Epidurals... did you have one or not? ?

Question

If you did have one, how long did it take you to spring back to normal, walk, etc?

If you didn't have one, how bad was the pain (comparatively to..?) and how long did it take you to get back to normal, walk, etc?

Answer 1

I was supposed to, but the anesthesiologist was called to an emergency and I had no pain meds at all.

The pain was, literally, indescribable. Yes, it was very strong- I nearly broke my sisters' hand, BUT as son as it was over- that was it. I mean, it is the sort of pain that does not linger even one second. I was able to walk within a few minutes, but d*mned if I wanted to.

If I had to compare the pain to something... I can think of nothing. Maybe if you can envision a giant hand squeezing your body AND pulling all the skin and muscles downwards at the same time. I do find it incredible that such a thorough pain can be so fleeting.

I have to add; With my first child, I only had local and it was easy. With my second, the same, but a little more painful. It is the third child I was referring to. Keep in mind that each and every pregnancy is different. After 2 mostly painless ones, I was unprepared for how the 3rd one was.

Answer 2

I had one! It was a god send! I had my baby at 11:38 pm. So, I wasn't trying to do much walking (trying to sleep after wards, but it was so hard to sleep. I was so exited) My right leg was back to normal within maybe 2 hours. But, for some reason my left leg and my butt were numb for like 12-15 hours. I mean, I could move them they were just a little numb. I could walk but needed help for the first like 15 hours after. Which is a good idea anyway, you will be sore no matter what. But, I walked (with help) to the bathroom within an hour after. They make you go to the bathroom to make sure you can pee before they will take the IV out. I recommend it, but that's just me!

Answer 3

I was extremely against them when I went into labor but I ended up getting one. It was fine, I was walking almost right after I gave birth and never had any side affects, my back didn't even hurt. Although, I realize that it could be different for someone else. I really wouldn't stress out about getting one, for the most part they are safe for you and the baby!

Answer 4

I had one, it was a wonderful decision!  I had them insert it while I was having a big contraction so I didn't even feel the prick.  I eventually had to have a c-section and could walk the next day.  I had my baby at nite.  Good Luck!

Answer 5

i had 3 of them and never looked back. they do slow labor down a bit.. i had 3 long labors, and 2 c sections (which makes it worse when you were in labor for so long..) but as far as walking and springing back to normal..the epidural doesnt have much of anything to do with that. its a needle in your back.. not a big metal bar that incompascitates you for a year. they dope you up enough to not be in excruciating pain so you can get the thing out of you, and then it wears off..no big deal

Answer 6

I had one and it was the best decision!  I didn't feel any pain...only the pressure to push when it was time.  I was able to get up and walk around as soon as I was taken up to my room.  

Answer 7

I had one with each of my 3 children,

With baby # 1 i was in so much pain that I wasnt progressing so the dr. suggested I take it(i was against any drugs). The  Anesthesiologist came in andin and hit it perfectly the first time, 10 minutes I was very comfortable and I could even walk around only my tummy was numb. it took no time to recuperate from it.

with baby #2 the Nurse anestitist(sp?) couldnt get it on the first try but got in the second, more painful than the first baby to get in and I was numb all the way to my toes. I was up and walking with in 3 hours

with baby # 3 the nurse anestitis (different guy) couldnt get it in at all even after trying at 4 different sites on my back. the Anesthesiologist had to come in and he hit the sweet spot thefrst time and with in 5 minutes i was in heaven. I was walking around with in 1 hour of giving birth

I really was able to enjoy giving birth, especially with the last one. the pain was almost non-existent even the pushing wasnt as painful

I would suggest it to anyone, the experience will be much more pleasurable and you also can be in the moment as opposed to being in s much pain that you cant even think straight. also for some who are dead set against it the pain is so great that they do progress(like me) and then end up with unnecessary c-sections. the recovery time after a c-sec. is sooo much longer, it can take upto 6month-1 year to fully recover from a c -section.  

the pain for the epidural is 1/10th the pain from a contraction. I would just suggest you ask for the Anesthesiologist  not the nurse anestitis

not sure why woman conplain about the chronic pain. I only had site pain (sore) for about 2 weeks and only when I pressed on it. after that I had no pain at all.

Answer 8

i did ..best descion ever...when the pain starts..you'll be asking for one..btw..my girlfriend was dead set on not having an epidural and when the pain started and she felt she couldn't take anymore, she ask for something for the pain,but didn't want the nurse to give her an epidural, so the nurse gave her a shot of some sort and she doesn't even remember her daughters birth

Answer 9

I had an epidural.It was heaven.I didn't feel any pain from contractions but I knew I was having them.I felt some pressure when I was fully dilated but didn't feel a lot.I didn't feel any pain during labor and was able to walk within the hour after giving birth.I had no bad side effects or anything & was back to normal as soon as it wore off.I would definitely do the epidural again.Also,I am not saying that the back pain they complain about isn't from the epi,but most people are just quick to blame it on that..

