I'm scared and have a epidural question?

Question

With my 1st pregnancy I had a epidural as a matter of fact I had 3 of them because the doctor didn't know how to do it. He went to far each time and made that spinal fluid leak it was very painful, and I still felt everything, because none of them worked. Is this right or is it true that you are not suppost to feel a thing giving birth after having an epidural? I'm 39 weeks now and not sure what to do for pain.

Answer 1

Well in your case it sure would not help. (1rst child)
I am sorry he put you in so much pain.
Even done right it is not a fun thing.

Please talk to the one who is going to do it this time for you.
Do you have scoliosis? (Curved spine) Find out now and they will do things a little different. * laying or leaning*

I felt the birth so i could push but did not feel the contractions till time to push and felt a bubble of pain on one side. I had asked for my drip to be slower because of some women not feeling anything and when it came time to push they could not properly.

As for other pain meds, I am not happy with the side effects of most. And I breast fed i did not want anything still getting to my baby. (Some leave traces for weeks*

You may want to try Hypno breathing.
Or seeing if you can stay in the shower for a longer time.
As a Doula you would think I would be all med free. But I am not. I want what is best for the whole family and there time in labor and delivery.

Answer 2

Sounds like a horrible doctor. I had an epidural catheter inserted just once and it worked the whole time. Originally it was taken for natural labour and i felt NOTHING below the waste. I ended up having an emergency c section and they bumped up the epi juice by inserting more just before surgery. I felt no pain at all but a "pulling" sensation as they opened me up to take baby out. There are always risks with epidurals and only an experienced doctor should ever insert one. If you decide on getting an epidural again, find out who the anaesthesiologist is going to be and ask him/her questions. Also dont be afraid to ask other mother's who have gone to the same hospital and received the same treatment if it was good for them or not. If the experience scared you too much you can try Gas - otherwise known as "laughing gas". It doesnt stop the pain but it helps you to breath easier and makes it just a little easier. It can cause nausea and dizzyness if you dont get the hang of it. There are also TENS machines which work well for some. These machines have small tapes which are strapped are stuck onto you lower abdomen and they stop/reduce the pain receptors in your nerves helping your brain not to react. Hope it goes well for you and im so sorry to see you had a bad experience. If an epidural is incerted correctly its absolute bliss!

Answer 3

Wow. It really seems like you had an unnecessarily bad experience. It's your right to have knowledgeable and capable staff on hand for your delivery and please say that this time. If the first person makes you uncomfortable, ask about ALL of your options, for example: Is there another anesthesiologist(?) on hand? Or, Can they provide you with someone who knows what they are doing? Don't worry that your being rude or nasty, cause the next woman will do the same. Labor and delivery is no time for anyone in the medical field to be playing with anything less than their 'A' game.

And ask when you first get there, so that they can get it together before your labor and delivery progresses too far. My younger sister had an epidural also but it was administered too late in labor, and like you, she says that there were certain things that she felt during delivery. But then again, my sister-n-law refuses to get an epidural and she's had six deliveries with painkillers that can be administered through her I.V. There are a lot of options and my doctor discussed them with me well before delivery time. Ask your doctor at your next visit to go over epidural and non-epidural delivery options.

My epidural did not hurt at all and I felt NOTHING after they inserted the needle. Nothing. I went to sleep, in full labor. The nurse told me when I was having contractions cause I could not feel a thing. As a matter of a fact, I had a c-section, woke for the whole thing, and was walking to the park to exercise my stitches less than two weeks later. I don't think your epidural is supposed to hurt, but you have to request or receive it in time for it to work properly. Sometimes it takes a while for the medicines to 'kick in'. I hope this is helpful. Congratulations!!

Answer 4

You should only feel pressure, unless your epidural is starting to wear off. I had an epidural when I had my c-section and all I could feel was pressure. I did feel when they gave me the epidural b/c it was over too far to one side but they moved it and it was fine. Make sure that your doctor knows that you have had a bad experience with an epidural and you are worried about it so maybe they can have someone more experienced this time. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience and I hope it all goes well for you this go round.

Answer 5

You're going to get all kinds of answers, because every women, every birth, every pregnancy and every doctor is different. Both of my natural births, I had the epidural, and it helped sooo much. But when I was ready to deliver, I could still feel a LOT of pain. Mine epidurals took a large edge off. My sister didn't feel a thing with hers and talked to me about shoes inbetween pushes. My doctor said he perfered women to feel the pressure so they can also feel how and when to push. Of all epidurals I've had and heard of, though, I've never heard of anyone feeling the actually the epidural being given.

Best wishes!

Answer 6

the epidural only helps with the labor pain i felt pain when i had all 4 of my kids, giving birth hurts no matter what you do. i would get a new Dr. if he didn't know how to give the shot. don't stress all the pain is worth it in the end. anyone who tells you giving birth doesn't hurt is lying to you. the epidural only makes it less painful good luck to you.

Answer 7

why he had to do it three times AND he's a doctor????...i NEVER had to keep getting over again...it was done correctly on the first try... but i had an epidural with both my kids and with my daughter i got it at 6 cm and didnt feel NOTHING delivering her, but with my son i had it about 4-5 cm and by the time i delivered him, i could feel him coming out, not painful, but the epidural was wearing off...so in some cases you can feel nothing at all and in others you can. it depends on how soon you get it and how long it tgakes you to fully dialate

Answer 8

You shouldn't feel anything. I had an epidural with my last C-section and aside from some pressure (heaviness, not pain kinda pressure) I felt nothing.

Answer 9

Sounds like the anitheseologist didn't know what he was doing. I would've asked for another Dr. after the 1st. I had a spinal block for my C-section, but you're not supposed to feel anything. I felt a little tugging with my C-section.

Answer 10

Sounds like you had a very inexperienced anesthesiologist. As hard as it is, please don't let that experience change your decisions about this pregnancy. I hope your next epidural goes better!