bad experience with epidural

[broodymrs]

I am 90% sure i am going to ask for an epidural but before i definately make up my mind just wondering did anyone have such a bad experience with an epidural that they wouldn't do it again or in hindsight wouldn't have done it?

I am hoping for a mobile epi. Opiates are not really an option for me due to medical probs so it's pretty much all or nothing

Thanks

 

[solitaire89]

If you are in a situation which means your options are "all or nothing" as you put it, then it may be well worth you looking at alternative therapies. There are other non-drug options that are open to you, such as TENS, a birth pool or Natal Hypnotherapy which can be very effective and would give you options over an epi. I had a completely pain free birth and didn't use any drugs at all, not even paracetamol, so they can be VERY effective.

 

[petite ping]

I had an epidural for the birth. The only bad thing I would say about it was that they dosed it a bit too strongly so I couldn't feel any thing at all, not even the contractions - I think it was because I didn't put on much weight in my last month. And the fact that I could stop trembling. I would do it again - it made me much less worried about tearing and I was even able to sleep.

 

[krysb]

I wouldn't post this except that you are specifically asking for bad experiences. My partner is a nurse. When she was in nursing school doing her OB rotation at a hospital with a very good reputation she saw a woman code (heart stopped) and almost die while getting an epidural. This woman was full term and everything was normal. She was not a FTM. The anesthesiologist told my partner that the epidural medicine went the wrong way into her spine and stopped her heart. She had a crash c section and she and the baby were fine later. Even though the doctor told my partner how rare this is as a side effect, the fact that it is a possibility is one of the reasons I chose to get my care at a birth center where epidural is not an option.

 

[broodymrs]

Thank you. I want to know all the bad things so that I can make an informed choice, and then even if I do go for it I will know there are some things that can go wrong. It does seem that bad experiences are rare, although obviously not impossible!

 

[krysb]

Thank you. I want to know all the bad things so that I can make an informed choice, and then even if I do go for it I will know there are some things that can go wrong. It does seem that bad experiences are rare, although obviously not impossible!

yes, even though i know epidural is not something i want, i know tons of moms who had one without any negative side effects.

 

[PreggyEggy]

I had a bad experience and wouldn't have one again as I experienced the epidural wearing off. If you are worried, it may be worth asking to book an appointment with an anaesthesiologist to ask if they can go through what your risks for things going wrong are.

I'd also really recommend looking into what other forms of pain relief you can have like a previous poster has suggested, as having lots of options is good! Things like tens and birth pools etc are great, you never know what will work great for you.

 

[LockandKey]

I had an awful epi experience with my first, and I regret it to this day. My epidural caused tons of interventions I never wanted: episiotomy, vacuum and forceps use, my instincts being dulled, the inability to feel contractions meant I didn't know when to push, plus pushing was inefficient, the epi caused my baby's heart rate to drop, which is why they ended up giving me all the intervention, she was taken from me immediately instead of being placed on my chest, also meant I couldn't bf her until 3 hrs later because they had to make sure she was ok, my labor slowed down tremendously and a 12 hr labor easily turned into a 19 hr one, I couldn't get up, barely move, or do anything for myself which caused me to feel helpless and a complete loss of control over MY birth experience, I felt totally robbed of my birth experience, and all the intervention also resulted in a year long recovery for my downstairs, sex still hurt up until a year after my daughter was born. Am never going to even bother asking for an epi again, this time I am planning all natural, no meds at all. I'm too terrified to even consider asking for any meds, I'd just rather tough it out on my own if it means I will have a much better experience.

 

[Pink Beauty]

Well I loved my epidural!

I was induced at 36 wks 5 days due to pre-eclampsia, 2 lots of gel and drip (which my midwife referred to as rocket fuel) and a back to back baby! I had epi at 3cms dilated as gas and air literally did nothing. All the pain was in my back, I couldn't sit, lie, stand anything as the pain in my back was so intense!
Had the epi and was immediately pain free, IMO it was amazing!

I ended up in theatre seconds from a c section but they got her out with forceps, not only was she back to back but she was looking to the left! She wasn't coming out without intervention!

For me the epi helped me to relax and sleep, I wouldn't hesitate in having another one if I felt I needed it.

Hope that helps a little xx

 

[Dream.dream]

I had a failed epidural.

It only numbed my one leg , so I felt everything else except then my legs was so numb I couldn't move , they had to take it out and I ended up giving birth without it with a bum leg .

The entire next day my leg was still numb which ment i couldnt shower or go to the bathroom or take care of my son unless someone handed him to me , I had wicked back pain and headaches for weeks after I had him.

I will never get one again as they couldn't explain why it failed to work on me

 

[PreggyEggy]

I had a failed epidural.

