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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

How many people didn't feel in control on diamorphine?

16 replies

chloecorey · 22/03/2014 22:45

Because i did.

I'm not saying anybodies wrong or right in this it's just I've seen a few posts recently of people who have had it and said they felt they weren't in control and didn't feel their contractions building and going ect.

Personally my expirence was different, I still felt everything it just eased the pain slightly. Gas and air did nothing for me and I didn't want an epidural so chose this option.

I'm just curious of other peoples experiences with this pain releifSmile

I had a back to back baby if this helps, very very painful labour until the diamorphine which eased it slightly.

OP posts:
Homebird8 · 22/03/2014 22:52

I had diamorph. Before I had it I asked how long it would take to act and when I could have more if I needed it. They said 15 mins to act and more in four hours if necessary. It took ten seconds to make me so unstable I couldn't stand and 24 hours to get to the point where I felt it wasn't affecting me anymore.

In hindsight I think there should have been some measure taken of how big I was. I am small and probably a paediatric quantity would have been better.

I would have it again if I needed it but would be keen to have a weight measurement taken to control the dose.

Original poster
chloecorey · 22/03/2014 22:56

That's so interesting, my weight is (wasHmm) probably spot on and it just made me sleepy, took effect really quick then wore off after the four hours and had more.

Even abit sleepy though I still felt quite in control but people and bodies are different.

Thank you for the reply Smile

OP posts:
NomDeClavier · 22/03/2014 23:18

I always feel whacked out on any opioids (and drunk on G&A). For that reason I chose not to have it in labour It just depends on your genes and how you react to it.

mollysmummy1970 · 22/03/2014 23:18

It definitely helped me and worked very quickly, but I did feel out of control and generally off my face. Then was sick down myself aswell (classy! Ha ha!)

Couldn't have managed without it though!

stressbucket1 · 23/03/2014 06:06

I felt fine on it didn't feel out of control at all just a bit like I was on a time delay! I also had a back to back baby although I didn't know at the time it helped with the pain massively. Btw I am tiny 5ft tall on a good day had a normal dose. My sister is a sisimilar size and she found it made her feel really spaced and took 24hrs to wear off. It must just affect people in different ways

Jollyb · 23/03/2014 06:24

I didn't have diamorphine but had pethidine . Felt absolutely fine and it really helped

learnasyougo · 23/03/2014 07:31

I had neither diamorphine nor pethidine but gas and air but here is my theory why some people feel off their face while others don't:
during my last labour I had a back to back baby with a head circumference on the 99.6th centile crushing nerves in my pelvis during pre-labour. excruciating barely describes it, and I did end up with nerve damage (total loss of sensation and muscle control to my bladder and pf), which took months to heal.

The pain was immense and I lost my ability to stay 'in the room' during these pains. After three hours, losing my sense of where i was in the room, dh got the mw and I was not dilating but she offered gas and air.

I noticed if I peaked the effect of gas outside the peak of pain I would feel drunk and woozy. If I timed it carefully so both peaked together it had the opposite effect. I felt grounded and able to be present in the room.

Basically if I was under the influence when I didn't really need it, I'd feel drunk on it, but if I was under the influence of g&a only during a monstrously painful peak I felt more normal than without it.

Every woman's labour is different and the pain of labour is also different. Some women have more painful contractions than do others and different patterns of pain (I'm sure I'm not unique in having pain made worse by nerves being crushed rather than just normal contractions pain - I know the difference because after 50 hours those nerves conked out and I was left with only contraction pain which still bloody hurt but were not as off the scale, mind-altering in comparison.)

perhaps feeling off your head is because the degree or pattern of pain felt by some was actually less than others felt. That's not to say anyone who felt drunk on diamorphine or pethidine wasn't in enough pain to need it (how can you know whether this is as bad as it could get) but I do think over strong pain relief makes for drunkeness if the pain doesn't match it. or at least, that was my (limited) experience during my own labour.

Mumof3xx · 23/03/2014 07:32

I had pethidine with dc 1

It made me sleepy and made my labor slow down

Which made me very cross

However when I had dc2 I had it again

Dc3 I had just gas n air n it was much better!

Slh122 · 23/03/2014 07:36

I didn't have diamorphine but I did have pethidine during my labour. It didn't make me feel out of control but it made me really, really sleepy - I can hardly remember a lot of my labour. It also made me projectile vomit within 30 seconds of it being administered. I stood asleep standing up and I was able to 'zone out' in between contractions which I think helped me cope as my labour progressed very quickly and the intensity of the pain was making me panic. DS arrived an hour after I had it and he spent the next 24 hours completely asleep unless I woke him for feeds so I think it knocked him out as well.

Slh122 · 23/03/2014 07:36

Sorry that should say fell sleep, not stood asleep.

procrastinatingagain · 23/03/2014 07:44

I'm another one with a back to back labour. Had 10mg (I think) of diamorphine and felt like it just took the edge off and enabled me to cope. I did initially scream ask for an epidural, but was so glad I had the diamorphine instead.

scarlettsmummy2 · 23/03/2014 08:06

I hated it. Felt totally out of it, and had a crashing come down after I gave birth. I had a water birth with just gas and air second time and it was so much better.

KatAndKit · 23/03/2014 08:15

I had four shots of pethidine during induced labour during which epidural was refused. I was properly off my tits on it.

plentyofsoap · 23/03/2014 08:33

I hated it. I was in so much pain though, I would have taken crack if they had told me it would help tbh.

bopoityboo3 · 23/03/2014 13:49

I had pethidine and hated it. Felt so spaced out and disconnected from reality but didn't feel it really helped with the pain iyswim. Talking to my midwife this time round about it (defiantly don't want it again) apparently they give the same dose whatever size you are and as I'm fairly petite the standard dose would have felt like a double dose for me hence the major space out.

ToriaPumpkin · 23/03/2014 17:19

I was fine with it, I mainly agreed to it as my labour was very intense (contractions 60 seconds apart and lasting 30 seconds from 4cm until 10cm - 4 hours) and it made me a bit spacey but I was capable of answering questions, knew what was going on around me and was able to get up and walk to the loo by myself about an hour before DS was born. I was also able to discuss birthing position and was completely aware when he was born and what happened immediately after (needed oxygen and a paeds team)

It wore off in the four hours and I walked to the shower and back myself so if it comes to it I'll have it again, though it has to be with an anti-emetic as opiates make me very sick!

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