and I got yelled at. They had to try a second time and it was just fine. I was so uncomfortable otherwise that I don't even recall anything unpleasant about the epidural. I could have hugged the guy I was so excited to feel the pain melt away.
I felt a little itchy for a while, cold, my blood pressure dropped some (which is pretty usual) and they gave me a little oxygen. Abount 5 min later, I was feeling no pain and they took the oxygen off because my blood pressure came back up. I remember they make you shift one side or the other because it works by gravity. They gave me a button to push to increase the epi if I wanted (for a while) and I'd say within 15 min, my legs didn't feel like they were mine anymore. I couldn't really feel anything from my lungs down. Contractions? What contractions? I think I took a nap. lol
I did however feel the pressure significantly at one point and mentioned it, and ta-da! Fully dialated. At that point they turned the epi either down significantly or off... because the rest hurt like hell. I couldn't feel my legs, but I sure felt the rest!!!
So, once you get an epidural you can't get out of bed anymore. They hook you to a monitor, you are restricted to laboring on your back with your legs up. (which they have to lift because you can't move them AT ALL) They even put in a cathedar because you can't go to the bathroom. If you didn't know these things, it's worth doing a little more research. I couldn't get out of bed for several hours after delivery when I could finally feel my legs. Also, make sure you really can feel them both before attempting with a nurses help to the bathroom because they got my sister out of bed when only one side was no longer numb and she fell on the floor very hard.
I'll definitely get another one this time, but I'm glad I know more of what to expect.

I know this is probably least of my worries and definitely dumb but I am terrified more than anything to have a catheter. It's creeps me out so bad. Do they put in and take out the catheter while you're still numb so you can't feel it? Seriously this might make or break getting an epi for me haha.

redneckmomma25 · November 2014

@mamakeeg I ended up needing a catheter and I had an intrathecal not an epi. I was terrified of it but it wasn't bad I wasn't numb when they put it in since it was a couple hours after I gave birth. I had it in for about 12 hours which was so annoying.

ur_mom222 · November 2014

redneckmomma25 said:
@mamakeeg I ended up needing a catheter and I had an intrathecal not an epi. I was terrified of it but it wasn't bad I wasn't numb when they put it in since it was a couple hours after I gave birth. I had it in for about 12 hours which was so annoying.

It didn't hurt though? I've never had one but I can't imagine getting a tube jammed up my urethra would feel good. Gonna google what a inthrathecal and epi catheter is real quick.

redneckmomma25 · November 2014

mamakeeg said:

redneckmomma25 said:
@mamakeeg I ended up needing a catheter and I had an intrathecal not an epi. I was terrified of it but it wasn't bad I wasn't numb when they put it in since it was a couple hours after I gave birth. I had it in for about 12 hours which was so annoying.
It didn't hurt though? I've never had one but I can't imagine getting a tube jammed up my urethra would feel good. Gonna google what a inthrathecal and epi catheter is real quick.

No it didn't hurt. You realize people live daily with having to use a catheter? The only way they can urinate is by catheter. Not such a big deal.

topaz7777 · November 2014

@mamakeeg Yes they put it in and took it out while still numb. If I wasn't still numb, I didn't feel a thing. It wasn't uncomfortable at all.

ur_mom222 · November 2014

redneckmomma25 said:

mamakeeg said:

redneckmomma25 said:
@mamakeeg I ended up needing a catheter and I had an intrathecal not an epi. I was terrified of it but it wasn't bad I wasn't numb when they put it in since it was a couple hours after I gave birth. I had it in for about 12 hours which was so annoying.
It didn't hurt though? I've never had one but I can't imagine getting a tube jammed up my urethra would feel good. Gonna google what a inthrathecal and epi catheter is real quick.
No it didn't hurt. You realize people live daily with having to use a catheter? The only way they can urinate is by catheter. Not such a big deal.

