epidural questions!!
im being induced on monday with drip, and have been told that i may need an epidural as it is sorer faster, but can anyone tell me how paralysed you are with one?how high up in the body does the numbness go i mean?
what parts are numbed?can you still sit up by yourself, i think id be really scared if i couldnt feel my legs but much worse if i knew i couldnt sit up by myself!
im not scared of needles really so that doesnt really bother me, but i am very claustrophobic and can only imagine that it makes you feel quite trapped!?
[Modified by: lauragcam on 29 May 2008 10:31:43 ]
[Modified by: lauragcam on 29 May 2008 10:32:42 ]
what parts are numbed?can you still sit up by yourself, i think id be really scared if i couldnt feel my legs but much worse if i knew i couldnt sit up by myself!
im not scared of needles really so that doesnt really bother me, but i am very claustrophobic and can only imagine that it makes you feel quite trapped!?
[Modified by: lauragcam on 29 May 2008 10:31:43 ]
[Modified by: lauragcam on 29 May 2008 10:32:42 ]
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Replies
when you are induced with a drip it does tend to be more painful, and often an epidural is recommended. the block tends to be level with your belly button, so you may still feel tightenings at the top, but they shouldnt be painful. every epidural is different in how well it works, some women can still feel their legs, whereas some wouldnt know who they belonged to! very often you will need help to have your position changed for you as you wont be able to do it yourself.
you will still be able to sit up, but will need to lie on your side too, as there is a slim chance of you developing a pressure sore with an epidural (very low tho'!)
in the mean time, bonk like mad, drink & eat fresh pinapple, have a curry, anything that could put you in labour to avoid the drip!! have you been offered a "sweep"?
good luck however it goes anyway!!
i am desperate to go into labour naturally, but really dont feel like its gonna happen.
keep fingers x
An epidural is fine. I could feel my legs and move them about...could feel everything really EXCEPT the pain (woooo). I could sit up by myself but it was a bit difficult so I needed my oh to pull me up a bit!
I got took into hospital and had my waters broken and then was given the drip.
I will be totally honest with you, i went from feeling fine to the pain hitting the roof. I dont even remember about 30 mins after this because i was in agony. I'm not telling you this to scare you, i would just advise you to have an edidural as soon as you can.
I had one when i was about 7cm dilated and felt wonderful after it. I was stupid, because the midwife advised me to have one before having the drip and i didnt take her advice.
Apparently only 1 in around 100 women dont have an epi when they are given a drip. I only had a low dose so i could still feel alll my contractions and didnt need to be told when to push. I hope this helps hun x
I think they do a low-dose one as standard. They only top it up enough that you can't feel anything if you have a caesarean. They topped up mine for my c section but i could still feel it! So I had a spinal which is a much higher dose and that wore off in 3 hours & I was walking around.
I found that an epi wears off very quickly, so quickly that I was in severe pain an hour after having it topped up! They top it up as much (well within reason) or little as you want though. They did mine automatically as I was hysterical whenever it wore off so prob did it to shut me up!
They top it up through the tube thing that's in your back, it just feels cold, doesn't hurt one bit xxx
you can feel more "pressure" as they push into the small of your back - they usually numb the skin first before the actual epidural tho, and it isn't painful as such. you will also need to sit really still while they do it, just so they get it in the right place!
i went from being in sooooo much agony to it being so much more bearable i could still feel the contractions and knew exactly when to push in fact i was only pushing for 12 mins lol
it didnt hurt at all going in and i could still feel and move my legs and sit up by myself
i would never give birth without one now!!!
good luck and dont be scared about the epi honest they r brill!!!