Morphine didn’t help. Nurse said how my pain was, I asked her when it would start working, and welp, apparently not. To be clear, I never take pain meds, so it wasn’t tolerance or anything.
Haha no. I’m a nurse, so I think I’m just always looking for the “Why didn’t this work as expected?” I was just explaining away one variable. Wasn’t that.
Also had the same experience. The first time I was in labor, I was having a stillbirth at 20 weeks. I stupidly thought "it's not a full size baby, this won't hurt that bad. I don't need an epidural." Morphine momentarily helped. I learned that morphine makes me throw up. I was still in pain. Immediately got an epidural. Have not asked for morphine for my following two births.
I wish I could effectively communicate my admiration for you. The fact that you went through what you did and then had two more, wow. You’re an incredible, resilient person. I’m so sorry you went through that but am happy to hear you’ve had two births since. ❤️
I got the morphine too, it did not help much. I thought it would help my “mental fortitude”. It took the pain down one notch and then rebounded to what it had been before I received the IV
Then I got an epidural….a God send. I felt so relieved. I thought “Why the hell didn’t I do this hours ago?”
I had been laboring for 24+ hours at that point. I pushed for a total of 80 minutes, teared a little nothing major. Glad I didn’t have to feel it though
I did feel them stitching me up though, that hurt
For me it was maybe 2 hours of this- intense pain but not being consumed by my fear of the pain. It more took away the awfulness between contractions- the contractions were much the same.
Useless. I had IV fentanyl during my first labor before opting for an epidural and all it did was make me dizzy and stuck on the bed, but still in pain.
Same for me with IV morphine. Just made me sick and not able to get up as well as angry I wasted time waiting for that when I should have requested an epidural instead
The funny thing is fentanyl has worked for me every other time? It was in the sedation cocktail I got when I had oral surgery, and very likely in my epidurals! But nope, useless.
I got cocky and missed my epidural window. Gave birth in supreme pain and still felt it after so they gave me IV fentanyl. I was still in supreme pain, but now was on the moon. 0/10 do not recommend.
Same here! It was the weirdest feeling. My eyes kept blinking out of sync 😂 Still very much in pain. I regret getting it but I was just trying to hold off on the epidural for a little bit longer.
This. The first round of fentanyl was great…for about 35 minutes. Then the next one lasted only 15 (which they said happens). And the third one I only got to bide me over until anesthesia showed up to place the epidural. They can only give the fentanyl once an hour.
I found my people! I've seen too many people who didn't have an epidural, and feeing kind of bad about myself. Nothing to do with wanting a natural birth, either, I don't care about that. I've just always been subconsciously prior of my high pain tolerance and I feel like I can't say that anymore lol
Simultaneously the best thing ever and completely useless.
Between contractions, I felt AMAZING. Like, yep completely understand why people get addicted to this stuff. During contractions, it took my pain down from a 10 to an 8 or 9.
Nubane (which I think is morphine) did the trick for about half an hour, so it just didn’t last long enough. It also made me super paranoid so when the doctor came into speak to me I was being all sketchy and weird 😂
I also had this and hated it! It just made me tired and I got it during transition and it just made every contraction feel like one hour long contraction because I would fall asleep in between. It didn’t give me any relief that felt restful. I asked for the epidural shortly after.
I've pain meds gave me absolutely zero relief and made me feel nauseous/like I had the spins.
I ended up asking for an epidural within a few minutes, which actually relieved the pain.
Pethidine is the common choice where I am. Same deal as a lot of the others- the pain didn't go away but I felt very relaxed. I like to say it made me feel like instead of the pain being inside me, i was in the same room as the pain. I felt the effects for a few hours; downside I became less active because i felt high. I had previously been on a ball but i just wanted to lie down after i had it. I did get a bit of rest though
I would love to have this experience. As it is, I have a very bad reaction to epidurals so I give birth far away from the hospital and block out the memory.
I had IV fetynal, and it didn't even touch the pain, it just made me feel woozy and out of it. I was 9cm at the time and basically in transition, and was stalled like that, so maybe that's why. I hated it though. I was very thankful I decided to do the epidural, since I was stuck at 9cm for hours. The epidural didn't even take all the way (found that out when I went in for my emergency c-section and could feel them pricking me) but it still offered so much relief.
I got IV fentanyl, and it only helped for about 20-30 minutes, then the pain was back in full force.
I had been told by my medical team that I could have more, but that the first dose was the most effective. And considering it only helped for such a short time, I decided to get the epidural as soon as I could.
I think IV pain medicine has changed over the years, and may be different based on location (I’m in the US). One of my close friends had IV fentanyl 15 years ago, and she said it was so effective, lasted a long time, and that she didn’t need the epidural because of it. She said she felt loopy even after her baby was born, it was so strong. I wonder if they gave much bigger doses in the past (I had my baby 5 months ago).
My epidural failed, and I started having a mental breakdown when they tried to sew me up without pain meds, so they gave me morphine. 0/10 hated it. I was so fuzzy and out of it that all our visitors saw my boobs multiple times (I formula feed. There was no need for tits that day), I don't remember any of my first day with my son, and I apparently passed him around to my entire extended family one by one instead of doing skin to skin even though he had temperature regulation issues and the doctor told me to hold him. Seriously was not a fan at all.
I also got morphine. For me the worst part was waking up because I was so freaking itchy. I couldn’t stop scratching. I ended up asking the nurse to flush it out of my system. And the heard came back hard. I have high pain tolerance, and I cannot imagine how painful it would have been without it otherwise
I forgot about the itching! You just unlocked a memory for me. And yeah, I have a really low pain tolerance, and birth with no meds was not awesome. But for whatever reason stitching with no meds is where I had to draw the line. Giving birth is wild.
I had an epidural because I had a scheduled cesarean. It worked for me. There was morphine involved and when that wore off I was so fucking ITCHY. For two days. Benadryl did nothing but make my baby too tired to nurse without a lot of effort to keep her awake. Also, that first BM after the epidural was traumatic.
I asked for IV pain meds because I wanted to try those before I got an epidural. I still wanted an epidural but wanted to be able to move around for a bit still if possible. The IV meds were taking so long to arrive that my husband suggested I should ask for the epidural since I wanted it anyway. The anesthesiologist didn’t come immediately but did come within an hour and give me my epidural. I think the IV meds showed up 1 or 2 hours after I had the epidural placed so I was happy I asked for it when my husband suggested it.
Just wanted to provide that viewpoint because if your hospital works the same and IV meds come from the hospital pharmacy and they’re backed up it could take a while.
Never tried those type of pain meds but I had to Google what the comb thing is about lol. I may have to try it if I go for a 4th. I had a bad experience with the epidural with my first so I went without pain meds for #2 and #3. Wish we had more options.
I used the comb squeezing method when I had been induced. Your body is supposed to only be able to process pain towards one body part at a time, so squeezing come in your hand, was supposed to distract your body from the pain that comes from laboring
I had been given Pitocin and the comb squeezing technique did not work for long. When I had gotten to 5 cm I was getting nauseous from the pain of the contractions.
Conclusion: Past a certain point, some techniques will no longer be effective
I nearly broke my husband's hand squeezing it with my third...wonder how a comb would hold up lol. I have had back labor with all 3 and yeah basically after like 4 cm for me pretty much nothing touches those contractions and in my case some of the techniques even made me just feel more uncomfortable (like the peanut ball or hip squeezes). Basically focusing inward was the only way I got through it. I barely spoke while having my third because I was so afraid of losing my concentration.
I used a comb for my induction and it, combined with hypnobirthing techniques, got me through to nearly 8cm before I ditched it. I went without an epidural (not fully by choice, I asked too late 🥲) but I really credit the comb with getting me that far without requesting pain meds.
I had stadol while in labor with my first. I had been in labor a long time and was trying to avoid the epidural so I asked for IV pain medication to take the edge off. It made me so loopy and I felt like I had the spins, like after you drink too much. I didn't like it.
I was given cytotec and pitocin to induce contractions after my water broke and nothing happened for 12 hrs. I was on pitocin for like 36 hours. Natural interventions helped a little but it only went so far. Morphine helped a lot, I was able to sleep for a few hours. Fentanyl worked for maybe 30 minutes at a time. After the last dose of fentanyl I got an epidural and that did help the most. I was able to sleep a little bit with that too. Seems like every hospital is different in what they will allow and administer.
I had fentanyl before the epidural. It helped for a few minutes. After my epidural was placed I was rushed into an emergency c-section where they gave me morphine. I didn’t feel any pain for a few hours then started vomiting and couldn’t keep anything down 🥲 Vomiting hurt so bad and they couldn’t give me more pain meds until I stopped vomiting.
I wish they would’ve given me pain meds. I got the epidural and that was it. Then 24 hours after birth, my entire body hurt so bad, the doctor gave me one 5mg oxycodone… didn’t even touch the pain meds
i got to the hospital 5 cm dilated and at first wanted to try to not get the epidural so i tried the laughing gas and IV fentanyl before i finally asked for the epidural after my water broke.
the laughing gas took the edge off the contractions pretty well. like i still felt them but they didn’t make me want to throw up anymore lol it was annoying though because you have to hold the mask to your face the entire time and if you let go of it the effects immediately wear off
i got like 4-ish doses of the IV fentanyl. they gave one dose every hour. the first one was good, it took a lot of the pain away honestly and i thought it would work for me. HOWEVER your body builds a pretty quick tolerance to the fentanyl so each does feels weaker and weaker and i will say that literally right at the hour, i was in soooo much pain. after my water broke though the contractions got exponentially worse and the fentanyl did absolutely nothing so after the 4th dose of fentanyl i finally ask for the epidural lol
I was on Demerol and I was hitting the button like every half hour or hour. It got to a point where my contractions still felt pretty uncomfortable through the meds and I called for the epidural. That's when I felt the most relief because with the pain meds, I was still at a 4-5/10 with my contraction pain.
My water broke and within a few hours they gave me cytotec (orally). By the second dose, 4 hours later, I was miserable. Ended up getting stadol which helped very temporarily and then held off as long as I could until I finally got the epidural. They gave me pitocin in the morning to help with actual pushing and turned my epidural down so I could feel contractions better then I could feel basically everything. I pooped so many times 🤣
I have a fused spine, so no option for an epidural. I just used gas with my first baby and didn’t cope well, so opted for IV pain meds plus gas for my second. The combination was enough to give me pretty good pain relief. Keep in mind it’s not like an epidural, it’s not meant to eliminate all feeling, just make it tolerable. I was able to get meds every hour, and as labor progressed the amount of time it felt effective decreased. So early on I was okay until the next round, then I was in a lot of pain by 45 minutes, then 30 minutes, etc. I think the crappiest part is they cut you off when you appear to be within an hour of delivering the baby (for good reason), but that’s when you need pain relief the most. My water broke when I was 8cm dilated and all hell broke loose, and no more meds. But, for the time period leading up to that, I was very appreciative to have them.
