Hi Biglips, I had similar experience with DD1 - was in agony after being induced and was begging for an epidural which finally was inserted at 7cms - magic. I was dreading giving birth again and my birth plan consisted off "epidural at 1cm please!"
In the end, my experience was very different second time around. I wasn't induced for starters and natural labour was nowhere near as bad. At one stage, I wasn't progressing and had to have a syntocinon drip to speed things up and the MW recommended an epidural as she said once the drip was in place, it would be like rocket fuel and the pain would hit me like a ton of bricks. I gladly accepted the offer of an epidural, as i assumed that I would have one at some stage anyway, BUT, because i wasn't really in much pain when they sited it, I couldn't tell them whether it was working, as there was no pain to mask. it was very odd, the MW asking me whether the pain had gone, when there wasn't exactly a lot of pain to start with, and to be truthful it felt a bit pointless really - the epidural didn;t offer me relief as I didn't need any relief at that stage!
It didn't work, as it happens, and i could feel all the contractions as they came thick and fast from the drip. They were about the re-site when I hit 10cms (after only about 20 mins) so there was no point, so in the end i effectively gave birth with no pain relief - and it was OK, it hurt of course but not unbearably and I actually felt in control the whole way through really enjoyed the whole experience. if i go on to have number three, i may even try at home with no option of the epidural.
I guess this is a long winded way of saying having an early epidural may be a good option for you, or it may not, you might not in fact need one at all as all labours really are different and the best birth plan is no birth plan!
Good luck!