Pain Management! Needing advice

paigequinn · November 2015

I'm 21 years old, a FTM and 35 weeks with a baby girl. I recently went to pre-register at the hospital where the nurse told me that they do not do epidurals unless medically necessary. I wasn't completely sold on having an epidural to begin with, and they have other options for pain relief such as morphine and fentanyl but it would have been nice to know that the option of an epidural was there if I decided I needed it... I'm wondering how other ladies felt getting morphine/fentanyl instead and how effective it was for pain management? Also, I'm worried about tearing without an epidural?! Won't I feel everything?

kdoak2015 · November 2015

DH and I were discussing this tonight and I kind of wish the option wasn't there for me. I would like to experience it but know that the option is there and know I'll take it when I can't handle it.

TomekiaB · November 2015

Wow, the drugs they offer instead are pretty strong, so they should help with the pain. Is your hospital to small to have some qualified to do an epidural? Morphine is a narcotic and Fentanyl is an Opioid. They are both potentially addictive, but I'd be more worried about that if they keep you on them after labor.

nik6499 · November 2015

You cannot get addicted to morphine or fentanyl during labor. It's a short term very short duration usage and for after labor typically most mothers find tylenol and ibuprofen does the trick.

paigequinn · November 2015

It is a small hospital, I was told that they only have 1 doctor who can do the epi, and I'm due December 30th so chances are that my doctor is going to be out of the country for Christmas. I do have the option to go to a bigger hospital, and they will send me there if anything goes wrong but I would like to stick with my local hospital. I'm not worried about getting addicted to anything, I'm just wondering how others felt on those drugs and how effective they were for them.

kepoole · November 2015

That's strange to me.. I had pain meds throughout labor with DD1 but it knocked me out for the entire time it was effective so once it came time to push the pain meds wouldn't have done anything for me..

Holdmomma · November 2015

I had a 2nd degree tear with DS and no epidural or other pain meds. It hurt like H--- for about 5 seconds and then was over. You can do it! Make sure you have supportive people with you while in labor and learn about natural pain management techniques. There are lots of options out there, even if Epi isn't one of them

ssn109 · November 2015

I'm sorry I have no advice to offer, just sympathy that the hospital is so ill prepared they don't have a backup to give out epidural when the primary doctor is away. Then again, my doctors are pushing me on the epi (which I was going to accept at some point anyway, when I couldn't handle it any more), due to their concern over stressing my heart too much. So it would probably have been considered "medically necessary" for me anyway. That still sucks that you miss out on that one option because you chose a smaller hospital, I still feel they should have someone else on call to administer those. What happens if it does become medically necessary and there's not enough time to transfer the patient to one of the larger hospitals?

kathleeeenrose · November 2015

That would make me nervous too! I'm a STM and went med free the first time, and plan to do it again, but having the option is definitely nice. I tore with my first and I don't remember that pain specifically, the whole thing hurt generally haha. But then it's over and it's the sweetest relief! It sounds like your other pain med options will take the edge off for you if you need it. Good luck!

Taylovesbrad · November 2015

Oh my goodness. I would be freaking out and finding a new hospital. I just thinks it's important to have all options. Good luck girl!

ACarter0914 · November 2015

Honestly your already in so much pain and focused on pushing you won't even remember! I had my daughter naturally (hoping to do it again) and I had a very slight tear which I didn't even feel. I didn't need stitches or anything!!

Bombmom3 · November 2015

I had intended to go "all natural" every time I delivered. I ended up having an induction for all three pregnancies and I broke down with all three at some point and literally begged for the epi (pitocin makes contractions way way way more intense and causes them to hit back to back and I was just unable to stay on top of the pain). That said, deliveries 1 & 2 had no other medical pain management besides the epi. Delivery 3 I requested some Nubane (sp?) at the start of active labor - it's a short lived narcotic that made me not care about the pain so I could get a few hours of sleep before the real "work" began. By the time I asked for the epi with #3 my contractions were too close together or get one and I ended up delivering without it.

In my experience; the "transitional" part of labor lived up to its reputation - labors 2 & 3 7cm is when I broke down and started asking for the drugs. It's a very intense place to be and I think if I had not had the option for the epi I might have coped mentally better with *both* of those labors because half the reason the pain got away from me was knowing I had the option to "tap out". I literally panicked this last time when it dawned on me that I was not going to be able to get the epi but only because I had had it in the back of my head that I could request is when it got too much for me. Once I sorted myself out, I managed to rest of the delivery just fine - and I have to say the pushing part of the labor was the most relieving experience Ive ever had. Seriously it was as pain relieving as when I had gotten my epidural on my previous deliveries.

My advice: since you know it's unlikely to be an option go into it thinking it is just not available. The Nubane was awesome because I got some rest and didn't make me feel loopy at all - just made me not care about the pain. Ask the staff how the two drugs differ in pain management and side effects - will one make you more sleepy or more jittery? Is one more likely to slow your labor down?

I wish you the best of luck and a smooth, safe delivery. I know you can do it without the epi and I know it sounds scary but as soon as you deliver that baby (and I do mean as soon as - it's an instant thing) all of it just fades away and all you care about is that little warm bundle they hand you.

tmo51324 · November 2015

I tore with my first and just had gas and air for pain relief. It obviously hurt but it wasn't that bad and as soon as I was stitched I was up walking about and having a shower. Like previously said the second you set eyes on your baby all the pain goes away!

fishsticks-n-custard · November 2015

TomekiaB said:

Wow, the drugs they offer instead are pretty strong, so they should help with the pain. Is your hospital to small to have some qualified to do an epidural? Morphine is a narcotic and Fentanyl is an Opioid. They are both potentially addictive, but I'd be more worried about that if they keep you on them after labor.

Opioid and Narcotic mean the same thing. Both Morphine and Fentanyl are opiates/narcotics. (along with hydrocodone, oxycodone, dilaudid, etc).

TomekiaB · November 2015

@mamadoc That is what I thought but when I looked up Fentanyl to confirm one of the sources said it was "debatable."

fishsticks-n-custard · November 2015

TomekiaB said:

@mamadoc That is what I thought but when I looked up Fentanyl to confirm one of the sources said it was "debatable."

Huh. That's strange. My guess is that's a bad source then. They're synonyms. We use them interchangeably. Fentanyl is a synthetic drug if that's what they mean. The one drug I can think of that's debatable if it's an opiate is Tramadol.

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