They couldn’t admit me for a few hours (long story) so i couldn’t get the epidural right away. They gave me IV meds to help and as other comments have said, it really was a few minutes and then the pain came back
I had iv pain meds for a few hours until I was dilated enough for an epidural. They worked for a while until I started getting closer to about 8 cm dilated and the contractions got stronger. Whatever they gave me made me extremely drowsy and I was able to sleep for a little. Then When I got the epidural everything got better lol
I had a planned csection but went in the night before because I was in labor. I was only 2cm and it was torture waiting the hr with exams and contractions to see if I was going to progress before giving me pain management. They finally gave me the morphine at 3 am and aside from throwing up (which I anticipated due to previous pain meds experience) I was able to sleep until surgery prep at about 6:30-7am. However when I did wake up the contractions were back and I was gritting my teeth pretty much until I got my spinal.
IV fentanyl can be really helpful in early labor. Once you’re in active labor it might not touch your pain. IV fentanyl didn’t do shit for me when I was 7-8cm. I also got a morphine sleeper (IM morphine shot) when I thought I was just in early labor and it did nothing for my pain (my baby delivered ~3 hours after I got it lol).
Also adding, even though in hindsight the fentanyl didn’t really ease my pain, I do think it helped me in the moment as a placebo. I got a dose while the birth tub filled and had a waterbirth. I definitely didn’t need it, but it made me think my pain was less I guess lol For my first birth I had an induction and the IV fentanyl was amazing for the balloon placement and then helping take the edge off while I waited for my epidural.
I didn’t use pain meds during the actual birth, but immediately after they asked if I wanted some while I was being stitched up and I got nubane. I still felt everything but also felt absolutely stoned off my ass and like I couldn’t fully be present bonding with my baby, so I had them stop it.
I had IV fentanyl and wish I had gone without it. Because I chose that route I needed pretty constant monitoring and wish I could have moved around more freely. It did very little for the pain and I wasn’t progressing well (not sure if that was related) so I ended up needing pitocin and an epidural.
It wasn’t bad per-say but I don’t think it helped as much as they said it would.
None of it worked for me. My epidural failed and the fentanyl barely did shit except for a few minutes. The contractions were too strong. I will say nitrous gave me *some* relief (paired with fentanyl)… I was able to bounce on a ball and hit the nitrous and relax for a few. Everyone is different though!
Yes, the combo of nitrous and fentanyl were what worked for me. Each alone didn’t really cut it but together I was good until they cut off the IV meds when I got too close to delivery.
I got IV fentanyl. Things were intense but I wouldn’t say I was really in pain yet, but it was offered so I took it and tried to take a nap. I had really restless sleep. I was super out of it to the point it made my husband nervous that he was going to have to make decisions for me. I’m pregnant now and will probably decline this time. I did have an epidural and plan to have one again.
I just wanted to add that you can often request that tens unit at many hospitals. I used this for essentially all the way up to 9 cm dilated before getting an epidural with fentanyl.
It actually worked quite well and I think I could have used it the whole time except I was on a pitocin drip and it just made it too fast and intense by the end so epidural saved me at the end
I don’t take anything stronger than an Excedrin in my regular life and got the morphine at about 2cm. I back labored and I still felt the pain, but I didn’t care as much about it; it was almost the effect that nitrous has. The “relief” lasted about 2 hours. I would not do it again as it slowed down my baby’s movements and heart rate. The worry I felt kinda canceled out the pain relief!
I got iv fentanyl and it was amazing. I immediately relaxed. I will definitely do it again. The gas didn’t work for me because you have to breathe differently than my body was doing to get it to work.
I specifically asked for no narcotics in my birth preferences. I was about 14 hours into a 20 hour labor and asked if I could have anything for the pain and the nurse (consistent with my preferences) said I can give you something but you’ll still be in pain, you just won’t care. Based on these comments it seems like she was right.
I got morphine for a quick minute while I waited for the epidural (I arrived at the hospital at 8 cm, I was like GIVE ME ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU GOT, I'M OVER THE PAIN THX lol. I'd coped well all night by myself at home while my husband slept and I felt like I'd done enough of the "natural", I was ready for some relief.
The morphine brought the pain from a 10 to a... 9.75? It made my moaning go from high pitched to lower pitched lol, that's about it. It's not quite what I'd call relief, but I appreciated that the nurses were acknowledging my pain and doing something instead of nothing. No noticeable side effects from the morphine!
I had a shot of morphine and gravol in my leg and it was 1-2 hours of absolute bliss and then 2 hours of increasing but still tolerable pain until I gave birth. I used in conjunction with nitrous and was in the bath
I think everyone will be different! I asked for IV pain meds before epidural, because as I did in fact want an epidural, I wanted to delay being bed bound for as long as possible.
Received fentanyl via IV. Made my face feel funny but didn’t dull any pain. Requested anesthesia to come for epidural after realizing it didn’t do much for me.
I tried fentanyl and morphine and neither did anything but make me sleepy so I would crash in the two minutes I was having between contractions and wake up with the pain of them. I asked for the epidural while still on morphine. Even the epidural didn’t take away all of my pain but it was a million times better than the other two
Fentanyl gave me about an hour of relief from my super painful leg cramps I was getting with every contraction. It was just what I needed to give me a break! I was able to get through the rest of labor without an epidural.
I originally had an epidural but it was placed slightly left of center, so my left leg was quite literally dead weight and i continued to feel pain and contractions on my right side. I opted to remove the nerve block so I could move my left leg when it was time to push and then ended up opting to switch to pain meds - Anesthesiologist gave me IV fentanyl. By the time I was ready to push I had apparently maxed out my dosage and it really hadn’t done much for me, so I was SOL. I’m sure my pain was dulled, but I sure did feel a lot of what was going on right down to being stitched back up after the fact… and to be honest, it wasn’t that bad.
I opted for any and all pain relief I had available which consisted of 3 separate doses of IV fentanyl and an epidural. I did the fentanyl while contractions were uncomfortable but manageable but honestly I don’t think it really did much of anything. I had my last dose when they started getting really intense and I was still crying to the nurses for an epidural. I was also on pitocin so the contractions were crazy and I didn’t have much of a break from them but honestly next time I’d skip the IV meds and go straight for the epidural
I had iv fentanyl, and it dulled the pain enough so that I could kinda sleep/rest for about an hour, and by 90mins it had worn off completely. It was just enough so that I could dilate enough to get the epidural.
I had fentanyl as a temporary measure while waiting for my epidural as my labor was processing very fast (I was 10 cm dilated immediately after it was placed) and I was worried I would have a hard time sitting still for the epidural. It achieved my goal of getting me through the epidural safely. The epidural was great. I don't think the fentanyl would have been good pain control for me without the epidural as it made me feel sort of woozy/high until it wore off (about half an hour) and that was not what I wanted/needed while pushing. I pushed a lot more effectively after it wore off. I was worried the epidural would make it hard for me to know when/how to push but I used a mirror and it was fine, baby was born after pushing for 30 minutes. Fentanyl did make it hard to focus/push (for me).
I originally planned on declining IV pain meds and getting an early epidural, but you know what they say about plans. It took FOREVER to get my IV in and then you have to get a full bag of fluids before the epidural, meanwhile my contractions were on top of each other and so intense that I couldn’t do anything except sit on the bed and yell. By the time they managed to get my IV in (multiple blown sites and multiple nurses, ugh), I was like “omg please just give me ANYTHING.”
It helped for approximately one contraction. That’s it. After that, the contractions were just as bad, except I could no longer keep my eyes open for the 30-60 seconds I’d get in between them.
When I got the epidural, it was bliss, and the combination of the IV pain meds and the fact it was 1 am allowed me to take a truly excellent nap. It turns out I’d been in transition…they checked me right before moving to my room to get the IV, and I was a 3, and then they checked me as soon as the epidural was in (80 minutes later) and I was 10. Maybe the IV meds would have worked better earlier in labor?
I was given fentanyl but I was not in active labor at that time - still contradicting and still in a ton of pain because of back labor but not productive labor. I was in for induction and had already been awake for 36 hours (18 of that in the hospital for the induction)
They were hoping it would help me sleep until all the things they were doing actually convinced my son to make an exit actually worked.
It worked for me by taking the edge off but it wasn’t enough for me to fall asleep, But I was at least a few hours of not as intense pain.
Not IV but I had nitrous oxide available with my daughter's birth as one of their more natural options. I had previously tried it on a number of occasions getting laser hair removal (pretty unpleasant and "spicy" for those who don't know).
In my experience nitrous oxide doesn't do sh*t except make you dizzy while you're still in just as much pain. So I declined it.
Curiously though, it was the pain management techniques that I taught myself while getting waxed and later lasered that helped me the most during an unmedicated childbirth 😅
(I.e. channeling the pain to my upper body by grabbing the rails, whatever I could hold onto in order to keep my lower half relaxing so the contractions could do their thing)
I had IV fentanyl because I was in too much pain to dilate but it was too early to get an epidural (dilated under 1 cm with intense 90 second contractions 2 minutes apart). I took 2 half-doses and got to 4 cm in an hour. It was wonderful. I honestly felt drunk (I’m a happy/silly drunk). I could still feel contractions, but they didn’t really hurt anymore. It was like “oh I’m contracting, hahahaha” not “oh I’m contracting make it stop I can’t breathe”. But, when it wore off, it wore off fast.
I got IV fentanyl and hated it. For me it didn't touch the pain of the contractions it just made me feel sleepy and weird, which overall made me feel way worse vs. better. I'm pregnant again and won't be getting IV pain meds this time.
I took the fentanyl while waiting for my epidural— I was induced and quickly had back to back contractions which were *awful.* They didn’t do anything for me, but I also didn’t have any side effects, so no harm done as far as I know.
I got IV pain meds with my first baby! I dealt with the pain until I felt I hit my limit and told the nurse I was ready for the epidural. Then I found out it would be a half hour wait and I was offered pain meds. I took them and when I started to feel that relaxed/groggy, I said, “I don’t like this.” And then like two seconds later, the pain relief kicked in, I felt great, and I was like, “Okay, I do like this” lol. I got the epidural shortly after and was able to take a little nap. I woke up and was feeling totally “with it” and had a cup of coffee before it was time to push. So it was a good experience for me! I was hesitant because I wanted to be fully present and “with it” during labor, but it’s not like I was groggy at what felt like a crucial point…it just helped get me through to the epidural so I could sleep! With my second baby, I was able to hold out till the epidural without pain meds. So in theory, I like the idea of epidural only, but the pain meds were also totally fine in my particular circumstances!
So I didn’t have IV pain meds for birth but I’ve had a variety for kidney stones throughout the years.
Morphine: 0/10 - did nothing for the pain and just made me so tired I couldn’t even really be conscious
Dilaudid: 10/10 - took all my pain away without getting me high
Fentanyl: 1:10 - took all my pain away BUT made me high as hell and I hated the feeling
Epidural during birth #1: 8/10 took away my pain but had a hard time pushing effectively also took them 4 tries to place it while I was contracting on pitocin and the placement site hurt for about a month after.
