EPIDURAL, WHO HAS HAD ONE

[Sandy S.]

On the 26th I have my right knee totally replaced, they said I would be under general anesthia and also have an epidural. I have heard of course stories of them missing where it is suppose to be injected.

Who has had one, and can you tell me about it?

Let's say the closer it gets the more frightened I am. Sometimes I feel like barfing.(Sorry so graphic)

 

[Frankie]

I have had one,,,,,,,,,and all went well. Each person I know that has had one, went well too.

Are they giving you the option to put you completely under, or did they suggest this, or did you request this?

Just wondering.

Will be thinking of you.

Oh, can you pm me Johns phone number,,,,,,,yet again..............sorry

 

[user 488]

Surgery or anesthesia of any kind is scary! Your not alone.

I had an epidural when I had my daughter. (ages ago :lol: ) It was fabulous. I did not even know I was getting it. They ask you to turn on your side and that was about it. I hardly felt a thing and I am a BIG WUSE! I felt nothing as it was wearing off.

Thousands of woman have epidurals. Sure there is always a chance of something going wrong. But the chances are so slim it's not worth worrying about.

Talk to you anesthesiologist and tell him your concerns!

I had a general for a recent colonoscopy. I worried myself sick. I felt really stupid when it was over. All that drama on my part for nothing. It was a piece of cake. I went directly and had a chicken biscuit and a cup of coffee!

Good luck on your knee replacement. You'll be fine!

:

Carol

 

[Colagirl]

If you are having an epdural while under anaesthetic it is for pain relief and to reduce swelling for 24hrs after you wake up. I had that and it worked great. If its just an epidural while you are awake?? That is a whole other ball game!! (had one of them too!!)

Many women have wonderful experiences wiith epidurals during childbirth, mine was for a back problem so maybe different. Best thing is to get ALL the facts from your Dr so you are well prepared for the procedure and he can put your worried to rest. Feel free to pm me if you want to.

 

[Sandy S.]

THEY ARE NOT GIVING ME A CHOICE, JUST SAID THAT IS THE WAY THEY DO IT, A GENERAL ANESTHIA AND THE EPIDURAL. CHECK YOUR EMAIL ON HERE FOR JOHNS #. HE IS COMING MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY TO GET ALL OURS DONE BEFORE MY SURGERY. SURE WISH THE ONE LAST MARE WOULD FOAL BEFORE I GO IN. SHE IS CROSSING HER LEGS, BUT VERY VERY FULL OF MILK. SHE IS ABOUT 303 DAYS.

 

[nootka]

I have had three w/all three of my c-sections.

With every one they have missed briefly. They give you a local to help w/the discomfort but occasionally they hit the nerve funny and it is like an electric shock, burning and freezing all at the same time down one leg (happened with two of them) or they are off entirely and it feels like they bump the vertebrae?

One time they had to try 6 times as I had 6 different punctures in my back when my husband looked at it. All I knew was that it hurt though afterward it was very pleasant and I never got the headache sometimes associated w/these.

Definitely talk to the anesthesiologist and have them explain it, that way you will understand. For as bad as it "sounds" that I had it, I survived though the third time was fairly excruciating coulda been b/c I was tense.

Best wishes and take care....I hope I didn't scare you b/c I still think going to the dentist causes worse pain. *LOL*

Liz

 

[Dontworrybeappy]

I had one for kidney stone surgery once - the guy tried 4 or 5 times and it was horribly painful each "miss" - once he got it right though it was fine. I did have a visible bruise on my spinal area for like 6 months after, though! (sorry not to be all that reassuring!)

:

 

[minimule]

I've had 2, one for each knee surgery. Neither were bad. They had me roll on my side and curl into a ball. It's kind of cool if you're awake because you can see them playing with this leg and foot and you don't even realize it is yours :bgrin

 

[MiniforFaith]

Hello, I've has three myself. Two where during childbirth, and the other for my back.. Herniated disc. The epidural it self was fine. But for my back, I had a reaction to the cortizone injected to my disc. It was because of the cort., I couldn't walk for five days, because the back pain was so bad. But I did get the migraines after each one, but I already suffered from them.(It just made them worse) YOu should be fine.. Take care and good luck!!!

:

 

[wcr]

I am a nurse and I see this all the time and more so for knee surgeries. Many times they insert the epidural and put in a pain pump which numbs the surgical area decreasing the pain. Many people go home with the pump until it runs out of meds about 2-3 days after leaving the hospital. I haven't seen any problems with them and is pretty humane pain control.

