Did anyone else dislike the mind-body disconnect of the epi?

[Anonymous]

Actually my epidural made me feel MORE in control. I felt nothing, could still move my legs and had no mind disconnect. Before my epidural I felt like a wild beast who couldn't stop sobbing and I wanted to jump out the window. I'm pretty sure I would have had a 4th degree tear if I had to push in that state. I just couldn't control anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Had an epidural with Fentanyl, legs completely numb, did not bother me one bit. A drug-free birth was not my goal, so there were no emotions involved in getting the epidural. I would bet that the mind-fuckiness and strange feelings you experienced were due to a bit of shock and exhaustion from labor. Not sure how lower body numbness can lead to an altered mental state. Epidurals are not supposed to alter your mental state the way IV and oral narcotics do.

Not OP but had a similar experience. I have just never liked the feeling of opioids - everyone metabolizes that stuff differently, some people find it pleasant and other people find it unpleasantly disassociating. Still, I prefer that to the pain of labor! I do wish I had been more educated and prepared for what to expect with the epidural but I had been planning to go natural, doh.

So does anyone know if it is possible to get an epidural sans narcotics?

As for nitrous, I have heard that is kind of trippy so I don't think it would be for me.

I had nitrous for emergency oral surgery when I was a teenager. Well, not precisely surgery, but pretty close. It was a bizarre experience. It was like someone else was feeling the pain. I could hear myself cry out but it was like it wasn't really me. I've had unmedicated childbirth and I think I'd try nitrous if it were available. It's not precisely pain relief, but I imagine it would give a little bit of distance during the peak of contractions. I'd probably opt for an epi if I were on pit again, though.

[Anonymous]

I've had the epi twice and did not have a disconnect at all. I had great pain relief, but both times, I could feel when I was fully dilated because of the pressure, and could feel the pressure of my contractions when it was time to push.

[Anonymous]

Yes. It made pushing confusing for me. I didn't top it off so could still feel some. It may have also been fatigue, but my body awareness is really fine tuned so anything is fairly noticeable to me. That said I really needed the epidural after extended back labor, I needed the respite. Mixed bag in secondary effects, I really feel like it also extended pushing. It also took a day to wear off entirely which was weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I had nitrous for emergency oral surgery when I was a teenager. Well, not precisely surgery, but pretty close. It was a bizarre experience. It was like someone else was feeling the pain. I could hear myself cry out but it was like it wasn't really me. I've had unmedicated childbirth and I think I'd try nitrous if it were available. It's not precisely pain relief, but I imagine it would give a little bit of distance during the peak of contractions. I'd probably opt for an epi if I were on pit again, though.

The good thing about nitrous is that if you hate it, it is out of your system in just a few breaths and you can just stop at any time.

[Anonymous]

OP here. So my first post fibbed my timeline (it wasn't weeks, it was days) and I did end up needing pitocin, but just barely any and ended up sort of accidentally having a birth sans epi (between my water breaking and the epi, it went pretty quick). I far, far preferred it, except for the repair of the tear. Even with the lidocaine and injected anesthesia it was a lot of sensation.

The great thing was I talking with the anesthesiologist prior to active labor and she was super informative, said that she would be able to use a mix and that generally straight fentanyl as I had my last time is used if they expect you to go very quickly and that the local anesthesia won't have time to take effect.

And the best thing is the adorable biscuit over in the bassinet. Thanks all. It was a very helpful thread.

[Anonymous]

I had a decent experience with mine. I know in come cases people have asked their doctors to turn down the meds when it's time to push. I wish I had asked for that because it took me an hour to push and I needed a vacuum delivery because of fetal distress.

Afterwards it wire off pretty quickly and I was able to walk a few feet without an issue so that part was fine

[Anonymous]

Congratulations OP! Yay for your healthy baby!

And to the PP'S who can't imagine how a medication can make someone feel weird/disconnected....please get a better imagination. That sounds really solopsistic. Example: my BFF has a paradoxical rxn to benadryl and get hyper. Zyrtec makes me exhausted. People have different experiences about life in general too, not just medication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. So my first post fibbed my timeline (it wasn't weeks, it was days) and I did end up needing pitocin, but just barely any and ended up sort of accidentally having a birth sans epi (between my water breaking and the epi, it went pretty quick). I far, far preferred it, except for the repair of the tear. Even with the lidocaine and injected anesthesia it was a lot of sensation.

The great thing was I talking with the anesthesiologist prior to active labor and she was super informative, said that she would be able to use a mix and that generally straight fentanyl as I had my last time is used if they expect you to go very quickly and that the local anesthesia won't have time to take effect.

And the best thing is the adorable biscuit over in the bassinet. Thanks all. It was a very helpful thread.

Congrats

[Anonymous]

Interesting. Most epi's don't have narcotics in it (although it sounds like some of you got a little bit extra in yours). I had 2 epi's during my birth/induction because one wore off & I was on a pitocin drip. Baby was born about 45 minutes after the last epi. At GW, the epidurals do not typically contain narcotics.

I wonder if your PTSD played a role and you disassociated from yourself? If that's the case - it wasn't the epi that did it, although maybe the numbness triggered your PTSD?

I had pretty severe PTSD for a long time but didn't have the problem you described.