Answer 10

I had one with both births.  First I was induced and able to get it as soon as I was feeling pain.  I could walk with assistance about an hour after they took it out.  With my second I went into labor naturally and it took longer to get one.  By the time he put it in I was in so much pain and unable to sit still it didn't take so I had to get another one which worked within minutes.  Again it took about an hour before I could walk with assistance.

I personally would never go without one because I needed the time to rest before pushing.  With my 1st I was in labor for 12 hours, but got hardly any sleep the night before because of the excitment/nerves and needed the rest.  With the second I went into labor around 9pm and gave birth around 9am, again need sleep because I had not gotten any since the night before.  You can not push as well if you are exhausted.

Answer 11

I had an epidural. And I will have one again with my next child. It doesn't take the contraction pain away, at least for me, but it did numb me from about the waist down. I ended up having a difficult labor, and both the forceps and vacuum had to be used. The doctor said that if I hadn't had an epidural she might not have tried those, and I would have had to have a c-section...which I did not want.

Anyway, as soon as the epidural wore off, I was able to walk. That was about an hour after labor. After it wears off, it's no different than if you hadn't had one. For me, there were no other side effects.

Answer 12

yes, yes, yes!!!  epidurals are AMAZING!!!!  It took me maybe 12 hrs to begin walking again after the birth and i was home less than 24 hrs after giving birth. Also i have not had any back problems at all and my little one is 4 mnths.

Answer 13

I didnt have one and went all natural. It didnt hurt- it was just uncomfortable. No matter how you sit/stand you can not find a comfortable position. It felt like bad menstrual cramps. Right after the baby was born I could walk around. The doctors advised me not to but I really had to pee like 20 minutes after he came out and I walked right to the bathroom. Childbirth is not as painful as people say it is.  

Answer 14

I've had two without epidurals.  One 3 day labour and one 8 hour labour.  Neither were particularly painful, in fact they were far less painful than the menstrual cramps I had in highschool.  The second short labour would have been pain-free for most of it except I had SPD (hip problems) and had gone walking for 10 hours the day before after having been on semi-bed rest for two months (baaaaaaaad plan BTW)

I know one women who had back problems from an epidural because they overdosed her (back before the catheter ones) the doctor screamed at the nurses in front of her.  She has back pain and her kids are grown.  There is actually diagnose nerve damage.

When my mother had an epidural with me it stopped labour and they lost my heartbeat.  Not exactly stress free.  They eventually found my heartbeat but I was showing signs of extreme distress.  Luckily she managed to push without contractions rather than have a c-section.

I also know two women who plain just didn't enjoy labour with an epidural and had their second babies without and found it much more enjoyable.  I don't *personally* know any woman that regrets choosing not to have an epidural (as opposed to one that wanted one but couldn't have one for whatever reason or the epidural didn't work).

Honestly fear causes pain, and as long as you can stay relatively relaxed its not that bad.

Answer 15

I did not have an epidural with either of my deliveries.  I was able to walk soon after the baby was born.  The pain was not unbearable.  I don't really know what you can compare the pain to.  The contractions were not so bad.  It did hurt to push the baby out, but it wasn't unbearable.  I was tired afterward, but I really felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Answer 16

I did have one after swearing that I would not. I was up and walking around within an hour or so after having my daughter.  

Answer 17

i had an epidural, but not by choice and never again. i was up and about in 2-3 days but that was from the actual incision not the epidural. But i did have some chronic headaches though...  

Answer 18

When i had my 4yr son i got the epidural and i was up and walking within an hour after i had him.  Then when i had my 2yr old son i went naturally i did not take any kind of medication and it was honestly the worst pain i have ever felt in my life (it was horrible) and when i had my 3 1/2 month old daughter i took the epidural and one of my legs was son numb that it took over 4 hours for me to get feeling back in it after having her.

Answer 19

I actually had two within 3 hours.  For some reason, they would wear off really fast for me.  

Honestly, I don't remember the pain.  And I ended up having an emergency c-section, so it was a while before I got up and moved around, but that wasn't due to the epidural.

If I were to get pregnant again, I would want the epidural.

Answer 20

I had one after about 4 hours of labour - I had been put on syntocinon to augment my labour and it made my contractions go from every 20 minutes to every 90 seconds instantly and after a couple of hours of it I couldn't bear it at all.   I had been dead set against it from the start and was quite scared of it, but the pain I was in was unbearable. I didn't see a thing, they were very good about making sure of that!

It took the epidural about 10 minutes to kick in fully once the procedure was finished.  They gave me a button to push every 20 minutes which was a top up to keep the meds flowing in.  I was totally numb and had no ability to move the entire time, but I did have some sensation -- I was very itchy in my legs and no matter how much my husband scratched them it wouldn't go away, it was like the itch was below the skin surface. VERY annoying!    When I say I was numb and had no feeling, it took 4 people to roll me over on to my side at one point -- and I only weighed 130 pounds fully pregnant -- because I had no control over anything from waist down.

