[pr1madona]

I had my girls naturally, by choice, but this time am debating getting an epi. My last labor was 18hrs, 6 of which were spent at 7+ cm. Then I dealt with my cervix being manually lifted over baby's head both times which almost made me pass out. So for those of you that had an epi, did it work for you? Does it take away all the pain? What do you feel when pushing? Any side effects? When can you get up after the delivery? I'm soooo nervous about labor this time, as my last labor is still pretty fresh in my mind. I love how great I feel after the delivery but I don't know if I can take the back pain again. I really almost passed out last time:/

[shanirah]

I had an Epi with my son, but it wore off right as I started to push. I had back labor with him, tore like a fiend and they gave me some numbing shots to stitch me up and then before I even got to hold him, I took a two hour nap. That last one irritated the nurses but I wasn't sure which of the three identical nurses were most pissed off at me, that's how tired I was. This was also 10 years ago, not sure how it works now, I'm sure there have been some changes in that time.I will say, it did help me relax enough to get past 5.

[blueyedncrazy]

I had no problems with it. It was the best thing EVER!
They came and I was in so much pain they had to give me a shot of fentanyl to make me less tense so they could actually do the epi. When they did that, I was in heaven. Didnt even feel them doing it.
It didnt wear off, but it DID however come out on its own because I was sweating and the tape came off of my back. Luckily I never did feel anything.
As far as being able to feel when you push. You kinda have to rely on the staff to let you know if you are pushing hard enough because you cant feel anything.

[luvmykids623]

I had an epi with DS1. At first I had the tiniest "hot spot" of feeling (not even pain). When I mentioned it to the nurse, because I didn't know if it was normal or not, she called the anesthesiologist and he gave me a bolus shot. I was ready to push a half hour later and felt NOTHING. It didn't impact my ability to push though. He was out in 6 minutes.

[abmommy]

I have never had an epi but just thought that I would throw out there that I had a 14 hr labor with my second and basically 3hrs with little Adam.

[Clutch]

Whatever you do, don't wait too late to request an epi.

I had no intention of having a natural birth, but I ended up having one anyway because I waited too long to request the epi. I had back labor and was in alot of pain. They offered me the epi, but I was afraid it would wear off if they started it too early. So I told them I wanted to wait. I handled the pain for as long as I possibly could. When I finally reached my breaking point, my body started involuntarily pushing, and it was too late to get the epi!

I found out later they actually tape the needle in your back so that they can add more medicine later if epi wears off. That would have been so helpful to know when I was in labor

If you decide to get an epi this time, be sure to ask if they can add more meds if the epi wears off, and don't wait too late to request it.

[squishyhomie]

they gave me the epidural after the doctor broke my water at 4cm.
i had been up all night before having contractions and was exhausted,
the epi let me sleep and relax and enjoy my labor more.

the pain relief from it was so good, that i was at 10cm ready to push and had no clue about it, i couldn't feel the need to push or the extreme pain that was suppose to be going on.

you can't walk after labor, but the medicine wears off after a couple hours,
so you can walk around a bit.

[bethysfirst1]

My epi worked really well. When it was time to push, all I felt was pressure. It also helped me to relax which made the labor progress really quickly. I was up and about in an hour. My back was bruised afterwards and sore, but not bad. I would get one again for my next baby without reservation.

[Resi]

My epi this time was amazing! I felt no pain at all. Just touch and pressure. I was able to get up very soon after my baby was born. I had no bad side effects. It was perfect!

[pr1madona]

My midwife did warn me they probably wouldn't give me one past 6cm since it's my 4th and there's the chance I would go from 7 to 10 in like 30min. But my past 2 labors I have spent the majority of the labor from 7 to 10. Plus I have had a lip that won't go away and I never get the strong pushing urge until the lip is lifted over the head. I fully expect this one to be the same. I also have a benign cyst in my sacral area of my back that makes the back pain excruciating at the end, and it's not due to baby being positioned wrong. So there's no way I can avoid that pain without an epi I guess. It kinda sucks cos I'm not really in horrible pain until 9cm or so so I know I will have to ask for the epi before I'm even in bad pain.

[Club_J]

I wanted a natural birth but after 4 hours of pushing and only being at 0 station I got on epi so I could rest and try pushing again later. The only other option was a c-section. I felt amazing as soon as I got it. During my 2 hour rest the baby descended to +2 station. When I started pushing again I could only feel the slightest pressure with each contraction and had to be told when to push. But that was fine. I'd had lots of practice so I knew how! I think I was up within a couple hours, though I really didn't want to walk because of pain completely unrelated to the epi. I had no complications and absolutely loved it.

[JennLynn_]

Great topic!!

I've been wondering about this stuff too!!

My debate about the epi has been on my mind alot lately!!

[pr1madona]

I would really like a chance to enjoy my labor and not be in agony. I mean, I know I can do it naturally and my 2nd baby was born 4hrs after I got to the hospital so it wasn't that bad at all. But to spend 6+hours going from 7 to 10 is just really hard. Especially since I had already been up all night and hadn't hardly eaten anything. I was just so exhausted by 5:30pm when I started pushing. Thank God I only push for 15-20min usually. And since it's my 4th I'm not concerned too much about not knowing when/how to push because I think regardless of if I feel the pain my body will know what to do. I remember last time I was so desperate to be out of pain that I pushed even without having a contraction to get her out. And didn't even tear thank God.

[Jessido]

I had the worst epi in the world and im personally pissed at my idiot anesthesiologist . I felt everything, every excruciating contraction. They ever told me there was "nothing they could do" for the pressure but you guys said you felt nothing and I'm so jealous. I got a csec at the last minute but struggled horribly with the pain.