 

[Mercysmom]

If you are having an epdural while under anaesthetic it is for pain relief and to reduce swelling for 24hrs after you wake up. I had that and it worked great. If its just an epidural while you are awake?? That is a whole other ball game!! (had one of them too!!)

Many women have wonderful experiences wiith epidurals during childbirth, mine was for a back problem so maybe different. Best thing is to get ALL the facts from your Dr so you are well prepared for the procedure and he can put your worried to rest. Feel free to pm me if you want to.

Ben (all 11 lbs, 14 oz of him at birth and I am only 5'6") was born with an epidural in 1991. It worked great - the only discomfort I had was the sensation of someone pouring cold water down my back as it was administered.

Best of luck with your procedure.

Denise

Silversong Farm

 

[Sonya]

I had one for one of my lung surgeries, and it didn't work for me. They gave it to me while I was under so no pain from the actual epidural, but it did not take care of my pain at all. But it sounds like from other posters, that my experience is not the norm. Try not to worry. Good luck.

 

[Feather1414]

Never had one...

I just had knee surgery 18 days ago and while I didnt have an epidural, I did have a nerve block administered to my leg. Luckily I was out when they did it, because the size of the scab tells me it was one large needle.

I had the tube in my knee that pumped morphine into my knee. It was nice, until it broke. The tube snapped at the pump and it sprayed EVERYWHERE.

Then the pain set in. I am going well now though.

 

[RainSong]

Ben (all 11 lbs, 14 oz of him at birth and I am only 5'6") was born with an epidural in 1991. It worked great - the only discomfort I had was the sensation of someone pouring cold water down my back as it was administered.

And I thought Nathan's 10lbs 4oz was bad!

The cold water thing happened here too. It hurt a little bit (not tons- nothing that wasn't bearable). The sensation of cold water was odd- the epi was in the mid to lower back, and the cold water sensation was along my upper right shoulder.

I had a strong one- I couldn't move my legs. Didn't feel a THING they did, or any contractions till after it wore off (Ironically, they lowered the dosage to 1/2 ot 1/4 what it was originally, and then decided to do a c-section, and I ended up with it wearing off in the 45min I had to wait for the guy to come back and reset it!)... I mean, literally... they asked me to move my leg, and I thought I had... but it didn't even move half an inch. I'm not even sure it actually moved at all!

It wasn't bad at all... but the catheter for it was an annoyance when I was laying down on my back. Uncomfy as heck... and slightly painful.

 

[RJRMINIS]

Yes, I had one/well should I say two?

With my daughter, they gave me an epidural, well after awhile, I was wondering why I could feel EVERYTHING on one half of my body and nothing on the other half.........I think they thought I was full of it until noticed I was feeling EVERY contraction and suffering through them on half of my body, so wierd feeling.

So they made him come back and give me another one.................WOAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He did it right the second time..........I couldn't feel ANYTHING from my neck down, and it was to much, as it made me nausious, and I started to get sick.........not fun when you are in labor.

After awhile I guess I fell asleep and then woke up, and it was starting to wear off just as she was ready to be born, which was good cause they wanted me to feel the contractions to know when to push.

And I am also a needle freak..........and had no problems getting it, as long as I don't see it I am ok!haha

Hubby didn't care for it, and had heard all the horror storied of accidents where they hit something worng and it paralyzed the patient, so he didn't want me to have one, but I made him realize who was having the pain, ME!!! not him.............so it was my choice, and I would definately do it again!

 

[Sanny]

I've had several. Each time I had our children (4 total) Never had a problem and I highly recommend them. I could feel contractions and such but none of the horrible childbirth pain I've heard about. I was very comfortable the whole time. With every baby I've insisted on any and all drugs and with the epideral they like to wait until contractions become painful and I was right on top of getting that dr in the room and giving it to me when contractions started to hurt. When it kicked in it was sweet relief. I thought the little needle to numb the area before they put in the big needle was worse. I hate needles too.

a HUGE thing to remember is get in exactly the position you are told to get in and DO NOT MOVE and DO NOT BREATH as they are inserting the needle. It is very precise and if they are thrown off at all while inserting the needle - like if you flinch or jerk or even talk it is possible it isn't going to work like it should.

When I broke my neck and had a spinal tap done they also gave me one and that was outpatient and I remember being warned to stay flat and relaxed as comfortable once I went home because otherwise if you are up and moving around too soon you can get a horrible horrible spinal headache that is so severe you could end up back at ER. I didn't get the headache or have any other side effects but I did exactly as told.