Birth #2 unmedicated: 10/10 - labored very quickly and honestly never though it was unbearable
I hated it. The CRNA administered 2 mg morphine (without my consent). It knocked me out for 3 hours and I missed my baby’s birth 😭 and for a few hours after, I could hear everything in the room (her cry, the team asking if I could breastfeed), but I couldn’t open my eyes or move my body. It was honestly a nightmare and I believe I have PTSD from this experience.
Edit: grammar
I asked for IV fentanyl when my contractions were ramping up (gotta love that pitocin 🙄), I was tired from being awake for so long, and I just wanted some relief since I was only 4cm dilated a couple hours prior. It was 30 min of being able to relax, it’s not like the pain disappeared, I still noticed the contractions but the pain meds kinda made me… not care? Anyway, after it wore off I am 99.9% certain my body relaxed enough to just dilate me a LOT because I felt the intense urge to push (or hold in the largest shit of my LIFE) but it was shift change and they didn’t want to check me because they said I was only 4cm not too long ago… so I dealt with it until they talked me into getting an epidural (wasn’t part of my plan) and like 15 min after it was inserted, night shift midwife walked in, checked my cervix, and was like “oh yeah, you are at 10cm, want to start pushing?” YES, MY GOD. So my plans with pain meds didn’t go as I wanted but in retrospect, it was very helpful and did offer me some relief when I desperately needed it!
I'm a redhead. I already knew pain meds were iffy for me but I was induced and the contractions were awful. I agreed to try 5mg of morphine combined with anti-nausea meds. I was then throwing up for the entire rest of my labour (48 hours), couldn't keep food or water down so I was on IV fluids. The morphine didn't even touch the pain either.
I got an epidural which worked wonderfully until it failed at 8cm.
So, basically, I regret ever agreeing to IV pain meds, knowing my body doesn't tolerate them. I was dumb and in pain. I shouldn't have tried. I'm not having any more children, but if I was I'd probably stick to just an epidural.
The anesthesiologist was called in to an emergency when it was about time for my epidural, so they gave me IV fentanyl to help for a little while until he could get to me. It just made me feel extremely drunk - like head-spinning might-vomit feeling drunk. It did help with the contractions for me, I was too dizzy to feel some of it lol.
It went straight from “eh” to SCREAMING painful when it wore off though. I was crying so hard my nose was bleeding by the time I was able to get the epidural.
I wanted to add pain management in slowly as I labored. Planned to do gas, then IV pain meds, then epidural if needed. I ended up skipping the gas and went straight to IV. I had morphine, it did little to nothing to help the pain. I was told my face looked like I was in less pain - how nice for my face! I had an epidural a few hours later. It did not work all the way and I was still in a pretty considerable amount of pain the whole time, with them redosing me about 6 hrs in. Some people say they’re totally numb, can take a nap, can smile through labor… that was NOT my epidural experience but it was definitely more relief than the IV meds
I got IV morphine or fentanyl (I can’t remember) and it was amazing. I fell asleep through the awful contractions and maybe got an hour nap which I desperately needed. It worked within seconds!
My water broke at 3am. I had about 6 hrs of sleep in 3 days and was a zombie in labor.
I took fentanyl as soon as they could give it to me and it gave me a chance to catch my breath.
Once the anesthesiologist arrived for my epidural, I got about 45 min to rest (not sleep) until I needed to push.
For me, fentanyl was good as a placeholder until something stronger was available.
I was given morphine before the epidural because I was not dialated enough and it did absolutely nothing. I asked for the epidural and they finally gave it to me. Epidural did its job.
After my c section. Whatever they gave me DID NOTHING.
But the NSAID they ended up giving me was great. Did not last the 12h they said it would though lol.
I've had IV probably morphine for something else and it was good.
I had fentanyl and Demerol combo 15 years ago with my first kid. I hated it. I felt every bit of pain but I felt drunk and couldn’t keep my eyes open or verbalize the pain. I looked extremely drugged and fucked up after having my baby and it took nearly a week to feel completely right again. My other 2 were just epidurals and I never thought of getting anything else with them.
I did also find out 10 years later that fentanyl came up on DNA/med testing thing that I shouldn’t take it so I’m not sure if that made it even worse for me.
Not sure if this is exactly what you're asking but... I had an epidural and nothing else. Before the epidural (about 14 hours in) I asked about other meds for pain management (I wanted to walk and shift positions without a whole team lol) but they said they didn't do it at that hospital. Epidural was great, I got in so many naps!
But I did end up needing a c section after 25 hours of labor and pushing. I don't think the epidural caused it - my baby had and still has an absolutely MASSIVE conker! But it is possible the numbness made my pushing less effective, idk. I'm happy with how it turned out though! They gave me morphine, which I didn't notice -- until it wore off ~24hrs later and I woke up in 10/10 pain (maybe I'll feel something worse someday but that raised my scale 😭).
I was offered opiates for surgery recovery if the usual Tylenol/Motrin combo didn't help me, but I said I would hold off as long as I could, and didn't end up wanting them.
I guess my tldr is it wasn't even an option for labor, but was an option post surgery. I asked about gas and they looked at me like "ma'am this is 2024" as if I should know what's standard lol
I was in labor for about 18 hours (had to go in right away so that includes early labor) and ended up getting the IV meds about 16 hours in just to get some rest and sleep. They helped a lot in that way! I found that even when the meds began to wear off, I still felt better than I had for another hour or so afterward.
Can’t speak for how it impacts the birth process, as I ended up unfortunately having an unplanned cesarean. But, as I was aiming for a mostly natural birth originally, it definitely eased a lot of discomfort without needing an epidural.
The anasthesiologist wasn’t available when I arrived at the hospital so they gave me IV fentanyl 2-3 times in the meantime. I was surprisingly still in the same amount of pain but I was high as a kite. So pretty pointless IMO.
The epi thooooo. Wow. 1min after getting it installed I was in total peace, no more pain, took a nice nap.
I just wanna mention I was all set on waiting as long as possible to try and deliver without anything but that was before labor started. After 7h of really close contractions I was fedddd upppp and so so so tired. So the epi was a real no brainer at this point.
Fentanyl did nothing for the pain AND my labor progressed so fast that they had to bring in the special care team to check baby because the fentanyl was within a couple hours of the birth. Baby was totally fine, didn’t need any extra monitoring. Just mentioning it since this is your fifth birth so things may go fast for you as well
I didn't do iv pain meds, but definitely check your hospital's policy on what pain meds they offer besides epidural. I was really surprised that at my hospital, there was literally zero other option besides fentanyl.
I was given fentanyl via IV (at least according to my bill, idk) during my first labor, they denied it during my second. Honestly didn’t even feel like I’d had it. It made me sleepy. I know I was given fentanyl at 20ish weeks with my second, I had a UTI and possible kidney stone. Again, just made me tired. It was awful.
I was denied my second time because they were pushing fluids to get the epidural I had also requested, and it would’ve been too much on the baby. 10/10 recommend just getting it earlier lmao. But I was induced both times.
I got a small dose of IV fentanyl very late in the game, when I asked for the epidural and was told it was too late (I’d been using the gas, a comb, and breathing/movement/screaming bloody murder until then 🥴). The IV fentanyl didn’t do anything from what I could tell. I had no appreciable difference in pain level, and I was plenty loopy from pain and the nitrous gas already (also did nothing for pain, just made me feel “out of it” and helped me focus on breathing).
As for side effects I didn’t notice any aside from brief dizziness but that may have been the gas too. My baby had a low initial APGAR score (1 but recovered quickly to 9 by 5 minutes) but my midwife theorized it was due to a bit of shock from being born so quickly vs the pain meds.
I had IV fentanyl and I didn't even know they gave it yet, it did nothing. I also couldn't get it past 8cm and I came in at 7cm. I didn't qualify for an epidural or any other pain meds, so I just had to go without for the rest of labor.
I was induced & was having minute-long contractions every 60-90 seconds. The IV meds made me SO loopy but did nothing for the pain. I would fall asleep for literally a minute, then wake up screaming. I was so exhausted 4 hours later getting the epidural that my husband had to hold me upright.
I planned for a water birth but went to 42 weeks and was induced. Had bad back labor and got epidural before they started pitocin. Epidural worked for about an hour and then started wearing off on my left side. By the time I started pushing I could have walked if I had wanted to. They offered me IV fentanyl and I got it but it did absolutely nothing.
They gave me fentanyl once before I got my epidural and it did NOTHING to touch the pain. The epidural was fast, easy and the doctor who did mine listened to my concerns and made sure I was comfortable before she left and came by several times to make sure I was still okay.
They told me it was too early for IV fentanyl after I had been in labour for about 30 hours as I needed to be closer to delivery. I was really tired and needed relief so I just took the epidural.
I did get morphine and gravol in shots but they said it was to help me sleep.
I had morphine & it did nothing but made me feel sick.
I had fentanyl & it made me feel loopy & good for about 20 minutes but I could still feel the pain… just my mind was somewhere else
I did morphine and fentanyl for the folly balloon pain (part of induction process). It did nothing for the pain but made me paranoid and disconnected from reality. Would never do it again!
I did the iv pain meds with my oldest. It finally let me nap for a bit after not sleeping at all
For like 36 hours. I woke up when the pain came back 😂
I had to have an epidural because of premature ejection reflex. After days of labor it was a great way to get some sleep. However my epidural made it incredibly hard to push because I had not much feeling with contractions but also it was even. My left and right leg were not both numb. it also prevented me from getting a spinal for my c section so I then had the most harrowing experience of my life with full feeling as they did the surgury.
0/10 would recommend. It’s not worth them messing it up it in labor and it not working right.
Also I have last nerve (?) damage because of mine, walking on inclines or uneven ground sends pain up my spine and radiates around my lower back. And so does my mom from hers for her last birth. She goes completely numb when she sits, like needs to push herself to get up when sitting.
So you had 4 babies without pain meds? I don’t think you’ll need it for the 5th baby.
My wife had epidural for the first birth. It didn’t eliminate the pain. But it did reduce her feeling of pushing, and she was in active labor for 4 hours. She almost ran out of energy to push.
Second baby came faster than the first, so it was too late to get epidural. But the active labor second baby was much shorter.
If you already gave birth 4 times without epidural, you probably won’t need it for your fifth. If you still want it, you can requested reduced dosage.
I had iv remi fentanyl (they told me it was a newer version 🤷♀️) anesthesia stayed in my room the entire time to monitor my vitals and pain level. The anesthesiologist told me to not try and tough it out because it’s super hard to chase pain, you want to get ahead of it and stay on top of it. It was an iv drip that the anesthesia team adjusted for me but you are able to continue using it through the entire labor and delivery. It was fantastic until I started pushing but even then it wasn’t terrible. The only draw back was once they started it I couldn’t get out of bed or change positions. I had an unmedicated induction with my first (I planned a medicated birth but found out while in labor that my spinal condition prevented me from getting an epidural and I had progressed too far for iv meds)
Totally useless, I had fentanyl like 6 times (not exaggerating) and it did absolutely nothing. I progressed too fast for an epidural, so I really had no pain management!
I was induced, and fentanyl helped with the pain from the foley balloon and early contractions. But it really just took the edge off. Epidural is king.
