epidural experiences please?

[claudinator]

I'm sure others have probably said this, but you're going to want the epidural before things get unbearable.
Anyway, I got one very very early on w/ my induction. As soon as I felt any kind of discomfort, I buzzed the nurse station and said to bring the juice lol.
It's definitely a weird experience and you are confined to the bed, but I didn't think it was bad at all. Boring since I labored for so long, but not bad

The risk with that is though it can severely slow down labour, especially when strapped to the bed. Obviously with an induction it makes sense to have one early as you know labour is likely to be very intense and you're probably having help keeping contractions going, but any kind of pain relief does interfere and cause risks, obviously there are massive benefits to epidurals but if done too early it's hard to know if you're increasing the risk before needing the benefit. In the UK our epidurals are administered and used quite differently I gather, we don't tend to have them early on, we're normally sent away from hospital in the early stages (which I agree with).

With a spontaneous labour the best thing is absolutely to give it a bit of time first and then assess if an epidural is needed.

I understand your point, however.
Inductions are unpredictable. In Ireland if the mother is very over due by the 11days combined with the 3day induction via gels and sweeps. They usually give the combination of epi and pitocin as once the pitocin kicksin it's really intense.
In my case at 16days overdue, my doctor and I agreed the night before to do the combination, however my midwife chose to do it her way with no epidural it took 2hours for the pitocin to kick that's a ridiculous high dose, so high my heart failed and I went from 2cm to 9cm in 10minutes and resulted in vacumn because of exhaustion.

I absolutely understand where your coming from, but as the the anestiolagist and cardiac team said to me when they got my heart up and going again there is no need to be hero you won't a get a medal or a high honor this is your moment, your experience and you take what you need.

 

[Pearls18]

I'm sure others have probably said this, but you're going to want the epidural before things get unbearable.
Anyway, I got one very very early on w/ my induction. As soon as I felt any kind of discomfort, I buzzed the nurse station and said to bring the juice lol.
It's definitely a weird experience and you are confined to the bed, but I didn't think it was bad at all. Boring since I labored for so long, but not bad

The risk with that is though it can severely slow down labour, especially when strapped to the bed. Obviously with an induction it makes sense to have one early as you know labour is likely to be very intense and you're probably having help keeping contractions going, but any kind of pain relief does interfere and cause risks, obviously there are massive benefits to epidurals but if done too early it's hard to know if you're increasing the risk before needing the benefit. In the UK our epidurals are administered and used quite differently I gather, we don't tend to have them early on, we're normally sent away from hospital in the early stages (which I agree with).

With a spontaneous labour the best thing is absolutely to give it a bit of time first and then assess if an epidural is needed.

I understand your point, however.
Inductions are unpredictable. In Ireland if the mother is very over due by the 11days combined with the 3day induction via gels and sweeps. They usually give the combination of epi and pitocin as once the pitocin kicksin it's really intense.
In my case at 16days overdue, my doctor and I agreed the night before to do the combination, however my midwife chose to do it her way with no epidural it took 2hours for the pitocin to kick that's a ridiculous high dose, so high my heart failed and I went from 2cm to 9cm in 10minutes and resulted in vacumn because of exhaustion.

I absolutely understand where your coming from, but as the the anestiolagist and cardiac team said to me when they got my heart up and going again there is no need to be hero you won't a get a medal or a high honor this is your moment, your experience and you take what you need.

Oh no exactly hun I wasn't really talking inductions that's why I did put it's different when induction and if you read my last line I do put spontaneous labour is best to wait and see, if I was being induced I would be much more presumptuous of having an epidural, I don't think anyone should be a martyr, actually my best friend gave birth 2 weeks ago and had a horrific labour and I can't believe she didn't get an epidural, she was too shy to ask for one, she would have been the perfect candidate I can't believe they didn't offer it to her. Obviously if you're dead set on having an epi then that's fine that's up to the woman, but it's just understanding the risks I guess. But no definitely I think if it were me as much as I loved my natural labours if I told I was having pitocin I would ask them to plug in the epi straight away lol.

 

[claudinator]

Ha lol love it!! I taught the epidural was an injection and then I got told to hold my ankles!