It only numbed my one leg , so I felt everything else except then my legs was so numb I couldn't move , they had to take it out and I ended up giving birth without it with a bum leg .

The entire next day my leg was still numb which ment i couldnt shower or go to the bathroom or take care of my son unless someone handed him to me , I had wicked back pain and headaches for weeks after I had him.

I will never get one again as they couldn't explain why it failed to work on me

They couldn't explain to me why mine failed either. It's weird, isn't it? I'd never heard of a failed epidural until I had mine!

 

[Dream.dream]

I had a failed epidural.

It only numbed my one leg , so I felt everything else except then my legs was so numb I couldn't move , they had to take it out and I ended up giving birth without it with a bum leg .

The entire next day my leg was still numb which ment i couldnt shower or go to the bathroom or take care of my son unless someone handed him to me , I had wicked back pain and headaches for weeks after I had him.

I will never get one again as they couldn't explain why it failed to work on me

They couldn't explain to me why mine failed either. It's weird, isn't it? I'd never heard of a failed epidural until I had mine!

I know , that's why I won't get it again. It could have just even just been a fluke or bad placement but I don't want to have it again and have he same thing happen with my leg

 

[disneydarling]

I had no physical side effects, it worked perfectly and took away all the pain.

It has affected me very much mentally though. My epi led to non progression because I was on my back, and eventually an emergency c-section. I'm devastated that I didn't get to give birth. Epidural a increase the risk of needing assistance to get your baby out, so you need to think about how you'd feel about that.

 

[broodymrs]

Looks like my platelets will be too low to have one now anyway! Apparently there is an opiate which should not affect my asthma and gives the effect somewhere between morphine and an epi so this may be an option however they have said I'll start on gas and air and they'll see how I do on that as I may not need further pain relief. Yeah right!! Little chance of that I think but we'll see!!

 

[alette]

I had one with DD and it was really nice. I didn't have any troubles other than it stopped working on one side for a little while, so the anesthesiologist had to come back and move the needle a little bit. I am pregnant again and think I would like an epi again, but I am still worried about complications...

 

[bamm]

I had one with DD - It worked for about 4 hours and then stopped working no matter what they did. It was FANTASTIC when it worked - let me get a small amount of sleep.

 

[lunarsea]

I had an epidural with my first early on because I had to be induced and the pain was incredibly intense and set in pretty quickly.
It never fully worked, only one of my legs became numb and the rest of me was still feeling everything and they never believed me when I said I could still feel half of my lower half even when I moved one of my legs.
My son's heart rate dropped out of nowhere and although it went back to a normal rate a few minutes later, I still needed to have an episiotomy and vacuum extraction because I could not feel half of my lower body and had no idea if I was pushing correctly.
This time around, I want to be able to have a natural birth, even though everyone looks at me like I'm completely nuts when I say it, but that experience just made me want to seek out other options for pain relief.

 

[Cariad_x]

Mine didn't work - I could still feel the pressure and contractions despite having two different types and ended up doing the whole thing on Gas and Air. At one point when the consultant was placing the clips on my sons head because they couldn't adequately monitor his heartbeat I became quite abusive due to feeling the procedure and she voiced her shock and horror that the epi had failed haha.

My understanding is that this is very uncommon though. I had I side effects afterwards - my back ache is due to having a back to back baby and being heavy in pregnancy rather than the epi.

 

[Dawnlouise30]

Mine worked, but he was delivered with forceps and large episiotomy. I hated having to labour on my back. Mine also left me with a severely sensitive left thigh, so much so that clothes touching it were horrendous for months. The thigh has got less sensitive recently, but i am still aware of an odd (almost itching and pins and needles) sensation. My thigh is worse in cold weather. They thing it is nerve damage and now a littlt over 10 months later it is not likely to improve now, i can take medication to dull my nerve sensitivity but understandably unless my leg gets worse i would rather not dull all sensitivity in my nerves!.
For me, it was without a doubt the wrong choice based on my after effects, but on he flip side because LO was back to back, facing the wrong way, hand up by his face and 10lb 7 towards the end it was looking like a c- section was likely, and if that had of been the case with the epidural in place i would have at least been awake..... Fortunatly he did come with forceps in the end, but my physical recovery was hell and it is only last week or so that intercourse is no longer painful.

 

[CountryMomma]

With my first my epidural wore off by the time I went to push due to me being in labor for 36 hours and they gave me the epi to early on. It was great to help with the contractions though. With my second I was induced at 38 weeks and held out as long as I could to get the epidural. Best thing ever. I was able to get some sleep and knew exactly when it was time to push. All I felt was the ring of fire and some pressure. No pain at all.