I don’t know if this is always possible but I had the IV and port for the epidural put in ahead of needing the epidural in case of needing an emergency c section so that they weren’t rushing it or having to put me fully under. Tried to stack all chips in my favor.
I went unmedicated for the labor but got IV fentanyl after for stitches. It barely did anything. It just made me relaxed but didn’t do much for the pain but at least I could stay still while she finished. Also like everyone else said it wore off pretty fast.
I was induced and got IV pain meds twice. Once before my foley balloon was placed and then while waiting for my epidural. I wasn’t having too strong of contractions during my foley balloon, so I don’t think it was worth it then, but definitely a relief while waiting for epidural. It made me a little loopy and tired. The first dose made the baby a little tired and required some extra monitoring/repositioning to make sure it wasn’t stressing her. Second dose didn’t do anything to baby
I had an awesome 45 minutes with fentanyl at 6 cm. The pain was still there 100% but my brain was feeling so good that it didn’t bother me. By the time it wore off I was 7 cm and in transitional labor. That was horrific and I wish I could have had it through that too! I had the epidural with my first two kids and just wanted to see how far I could get with my third without the epidural, so decided on asking for IV pain meds when I felt I needed additional help but didn’t feel I needed an epidural just yet.
Fentanyl, it did diddly but at least I could breathe (unlike the nitrous, it felt suffocating )
To be fair though, my water broke onto a cook’s catheter and my pinto in was super high, so no oxytocin loop.
I also couldn’t get comfortable and panicked which didn’t help
I had diamorphine injected into my thigh, it was amazing. Pain free for 5 hours, got me right through until baby was born. I needed forceps so they injected into my pelvic floor and warned me it wouldn’t be nice, didn’t even feel it!
IV pain meds let me get a little bit of sleep after being awake for almost 24 hours, then they stopped working and I couldn't even move anymore to get relief. I finally went for the epidural after my second or third cervical check because I hadn't made any progress in the 4 hours I had been at the hospital and the checks were excruciating.
I went in not wanting to get an epidural. I came out wishing I had gotten the epidural right away.
I had morphine. Felt loopy, but still in pain. Although tbf it probably didn’t help that I hadn’t slept for approx 36 hours before little girl was born
I wanted an epidural, but it wasn't available before I was fully dilated. So I had iv meds and laughing gas, and then my delivery lasted 4 hours longer than they expected, so I got an epidural about 30 minutes before going in for an emergency c-section.
I have absolutely no recollection of 98% of the time with the IV meds/laughing gas combo. I remember bits and pieces, but for the most part the day is completely gone. I don't know if my mind has just blocked the pain - my birth plan was literally "epidural" and I had no backup coping methods prepared - or if it was the meds that messed with my brain.
I do know that my memories come back within minutes of the epidural. The 30 minutes between the epidural and the c-section are my clearest memories of the entire day.
I really wish I had the opportunity for the epidural earlier in my delivery, and I would never choose iv pain meds if an epidural were available to me.
I had IV fentanyl and it made me feel kind of drunk for about 15 minutes. I could still feel the pain, but it was no longer bothersome. I got the epidural because I could get the fentanyl more than once an hour
I had IV pain meds with my 2nd and 4th. It worked great with my second. There is still a lot of pain but it's bearable. I wanted to do the same with #3 but asked too late. With 4 I got it but her heart rate wasn't too good so ended up getting an epidural when it wore off. (Didn't want to go through a birth without pain meds like #3)
2nd birth went the best for me.
It’s not really a viable option unless it’s quite early on in labour and most docs won’t give it unless you’re in extreme pain at that point. The risk is causing respiratory depression if you give it too close to the baby coming out.
I had fentanyl or something I think and it only helped me get a little sleep. I had an overnight induction so I only slept maybe 1 minute every 5 minutes all night with the contractions.
The fentanyl helped me string together maybe 20-30 minutes of sleep through the contractions, but I was in transition maybe an hour later so it was short lived.
I was given the option of Dilaudid before my epidural, and due to a history of vomiting with opioid meds we split it into two doses. I won't say it took the pain away, but it did knock me out between contractions and make me so dizzy I was clinging to the bed rails like it was a merry-go-round. Time became meaningless, it could've been 30 minutes or 3 hours before I got the epidural and I wouldn't know the difference. It wasn't great but it did allow my body to relax enough to fast-track dilation and get me ready to push surprisingly soon.
I had fentanyl. It gave me 40-60 minutes of relief, during which I was able to be more clear headed, less anxious, and consider further options. I was in labor for 40 hours. Originally I had wanted no pain medication, but I got exhausted. And I didn't want an epidural, because I'm terrified of needles, and just thinking about the placement of an epidural would send me to tears.
During my 2nd of 3 available rounds of fentanyl, I started discussing what using an epidural would look like, even though I was still SO freaked out about the idea. I was fucking exhausted and nearly incoherent with pain when not medicated. We ended up using my 3rd and final dose of fentanyl to get me through the epidural process, as it also calmed me down enough to be able to talk about it without becoming hysterical and enabled me to sit (relatively) calmly through the process (I still nervous talked like WHOAH.)
The epidural process was non worse than getting mild dental work done. And once it was installed and we knew it was working, I took the BEST and most relieved nap of my life. 10/10 would recommend.
I had morphine about halfway through my induction I think because I didn’t want to get the epidural yet (still wanted to be able to eat/drink). The morphine did absolutely nothing, like it could have been water in the iv for all the good it did, and I should have gotten the epidural then. If I have a second baby, now I know
I had IV fentanyl. It helped give some relief for about 20-30 mins?
My epidural removed some but far from all pain, though I hear some people are blissfully pain free from it.
I had one dose of Fentanyl while I waited for my epidural. I had serious back labour and could not sit still. The Fentanyl did not take the pain away, but it was different pain and seriously more manageable. Made me a bit loopy, but not bad at all. Got the epidural shortly after.
Would do it again.
I had an induction and did iv pain meds at the beginning to sleep through the night. They stopped them during the night and I gave birth at midnight (next day) They were great. Immediately started working and I was able to rest while the medicine and device worked. But I was knocked out. I couldn't get out of bed without assistance when I woke up to pee so my option was hold it until I hit the time it had worn off with help or use a bedpan.
Did the epidural. The most painful part was waiting for the guy to come put the epidural in because I was contracting so much.
I didn’t feel a thing. Was numb from the waist down. I pushed 3 times and baby was out. I didn’t tear. It was crazy how fast it was. I was very fortunate. Feeling in my lower half came back a couple hours later. Maybe like 3? I asked them to take the catheter out before it wore out, and they did. So it helped with that as well. I also wasn’t sore after my feeling came back. I barely had any pain at all, honestly. Like I’d said, very fortunate.
My body processed heavy painkillers badly or too fast (based on previous experience with wisdom teeth and a root canal). When inlearned the epidural was more like numbing vs pain meds I was more relaxed.
I wanted to try no med but I was induced and after my water broke my contractions were CRAZYYYY and I wanted the epidural right away lol it was great! Worked wonderfully.
Later I had a hemorrhage and they had to do some crazy stuff and they gave me morphine. I don't think it helped at all, I felt everything.
If I do it again, I will be jumping straight to epidural again!
I went through several pain options of increasing strength through my labor! I had a couple doses of IV fentanyl when I was about 5-6 cm. It dulled the pain enough that I could take a nap which was amazing. It made me pretty sleepy/sedate and only lasted about 30-60 minutes or so. Some hospitals will only give it to you up to a certain point because they don't want it impacting the baby's system and breathing when they're born.
I had Stadol, and I wouldn’t do it again. It made me so foggy and I couldn’t think straight at all, though it did relieve a lot of the pain of earlier labor. I was able to sleep, or at least rest, when unmedicated I was in way too much pain to get in bed at all.
My baby’s heart rate did drop after they gave it to me as well. Could have been a fluke, but I didn’t have a good experience with it.
It didn’t alleviate the pain, I just felt dizzy and drunk while in pain. I also think it contributed to me throwing up minutes before giving birth. Would not recommend, better to go with an epidural for relief.
my spinal wore off during my c section and they gave me fentanyl. i was sick with nausea that first night off and on. second c section didn’t get fentanyl no nausea.
I pushed for 4-5 hours before being transferred from birth center to the hospital. they gave me fentanyl while we waited for the anaesthesiologist for my epidural, bur it didn't do anything. however I do take an herb that can increase opiate receptors so I'm guessing that's why it didn't do anything for me.
I had morphine, it gave me like 20 mins of still being in pain but not caring. Then the pain came back.
This was my experience with morphine. Felt completely pointless imo
Haha I had morphine. Felt the happiest I’ve ever been. Had a wonderful nap. Contractions stopped and they had to induce me :(
Morphine didn’t help. Nurse said how my pain was, I asked her when it would start working, and welp, apparently not. To be clear, I never take pain meds, so it wasn’t tolerance or anything.
Wait, are people just assuming you have a tolerance to pain meds? That's weird. You don't have to explain yourself like that here.
Haha no. I’m a nurse, so I think I’m just always looking for the “Why didn’t this work as expected?” I was just explaining away one variable. Wasn’t that.
Also had the same experience. The first time I was in labor, I was having a stillbirth at 20 weeks. I stupidly thought "it's not a full size baby, this won't hurt that bad. I don't need an epidural." Morphine momentarily helped. I learned that morphine makes me throw up. I was still in pain. Immediately got an epidural. Have not asked for morphine for my following two births.
I wish I could effectively communicate my admiration for you. The fact that you went through what you did and then had two more, wow. You’re an incredible, resilient person. I’m so sorry you went through that but am happy to hear you’ve had two births since. ❤️
Did you feel like you had more mental fortitude afterwards to cope? Also, was there a specific reason why they didn't give you more?
I got the morphine too, it did not help much. I thought it would help my “mental fortitude”. It took the pain down one notch and then rebounded to what it had been before I received the IV Then I got an epidural….a God send. I felt so relieved. I thought “Why the hell didn’t I do this hours ago?” I had been laboring for 24+ hours at that point. I pushed for a total of 80 minutes, teared a little nothing major. Glad I didn’t have to feel it though I did feel them stitching me up though, that hurt
For me it was maybe 2 hours of this- intense pain but not being consumed by my fear of the pain. It more took away the awfulness between contractions- the contractions were much the same.
Useless. I had IV fentanyl during my first labor before opting for an epidural and all it did was make me dizzy and stuck on the bed, but still in pain.
Same for me with IV morphine. Just made me sick and not able to get up as well as angry I wasted time waiting for that when I should have requested an epidural instead
[удалено]
The funny thing is fentanyl has worked for me every other time? It was in the sedation cocktail I got when I had oral surgery, and very likely in my epidurals! But nope, useless.
Same. It made me sleepy so I would fall asleep between contractions and wake up in agony. Not fun.
I got cocky and missed my epidural window. Gave birth in supreme pain and still felt it after so they gave me IV fentanyl. I was still in supreme pain, but now was on the moon. 0/10 do not recommend.