Yes I realize. Doesn't make my fear any better though!

ur_mom222 · November 2014

Thank you @redneckmomma25‌ @topaz7777‌

pullk1985 · November 2014

I had an epidural with my first and it really wasn't as bad as you might think....just don't look at the needle lol. They had me sit on the edge of the bed to get it and let me tell you that was the most uncomfortable part! It felt like I was sitting on my daughter's head. Honestly that's all I remember, I kept saying please hurry I'm crushing her head (in reality I wasn't really crushing anything lol)! Just relax and breathe, the labor pains are far worse than the epidural :-)

Hpearl · November 2014

Interesting question!

I am not neccessarily afraid of the needle itself...as much as it wearing off?

My appendix ruptured and I went to Epcot the next day.... so I think my pain tolerance is pretty high.

Having said that... I haven't researched much of this yet but why not do the epi early on to avoid the discomfort? not to be a wimp, but does it wear off or can Dr's make it last as long as needed?

Sorry if these are silly questions

jennip68 · November 2014

They can add more juice or take it away at any time. I needed more since it didn't work on my left side and they fixed it and added more!

ur_mom222 · November 2014

Hpearl said:
Interesting question!

I am not neccessarily afraid of the needle itself...as much as it wearing off?

My appendix ruptured and I went to Epcot the next day.... so I think my pain tolerance is pretty high.
Having said that... I haven't researched much of this yet but why not do the epi early on to avoid the discomfort? not to be a wimp, but does it wear off or can Dr's make it last as long as needed?

Sorry if these are silly questions

At the hospital my sister delivered at they waited til she was dialated four centimeters I think because they won't admit you in for labor until you're dialated that much. Then she just had to wait to get into a room and the anesthesiologist came in almost right away to administer the epidural. And yeah you can press a button or the doc can add more medicine to make it stronger. It's like an IV. My sister who has a terribly low pain tolerance looked at me all bright eyed right as she felt the needle go in and said "omg Keegan it doesn't hurt bad at all!!!" She said it was nothing compared to her contractions.

Hpearl · November 2014

Thanks for the response! My appendix ruptured years ago and I was up by 7 the next day and off to Epcot center.....so I feel like my pain tolerance is fairly high, but obviously there will be a lot of emotion and excitement with going in to labor so you never really know.

The epidural thing has always been a mystery to me, but then I assumed due to previous abdominal surgery a c-section was a sure bet. Interesting to hear first hand accounts, thanks!

rmaurer08 · November 2014

Flowerstar1023 said:
Were you ladies able to move your legs at all? I love the idea of pain relief but think not being able to sense my legs and their position might be a bit freaky! (Granted having 10/10 pain I imagine is worse).

We found out I have an extreme sensitivity to the drug and I couldn't move at all for 3.5 days! Mine also went up too high on me, but I made it out just fine! Don't stress too much about the epidural. You'll either know you want it or not at all when the times comes.

topaz7777 · November 2014

Hpearl said:

Interesting question!

I am not neccessarily afraid of the needle itself...as much as it wearing off?

My appendix ruptured and I went to Epcot the next day.... so I think my pain tolerance is pretty high.
Having said that... I haven't researched much of this yet but why not do the epi early on to avoid the discomfort? not to be a wimp, but does it wear off or can Dr's make it last as long as needed?

Sorry if these are silly questions

They usually won't give it to you unless you are 4cm dialated (most hospitals). Many don't consider you actually admitted until you hit the 4cm mark, often if there is a stop in progression before 4cm they send you home. Also, asking for it early doesn't mean that the one anastesiologist (sp?) on the floor will get to you quickly. If there are C-sections, they get the Dr's attention first, then probably other women who are farther along in the labor than you, then eventually they make their way around.

This is another reason that it's a good idea to have a plan b and plan c in your birth plan. Taking some pain management classes might be worth it if you happen to not get the epidural you wanted.

be888 · November 2014

Hpearl said:

The epidural thing has always been a mystery to me, but then I assumed due to previous abdominal surgery a c-section was a sure bet. Interesting to hear first hand accounts, thanks!

An abdominal surgery, does not equal c-section. Plenty of women have a vaginal delivery after a c-section.

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