Anaesthetic assessment

[Sunflowerpower89]

Hello,
I’m currently 36w pregnant with my second child. Following issues with my epidural for my first ( it didn’t work and no one realised despite me explaining it really did still hurt!) I have been booked in for an anaesthetic assessment at my maternity hospital next Friday. Has anyone had one of these and can you tell me what to expect?

All in all my first birth wasn’t great (and left me with mild ptsd) so I’m not a fan of discussing it so am wondering what this appointment will involve as I’m likely going to have to go alone and want to make sure I’m prepared.

Thanks!

I had one as I might not be able to have an epidural. It was mainly to let me know that if I needed stronger pain relief than pethidone that the only option would be an emergency C-Section with a GA but that, that would be an option they would consider if it was safe. Perhaps it will be similar for you?

Thanks for replying @Grumpy it maybe is just to talk about my options - I’m actually partly worried I’m wasting nhs time going but want to be as prepared as possible!

You have obviously had a very difficult experience so I think it is a good thing that your midwife has listened to you and arranged this.
Anaesthetists are the pain relief specialist doctors. The reason for the appointment will be to make sure that what happened to you before doesn’t happen again The consultant who sees you will need to talk through your experience so that they can share it with whichever team member is on duty when you are in labour. Is it the same hospital? If so they can review your notes. If not it would be worth making a request for your notes from the other hospital.
This appointment is about hearing your experience, learning from it, and doing things differently for you this time. I know it feels hard to talk about it, but it will be worth it.

My first epidural failed, worked for about 10 minutes & then I slowly felt the pain creeping back in from one side over to the other! In 20 minutes it had completely failed. This was shortly after they pumped me full of induction drugs to speed things up 😩 But they gave me a second one and this time started me on a spinal block and then topped it up with epidural drugs as labour went on.. I literally couldn’t feel a thing after the spinal block. It was like I had no legs. Quite disconcerting but it did the job I suppose!

The surgeon who did my first epidural made me cry as he came in huffing & told everyone who’d listen it was my fault the first failed as I didn’t keep still enough .. I just burst into tears. Maybe it was my fault but I was in pain & did my best!

I’m sure it’ll be a really productive meeting, just explain you find it quite hard to talk about and I’m sure they’ll understand!

Thanks @Nanmumandmidwife that all makes sense and yes it is the same hospital so they will have my notes. Thanks for taking the time to reply- it’s definitely made me feel more prepared.

@Bol87 I’m so sorry to hear the same thing happened to you- thank you for sharing your experience. Now that you mention it I think I maybe also eventually had a spinal block when I was taken to surgery for retained placenta as they did something and I also couldn’t feel my legs- will also try to get clarification on this in my meeting so I am a bit clearer!

I’m so glad I started this thread, I feel a bit more prepared - so thanks everyone! also realised I was wrong in original post I’m 26w not 36w (think that was wishful thinking!) 😂

They will just chat about what happened last time, and go through reasons they sometimes don’t work. What will happen if it doesn’t work again. Other analgesia options which should be a remi fentanyl PCA. This is offered to women who cannot have an epidural for reasons such as spinal problems, infection, platelets under 70. Chances are if you choose to have another, it will work and be fine

Great that you felt able to share your experiences. I am an anaesthetist, and I see people for assessments in cases like this(as well as having given over 1500 epidurals) The reason is to ensure you are prepared and know what your options are, and to hopefully help calm any fears the last delivery caused. The good news is an epidural is still certainly an option, around 1 in 10 don't work first time, and by discussing it beforehand and letting them know you had a problem they can be on the lookout for any issues and make sure it's sorted ASAP if needed. Other pain relief options will be discussed(not all hospitals offer all options), and options if you need an emergency section. Hope it is helpful, let me know if you want any other info.