how long til an epidural wears off ??
i ask because i never got one last time as i am terrified of lifts amd assumed i wouldnt be able to walk for a while after the birth if i had one, and i wanted to be able to walk up/down stairs to my ward after thebirth which i did.
anyway it has just dawned on me that maybe once its taken out you are no longer numb or the feeling comes back quite soon after?or is this not the case?
could anyone who has had one let me know, cause id obviously love the painfree (in theory) birth, but absolutely could not go in a lift and would rather suffer the pain !
thanks
anyway it has just dawned on me that maybe once its taken out you are no longer numb or the feeling comes back quite soon after?or is this not the case?
could anyone who has had one let me know, cause id obviously love the painfree (in theory) birth, but absolutely could not go in a lift and would rather suffer the pain !
thanks
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Replies
I'm hoping not to have one but I will if I get desperate lol.
Hanna, a spinal is like a high dose epidural but more short term and only lasts a couple of hours. Its generally used for c-sections etc. xxx
to be honest id rather be able to feel whats going on and am a bit scared of feeling paralised, and ive heard you are more likely to tear etc.
i just kind of wondered about it. last time i did beg for one at the very last minute but they said it was too late cause i was ready to push and im so glad i managed to go thru a 11 hour labour without one.
i had nothing until i was about 7cm (cause i was 5cm by the time they examined me to check if i was actually in labour, long story!!), and the first mw (student) i had wouldnt let me have gas and air cause she said i wouldnt be able to push ??
anyway then a non-student mw came in and was shocked that i hadnt been given gas and i was so relieved when i got it.
i also had diamorphine, but that just made me feel a bit out of control and panicky, woudnt want that again (but prob will end up asking for anything!)
A low dose epidural will wear off relatively quckly and with some of them you can walk around whilst they are going.
I would not contemplate labour without an epidural, i happen to work with anaesthetists (Drs who do epidurals and spinals) and without a doubt the ones who work on the labour ward are the absolute experts at putting them in, they do so many!
good luck for next week
Lainer
You should be able to go home same day, unless they keep you in to make sure you don't go into labour. When I had my suture in it was as a day case. I was out of bed about 2 hours after my spinal and home later on early evening.
Karenxx
32+4