Epidural, please tell me your experiences and explain to me how it will feel.

[GoodGollyMissMolly]

I am 38+2 today and I am under combined MW and Consultant care due to an existing heart problem that I was born with.

I have just gotten back from my appointment with my consultant, and he has told me that I will HAVE to have an epidural. TBH it took me back a bit as I have looked into all the possible pain releif medication and chosen to go only for gas and air and pethidine (Although I was keeping an open mind about an epidural if needed)

I dont like the idea of not being in control of my bodily functions and the thought of being numb from the waist down fills me with terror!! Sorry if this seems to be an over reaction but that is how I feel.

I need to hear as many stories of other peoples experiences with epidurals. The good, the bad and anything else. So that i know what to expect. Please tell me about your experiences.

TIA

why will you HAVE to have an epidural?

imo, mine led to my emergency section with dd1 as as soon as I had had it, I couldn't feel the contractions and it went downhill and pear shaped from then on

had VBAC with dd2 on gas and air and although I screeched for an epidural (), I didn't have one

can you afford a doula, someone to be with you constantly as this can help to have a drug free delivery?

had same experience as olive, although i had a smidge of pethidine for my VBAC

i had a client recently who had a heart problem, but she managed a drug free delivery at home..

you might be able to get a mobile epidural, yu should ask about that

have you been told why you MUST have an epi?

I can honestly say the epidural i had was a welcome relief after the 36 hour labour.The only advice i would give is when they tell you to roll up into a ball(knees to head)curl up as tight as poss this opens the spaces between your vertabrae(sp?) so the needle goes in as easy as poss.The actual injection felt like a very sharp sting going upwards but this only lasts for a sec(honestly)once in they are bloody fantastic!!!Try not to be too worried as you forget about all so quickly.Im sure you will be fine x

Hi Olive, I asked the consultant the same question and he said it was because the birth could put too much pressure on my heart.

Although I was born with a congenital heart defect, it is only a leaking valve and an enlaged heart. It has never caused me any problems and I had an ECG and an Echo Cardio Gram last week, which all came back ok, or unchanged since my last one in 2004.
So the pregnancy itself hasn't actually caused my heart to be under too much pressure.

Sorry forgot to say was having the epidural in the operating theatre as i was about to have emergency c section-see how quickly i forgot that!

has your consult spoken to a cardiac consult about it? have you?

so is it that an epi will stop the pain and therefore reduce the stress levels you are under, and reduce stress to your heart?

i had one with dd1 after hours of pain and vomiting during labour. it was blissful and didn't hurt when it was put in. i wasn't numb either, just the pain went (apart from sciatic pain which did go, once i rolled onto that side when i had a top-up)

marvellous stuff

Hi Lulu, whats a mobile epidural?, sounds like a good compromise.

I really dont want to have one, I was also told I couldn't have a home birth as I wanted due to my heart problem, so at your friend

needle didn't hurt going in but I think I may have been on Pluto or Mars at that point and can't remember

I had an epidural and have mixed feelings looking back. In some ways it was positive because the (long) labour was induced and very slow...I had the epidural after encouragement from the midwife. I don't recall feeling the needle going in. I remember resting after having it. I later gave birth with ventouse assistance.

I was told afterwards (who knows if it was true?) that had I not had it, I may have been too exhausted to continue. I was prepared for a c-section but the consultant agreed to try the ventouse if there was some "maternal effort". "That means from you" he said in quite a patronising tone!

For about 3 hours after the birth I could not move from the waist down with I found very distressing. In my knackered state I was convinced I was paralysed and they were about to break it to me. I kept seeking reassurance and the midwife got a bit fed up. For me the temporary paralysis (and not being able to pick up my baby) made me very anxious but was the worst bit.

Incidentally I have since had a non-induced birth 10 weeks ago with dd2 and there is no comparison (not for me anyway) between the difficult induced birth and the "normal" one last time.

hth

paranoidpetra , thats what I need to hear the good stories as well as the the bad, thank you.

Lulu, I think that is the road he is taking, reducing the stress caused by the pain. Like I say I was a little taken a back, I wish he had told me 2 weeks ago at my last appointment, at least I would have been able to get my head round it.

Sound good when you put it like that Bundle.

I had to have an epidural to lower my BP (I think I threw up my beta-blockers), and it was such a wonderful relief from the pain of 12+ hours of labour.

On the negative side it did slow labour down a lot - everything just stopped for a while - and I was on my back from then on, with a monitoring belt around my middle.

I had a natural birth with episiotomy and ventouse - I'm not sure either would have been necessary without the epidural.

The epidureal itself was unnoticable as an injection, but I did get the consultant anesthetist (was told repeatedly how lucky I was!)

I had mobile epidural for both births.

It is hard to keep still when the needle is going in but that's really important. DH had to leave the room because he couldn't believe the size of the needle!

I had no problems with bodily functionsand TBH that really wont figure as a worry when it all gets going - and believe me - they have seen it all before!

With DD the epidural only took on one side which drove me mad - the aneathetist came back just as DD was crowning - the language hurled at him was blue

Mobile epidural is just like an epidural, except that you can move around. Your legs don't go parilized.

Onepieceoflollipop at the 'maternal effort'. That is my biggest worry about and epi, not being able to feel anything fromt he waist down, it scares the bejesus out of me. The thought fills me with terror.

