Epidurals....how did it work for you if you had one?

[nicem815]

My first baby my FIL did my epidural and it was amazing!!! I was immediately numb when he finished and I didn't feel a thing and never had to top off the medicine. My second I did it without and it was pretty painful, but not really that bad. Had an epidural with my 3rd done by a different dr and it was awful. I had to have 2 doses and then sit and wait 15 minutes for the numbing to kick in. I was fully dilated before I was numb and had the baby and felt everything.

I complained to my FIL about the epidural and he said some hospitals do a mini spinal (what he does) and others do epidurals that take time to kick in. So this baby I'm planning on going the no epidural route because of how horrible my last experience was. If I could have the mini spinal though, I'd do it again in a heart beat!

That makes sense!! I think my friend who just had her baby had the spinal....I think I had the other one your FIL was talking about lol!!

When the dr put in the medicine and told me he'd be back in 10 minutes to make sure I was numb I started crying!! I expected it to be immediate and it was awful. He came back in and I still wasn't numb so I had to have a second dose of the medicine, which made me incredibly nauseous so I started puking, and then I was fully dilated before he even came back in to check on me again...

The only problem I had the first time around was pain in my urethra for probably about 6 months PP. I'm assuming from the catheter

Oh man...those catheters....I honestly don't even remember if I had one...but I guess I would have, right? Everything was such a blur after so many hours without medication lol!!

Sounds like you had a tough epidural experience, yikes!!

 

[nicem815]

I loved mine, just wish my OB would have allowed it earlier! My water broke when i was only 1 cm so my OB started a pitocin drip to speed things up. He wouldn't allow the epi until I was 5 cm, which took 12 hours. Once I got there, the epi was wonderful. I finally got a few minutes rest, but progressed to 10 cm and ready to push an hour after getting the epidural. I could feel the contractions to push, but it didn't hurt at all. I pushed maybe 5 or 6 times and she was out. No lasting effects for me. Oh, and my OB doesn't use a catheter, even with an epidural. I was happy about that.

See, now I'm not sure if I had a catheter or not! lol! !I honestly don't remember! I'll have to ask my husband about that.

It sounds like your epidural was awesome. If my labor lasts long this time around, I'll probably get one again. The hardest part was just feeling delirious from being so exhausted and in so much pain. I got a couple of hours rest from the epidural (when it kicked in) and I attribute that rest to what helped me to push out DD so quickly (45 minutes). Had I not had rest, the exhaustion would have made it difficult, I think.

 

[DobbyForever]

My epidural was the bomb dot com. I was in labor for about four hours before I politely asked for my epidural at 6cm. I was stuck in a triage room and most of my coping techniques involved walking or use of my ball, and the room was too small. It was easy to get in. They had me sit over the side of the bed with my mom in a chair in front of me massaging my legs and talking to me. The anesthesiologist narrated everything. I expected it to be far worse than it was.

As far as relief, mine was instantaneous. They also gave me a button to push if I needed more, under the instructions I should not feel the need to push it more than once every three hours and if I do then call the nurse because I need more drugs. I pushed it twice, once near the beginning and the second was on accident I was nervous about the catheter but I didn't feel it going in or out at all

I went from rolling on the floor morning to downright chipper. I was awake and alert and enjoyed my labor and delivery. I felt no pain pushing, just the plop as my son came out. Didn't even feel my tear until they weaned me off the epidural. I was alert, conversing as normal with my family like nothing was going on lol. Being bitter they had food (good thing I had the foresight to order lunch and eat it when I did because two contractions later I tossed in the towel). I wasn't tired, but on my mom's/nurses recommendation we closed the blinds and EVERYONE took a long nap lol myself included. If anything, I had a hard time getting to sleep because I was so alert/ well rested from the night before.

Side effects
I was up and walking immediately after delivery to the bathroom
I did spike a fever and was put on Tylenol and the room temp decreased
I didn't feel my contractions/know when to push but the doctors told me when to push and when to stop
It took a while to get my epidural "level", one side was more numb than the other so I had some crampiness on my left side the first hour

But ultimately I was on the floor thinking
A- it only gets worse from here (I was managing contractions with rest, I couldn't imagine little to no rest in between)
B- I wanted to enjoy my labor experience

So I'm glad I got it. If we have a second, I'd get it as soon as I hit active labor but definitely cope through early labor. I was up walking around target lol

 

[Mrs. MB]

My labor was pretty much a zero yo sixty. From not a single Braxton Hicks to water breaking and contractions 4 minutes apart. I also progressed from 1cm to pushing in two hours. I had awful staggered contractions. The staff didn't expect me to progress so fast so when the nurse checked me and I was at 7 it was time for that epidural. I was screaming like a banshee and the pain was out of this world. Bad news was - anastesiologist wasn't available right away. He walked into my room when the birth team was already in place and I was ready to push. He offered a spinal if I could hold still. Yeah, he was a man that never gave birth because who the F could hold still at that point? So needless to say no pain relief for me... both hubby and I were traumatized by the experience and I definitely didn't enjoy my labor. If I was to have a second that epidural better be ready when I'm checking in.