Ladies who opt for epidural want to know there exp n specially the pain of needle going in to the spine coz I am thinking of hving one for this one but I am scared of needles
Sometimes I hear it's painful to insert, and can cause back problems also. My sister got what's called a "spinal headache" from it. Supposedly the worst kind of headache. For me, I got it with my second baby and it didn't cause any pain at all. But it did slow my labor a little. I'm opting for the "walking epidural" this time which I had with my first.
I had an epidural with both of my previous deliveries. With my first, it was perfect. The pain of the needle wasn't unbearable. I think that they used a topical anesthesia of some kind before inserting the needle. I could feel everything except pain! It was wonderful! I walked from the labor and delivery room to my hospital room after delivering my daugther.
With my second, it was a different experience. When they put the needle in I immediately started feeling burning on the lower left side of my body. They changed something and the burning faded into complete numbness and uselessness until 2pm the next day! I hated it. I had absolutely no control over that side of my body until the meds wore off. I also had terrible back labor since my sons head was face up instead of face down. I could still feel the pain in my bones when pushing.
The 2nd experience seriously has me wondering if I want the epi again for #3 or if I can endure delivery without it.
My blood pressure dropped after I got mine so they had to give me oxygen and medicine to get it back to normal. I also got to the point where I couldn't move at all and the nurses had to pick me up to move me. They shut mine off so I could push since I couldn't feel.
As for the pain it didn't really hurt. The numb the spot before and thar hurt worse then epi itself. But I would get one again
I had the same spinal headaches that @Fate mentioned. The WORST! I had them for a whole week after birth. That is why I'll never get one again, unless there's a life or death emergency. But getting it inserted was indeed less painful than my contractions...
They insert a numbing agent.. but I still felt the second needle go in and it hurt so bad I jumped so they waited a second and then I couldn't feel anything. I hates that I couldn't feel anything for almost two hours after, but I had a csection so I'm also happy I didn't. But I didn't have a head ache after.. so that's cool
Oh yeah, forgot to mention...I had the headache because they had to stick me 3 times to get the epidural correct (to make sure both sides of my body were numb). I think some spinal fluid leaked out during that process, which caused the headache.
I thought it hurt a little but not enough for me to not do it again. Labor hurt so bad I didn't care that the epi hurt a little. I do however have a pain in that spot. My son is two and I still feel an achyness. It's not a bad pain. It hurts more now that I'm pregnant again. But I will be doing it again for this baby
@mya218 they probably punctured ur spinal fluid sac when they did ur epi causing it to leak amd that is why u had the headache. I recently had two spinal taps and one of the possible side effects is the headache. It means that there is spinal fluid leaking from ur spinal fluid sac. They can fix it by taking some of ur own blood and injecting it over the leak and it acts like a bandaid of if own blood. So it scabs over the leak just like it would anywhere else in or on ur body and the stuffs off when it's healed.
Also, the level of pain caused, I believe and have heard, all depends on who does it. Some Drs are excellent at it. For my spinal taps I felt a slight pinch with the local and when they used the bigger needle I barely felt anything. Also, one of the Drs told me that the smaller the gauge of the needle the less likely there will be a headache later. I didn't have one, so maybe she was right??
Mine didnt hurt.. It just felt like someone was hitting a funnybone in my back. I didnt have any bad reactions and have not had any bad side effects afterwards. Ive had 3 so far.
@brttnywstn14@BentleysMommy An epidural numbs you from the waist down, leaving you immobilized and you can end up with a c-section from slow labor. An intrathecal (walking epidural) is still a narcotic like the regular epidural, but you are able to feel if there is any SIGNIFICANT pain (the kind that your doctor would want to know about, ei: if something is wrong). But you won't feel deadened, the pain relief is similar to the regular epidural, but it increases your chance of a vaginal delivery. A lot of women don't know about this alternative to the epidural. The intrathecal still goes in your back like the regular epidural. Walking promotes contractions and is very important for your emotional health. I do want to point out that not every facility will let you walk after receiving the intrathecal (walking epidural), for liability reasons, so ask your doctor if they will let you walk before you have the procedure. But you will be able to move your legs and sit up. I have had both, and the pain relief is very similar. The epidural usually doesn't let you fell ANY contractions at all, making it hard for you to know when to push. The intrathecal, your body can still feel the contractions but without the pain (think of how Braxton Hicks feel).
@Fate omg thanks for the information, i never knew there was an alternative to the epidural .. i had the epidural with my first birth and i was so stressed out because i was stuck in bed without moving and i had no clue when to push.. the nurse had to tell me when to do it.. I will make sure to ask for the intrathecal when i go into labor this time.
@Janet_2011 You're very welcome! I had the same issue with the epidural. They were telling me to push and I was like "I'm not having a contraction"... But I was, I just couldn't feel it. Honestly, I couldn't feel anything and just wanted everyone to leave me alone. I almost ended up with a c-section because I wouldn't push.
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With my second, it was a different experience. When they put the needle in I immediately started feeling burning on the lower left side of my body. They changed something and the burning faded into complete numbness and uselessness until 2pm the next day! I hated it. I had absolutely no control over that side of my body until the meds wore off. I also had terrible back labor since my sons head was face up instead of face down. I could still feel the pain in my bones when pushing.
The 2nd experience seriously has me wondering if I want the epi again for #3 or if I can endure delivery without it.
As for the pain it didn't really hurt. The numb the spot before and thar hurt worse then epi itself. But I would get one again
Also, the level of pain caused, I believe and have heard, all depends on who does it. Some Drs are excellent at it. For my spinal taps I felt a slight pinch with the local and when they used the bigger needle I barely felt anything. Also, one of the Drs told me that the smaller the gauge of the needle the less likely there will be a headache later. I didn't have one, so maybe she was right??