sedation before epidural for c-section

[AmyP]

I am petrified on having another epidural as the experience with first baby was very scary and painful. It took ages and many painful attempts.

I know I could have a general but would hate to miss the "birth". Has anyone had, or heard of anyone, having any sort of sedation during the epidural bit?

When I had dd1 I had a very bad experience with the epidural, when I was pregnant with dd2 I was very worried when at 38 weeks they told me I was being booked in for a c-section, I spoke to the consultant who explained that if I didn't want an epidural I could have something else which is put into your spine and means there is no way you can feel anything (my problem with dd1 was that by the time I had my emergency c-section the epidural wasn't working effectively and I was in lots of pain during the operation). When I had dd2 the experience was much better.

if you are having an elective , then i would discuss this at your next ante natal appt or with your consultant

and sedative administered would pass the placenta to the baby and that is not a good thing?

can you try some alternative relaxation?

if the epidural was administered in the throes of labour last time, it will be different if administered when you are not in labour IFYSWIM?

It was an elective csection last time and I remember asking about sedation and being told that I could have it if I wanted, but that I'd be a bit out of it, so I refused. Now I think I'd quite like to be a bit out of it, but only for the injection bit!!

ok,.so i suppose, it depends how long the sedative effect lasts..as you don;t want to miss the birth, just the needle? i am sure then your consultant can advise

How about asking for gas and air while you have the epidural or spinal sited? It's short lasting so shouldn't cause any problems with the baby or you.

I really don't think it would be possible, could be wrong as I've never come across anyone asking for it. But can't see how they would be able to site the epidural when you're sedated. I got sedated halfway through an operation once when I started to panic - when I came round I thought they had put me under a GA as I had no memory. One of my freinds in theatre said I looked unconcious. They need you more "with it" to site the epidural catheter.

You could ask for gas and air, also EmLa cream, which is a topical local anasthetic cream.

And what Kslatts sounds like she's talking about is a spinal block as opposed to an epidural. All elective sections are done with a spinal block, but the method of putting the needle into your back is the same as far as the woman is concerned.

I think whether your experience of epidurals is good or bad depends entirely on the skill of the anaesthetist. They vary quite a lot (nobody in the hospital will tell you this of course).

I was lucky and the senior anaesthetist was on duty when I needed an epidural, and one of the midwives said to me "Oh you're in luck he's on duty, you won't have any problems". It was totally painless and worked really well, but I've heard of other people who had to endure several attempts to get the needle in, or it only worked on one side.

What I'm trying to say, AmyP, is your second experience of either an epidural or spinal block could be totally different.

I agree with TuttiFrutti. My epidural was pretty much painless - having the IV put in hurt far more. It definitely depends on the anaesthetist as there are some out there who are very skilled with needles to the point where you can barely feel the local anaesthetic and of course, once that has started working the rest only feels (to me, anyway) like being pushed about a bit.
Of course, I was climbing up the walls with labour pains and had already declared my love for the anaesthetist so that might have made a difference...
You should explain your concerns to your midwife/consultant - if they had difficulty getting the needle in last time, then they might take this into account when deciding who should do the epidural (and get you someone senior).

Gas and air all the way, it made me feel all light headed but relaxed and I swear I didn't feel a thing with my epiural.