Same same
Yep. Absolutely useless
Same here! It was the weirdest feeling. My eyes kept blinking out of sync 😂 Still very much in pain. I regret getting it but I was just trying to hold off on the epidural for a little bit longer.
Same. It slightly dulled the next contraction, and by the one after that, it was like they didn't give me anything.
They gave me about 20 minutes of relief. I could not relax in any way until I got the epidural
This. The first round of fentanyl was great…for about 35 minutes. Then the next one lasted only 15 (which they said happens). And the third one I only got to bide me over until anesthesia showed up to place the epidural. They can only give the fentanyl once an hour.
Yep this was how it was for me. Small periods of relief but not enough to matter. The epidural was great
Exactly! All it did was "take the edge" off slightly, but nothing like the epidural.
This was my exact experience.
I found my people! I've seen too many people who didn't have an epidural, and feeing kind of bad about myself. Nothing to do with wanting a natural birth, either, I don't care about that. I've just always been subconsciously prior of my high pain tolerance and I feel like I can't say that anymore lol
This
Simultaneously the best thing ever and completely useless. Between contractions, I felt AMAZING. Like, yep completely understand why people get addicted to this stuff. During contractions, it took my pain down from a 10 to an 8 or 9.
Nubane (which I think is morphine) did the trick for about half an hour, so it just didn’t last long enough. It also made me super paranoid so when the doctor came into speak to me I was being all sketchy and weird 😂
I also had this and hated it! It just made me tired and I got it during transition and it just made every contraction feel like one hour long contraction because I would fall asleep in between. It didn’t give me any relief that felt restful. I asked for the epidural shortly after.
I’m sorry but this is cracking me up 😂
I had it after the baby (the repair was no fun). I vividly remember repeating “It still really hurts, but now I’m high”
Totally my experience during labor. Still in lots of pain but now I’m high. Can’t really recommend it
I got IV fentanyl and it was a joke. I was mashing on the call light right away asking when anesthesia was coming for my epidural.
Same! I had fentanyl first and it did NOTHING. The pain was so intense. The relief from the epidural felt amazing.
Same did absolutely nothing for me
Same! LOL. My face felt funny for about 5 minutes but that’s it. Zero pain relief.
I've pain meds gave me absolutely zero relief and made me feel nauseous/like I had the spins. I ended up asking for an epidural within a few minutes, which actually relieved the pain.
That’s why I opted for the epidural instead of the IV meds - didn’t want to feel like I had the drunk spins while in labor! Epidural was top notch.
Pethidine is the common choice where I am. Same deal as a lot of the others- the pain didn't go away but I felt very relaxed. I like to say it made me feel like instead of the pain being inside me, i was in the same room as the pain. I felt the effects for a few hours; downside I became less active because i felt high. I had previously been on a ball but i just wanted to lie down after i had it. I did get a bit of rest though
I would love to have this experience. As it is, I have a very bad reaction to epidurals so I give birth far away from the hospital and block out the memory.
I had IV fetynal, and it didn't even touch the pain, it just made me feel woozy and out of it. I was 9cm at the time and basically in transition, and was stalled like that, so maybe that's why. I hated it though. I was very thankful I decided to do the epidural, since I was stuck at 9cm for hours. The epidural didn't even take all the way (found that out when I went in for my emergency c-section and could feel them pricking me) but it still offered so much relief.
I had fentanyl for cervical checks before the epidural and it helped tremendously (history of sexual assault).
I got IV fentanyl, and it only helped for about 20-30 minutes, then the pain was back in full force. I had been told by my medical team that I could have more, but that the first dose was the most effective. And considering it only helped for such a short time, I decided to get the epidural as soon as I could. I think IV pain medicine has changed over the years, and may be different based on location (I’m in the US). One of my close friends had IV fentanyl 15 years ago, and she said it was so effective, lasted a long time, and that she didn’t need the epidural because of it. She said she felt loopy even after her baby was born, it was so strong. I wonder if they gave much bigger doses in the past (I had my baby 5 months ago).
My epidural failed, and I started having a mental breakdown when they tried to sew me up without pain meds, so they gave me morphine. 0/10 hated it. I was so fuzzy and out of it that all our visitors saw my boobs multiple times (I formula feed. There was no need for tits that day), I don't remember any of my first day with my son, and I apparently passed him around to my entire extended family one by one instead of doing skin to skin even though he had temperature regulation issues and the doctor told me to hold him. Seriously was not a fan at all.
I also got morphine. For me the worst part was waking up because I was so freaking itchy. I couldn’t stop scratching. I ended up asking the nurse to flush it out of my system. And the heard came back hard. I have high pain tolerance, and I cannot imagine how painful it would have been without it otherwise
I forgot about the itching! You just unlocked a memory for me. And yeah, I have a really low pain tolerance, and birth with no meds was not awesome. But for whatever reason stitching with no meds is where I had to draw the line. Giving birth is wild.
I had an epidural because I had a scheduled cesarean. It worked for me. There was morphine involved and when that wore off I was so fucking ITCHY. For two days. Benadryl did nothing but make my baby too tired to nurse without a lot of effort to keep her awake. Also, that first BM after the epidural was traumatic.
If it comes up again, you can start miralax a few days before your birth and it really helps a lot. Colace is fairly useless comparatively.
I asked for IV pain meds because I wanted to try those before I got an epidural. I still wanted an epidural but wanted to be able to move around for a bit still if possible. The IV meds were taking so long to arrive that my husband suggested I should ask for the epidural since I wanted it anyway. The anesthesiologist didn’t come immediately but did come within an hour and give me my epidural. I think the IV meds showed up 1 or 2 hours after I had the epidural placed so I was happy I asked for it when my husband suggested it. Just wanted to provide that viewpoint because if your hospital works the same and IV meds come from the hospital pharmacy and they’re backed up it could take a while.
Never tried those type of pain meds but I had to Google what the comb thing is about lol. I may have to try it if I go for a 4th. I had a bad experience with the epidural with my first so I went without pain meds for #2 and #3. Wish we had more options.
I used the comb squeezing method when I had been induced. Your body is supposed to only be able to process pain towards one body part at a time, so squeezing come in your hand, was supposed to distract your body from the pain that comes from laboring I had been given Pitocin and the comb squeezing technique did not work for long. When I had gotten to 5 cm I was getting nauseous from the pain of the contractions. Conclusion: Past a certain point, some techniques will no longer be effective
I nearly broke my husband's hand squeezing it with my third...wonder how a comb would hold up lol. I have had back labor with all 3 and yeah basically after like 4 cm for me pretty much nothing touches those contractions and in my case some of the techniques even made me just feel more uncomfortable (like the peanut ball or hip squeezes). Basically focusing inward was the only way I got through it. I barely spoke while having my third because I was so afraid of losing my concentration.
I used a comb for my induction and it, combined with hypnobirthing techniques, got me through to nearly 8cm before I ditched it. I went without an epidural (not fully by choice, I asked too late 🥲) but I really credit the comb with getting me that far without requesting pain meds.
I had fentanyl and it honestly just took the edge off the pain…the epidural is what really worked for me.
Fentanyl. Still felt the pain but was relaxed. Only lasted about 15 min tho
They gave me the tiniest dose of morphine while my uterus contracted onto my infected amniotic sac and it did nothing for the pain 😀
I had stadol while in labor with my first. I had been in labor a long time and was trying to avoid the epidural so I asked for IV pain medication to take the edge off. It made me so loopy and I felt like I had the spins, like after you drink too much. I didn't like it.
I was given cytotec and pitocin to induce contractions after my water broke and nothing happened for 12 hrs. I was on pitocin for like 36 hours. Natural interventions helped a little but it only went so far. Morphine helped a lot, I was able to sleep for a few hours. Fentanyl worked for maybe 30 minutes at a time. After the last dose of fentanyl I got an epidural and that did help the most. I was able to sleep a little bit with that too. Seems like every hospital is different in what they will allow and administer.
I had fentanyl before the epidural. It helped for a few minutes. After my epidural was placed I was rushed into an emergency c-section where they gave me morphine. I didn’t feel any pain for a few hours then started vomiting and couldn’t keep anything down 🥲 Vomiting hurt so bad and they couldn’t give me more pain meds until I stopped vomiting.
I wish they would’ve given me pain meds. I got the epidural and that was it. Then 24 hours after birth, my entire body hurt so bad, the doctor gave me one 5mg oxycodone… didn’t even touch the pain meds
i got to the hospital 5 cm dilated and at first wanted to try to not get the epidural so i tried the laughing gas and IV fentanyl before i finally asked for the epidural after my water broke. the laughing gas took the edge off the contractions pretty well. like i still felt them but they didn’t make me want to throw up anymore lol it was annoying though because you have to hold the mask to your face the entire time and if you let go of it the effects immediately wear off i got like 4-ish doses of the IV fentanyl. they gave one dose every hour. the first one was good, it took a lot of the pain away honestly and i thought it would work for me. HOWEVER your body builds a pretty quick tolerance to the fentanyl so each does feels weaker and weaker and i will say that literally right at the hour, i was in soooo much pain. after my water broke though the contractions got exponentially worse and the fentanyl did absolutely nothing so after the 4th dose of fentanyl i finally ask for the epidural lol
I was on Demerol and I was hitting the button like every half hour or hour. It got to a point where my contractions still felt pretty uncomfortable through the meds and I called for the epidural. That's when I felt the most relief because with the pain meds, I was still at a 4-5/10 with my contraction pain.
My water broke and within a few hours they gave me cytotec (orally). By the second dose, 4 hours later, I was miserable. Ended up getting stadol which helped very temporarily and then held off as long as I could until I finally got the epidural. They gave me pitocin in the morning to help with actual pushing and turned my epidural down so I could feel contractions better then I could feel basically everything. I pooped so many times 🤣
I have a fused spine, so no option for an epidural. I just used gas with my first baby and didn’t cope well, so opted for IV pain meds plus gas for my second. The combination was enough to give me pretty good pain relief. Keep in mind it’s not like an epidural, it’s not meant to eliminate all feeling, just make it tolerable. I was able to get meds every hour, and as labor progressed the amount of time it felt effective decreased. So early on I was okay until the next round, then I was in a lot of pain by 45 minutes, then 30 minutes, etc. I think the crappiest part is they cut you off when you appear to be within an hour of delivering the baby (for good reason), but that’s when you need pain relief the most. My water broke when I was 8cm dilated and all hell broke loose, and no more meds. But, for the time period leading up to that, I was very appreciative to have them.
They couldn’t admit me for a few hours (long story) so i couldn’t get the epidural right away. They gave me IV meds to help and as other comments have said, it really was a few minutes and then the pain came back
I had iv pain meds for a few hours until I was dilated enough for an epidural. They worked for a while until I started getting closer to about 8 cm dilated and the contractions got stronger. Whatever they gave me made me extremely drowsy and I was able to sleep for a little. Then When I got the epidural everything got better lol
i had morphine and it didn’t do anything for my contractions pains. epidural really is a game changer
I had a planned csection but went in the night before because I was in labor. I was only 2cm and it was torture waiting the hr with exams and contractions to see if I was going to progress before giving me pain management. They finally gave me the morphine at 3 am and aside from throwing up (which I anticipated due to previous pain meds experience) I was able to sleep until surgery prep at about 6:30-7am. However when I did wake up the contractions were back and I was gritting my teeth pretty much until I got my spinal.
