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epidurals? pros,cons?
has anybody had one? pros cons? would u be having one again?
last time i was induced by drip had gas and air and petidine and was in utter agony there was no gap between my contractions from 11am till i had him, the mws all put me off having a epidural.. and when i was screaming for it they said it was too late! i had to be cut! which im too scared to even think about! and jayden was very distressed, i pushed for over a hour but had no contrations and ddint know when to push then and he kept going back up!!! nerly had forceps but he finally came out, very blue and floppy it was scary. so im so confused if to have a epidural and save myself al the pain??
also does the epidural actally hurt? xxx xxxlove hayley 32+2 and jayden 18 months x
last time i was induced by drip had gas and air and petidine and was in utter agony there was no gap between my contractions from 11am till i had him, the mws all put me off having a epidural.. and when i was screaming for it they said it was too late! i had to be cut! which im too scared to even think about! and jayden was very distressed, i pushed for over a hour but had no contrations and ddint know when to push then and he kept going back up!!! nerly had forceps but he finally came out, very blue and floppy it was scary. so im so confused if to have a epidural and save myself al the pain??
also does the epidural actally hurt? xxx xxxlove hayley 32+2 and jayden 18 months x
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Replies
I could still feel contractions on 1 side although not as painfull and it still gave me some time to rest but after an hour or so it stopped working all together.
Saying that I would prob still as again if my labour was long and painfull again.
My advice is, keep an open mind & tell your midwife asap if you are thinking of having an epidural as I know in most hospitials only a certain number of women can have 1 as a midwife has to stay with you throughout your labour and there may not be enough.
Good luck hun, I hope all goes well for you
Kirsty xx
sarah
with my first i walked about after a couple of hours but my second i couldnt walk till the next moring as i had a high dose as baby needed to be turned while still inside of me, good luck hun hope this helps, if you need to know anthing else ill be happy to help xxx
Hayley 27+3
I found the epidural amazing and i didnt feel a thing when i was having it in. Although with my second i had a natural birth withhout pain relief and that was so much nicer and i was up and about within minutes of having her, i wouldnt rule an epidural out x
Pros:
1) I was beginning to panic as the pain was so bad (baby was back-to-back and like you the pain did not go between contractions). Once the epidural was in I felt more in control (it didn't work properly but it did take the edge off enough for me to calm myself).
2) It didn't hurt at all when being inserted - you're in so much pain from the contractions you don't notice anything else.
Cons:
1. Had to have catheter
2. Couldn't be mobile
3. Had to deliver on my back
4. Wasn't sure when to push (felt huge pressure but no actual urge to push)
5. Had numbness for a while afterwards so couldn't get up (I couldn't anyway as I'd lost too much blood to stand without passing out, but I do remember how numb & weird my legs felt as a result of the epidural)
6. Still get tingling down my spine a year on (where nerves were damaged, the midwife says).
In my case, I was very sore after, but more so because my daughter was over 9lb and I tore.
Epidural did cos my back to ache and be stiff for a few months, some mornings when I woke up, it would feel like my back had locked. Once I'd moved about a bit it would be fine.
To be honest, after actually having the epidural, I wouldn't rule it out again. My partner's against me having one but he's not the one doing the pushing!!! I'd love to manage without it but judging by the last time, don't think I'll be able to!! lol x
Had one during first labour. Was getting no gap between contractions and was in agony from a half hour after first contraction. I was worried and knew i couldnt last hours and hours of that pain.
Pros
Even though i had to have 2 (first didnt work) once it kicked in it was total relief.
Had to have episiotomy and forceps so was ready to go.
Cons
Def prolonged labour, even though still fast labour
Couldnt feel anything so pushing was waste of time.
Had to have episiotomy and forceps
Have catheter so not pleasent
Not mobile at all after
Even though there are def more cons than pros, when i had my second i only had g and a but would have had another epidural if needed.
Def this time will try to have just g and a again but if im struggling i would have no qualms about another epidural.
I would wait and see how you get on
Gemm x
31+2
begged for epidural - 4 hours later !!!! they put one in and it really didnt hurt at all - it was amazing but stopped working after about 30 minutes - they got it working again but then it stopped so they put another one in slightly further up - it was magic - i couldnt recommend them enough especially with inductuion as apparently they are more painful (dear god it really was!).
18 hours after that and i was taken to theatre for a section - the epidural was already inso just needed a top up which made it nice and easy.
I never wrote a birth plan and just wanted a safe delivery - i got this and a pretty good labour experience even though it was bloody long! x
begged for epidural - 4 hours later !!!! they put one in and it really didnt hurt at all - it was amazing but stopped working after about 30 minutes - they got it working again but then it stopped so they put another one in slightly further up - it was magic - i couldnt recommend them enough especially with inductuion as apparently they are more painful (dear god it really was!).
18 hours after that and i was taken to theatre for a section - the epidural was already inso just needed a top up which made it nice and easy.
I never wrote a birth plan and just wanted a safe delivery - i got this and a pretty good labour experience even though it was bloody long! x
begged for epidural - 4 hours later !!!! they put one in and it really didnt hurt at all - it was amazing but stopped working after about 30 minutes - they got it working again but then it stopped so they put another one in slightly further up - it was magic - i couldnt recommend them enough especially with inductuion as apparently they are more painful (dear god it really was!).
18 hours after that and i was taken to theatre for a section - the epidural was already inso just needed a top up which made it nice and easy.
I never wrote a birth plan and just wanted a safe delivery - i got this and a pretty good labour experience even though it was bloody long! x
I have 3 metal rods in my spine as I've got scoliosis (curvature of the spine). I've got an appoinment with the anethetist to discuss it all but I can't imagine they are going to let me have an epidural - just too risky!
my main concern is if I need an emergency c section I'm guessing they'll have to put me out completely which I'm not loving!
Good thing about the epidural is its the ONLY thing that will take away the pain completely, I sat in bed having been screaming in pain continuously for hours before hand (I was induced and the contractions were one of top of the other) like it was a normal day, didnt feel anything, it was bliss
I will be definately having one again if i need to. No one gives u an award for being brave! but there are also cons
As for the back ache, when Id had sam and they took the tape/tubes off, it felt like someone had broken my back, literally, and I had backache almost every day for a year which could be because of the epidural, I dont have a scooby.
When they first put it in (a nice sexy doc and an older not so sexy moody guy haha) they missed the first time, and yea, that hurt like hell (they made me sit still through contractions
bad points is i was completely confined to the bed, i was so numb i kept slipping down the bed and the midwifes and oh had to pull me back up (makes me laugh now was annoying at the time) i had a cathetor in too, which didnt hurt that much going in, was a little bit stingy but not terrible. i actually had a dream when i fell asleep i was weeing and i told my midwife and she told me its because my bladder needed emptied
now the pushing bit, i was scared id need forceps or a vontouse because people with epidurals are more likely to need them but thank god i didnt. i was lying there all relaxed and happy and i felt an odd pressure and the midwife looked and sams head was there! very odd lol, pushing him out wasnt too hard, i didnt know what i was pushing nor could i feel the pushing i was just pushing the best i could which luckily got him out, some people arent so lucky its just one of the risks xxx