 

[laura109]

This is deffo appealing to me x

 

[kategirl]

So, my experience with one was absolutely wonderful... I had to be induced (a week overdue) and the contractions were very painful and about 1.5 min apart. I labored for a cople hours and just couldn't stand it anymore. I got the epidural when I was about 4 cm (had already been 2 cm when I went in for the induction). I normally am very afraid of needles, but I didn't care at that point, I just wanted the pain to stop! They pushed a lot of fluids before my epidural and then after I got it; I did have a little dizziness at first, but it went away quickly. The epidural was amazing, it completely took away all pain and even the feeling of the contractions. I was induced in the evening, so I was even able to get a couple hours of sleep after I got it. Within about 4 hours after getting it I was at 10 cm; the doctor thinks the epidural actually helped my body relax enough to help dilate. It was odd during the actual pushing since I still couldn't feel the contractions, but it all worked out. I know epidurals don't always work out so well, but mine was a great experience and I think it really helped me have a quick (about 12 hours from pitocin starting to delivery) and successful labor.

 

[kategirl]

This is called a walking epidural and it is not common. Whether you will be able to get one depends greatly on where you are from and who your practitioner is.

While it may depend on where you are from and who your practitioner is I disagree that they're uncommon. Nearly every woman I know had their epidural work in much the same way. It was not called a walking epidural, but just a plain old epidural because unless you request to crank it up and not feel a thing most OB's here prefer a laboring mother be able to feel quite a bit to aid in their own delivery. Makes their job a heck of a lot easier, and is safer for everyone involved.

In the United States anyway, if you know what you want and seek it out it's really not difficult to find health care wise. I've moved since I had my two children 10 years ago (several hours away fro their birth hospital) and when I asked my new OB about it they reassured me that's exactly how they do theirs as well.


I would go where I could get what I needed and wanted since there are so soooo many options available here.

No reason to settle for anything less when you don't have to


(Did you read how many women just on this thread alone from all over the place were mobile, active participants in their labors and had no catheter?)

Hi messica,

I just wanted to add that while epidurals where women could walk are not uncommon, it's also quite common for hospitals to not allow you to be out of bed once you have the epidural. It's mostly due to fall risk and for legal reasons. So if you are interested in being able to get an epidural but still get up and walk around, it's very important to make sure that your hopital will allow it. I know that the hospital I was at (the only one allowed by my insurance) requires you stay in bed if you have an epidural placed (but you may be able to get into different positions, not have a catheter, etc if desired and possible depending on how the epidural is affecting you).

 

[Tigermom]

Here is my story

I have written this like ten times today, but I think it is important to stress when it comes to this touchy topic. Every birth story is beautiful: induced, C-section, medicated, natural, and anything in between!!

As for me:

I went into labor 5 minutes apart and was already 9cm dilated. I wanted to go natural, but I was just not prepared for that pain and intensity starting out. I got ALL the medicine

As for my experience with the epidural, it was wonderful. I was forced to lay down, as my water was about to break and I needed to get my antibiotics in (yay for GBS positive ), and that upset me. But other than that, I felt great. I was *not* sleepy, not one bit. I had energy, and I could feel my contractions without the pain. Having said that, I didn't get the urge to push. I had to be told when it was time to push, although I could tell after that when it was my job to bear down. I was aware of the tightening. Fully.

With that, I was reclined, so I pushed my melon-headed little boy for 2.5 hours. EEK! I attribute that to being on my back. My sacrum couldn't move out of the way for baby, and I was pushing against gravity.

So during labor, I was fine.

Recovery is what led me to decide to go natural this time. Attempt, at least.

It took 12+ hours for me to feel my legs after my son was born, and I peed on the floor one too many times (3, to be exact ), so they placed a catheter in. OUCH! That led to extremely painful urethral pains when it came out, as well as my pubic symphasis coming together strangely due to the swelling. It was pinching my nerve that led to my clitoris which meant severe shooting pain every time I sat to go pee (all that descending direction and free movement down there... no fun).

I was also one of those lucky ones to get the epidural headache. Coffee helped (increases spinal fluid, relieving the pain), but then my nursing son would not sleep as well when I was drinking that.

So with all of that, I've chosen to go with another natural attempt. And I know what to expect if I'm hit like a semi again with this labor and start at 9cm.

My labor was wonderful, and I remember darn-near everything. I will not beat myself up if I end up needing some assistance this time, but because of the recovery issues, I will do my best to avoid it.

If you are interested in reading about techniques to get you through labor (assisted with meds or without), then I always recommend "Active Labor" by Janet Balaskas. The book never makes you feel bad for choosing medications, but they give you so many tools to bring with you into that delivery room. I promise I'm not paid to say any of this, I just love the book so much. It has eliminated all of my aches and pains (except my spd) through he outlined stretches/yoga poses, and has given me information on positions and exercises to do during labor! Worth a read if you are starting to think about those. And again... the key is this book will never talk down to you, never insult a choice, and never makes any labor look any less beautiful than another.

Good luck, and I hope this helps!!!