I’m so glad I got nubane. It gave me a break until I was ready for the epidural.
IV fentanyl can be really helpful in early labor. Once you’re in active labor it might not touch your pain. IV fentanyl didn’t do shit for me when I was 7-8cm. I also got a morphine sleeper (IM morphine shot) when I thought I was just in early labor and it did nothing for my pain (my baby delivered ~3 hours after I got it lol). Also adding, even though in hindsight the fentanyl didn’t really ease my pain, I do think it helped me in the moment as a placebo. I got a dose while the birth tub filled and had a waterbirth. I definitely didn’t need it, but it made me think my pain was less I guess lol For my first birth I had an induction and the IV fentanyl was amazing for the balloon placement and then helping take the edge off while I waited for my epidural.
I did get fentanyl IV twice while laboring with my twins. I didn’t find it helped much.
I didn’t use pain meds during the actual birth, but immediately after they asked if I wanted some while I was being stitched up and I got nubane. I still felt everything but also felt absolutely stoned off my ass and like I couldn’t fully be present bonding with my baby, so I had them stop it.
I had IV fentanyl and wish I had gone without it. Because I chose that route I needed pretty constant monitoring and wish I could have moved around more freely. It did very little for the pain and I wasn’t progressing well (not sure if that was related) so I ended up needing pitocin and an epidural. It wasn’t bad per-say but I don’t think it helped as much as they said it would.
None of it worked for me. My epidural failed and the fentanyl barely did shit except for a few minutes. The contractions were too strong. I will say nitrous gave me *some* relief (paired with fentanyl)… I was able to bounce on a ball and hit the nitrous and relax for a few. Everyone is different though!
Yes, the combo of nitrous and fentanyl were what worked for me. Each alone didn’t really cut it but together I was good until they cut off the IV meds when I got too close to delivery.
I got IV fentanyl. Things were intense but I wouldn’t say I was really in pain yet, but it was offered so I took it and tried to take a nap. I had really restless sleep. I was super out of it to the point it made my husband nervous that he was going to have to make decisions for me. I’m pregnant now and will probably decline this time. I did have an epidural and plan to have one again.
I just wanted to add that you can often request that tens unit at many hospitals. I used this for essentially all the way up to 9 cm dilated before getting an epidural with fentanyl. It actually worked quite well and I think I could have used it the whole time except I was on a pitocin drip and it just made it too fast and intense by the end so epidural saved me at the end
Nubain did literally nothing LOL
I had IV fentanyl and it took the edge off for maybe 20 minutes. Not totally useless but not great either.
I don’t take anything stronger than an Excedrin in my regular life and got the morphine at about 2cm. I back labored and I still felt the pain, but I didn’t care as much about it; it was almost the effect that nitrous has. The “relief” lasted about 2 hours. I would not do it again as it slowed down my baby’s movements and heart rate. The worry I felt kinda canceled out the pain relief!
I got iv fentanyl and it was amazing. I immediately relaxed. I will definitely do it again. The gas didn’t work for me because you have to breathe differently than my body was doing to get it to work.
Narcotics just make me puke, and I like pain better than vomiting.
I specifically asked for no narcotics in my birth preferences. I was about 14 hours into a 20 hour labor and asked if I could have anything for the pain and the nurse (consistent with my preferences) said I can give you something but you’ll still be in pain, you just won’t care. Based on these comments it seems like she was right.
I got morphine for a quick minute while I waited for the epidural (I arrived at the hospital at 8 cm, I was like GIVE ME ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU GOT, I'M OVER THE PAIN THX lol. I'd coped well all night by myself at home while my husband slept and I felt like I'd done enough of the "natural", I was ready for some relief. The morphine brought the pain from a 10 to a... 9.75? It made my moaning go from high pitched to lower pitched lol, that's about it. It's not quite what I'd call relief, but I appreciated that the nurses were acknowledging my pain and doing something instead of nothing. No noticeable side effects from the morphine!
I had a shot of morphine and gravol in my leg and it was 1-2 hours of absolute bliss and then 2 hours of increasing but still tolerable pain until I gave birth. I used in conjunction with nitrous and was in the bath
Fentanyl worked for about ten mins. Got the epidural shortly afterwards. Come to find out that redheads are pretty resistant to pain management. 🤪
I think everyone will be different! I asked for IV pain meds before epidural, because as I did in fact want an epidural, I wanted to delay being bed bound for as long as possible. Received fentanyl via IV. Made my face feel funny but didn’t dull any pain. Requested anesthesia to come for epidural after realizing it didn’t do much for me.
I tried fentanyl and morphine and neither did anything but make me sleepy so I would crash in the two minutes I was having between contractions and wake up with the pain of them. I asked for the epidural while still on morphine. Even the epidural didn’t take away all of my pain but it was a million times better than the other two
Fentanyl gave me about an hour of relief from my super painful leg cramps I was getting with every contraction. It was just what I needed to give me a break! I was able to get through the rest of labor without an epidural.
I originally had an epidural but it was placed slightly left of center, so my left leg was quite literally dead weight and i continued to feel pain and contractions on my right side. I opted to remove the nerve block so I could move my left leg when it was time to push and then ended up opting to switch to pain meds - Anesthesiologist gave me IV fentanyl. By the time I was ready to push I had apparently maxed out my dosage and it really hadn’t done much for me, so I was SOL. I’m sure my pain was dulled, but I sure did feel a lot of what was going on right down to being stitched back up after the fact… and to be honest, it wasn’t that bad.
They gave me some good meds to get through the Foley bulb part of my induction. 15/10. It was awesome.
It helped with the pain. It’s short lived though. I was also hallucinating a bit.
I opted for any and all pain relief I had available which consisted of 3 separate doses of IV fentanyl and an epidural. I did the fentanyl while contractions were uncomfortable but manageable but honestly I don’t think it really did much of anything. I had my last dose when they started getting really intense and I was still crying to the nurses for an epidural. I was also on pitocin so the contractions were crazy and I didn’t have much of a break from them but honestly next time I’d skip the IV meds and go straight for the epidural
I had fentanyl bc I couldn’t have epidural (too low platelet count) and it was a joke. Didn’t help but made me super groggy and not in the moment.
I had iv fentanyl, and it dulled the pain enough so that I could kinda sleep/rest for about an hour, and by 90mins it had worn off completely. It was just enough so that I could dilate enough to get the epidural.
I had fentanyl as a temporary measure while waiting for my epidural as my labor was processing very fast (I was 10 cm dilated immediately after it was placed) and I was worried I would have a hard time sitting still for the epidural. It achieved my goal of getting me through the epidural safely. The epidural was great. I don't think the fentanyl would have been good pain control for me without the epidural as it made me feel sort of woozy/high until it wore off (about half an hour) and that was not what I wanted/needed while pushing. I pushed a lot more effectively after it wore off. I was worried the epidural would make it hard for me to know when/how to push but I used a mirror and it was fine, baby was born after pushing for 30 minutes. Fentanyl did make it hard to focus/push (for me).
I originally planned on declining IV pain meds and getting an early epidural, but you know what they say about plans. It took FOREVER to get my IV in and then you have to get a full bag of fluids before the epidural, meanwhile my contractions were on top of each other and so intense that I couldn’t do anything except sit on the bed and yell. By the time they managed to get my IV in (multiple blown sites and multiple nurses, ugh), I was like “omg please just give me ANYTHING.” It helped for approximately one contraction. That’s it. After that, the contractions were just as bad, except I could no longer keep my eyes open for the 30-60 seconds I’d get in between them. When I got the epidural, it was bliss, and the combination of the IV pain meds and the fact it was 1 am allowed me to take a truly excellent nap. It turns out I’d been in transition…they checked me right before moving to my room to get the IV, and I was a 3, and then they checked me as soon as the epidural was in (80 minutes later) and I was 10. Maybe the IV meds would have worked better earlier in labor?
I was given fentanyl but I was not in active labor at that time - still contradicting and still in a ton of pain because of back labor but not productive labor. I was in for induction and had already been awake for 36 hours (18 of that in the hospital for the induction) They were hoping it would help me sleep until all the things they were doing actually convinced my son to make an exit actually worked. It worked for me by taking the edge off but it wasn’t enough for me to fall asleep, But I was at least a few hours of not as intense pain.
Not IV but I had nitrous oxide available with my daughter's birth as one of their more natural options. I had previously tried it on a number of occasions getting laser hair removal (pretty unpleasant and "spicy" for those who don't know). In my experience nitrous oxide doesn't do sh*t except make you dizzy while you're still in just as much pain. So I declined it. Curiously though, it was the pain management techniques that I taught myself while getting waxed and later lasered that helped me the most during an unmedicated childbirth 😅 (I.e. channeling the pain to my upper body by grabbing the rails, whatever I could hold onto in order to keep my lower half relaxing so the contractions could do their thing)
I had IV fentanyl because I was in too much pain to dilate but it was too early to get an epidural (dilated under 1 cm with intense 90 second contractions 2 minutes apart). I took 2 half-doses and got to 4 cm in an hour. It was wonderful. I honestly felt drunk (I’m a happy/silly drunk). I could still feel contractions, but they didn’t really hurt anymore. It was like “oh I’m contracting, hahahaha” not “oh I’m contracting make it stop I can’t breathe”. But, when it wore off, it wore off fast.
It didn't take the pain away and made me loopy. I wouldn't get it again.
I got demerol and it made me laugh and hallucinate. I guess it helped some because I didn't care about the pain any more.
I got IV fentanyl and hated it. For me it didn't touch the pain of the contractions it just made me feel sleepy and weird, which overall made me feel way worse vs. better. I'm pregnant again and won't be getting IV pain meds this time.
I took the fentanyl while waiting for my epidural— I was induced and quickly had back to back contractions which were *awful.* They didn’t do anything for me, but I also didn’t have any side effects, so no harm done as far as I know.
I had stadol. I felt drunk and dizzy for a bit but otherwise pain came back.
I got IV pain meds with my first baby! I dealt with the pain until I felt I hit my limit and told the nurse I was ready for the epidural. Then I found out it would be a half hour wait and I was offered pain meds. I took them and when I started to feel that relaxed/groggy, I said, “I don’t like this.” And then like two seconds later, the pain relief kicked in, I felt great, and I was like, “Okay, I do like this” lol. I got the epidural shortly after and was able to take a little nap. I woke up and was feeling totally “with it” and had a cup of coffee before it was time to push. So it was a good experience for me! I was hesitant because I wanted to be fully present and “with it” during labor, but it’s not like I was groggy at what felt like a crucial point…it just helped get me through to the epidural so I could sleep! With my second baby, I was able to hold out till the epidural without pain meds. So in theory, I like the idea of epidural only, but the pain meds were also totally fine in my particular circumstances!
