An idiots guide to TENS machines? In words of one syllable please!

[WriggleJiggle]

Just bought a TENS machine (TENS plus by TBWL) and now I'm worried I've bought the wrong one. Does it have to be a specific 'labour' one or would any Tens machine do?

It came from ebay and included instructions, but I think I'm being a little thick as I can't understand the instructions . It has a low and high frequency setting, but what am I supposed to do with it? How do I use it?

Please explain it all to me in words of one syllable.

It needs to be an obstetric TENS, not sure what TBWL means..... Does it say Obstetric in the destructions anywhere?

Does it have a boost button?

Does it have four sets of pads?

It needs to have dials that go up in number so you can increase intensity as labour progresses.

Okay first of all, I found them irritating and not at all helpful (felt like a spider on my back when I was contracting once a minute). Did make a satisfying PING when it hit the wall though

You have it on the low setting and when a contraction comes on you turn it up full blast and it ummm dispells the pain. Or that's the theory.

Honestly, smacking yourself round the head or indeed doing a riverdance would be just as effective IME. Sorry!

Agree - I ripped mine off as it was SO irritating and didn't seem to do anything apart from make me angry

Mind you it did put me off punching DH for the five minutes I wore it.

Oooh, I loved my TENS. It was the only thing I used (or needed) in my second labour.

But yes, you are supposed to have obstetric ones. There are some for back pain, but they are different.

Just try it....not one syllable. If you feel a buzz in your back, however slight it is working. Have you got different settings, if you have..... you will really appreciate it being there. My back killed and I had a very big baby....although the tens machine, if i was not in labour would slightly hurt me (this is the tens not the labour).....it was haven when I was in labour. It is like a mouth ulcer....painful, however u still want to poke it with your tongue. Chilbirth is a very unique experience...In a very bizzare but good way.

Once positioned on back correctly (and do this EARLY in labour to allow endorphins to establish), you turn it on and then turn dials so that you can just barely feel a slight tingle, any higher and it's too much and annoying, as pp can testify, it seems..

As labour progresses you will find that you become aware that you can't feel tingle so you turn it up ever so slightly until you can just barely feel it again and eventually you will need boost button during contraction.

My last client got to that stage and went from "no, no, no" during a contraction to "yes, yes, yes" once I suggested Boost button!

they do work, in my limited experience, but you need to know what to do properly and to not expect total pain relief.

for my own labours I didn't start feelign contraction until after it had started and stopped feeling it before it actually finished, it took the edge off the contractions, basically, and helped me get through the earlier stages...

I wouldn't be without one in labour but next time, I'll give it up to get in the pool towards the end!

re; is it the right kind -

it needs a boost button. has it got one?

btw, i LOVED tens. firs labour was about 5 hrs start to finish (jammy cow)... and tens got me comfortably thru about 4 hrs of it. then i got in the pool. no drugs, nuffin.

i tried asking for morphine afterwards, seeing as drugs were on the menu, like, but they wouldnt play

I had all my three with just the TENS for pain relieve, and realised how much it helped when I accidentally turned it off!
Put the pads (I had four) on your lower back and try out the different pulses. I liked the straightforward ones the best. When you have a contraction you turn it up, when you have a pause you turn it down. I found that earlier in labour I started off with turning it on just a bit and towards the end it was on full power. In fact, my midwife asked me a few times how high I had my TENS, probably because it gave her some information as well as to how my labour was progressing. Hope this helps and good luck! (Try it out before you are in labour, because you won't have the patience to faff about when you're in it!)

OK, I can't find the word 'obstetric' anywhere and it doesn't have a boost button, so I think its probably not the right kind. But I guess its still doing the same job - sending electrical signals, using 4 pads, with varying strength.

I'm still confused by the low and high frequency settings - I think you start off with it on the 'high frequency' setting, and then when that fails to do enough, switch it onto 'low frequency'

they
are
crap

s h i t e

I thought mine was great, and still use it now for period pain (minus the boost button!). There are two settings which dh explained as 'width' and 'intensity' of electric pulse, I haven't got a clue so I just let him do the settings until I can feel a bit of buzz.

No boost button = not designed for labour.

Nooooooo, don't say that too loudly - I'm intending selling it again on ebay!

Don't want to put ff any potental buyers !

Sorry but I LOVED MY TENS MACHINE when I was in labour, and screamed when they made me take it off to get in the birthing pool.

I used TENS for my 2nd labour. I think it annoyed (but therefore distracted) me rather than removed the labour pains. However, 2nd labour was short and therefore not so sweet, and I do reckon the TENS machine helped. It certainly didn't make it any worse, so would always use in future (hypothetically speaking, of course!)

Think it needs to be an ob. one, and you need to use it from the get-go.

Fab things - got through 3 labours (one ventouse) on mine, plus some gas and air. This from the woman who has to take valium for a small filling.

I loved mine. And I've since lent it to 4 friends and they've all loved it too, all 5 of us had very different size babies, a mixture between 1st and 2nd babies, but none of us needed owt but TENS and gas and air.

Like others have said, make sure you put it on early enough. After 37 weeks, even if you have to take it off again it won't do any harm. Make sure the bottom 2 pads are right low down, and the top 2 in the small of your back.

Practice with it and you'll be fine.

If you're anything like me you'll suddenly get really annoyed with it and, hey presto, you'll be in transition and ready to push. Good luck, hope it works for you.

I remember why I took mine off - I laboured for some of the time in the water. You can't get into the birthing pool with it on, obviously!

I loved my TENS.

Need to put it on early on though

I got on really well with mine. But with second labour ran oout of batteries!! Thankfully, labour ward was fully stocked with spares, but that 5 minutes of faffing around changing then was utter hell.

With first pg, I had a long long long long labour and eventually had to go shopping with my TENS machine on!

I was sat in the optician while dh had his eyes tested and new glasses made up, boosting the button and wincing as little as I could. I'd hidden the machine in my jacket pocket, but I still had a few visible wires.

Don't know if anyone noticed though. V v odd experience though

i found it brilliant and only used this plus g&a for DD2 but you do have to put it on as soon as the contractions begin, i left it too late with DD1 and it just irritated me.

also make sure you get one with a single simple dial as you will not be in the right frame of mind to navigate levels etc.

to be suitable for labour it must have a boost button. as the contraction comes you press boost and turn it off as the contraction ends.

i used this one and found it brilliant here and you can also hire it instead for £24.