Pain Management During Labor- Narcotic vs Epidural

[mel7806]

I requested an epi once I hit the "every 2 minutes" mark with my first but never got it. The doctor said he wanted to check me before they gave it to me and then he was called into 3 emergency c-sections! By the time he got back to check me, I was already fully dilated and effaced and ready to start pushing. The nurses gave me a dose of motrin to take some of the pain away while I waited for the doctor but that's it.
Second time around, I made sure every single person who crossed my path knew that I wanted the epi! Still no pain meds other than motrin but I loved my epi! As someone else said, they turn it down before pushing so you can have a better handle on where and when. Because there were no narcotics, I never felt loopy. I did puke when I got the epi but they said that was pretty normal. I also had a cath but I dont remember when it came out.

[joon]

I'm a FTM but I definitely plan on getting the epi. I'm a panicker, and for me the idea of not feeling like myself mentally (i.e. w/ narcotics) is way scarier than not feeling a part of my body. I had to have a spinal for a recent surgery and it didn't bother me at all to have the disconnect from my legs. Unless I was moving or touching them, there was nothing to notice. I talked to my doctor about it today, and he said it only slows down your labour if you get it before 4 cm, and that pushing is usually way shorter because they wait until they can see the baby's head before they get you to start (too painful to let the baby descend that far on his/her own w/o pushing w/ no epi). Anyway, that was reassuring enough for me. My hospital also does walking and "late and light" epis, so it's nice to have some options. Bring on the pain management!

[busterrose]

I tried to go drug free last time but when back labor started to pick up the pain was too immense so I got it at 7 cm. I don't regret it because it relaxed me and it made labor progress faster. But it took four attempts to get it placed correctly. It sent pain shooting down my legs with each try. I don't want it this time either but I'm not entirely opposed if I'm in too much pain.

[abachesta]

I'm a FTM and in our L&D class they said if baby had a vote the epidural would be there choice and now days they have it down to a science. It actually wears off as you are pushing bc they want you up and walking shortly after delivery. They also said the narcotics cause a drunk, groggy feeling and they usually only give you those in the early stages of labor so your body can break down the drug and there won't be high levels of it in the baby's system after they are born because there little livers can't handle processing it with out moms help.

[atangiblewish]

Jan 24, 2015 21:09:16 GMT -5 abachesta said:

I'm a FTM and in our L&D class they said if baby had a vote the epidural would be there choice and now days they have it down to a science. It actually wears off as you are pushing bc they want you up and walking shortly after delivery. They also said the narcotics cause a drunk, groggy feeling and they usually only give you those in the early stages of labor so your body can break down the drug and there won't be high levels of it in the baby's system after they are born because there little livers can't handle processing it with out moms help.

I'm surprised they would say that. I think if baby had a choice it would choose for mama to labor like the term means - labor. It's not that it wears off - they turn it off when pushing so you can start feeling the contractions to help push.

[abachesta]

Jan 24, 2015 21:17:53 GMT -5 atangiblewish said:

Jan 24, 2015 21:09:16 GMT -5 abachesta said:

I'm a FTM and in our L&D class they said if baby had a vote the epidural would be there choice and now days they have it down to a science. It actually wears off as you are pushing bc they want you up and walking shortly after delivery. They also said the narcotics cause a drunk, groggy feeling and they usually only give you those in the early stages of labor so your body can break down the drug and there won't be high levels of it in the baby's system after they are born because there little livers can't handle processing it with out moms help.

I'm surprised they would say that. I think if baby had a choice it would choose for mama to labor like the term means - labor. It's not that it wears off - they turn it off when pushing so you can start feeling the contractions to help push.

Yeah I have no idea what it means. I will find out and let you know when D day comes..... My friend said hers wore off as pushing she didn't feel a thing birthing wise. But when they went to stitch her up from tearing she started to feel it so they had to give her a shot to numb it.