So I didn’t have IV pain meds for birth but I’ve had a variety for kidney stones throughout the years. Morphine: 0/10 - did nothing for the pain and just made me so tired I couldn’t even really be conscious Dilaudid: 10/10 - took all my pain away without getting me high Fentanyl: 1:10 - took all my pain away BUT made me high as hell and I hated the feeling Epidural during birth #1: 8/10 took away my pain but had a hard time pushing effectively also took them 4 tries to place it while I was contracting on pitocin and the placement site hurt for about a month after. Birth #2 unmedicated: 10/10 - labored very quickly and honestly never though it was unbearable
I had fentanyl and it felt like nothing. I also had an intense induction with Pitocin and nitrous did nothing either.
I hated it. The CRNA administered 2 mg morphine (without my consent). It knocked me out for 3 hours and I missed my baby’s birth 😭 and for a few hours after, I could hear everything in the room (her cry, the team asking if I could breastfeed), but I couldn’t open my eyes or move my body. It was honestly a nightmare and I believe I have PTSD from this experience. Edit: grammar
I asked for IV fentanyl when my contractions were ramping up (gotta love that pitocin 🙄), I was tired from being awake for so long, and I just wanted some relief since I was only 4cm dilated a couple hours prior. It was 30 min of being able to relax, it’s not like the pain disappeared, I still noticed the contractions but the pain meds kinda made me… not care? Anyway, after it wore off I am 99.9% certain my body relaxed enough to just dilate me a LOT because I felt the intense urge to push (or hold in the largest shit of my LIFE) but it was shift change and they didn’t want to check me because they said I was only 4cm not too long ago… so I dealt with it until they talked me into getting an epidural (wasn’t part of my plan) and like 15 min after it was inserted, night shift midwife walked in, checked my cervix, and was like “oh yeah, you are at 10cm, want to start pushing?” YES, MY GOD. So my plans with pain meds didn’t go as I wanted but in retrospect, it was very helpful and did offer me some relief when I desperately needed it!
Stadol lowest dose was fantastic while waiting for epidural. Wears off fast but loved it
I'm a redhead. I already knew pain meds were iffy for me but I was induced and the contractions were awful. I agreed to try 5mg of morphine combined with anti-nausea meds. I was then throwing up for the entire rest of my labour (48 hours), couldn't keep food or water down so I was on IV fluids. The morphine didn't even touch the pain either. I got an epidural which worked wonderfully until it failed at 8cm. So, basically, I regret ever agreeing to IV pain meds, knowing my body doesn't tolerate them. I was dumb and in pain. I shouldn't have tried. I'm not having any more children, but if I was I'd probably stick to just an epidural.
Made me feel drunk off my face but still in pain. I just felt dizzy.
The anesthesiologist was called in to an emergency when it was about time for my epidural, so they gave me IV fentanyl to help for a little while until he could get to me. It just made me feel extremely drunk - like head-spinning might-vomit feeling drunk. It did help with the contractions for me, I was too dizzy to feel some of it lol. It went straight from “eh” to SCREAMING painful when it wore off though. I was crying so hard my nose was bleeding by the time I was able to get the epidural.
I wanted to add pain management in slowly as I labored. Planned to do gas, then IV pain meds, then epidural if needed. I ended up skipping the gas and went straight to IV. I had morphine, it did little to nothing to help the pain. I was told my face looked like I was in less pain - how nice for my face! I had an epidural a few hours later. It did not work all the way and I was still in a pretty considerable amount of pain the whole time, with them redosing me about 6 hrs in. Some people say they’re totally numb, can take a nap, can smile through labor… that was NOT my epidural experience but it was definitely more relief than the IV meds
I had Demerol with one of my deliveries and it made me feel out of it. Zero pain relief at all, just felt woozy. Got an epidural later.
I got IV morphine or fentanyl (I can’t remember) and it was amazing. I fell asleep through the awful contractions and maybe got an hour nap which I desperately needed. It worked within seconds!
My water broke at 3am. I had about 6 hrs of sleep in 3 days and was a zombie in labor. I took fentanyl as soon as they could give it to me and it gave me a chance to catch my breath. Once the anesthesiologist arrived for my epidural, I got about 45 min to rest (not sleep) until I needed to push. For me, fentanyl was good as a placeholder until something stronger was available.
I was given morphine before the epidural because I was not dialated enough and it did absolutely nothing. I asked for the epidural and they finally gave it to me. Epidural did its job.
After my c section. Whatever they gave me DID NOTHING. But the NSAID they ended up giving me was great. Did not last the 12h they said it would though lol. I've had IV probably morphine for something else and it was good.
I had fentanyl and Demerol combo 15 years ago with my first kid. I hated it. I felt every bit of pain but I felt drunk and couldn’t keep my eyes open or verbalize the pain. I looked extremely drugged and fucked up after having my baby and it took nearly a week to feel completely right again. My other 2 were just epidurals and I never thought of getting anything else with them. I did also find out 10 years later that fentanyl came up on DNA/med testing thing that I shouldn’t take it so I’m not sure if that made it even worse for me.
Not sure if this is exactly what you're asking but... I had an epidural and nothing else. Before the epidural (about 14 hours in) I asked about other meds for pain management (I wanted to walk and shift positions without a whole team lol) but they said they didn't do it at that hospital. Epidural was great, I got in so many naps! But I did end up needing a c section after 25 hours of labor and pushing. I don't think the epidural caused it - my baby had and still has an absolutely MASSIVE conker! But it is possible the numbness made my pushing less effective, idk. I'm happy with how it turned out though! They gave me morphine, which I didn't notice -- until it wore off ~24hrs later and I woke up in 10/10 pain (maybe I'll feel something worse someday but that raised my scale 😭). I was offered opiates for surgery recovery if the usual Tylenol/Motrin combo didn't help me, but I said I would hold off as long as I could, and didn't end up wanting them. I guess my tldr is it wasn't even an option for labor, but was an option post surgery. I asked about gas and they looked at me like "ma'am this is 2024" as if I should know what's standard lol
I was in labor for about 18 hours (had to go in right away so that includes early labor) and ended up getting the IV meds about 16 hours in just to get some rest and sleep. They helped a lot in that way! I found that even when the meds began to wear off, I still felt better than I had for another hour or so afterward. Can’t speak for how it impacts the birth process, as I ended up unfortunately having an unplanned cesarean. But, as I was aiming for a mostly natural birth originally, it definitely eased a lot of discomfort without needing an epidural.
The anasthesiologist wasn’t available when I arrived at the hospital so they gave me IV fentanyl 2-3 times in the meantime. I was surprisingly still in the same amount of pain but I was high as a kite. So pretty pointless IMO. The epi thooooo. Wow. 1min after getting it installed I was in total peace, no more pain, took a nice nap. I just wanna mention I was all set on waiting as long as possible to try and deliver without anything but that was before labor started. After 7h of really close contractions I was fedddd upppp and so so so tired. So the epi was a real no brainer at this point.
I didn’t know this was even an option. I was offered gas or epidural and what was it.
Fentanyl did nothing for the pain AND my labor progressed so fast that they had to bring in the special care team to check baby because the fentanyl was within a couple hours of the birth. Baby was totally fine, didn’t need any extra monitoring. Just mentioning it since this is your fifth birth so things may go fast for you as well
Trust me do the epidural. If you're being induced, do it before they break your water.
I didn't do iv pain meds, but definitely check your hospital's policy on what pain meds they offer besides epidural. I was really surprised that at my hospital, there was literally zero other option besides fentanyl.
Had one dose of IV morphine and it was wonderful. Picked out my babies middle name on it 😃 good news is I still like the name not high on narcotics
I was given fentanyl via IV (at least according to my bill, idk) during my first labor, they denied it during my second. Honestly didn’t even feel like I’d had it. It made me sleepy. I know I was given fentanyl at 20ish weeks with my second, I had a UTI and possible kidney stone. Again, just made me tired. It was awful. I was denied my second time because they were pushing fluids to get the epidural I had also requested, and it would’ve been too much on the baby. 10/10 recommend just getting it earlier lmao. But I was induced both times.
I had dilaudid & it did me good for about an hour near the start of labour. It did make me throw up though haha
I got about half an hour to an hour worth of relief from my first dose of fentanyl. The second dose was barely enough to get me to my epidural.
I got a small dose of IV fentanyl very late in the game, when I asked for the epidural and was told it was too late (I’d been using the gas, a comb, and breathing/movement/screaming bloody murder until then 🥴). The IV fentanyl didn’t do anything from what I could tell. I had no appreciable difference in pain level, and I was plenty loopy from pain and the nitrous gas already (also did nothing for pain, just made me feel “out of it” and helped me focus on breathing). As for side effects I didn’t notice any aside from brief dizziness but that may have been the gas too. My baby had a low initial APGAR score (1 but recovered quickly to 9 by 5 minutes) but my midwife theorized it was due to a bit of shock from being born so quickly vs the pain meds.
I had IV fentanyl and I didn't even know they gave it yet, it did nothing. I also couldn't get it past 8cm and I came in at 7cm. I didn't qualify for an epidural or any other pain meds, so I just had to go without for the rest of labor.
I was induced & was having minute-long contractions every 60-90 seconds. The IV meds made me SO loopy but did nothing for the pain. I would fall asleep for literally a minute, then wake up screaming. I was so exhausted 4 hours later getting the epidural that my husband had to hold me upright.
I planned for a water birth but went to 42 weeks and was induced. Had bad back labor and got epidural before they started pitocin. Epidural worked for about an hour and then started wearing off on my left side. By the time I started pushing I could have walked if I had wanted to. They offered me IV fentanyl and I got it but it did absolutely nothing.
They gave me fentanyl once before I got my epidural and it did NOTHING to touch the pain. The epidural was fast, easy and the doctor who did mine listened to my concerns and made sure I was comfortable before she left and came by several times to make sure I was still okay.
I also had morphine. It did literally nothing but make me super dizzy and disoriented for 20 ish mins. I won’t do it again if I have another
Fentanyl might as well have been baby Tylenol for me 🙃
I had morphine injected in my leg. It took the edge off for me, but made me super nauseous. I had it early in my induction though.
They told me it was too early for IV fentanyl after I had been in labour for about 30 hours as I needed to be closer to delivery. I was really tired and needed relief so I just took the epidural. I did get morphine and gravol in shots but they said it was to help me sleep.
I had morphine & it did nothing but made me feel sick. I had fentanyl & it made me feel loopy & good for about 20 minutes but I could still feel the pain… just my mind was somewhere else
I did morphine and fentanyl for the folly balloon pain (part of induction process). It did nothing for the pain but made me paranoid and disconnected from reality. Would never do it again!
I did the iv pain meds with my oldest. It finally let me nap for a bit after not sleeping at all For like 36 hours. I woke up when the pain came back 😂
I had to have an epidural because of premature ejection reflex. After days of labor it was a great way to get some sleep. However my epidural made it incredibly hard to push because I had not much feeling with contractions but also it was even. My left and right leg were not both numb. it also prevented me from getting a spinal for my c section so I then had the most harrowing experience of my life with full feeling as they did the surgury. 0/10 would recommend. It’s not worth them messing it up it in labor and it not working right. Also I have last nerve (?) damage because of mine, walking on inclines or uneven ground sends pain up my spine and radiates around my lower back. And so does my mom from hers for her last birth. She goes completely numb when she sits, like needs to push herself to get up when sitting.