I rang DH at work to tell him, only for him to say, 'ahh well, never mind' (I think he can do his own tea tonight, for punishment for his lack of sympathy )

pethidine and diamporphine can reduce the pain, your perception of it, and leave you able to move, and you don;t need a catheter. also, you can rest between contractions. don;t know if they are contra indicated due to your condition

his advice is to have an epi, but if you do your homework and find it is not something you have to have, you can refuse it.

having an epi can increase the need for ventouse or forceps as it reduces or removes mobility, and relaxes your pelvic floor which can stop baby;s head rotating correctly for birth

on the plus side, yu will have much less pain and if labour is prolonged, you can rest more

it is ultimately your decision,

I had a mobile epi and it was fab. Although the pain was blocked, I still had the sensation of pressure as the baby pushed down, so I was able to push properly. And I could stand and move about, dragging the drip with me. But you can be a bit shaky on your legs, so they hover around you in case you stumble. But it meant I could try lots of different positions for the actual delivery until I found the one that worked for me. To be honest, I'd had contractions for 48 hours so was exhausted. Would have married the chap that administered the epidural - was such a relief. And I was able to shower a few hours afterwards, so you do get feeling back quickly if you have a mobile one.
Had been hoping to have the same again with DD2 this summer, but ended up with c-section. Had proper spinal block then and was slightly odd to have that sensation of no feeling in your legs for a few hours, but it wears off quickly.
I think epidurals are great. They get such bad press but there are plenty of us who've been hugely grateful they work so well! Good luck!

I had an epidural. I was so scared - long before the time, because I can't take pain I figured I'm going to have the epidural. I sat in front of the TV, watching the birthing programs, watching as they put in the epidural and screaming each time I saw it
I had an induction and the pain was so strong I used the gass till I was so dizzy. And the epidural that I thought was going to be so painfull - I DIDN'T FEEL A THING! Think it is due to all the gass and air I took!
Side effect I had was that a year after the birth I struggled with my left leg, had to hold onto railing when coming downstairs. Leg just gave in, and struggled to get up when sat on floor. Sometimes had to lift leg up with my hands because I couldn't lift leg up. Also my back felt like it locked sometimes which was very painfull. But after one year, went to doc after I couldn't move because back was locked (DH had to rush home because I couldn't move)
Doc prescribe some pills and now everything is gone and right.

GreenGlassGoblin, thats what I dont want, I really wanted to be able to move around and walk up and down if I felt like it. I dont want to be bedridden.

Clarice at the blue language. I like the idea of a mobile epidural. It seems like a good compromise that I will deffo discuss with the consultant. That is if the baby hasn't already made an apperance my next appointment is in 3 weeks and I'm due in 12 days!!

Tasja, thank you, does it still get rid of the pain then or can you still feel it a bit?

Can you speak to the consultant cardiologist about it.

If anything I would have thought an epidural would increase stress on the heart because you often have to do directed, rather than physiological, pushing with an epidural because you often can't feel the urge to push. On the other hand an epidural does lower BP...hmmm.

Any cardiologists here?

I would say stay away from pethidine if you don;t like not being in control - that sends you off the wall!

Epidurals are lovely things which help you relax and enjoy having your baby without the noonie ripping pain that you go through without them!

DD - epiduarl/DS not - I would have another 10 labours like DDs but would rather be impaled on a rusty fence post than go through one like DS's again!

I meant to add that the midwife who was with me once I was meant to start "pushing" was very supportive, really explained well what I needed to do as of course I couldn't feel anything by this point. It was partly due to her encouragement (I believe)that I was able to avoid the threatened c-section.

Also, I meant to say that after about 3 hours I could move about as usual(well as usual as anyone can after delivering an almost 10lb baby!) and there were no further ill-effects from the epidural.

Hi there. Congrats on your pregnancy and wishing you well with your birth, however it goes!

I was adamant I would not have an epidural, couldn't bear the idea of a needle in my spine. I had mine about 2/3 of the way through my labour, because I was so tired and confused and the midwife said it would enable me to get a bit of sleep before I needed to push. It did slow down my labour though so I ended up on a syntocin(?) drip - didn't particularly offend me as didn't really notice. It was nice to be able to relax after they'd done it, but it took a few attempts to get the needle in between contractions. To be honest, with everything else going on I don't really remember the insertion of the pidural hurting. Although I was still aware of my contractions as a tightening in my bump, they didn't hurt, and I had no real sensation I don't think. I did sleep for an hour or two I think. When it came to try to push, I couldn't bear down at all because I just had no feeling. In the end they used ventouse to help him out.

I didn't really notice the numbness to be honest, and couldn't have cared less that I had a catheter - at least I didn't have to struggle down the hallway for a wee and leave my beloved g&a behind! Once the baby was out I didn't notice a thing that went on in the delivery room - I assume they took the epidural out at some point and I know they stitched me, but don't remember any of it!

If you're really worried about the epidural can your doctor arrange for you to talk an anethetist(sp!!) beforehand to try and allay some of your fears?

I didn't feel any pain when I had the epidural.
Good luck with the birth - hope it is a wonderfull experience for you as it was for me!

thanks Lulu, I didn't realise I can go against the advice of the consultant!! I mean I suppose he knows what is best for me and baby so I should listen to him, but I have this massive doubt about going in for an epi that I know it would be wrong for me, IYKWIM.

Cakehead, thank you, the mobile epi is begining to sound like a real viable option, I think I would be happy to compromise to that. I like the idea of still being able to move around and feel the baby pushing.

Tasja, a similar thing happend to a friend of mine, she had an epi with her first and had nerve damage in her back as a result. She now suffers greatly 6 years later with her back due to the epidural