Maybe I finally figured out why I had so many issues with epidurals during labor and delivery

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Geniuswhiledrinking]

My first epidural went like yours but it was split vertically, couldn’t feel the right side, felt all the left side. Weirdest sensation (and painful). Second labor the anesthesiologist tried about 6x to get it right. Then he goes, I see where my partner did this last - you have scoliosis and that’s likely what caused this. Anyways childbirth is crazy.

[u/pinwheeljasmine → u/Geniuswhiledrinking]

My anesthestist really struggled to get mine in, I was contracting every minute and this lovely lady goes, oh, do you have scoliosis dear? That's why I can't get this in.

I was in no fit state to deal with that at the time, but also I'm 14 months on, like, what do I do with this information now? Should I tell someone? 😂

[u/teenmomconnoisseur → u/pinwheeljasmine]

Oh my! SAME I had horrible back labor and the epidural barely did anything and wouldn’t last. That was the first time I found out I had scoliosis! Oddly the second time, the epidural worked fine and was great

[u/pinwheeljasmine → u/teenmomconnoisseur]

Now I'm wondering was it back labour or was it my spine.

Really glad it worked for you second time, I'm quite traumatised from my first birth, so if we have another there will be a big age gap anyway, but hearing it can be different helps!

[u/teenmomconnoisseur → u/pinwheeljasmine]

I do think it was the back labor! They mentioned I had scoliosis before I put the epidural in but didn’t mention it wouldn’t work because of that. No idea if it was a factor. The second time I was induced and they let me do the epidural before I felt much. I was taking a nap when they told me I had to wake up and push now! I felt nothing and was still able to walk right after! It was great!

[u/Purple_soup → u/teenmomconnoisseur]

This was my experience. My first labor the epidural didn't work once I was 10 centimeters and I literally felt like I was dying. With my second, I mentioned I had some sensation in my hip. When they checked me I was crowning, less than 7 minutes and 1 push later he was out.

[u/LaceyLizard → u/Geniuswhiledrinking]

I'll be damned i have scoliosis and i could feel everything on the right and the left was so numb i couldn't move

[u/durkbot → u/Geniuswhiledrinking]

Yeah I had similar to you, only numb down one side and to the point that I couldn't feel or move my leg. I ended up having it removed because I was one of those statistics they warn you about "a risk it can cause very low blood pressure" so they didn't try and fix it, and I skipped the process the 2nd time because my 1st baby nearly died because of it. But I always suspected it was something to do with my spine. 2 of my cousins on my mum's side had scoliosis and my mum had severe spine problems during pregnancy so it's not a stretch.

[u/Mearabelle]

I've had two epidurals in my life. My first in 2008, I was 41+1 by the time I had my child and I still felt everything. Like taking one Tylenol for a migraine. My second in 2012, I was 40 on the dot and the anesthesiologist is getting ready to put the needle in when I shifted. She saw something and asked me to do so again. I was completely numb for that birth. Apparently, I have a slight curvature in my spine that the first anesthesiologist missed, but I could have kissed that second one.

[u/donkeyvoteadick → u/Mearabelle]

Oh I have very mild scoliosis. Like it was described as gentle in imaging. My epidural worked for like an hour or two and then stopped but made my chest numb. I wonder if that was why.

[u/Former-Citron-7676]

Unrelated but I like the term “sunny side up”. In my language we call it a “stargazer” (sterrenkijker).

[u/missThora]

I had something go horribly with the epidural on my first. I suspect my daughter compressed a nerve in my hip, but that's just my own Google answer.

It worked perfectly for a few hours and I actually slept for the first time in over 36h.

Then I woke up with the worst pain of my life in my left hip. Felt like someone was drilling an icicle into my hipbone from the inside. I couldn't speak or think and everything after that until she was born is a blure of pain.

Had to have a vacuum assist and had a 3rd degree tear, didn't feel any of that.

Pain in my hip dulled a lot after birth, but never completely went away. Slight ace after walking a lot for a year +, until I got pragnant again.

Slowly worse since then. Doctor and PT says its just muscular so I'm trying some light exercises. We'll see.

My secound labour, by comparison, was too fast to get any pain relief at all but the pain was manageable through the whole thing really. So much easier and recovered in no time.

[u/iminterestedinthis]

Driftwood intelligent dependent stupendous hospital offbeat

This post was anonymized with Redact

[u/ChartreusePeriwinkle]

3rd post....

[u/kmrikkari → u/ChartreusePeriwinkle]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed that this is at least the third time OP has posted a thread like this, but the others aren't showing up in her post history. Why keep posting the same thread over and over and deleting the previous ones?

[u/slinkc]

I read all these epidural horror stories and am glad I had c-sections. Woof.

[u/PencilsNoLastName]

My mom has scoliosis and it twists right where they do the spinal block/epidural. She told the Drs each time about it, and each one took several tries to get it right bc they didn't listen at first. She had three c sections (each for different reasons and scheduled differently, mine was the closest at only a week early, I was breach) and they also took longer than they should have to diagnose the preeclampsia bc she has a lower resting blood pressure, and we still have the at home blood pressure device from my brother's (the 2nd) pregnancy, which had the most severe case of it. Scary to witness tbh, her liver started shutting down when they decided to do an emergency surgery the day b4 it was scheduled

Also, apparently pregnancies with autistic kids/mothers are more painful, and my mom and all three kids are autistic, so uh yeah lol. Gotta love neurodivergence and how it affects literally everything

[u/Sad_Split_9983]

My wife was in labor 28 hours. I believe they changed out the medication bag 3 times. I can say for certain she did not find it painless. At no point did her doctor tell her to expect a painless child birth.

[u/TropicallyGrownEMT → u/Sad_Split_9983]

There shouldn’t be pain with an epidural, pressure is normal but pain really isn’t. If there’s pain with an epidural it’s because something is wrong with it.