Hello
I just wanted to write a brief post about my positive experience with Remifentanil during my labour. It is a drug that doesn't appear to be widely used yet with labour but some hospitals use it more frequently than others during childbirth. My hospital was not one of these but I had been informed about it by a midwife from another hospital who uses it regularly.
The drug itself is a very potent pain relief. Somewhere between Pethidine (which was a poor choice for me in a previous labour) and an epidural.
It is an infusion which goes directly in to you vein via a drip and cannula. It is very quick and easy to set up with minimal discomfort and then u press a button when u need a dose.
The drug itself is fast acting and quickly out of your system. Meaning that u press when a contraction begins and it lasts long enough to provide pain relief during the contraction but then subsides quickly, so you can remain mobile and non drowsy between contractions.
You can't Iver dose on it because the dose is set and the button locks out for a period of time after being pressed. Between 2 and 3 minutes. This is set and can be altered by the anaesthatist.
An anaesthatist sets the Remifentanil up and tells you pros and cons and how to use it. Only you are allowed to press the button, not midwife or partner.
The huge positives for me where:
- You can control it yourself, which means you can use it when your ready and if you don't like it or don't need it, then you simply don't press the button.
- It is out of your body system very quickly. Both me and baby were alert once she was born (Pethadine made us both very drowsy with my first child and didn't give good pain relief at all, it was more a relaxant).
- It was a very effective pain relief!! I managed my pain very well until the last 2 hours of labour when things get more intense.
I know it's hard to believe but I actually enjoyed my labour this time. I could reflect on it in a really positive way because I felt much more in control, being able to control my pain relief. After my first labour I didn't think it was possible to enjoy a birth or look back on it positively but now I know it is possible.
Obviously any drug affects people differently but I would definitely recommend remifentanil before an epidural. Or if u feel u want more than pethidine.
The first couple of times i pressed it, it made me feel a bit light headed and hot but it was over quickly and from then on it didn't have that affect.
If you want to consider using it then request to speak to an anaesthatist prior to your labour. There are some side effects to be aware of. It can slow yours and baby's heart rate but it did not do this for me. When I asked about this, the anaesthatist explained that because it is out of your system quickly, it is not of great concern because the drop in heart rate is breif. He also said there was no lasting issues from using the drug.
I just wanted to put a post on here because when I was trying to find more info from peoples actual experiences with Remifentanil, there wasn't many and I didn't know anyone in person that has used it.
Xx