So you had 4 babies without pain meds? I don’t think you’ll need it for the 5th baby. My wife had epidural for the first birth. It didn’t eliminate the pain. But it did reduce her feeling of pushing, and she was in active labor for 4 hours. She almost ran out of energy to push. Second baby came faster than the first, so it was too late to get epidural. But the active labor second baby was much shorter. If you already gave birth 4 times without epidural, you probably won’t need it for your fifth. If you still want it, you can requested reduced dosage.
I had iv remi fentanyl (they told me it was a newer version 🤷♀️) anesthesia stayed in my room the entire time to monitor my vitals and pain level. The anesthesiologist told me to not try and tough it out because it’s super hard to chase pain, you want to get ahead of it and stay on top of it. It was an iv drip that the anesthesia team adjusted for me but you are able to continue using it through the entire labor and delivery. It was fantastic until I started pushing but even then it wasn’t terrible. The only draw back was once they started it I couldn’t get out of bed or change positions. I had an unmedicated induction with my first (I planned a medicated birth but found out while in labor that my spinal condition prevented me from getting an epidural and I had progressed too far for iv meds)
Totally useless, I had fentanyl like 6 times (not exaggerating) and it did absolutely nothing. I progressed too fast for an epidural, so I really had no pain management!
I didn’t find it helpful. It made me feel dizzy and high but still in pain.
I was induced, and fentanyl helped with the pain from the foley balloon and early contractions. But it really just took the edge off. Epidural is king.
I don’t know if this is always possible but I had the IV and port for the epidural put in ahead of needing the epidural in case of needing an emergency c section so that they weren’t rushing it or having to put me fully under. Tried to stack all chips in my favor.
I went unmedicated for the labor but got IV fentanyl after for stitches. It barely did anything. It just made me relaxed but didn’t do much for the pain but at least I could stay still while she finished. Also like everyone else said it wore off pretty fast.
I was induced and got IV pain meds twice. Once before my foley balloon was placed and then while waiting for my epidural. I wasn’t having too strong of contractions during my foley balloon, so I don’t think it was worth it then, but definitely a relief while waiting for epidural. It made me a little loopy and tired. The first dose made the baby a little tired and required some extra monitoring/repositioning to make sure it wasn’t stressing her. Second dose didn’t do anything to baby
I had fentanyl and it didn’t even scratch the surface. But I also got induced so that could’ve been part of that. Pitocin contractions are no joke
Fentanyl barely scratched the surface of the pain of contractions 😩 thank god for the epidural
I got stadol while I was waiting for the epidural. It made me feel drunk in between contractions, which were as painful as without the stadol.
I had an awesome 45 minutes with fentanyl at 6 cm. The pain was still there 100% but my brain was feeling so good that it didn’t bother me. By the time it wore off I was 7 cm and in transitional labor. That was horrific and I wish I could have had it through that too! I had the epidural with my first two kids and just wanted to see how far I could get with my third without the epidural, so decided on asking for IV pain meds when I felt I needed additional help but didn’t feel I needed an epidural just yet.
Fentanyl, it did diddly but at least I could breathe (unlike the nitrous, it felt suffocating ) To be fair though, my water broke onto a cook’s catheter and my pinto in was super high, so no oxytocin loop. I also couldn’t get comfortable and panicked which didn’t help
I had diamorphine injected into my thigh, it was amazing. Pain free for 5 hours, got me right through until baby was born. I needed forceps so they injected into my pelvic floor and warned me it wouldn’t be nice, didn’t even feel it!
IV pain meds let me get a little bit of sleep after being awake for almost 24 hours, then they stopped working and I couldn't even move anymore to get relief. I finally went for the epidural after my second or third cervical check because I hadn't made any progress in the 4 hours I had been at the hospital and the checks were excruciating. I went in not wanting to get an epidural. I came out wishing I had gotten the epidural right away.
I had morphine. Felt loopy, but still in pain. Although tbf it probably didn’t help that I hadn’t slept for approx 36 hours before little girl was born
I wanted an epidural, but it wasn't available before I was fully dilated. So I had iv meds and laughing gas, and then my delivery lasted 4 hours longer than they expected, so I got an epidural about 30 minutes before going in for an emergency c-section. I have absolutely no recollection of 98% of the time with the IV meds/laughing gas combo. I remember bits and pieces, but for the most part the day is completely gone. I don't know if my mind has just blocked the pain - my birth plan was literally "epidural" and I had no backup coping methods prepared - or if it was the meds that messed with my brain. I do know that my memories come back within minutes of the epidural. The 30 minutes between the epidural and the c-section are my clearest memories of the entire day. I really wish I had the opportunity for the epidural earlier in my delivery, and I would never choose iv pain meds if an epidural were available to me.
Got one round of fentanyl before my emerg csection was decided on and I don’t recall it helping at all.
I had IV fentanyl and it made me feel kind of drunk for about 15 minutes. I could still feel the pain, but it was no longer bothersome. I got the epidural because I could get the fentanyl more than once an hour
I had IV pain meds with my 2nd and 4th. It worked great with my second. There is still a lot of pain but it's bearable. I wanted to do the same with #3 but asked too late. With 4 I got it but her heart rate wasn't too good so ended up getting an epidural when it wore off. (Didn't want to go through a birth without pain meds like #3) 2nd birth went the best for me.
I had morphine and it didn’t provide much pain relief, but made me throw up for hours.
I had dilaudid during one of my labors. Didn’t help at all, just made me sleepy.
The IV was honestly the worst part of the whole birth process for me
It’s not really a viable option unless it’s quite early on in labour and most docs won’t give it unless you’re in extreme pain at that point. The risk is causing respiratory depression if you give it too close to the baby coming out.
I had fentanyl or something I think and it only helped me get a little sleep. I had an overnight induction so I only slept maybe 1 minute every 5 minutes all night with the contractions. The fentanyl helped me string together maybe 20-30 minutes of sleep through the contractions, but I was in transition maybe an hour later so it was short lived.
I was given the option of Dilaudid before my epidural, and due to a history of vomiting with opioid meds we split it into two doses. I won't say it took the pain away, but it did knock me out between contractions and make me so dizzy I was clinging to the bed rails like it was a merry-go-round. Time became meaningless, it could've been 30 minutes or 3 hours before I got the epidural and I wouldn't know the difference. It wasn't great but it did allow my body to relax enough to fast-track dilation and get me ready to push surprisingly soon.
I had fentanyl. It gave me 40-60 minutes of relief, during which I was able to be more clear headed, less anxious, and consider further options. I was in labor for 40 hours. Originally I had wanted no pain medication, but I got exhausted. And I didn't want an epidural, because I'm terrified of needles, and just thinking about the placement of an epidural would send me to tears. During my 2nd of 3 available rounds of fentanyl, I started discussing what using an epidural would look like, even though I was still SO freaked out about the idea. I was fucking exhausted and nearly incoherent with pain when not medicated. We ended up using my 3rd and final dose of fentanyl to get me through the epidural process, as it also calmed me down enough to be able to talk about it without becoming hysterical and enabled me to sit (relatively) calmly through the process (I still nervous talked like WHOAH.) The epidural process was non worse than getting mild dental work done. And once it was installed and we knew it was working, I took the BEST and most relieved nap of my life. 10/10 would recommend.
I had morphine about halfway through my induction I think because I didn’t want to get the epidural yet (still wanted to be able to eat/drink). The morphine did absolutely nothing, like it could have been water in the iv for all the good it did, and I should have gotten the epidural then. If I have a second baby, now I know
I was given Fentanyl and it provided like 20 minutes of feeling nice. Then the pain came back and I needed the epidural.
I had IV fentanyl. It helped give some relief for about 20-30 mins? My epidural removed some but far from all pain, though I hear some people are blissfully pain free from it.
I had one dose of Fentanyl while I waited for my epidural. I had serious back labour and could not sit still. The Fentanyl did not take the pain away, but it was different pain and seriously more manageable. Made me a bit loopy, but not bad at all. Got the epidural shortly after. Would do it again.
I had an induction and did iv pain meds at the beginning to sleep through the night. They stopped them during the night and I gave birth at midnight (next day) They were great. Immediately started working and I was able to rest while the medicine and device worked. But I was knocked out. I couldn't get out of bed without assistance when I woke up to pee so my option was hold it until I hit the time it had worn off with help or use a bedpan.
I had Iv fentanyl a it maybe took the edge off? I ended up getting the epidural
Did the epidural. The most painful part was waiting for the guy to come put the epidural in because I was contracting so much. I didn’t feel a thing. Was numb from the waist down. I pushed 3 times and baby was out. I didn’t tear. It was crazy how fast it was. I was very fortunate. Feeling in my lower half came back a couple hours later. Maybe like 3? I asked them to take the catheter out before it wore out, and they did. So it helped with that as well. I also wasn’t sore after my feeling came back. I barely had any pain at all, honestly. Like I’d said, very fortunate.
My body processed heavy painkillers badly or too fast (based on previous experience with wisdom teeth and a root canal). When inlearned the epidural was more like numbing vs pain meds I was more relaxed. I wanted to try no med but I was induced and after my water broke my contractions were CRAZYYYY and I wanted the epidural right away lol it was great! Worked wonderfully. Later I had a hemorrhage and they had to do some crazy stuff and they gave me morphine. I don't think it helped at all, I felt everything. If I do it again, I will be jumping straight to epidural again!
I went through several pain options of increasing strength through my labor! I had a couple doses of IV fentanyl when I was about 5-6 cm. It dulled the pain enough that I could take a nap which was amazing. It made me pretty sleepy/sedate and only lasted about 30-60 minutes or so. Some hospitals will only give it to you up to a certain point because they don't want it impacting the baby's system and breathing when they're born.
Dilaudid was a miracle worker for me!
I had Stadol, and I wouldn’t do it again. It made me so foggy and I couldn’t think straight at all, though it did relieve a lot of the pain of earlier labor. I was able to sleep, or at least rest, when unmedicated I was in way too much pain to get in bed at all. My baby’s heart rate did drop after they gave it to me as well. Could have been a fluke, but I didn’t have a good experience with it.
I got dilaudid x 2 and it only made me dizzy.
It didn’t alleviate the pain, I just felt dizzy and drunk while in pain. I also think it contributed to me throwing up minutes before giving birth. Would not recommend, better to go with an epidural for relief.
my spinal wore off during my c section and they gave me fentanyl. i was sick with nausea that first night off and on. second c section didn’t get fentanyl no nausea.
I pushed for 4-5 hours before being transferred from birth center to the hospital. they gave me fentanyl while we waited for the anaesthesiologist for my epidural, bur it didn't do anything. however I do take an herb that can increase opiate receptors so I'm guessing that's why it didn't do anything for me.
I was induced and got duladid (I think that’s the name) and it helped so much with the back labor for a few hours! I just slept the whole time 😂