The epidural was put in at about 4pm, I delivered at 1am and it took until about noon the next day before I was able to move my legs, and until about 5pm before I could stand up and walk.  I had a spinal put in for the section so it's possible that contributed to the 24 hours of numbness.

I did have some backaches afterwards, but not the kind of back ache you expect.  It was like small spasms in the nerves of my lower back that came and went a couple of times a day. Nothing that I couldn't bear, painkillers took it away, and after a week or so I stopped getting them.  

Answer 21

1st pregnancy... I had one but it came unhooked (at my shoulder) and I didn't realize it right away.  It worked but had worn off when I needed it the most.  Some parts of my legs were still numb so it had a partial effect but not the full effect.  It was painful but my son was 1 month early and small so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  I was up walking as soon as they finally took the mag IV out (I had severe preeclampsia), I think it was about 12 hours later.  

2nd time.... It worked like a charm!  I ended up pushing almost 4 times as long but I think the fact that this baby was much bigger had an effect on that also.  I learned what an epidural is 'supposed' to feel like and LOVED it!  I don't handle pain well, lol.  I was up and walking a couple of hours later.  I have had lower back/ butt/ hip pain since (my son is 5 1/2 months old) but I have no idea if it is related or not.  (To be honest, I never even thought about that before- I did have to have a spinal tap a while back, which is very similar, and had horrible headaches for months.)

Answer 22

I had one.  I had Emma via c section at midnight and was up in the morning walking.  It did not affect me, but I have heard of women having back issues afterward.

Answer 23

I have had an epidural with my first child, I didn't know better, and now I have a degenerative joint disease.  I have many, many problems with my back. If you have the epidural, it will just numb your lower half, but still feel the contractions,  The pain will still be there and the side effects are incredible,  dizziness, nausea, you are so out of it after you give birth, I hated it.  with my other two children,, I didn't have one, I just dealt with the pain, the pain goes away once you give birth, and you are awake, aware, and ready.  I think you shouldn't do it.  I regret having an epidural, my life is not the same.

Answer 24

The drugs in the epidural cross the placenta and can cause an immediate effect in your baby's ability to breath. These too powerful pain drugs can also cause your labor to stall or stop forcing the doctor to use more drugs to restart your labor. There are many side effects, some short term and some long term that can be caused by epidurals. Having an induction and an epidural will increase the length of your labor, increase the amount of pain you feel and can lead to c-section because of the stress on your baby.

If you choose to read about natural methods of pain relief you will have a shorter labor, it will be less painful, you will have fewer complications, your baby will be healthier and will breathe more easily, and you will breastfeed more easily. Bonding and attaching with an undrugged baby is also easier as the drugs in the epidural can last for three days after the birth, leaving your baby to want to sleep instead of getting to know you at this important time. Recovery is much quicker in a drug free birth and you will most likely feel a sense of empowerment that can last a lifetime. It is every mother's responsibility to read a book on childbirth, look for one written by a woman at your bookstore or library. A small investment of your time will help you to make the healthiest choices when it comes to childbirth. Congrats and best wishes, Gail

Answer 25

I didn't have one with my son, it was definitely painful.  Having said that though, there's no way I would get an epidural if I were to have another child.  There are too many adverse effects of epidural medication, it's not worth the risk.

Just look at the responses here - of the women who have had epidurals, how many ended up with c-sections?  Forceps/vaccuum delivery?  Stalled labour?  To me, even these anecdotal responses show a correlation between epidurals and complications.

Childbirth is painful, that's for sure.  But it is a natural physiological event that, if left to progress naturally, will likely happen with little or no problems.  If you want to avoid an epidural, then read everything you can on natural childbirth.  A doula is a great help as well.  Contrary to what a lot of women say, you don't have to get an epidural to have an enjoyable labour and delivery.  The main thing you need is knowledge and the right mind set.

I'm always surprised at the amount of women who avoid certain things while pregnant - alcohol, certain medications, foods, etc -  sacrificing their own comfort in betterment to their baby, and yet will have an epidural during labour.  Do they think that once you're in labour the placenta doesn't work and things don't cross over?!  Why go the whole pregnancy with your baby's health as #1, and then put your child at greater harm for your own comfort?  It makes no sense.

Answer 26

I had one and loved it :) They eventually had to turn it down because I thought I was pushing and evidently wasn't ;)  I felt absolutely nothing the entire time. I was up and walking as soon as I was in my own room. I had to pee, jumped up, called the nurse (bc I wasn't supposed to get up w/o one) and was already in the bathroom by the time she came in. I think it was an our or two after having my son. No chronic backpain or anything in my case. The woman giving birth in the room beside me was going natural and I remember telling everyone in my room that she was crazy bc through my entire labor we could hear her screaming bloody murder...I can't even imagine!!! But...to each their own. Best of luck.