Gas and Air?!

[moomoo]

When i mc, they gave me gas and air to help with the contractions..I found it was great, but like everyone else has said did NOTHING for the pain..it just helped me deal with the pain. It made me feel as though i was in a cave, everything echoed loads!

I work for a company that makes floor polishing machines, and i was lied in bed and heard this strange woooshing noise and lo and behold a janitor comes past with one of our machines..it was really bizaar at the time!! lol

x

 

[Maffie]

Ive not had my baby yet but i have been giving gas and air before when I tore all the ligaments in my leg. The ambulance drivers gave it me to help as moving me onto a stretch wasn't impossible without it.

I like that you self medicate so you take a breath when you want it. I felt drunk but aware if that makes sense. It took the edge of the pain but I was still aware of it iykwim?

 

[dali]

i found that it didnt do much for the pain but more distanced me from what was going on but it wears off after about a minute so you could always try it and stop if you dont like. i think for me the only real benefit was that it gave me something to concentrate on othe than the pain.
pethadine to me just felt like gas and air except it didnt go away, i still dont think that it did much for the pain either but again made me feel drunk and a little distanced from what was going on. dont think i'd take the pethadine again but gas and air is alright.
everyone responds differently to it

 

[madseasons]

I guess its not widely used here in the states, because I had to look it up to even see what it was.

We usually just get an epidural or narcotics here. Would be nice to have another alternative.

EDIT: This is what I found on google:

"Gas", as it is commonly called in Ireland and England, sometimes also called "gas and air", is actually nitrous oxide, also known as "laughing gas". This method of pain relief has never become popular in the USA, and is essentially not available here. Really no good reason for this, as the safety record of "gas" is quite good in those other countries, and in some patients, it can provide some degree of effective pain relief. Remifentanil is not gas. It is a narcotic drug given by intravenous injection. (similar to morphine, demerol, fentanyl, and others like that) This is a drug that is very short-acting, provides very brief but potent pain relief, and is just beginning to be used for pain relief in some women who either do not want or can not have epidurals. The main advantage of remifentanil is that it wears off in minutes, so there are not probelms with being sedated (or "narcotized") for prolonged periods of time. However, because it is so short-acting, the timing of administration must be carefully controlled to make sure that it gives the proper effect.

 

[lou1979]

I had it with my first and NEVER again, it made me feel drunk and i had the spinners LOL!!

it did not help with the pain for me at all.

 

[nobby'swife]

that's all i had with my first and boy was it great, it makes you feel light headed, but i took it at the wrong time and suddenly felt sick with made my hubby run out of the room.

I'm going to try to stick with it this time round depending on the pain!!!

 

[littlekitten8]

My dad loves to tell us the story of my mum on Gas and Air during my brothers birth. She was so off her head she turned round to him and said 'I had a funny dream that I was having a baby'.....to which he replied 'You are you silly cow now PUSH!' lol.

 

[lottie_2007]

I loved the G&A and couldn't get enough of it, it definately put me in a 'drunken' state i was slurring my words and talking nonsense but it definately worked, i also had it for my stiches too! Hated the pethadine though- shows everyone is different! x

 

[Allie soon2b4]

I didn't have it or anything else for that matter during any labour but what I was told is if you are feeling sick or vomiting (I was with my first son) that it can heighten the icky feeling and is not the best thing to try. So I didn't and just used relaxation and deep breathing instead.