Diamorphine? pethidine..pain relief?

[MissMartin10]

I've got a long way to go yet and always said ill never have a epidural so ive been looking at other pain relief, has anyone got any experience of diamorphine or pethidine and What did it enthrall? would you have it again ect?
Thanks x

I don't imagine it's a common side effect but the upshot of it was that without continuous one to one care (literally, if you needed a wee you had to get cover) the trust deemed it too a high a risk to continue offering.

I've been told by a doctor that diamorphine is basically the same as heroin so I don't think I'd want to take that in childbirth! I have had an epidural and it was nothing short of a miracle - I went from a raging madwoman who felt like I was going to die from the pain into a chilled lady watching tv and touching up her make up! I could probably sell epidurals I'm that evangelical about them

I wish mine had been like that!

Oh I didn't realise you needed constant monitoring. No I wouldn't like that. And I can imagine it's probably not cost effective then. Although nobody denies effective pain relief to patients on other wards due to staff needing to leave to have a wee.

Nickyeds they couldn't insert the cathatar when I was numb, I had a GA so went from no pain relief to unconscious

I had remiphentanal (sp) and thought it great. I will say I did have constant monitoring from an anaesthetist as I was in the late stages of labour.

Mine was similar to libraries in that baby was back to back and anything but being upright was agony. But went very differently in that it was all straight forward, no epidural, no forceps, no breaking my waters etc. However I have no doubt that the actual difference had nothing whatsoever to do with the decision as to whether or not to have an epidural. I would stake a lot of money on the fact mine went differently purely because i had the massive stroke of luck that it was fast as hell from start to finish. In crude terms no longer or more complicated than taking an extraordinarily painful shit. No time for an epidural so it wasn't a choice. I think it makes more sense to look at the reasons why someone needs an epidural rather than just how it may or may not impact on the outcome. Its all very well to compare say libraries labour and mine and conclude the epidural made the difference, but really it was the speed, which is down to luck not decisions made in labour.

Like Libraries, I had an excruciatingly painful and long back to back labour.

First 8 hours or so in water pool with no pain relief, then had gas and air which helped somewhat. In the same way a plaster might help if you'd amputated a leg.

Over the next 24 hours I had diamorphine (didn't touch the sides) and an epidural, which absolutely saved me. Mind you, it was necessary to get me through the myriad of surgical interventions which followed. So wasn't exactly an optional thing.

My long and detailed no-pain-relief birth plan was effectively abandoned. As was my hypnobirthing practise. The stuff about a high pain threshold is bollocks. I have been through a lot in my time and always coped fine. But this back to back labour was like someone was breaking my spine from the inside. You can't plan for that, you get through it as best you can.

In the same situation I'd have diamorphine again. While it didn't tackle the pain, it was a brief distraction from it and gave a warm fuzzy feeling which, after so long in screaming agony, was rather nice.

Seriously thinking of an ELCS for my second - which is rather a change from the hypnobirthing and yoga plan I had for DS.

I love me some gas and air!! I am currently on my 5th pregnancy, with my 6th child. (missed miscarriage 2009, live birth dd 2010, stillbirth of twin boys 2012, miscarriage 2014 and I'm currently 27/40 with a bubba boy!) I'm a fairly quick labourer. 4 1/2 hours for DD and just under 6 hours for both twins to be out and gas and air has been the only ONLY thing that has ever worked for me. With the stillbirth they could (for obvious reasons) give me more and supposedly better, stronger pain relief none of it even touched the pain like gas and air did so thats what got me through. I know it makes a lot of people sick but it works for some lol
Oh and, again for the twins, I did have to have an epidural for retained placenta (so after they were out) and I don't recommend - I felt like a sack of potatoes and I just didn't like not being able to move when I wanted to etc and I shan't be having it again!

Agree with lurked. I got through with just has and air on a back to back labour purely due to luck that once I managed to get past 4cm, i went to 10 within the hour. I know that had it gone on the way it was I would have needed something more to get me through.

I had Remifentanil and I was not monitored. It was set up by a anthesists then I was left with a midwife.

I'd had a morphine injection in early labour and it did absolutely nothing for the pain, nor did G&A but remi was superb and I'd highly recommend it, also it doesn't make the baby sleepy so my baby latched on within minutes of being born and fed 6 times in the first hour and we were both home after 6 hours.

It did not make me away with the fairies apart from the 90 seconds after pressing the button for a shot when my contraction started. It totally made the contraction seem nothing and as soon as contraction finished I was fully alert and able to chat to my hubby and the MW.

A epidural was a no no for me as I'm too scared of it going wrong and not walking again, and I know the risk is tiny it for me it's a fear I couldn't get over so I wouldn't entertain the idea.

I think one to one supervision by a mw is what people are referring to as monitoring.

Ah ok I see what you mean, yes I had MW then but baby was on its way as I never got it till I went through to delivery ward in final stages of labour, baby was born 45 minutes later. I'm not sure if you can get it in the early stages or not.

I had diamorphine for my back to back labour and it took the edge off the pain, and I didn't feel out of it. It was the end of a long week of slow labour culminating in induction. I begged for an epidural when I couldn't stand the pain anymore, but didn't end up having one, and was then offered pethidine or diamorphine. I'd heard bad things about people being confused on pethidine and opted for the morphine and I'm glad I did.
I felt more out of it on the gas and air, which people refer to as being "natural"
Different things suit different people though. You just have to do what you can to cope at the time, whether it's opiates, epidural or has and air.

I had two doses of pethedine in my first labour, which knocked me out both times. Looking back, I wonder if that was partly the idea. I'd been having contractions on and off for 2 days, I was very uncomfortable, I felt as if I constantly needed to pee and I couldn't sit or lie down without my back hurting. It was the middle of the night and I was on an antenatal ward and I was just wandering back and forth from the toilet either not peeing or lying in the bath.

I woke up after the first dose when I threw up everywhere (then apologised to the MWs ) and after the second when my waters broke. Gas and air was great, but I think part of it was that it gave me something to focus on during the contractions. The actual birth bit was great, and my second stage was very short but it took 3 hours to remove the placenta, which may or may not have had anything to do with the pethedine, I don't know.

Anecdotally, my first baby was much more sleepy than my second (v. quick home birth with no time for pain relief) in the first few weeks and I struggled keeping her awake long enough to feed for more than 5 minutes. We never had any other problems with BF but I had to feed her little and often.