View Full Version : pain relief...
I couldnt find any threads about this, but sorry if there is??
I was just wondering for those of you who had gas/pethidine for pain relief during labour, how did you find it? I loved hearing your stories (good and bad) about epidurals, and would like to hear some about our other options :yes:
Mum&bubs
11-05-2006, 17:11
I had pethadine during my labour & to be honest it didnt do anything!! There was no pain relief at all! I couldnt tell the difference lol.
I had gas to begin, can't say it did anything to help!:no:
Then epidural which took an hour to be put into place it didn't work properly at all had to be topped up constantly which then would only take the edge off the pain for 5 mins!:banghead:
Then because I needed a c-section and the epidural wasn't working they really really doped me up something chronic and so I was out of it for at least the first day and so was bub! This time I just won't bother with the epidural, maybe gas, but definately no epidural!:mad:
FourAngelKisses
11-05-2006, 17:26
I only used gas with all 3 labours and it honestly didn't have any effect at all. I had it up as high as it would go, DH had a suck on it and almost passed out, he felt like he was on cloud 9, lol. It makes you concentrate on your breathing though, which can be helpful. While in labour with DS2 I had a wonderful midwife who taught me relaxation breathing as I went along and it really helped......especially while sitting in a hot bath.
I had an extrmemly intense and painful labour and couldnt have pethadine or an epidural. I was given the gas to have through the 2 hour labour, which did actually help..i was alone and after a few deep breaths of it i was be in lala land seeing only black for a few minutes which i guess is all you need until the contraction goes. I had it taken off me when it was time to push and then after i had DD, it was turned up to full with the complications i had afterwards...So for me, it worked in the labour, but after i had DD, the complications were too intense for the gas to help.
My mum had gas with her first and she said she was vomiting after the birth for a while, has anyone experienced this?
I am hoping for a waterbirth, so hopefully I wont need pain relief (or much lol)- but its good to hear about your experiences! :) It seems that pethadine and gas dont really do much.... interesting
Well I'll grab the other end of the stick and say that I had both gas and pethadine in both labours and it was great!! lol.
I am so so scared of getting an epidural, so it wasn't an option for me. I had gas to start with and it worked for a while and then had pethadine. I managed to relax/sleep between contractions. I kept on with the gas(even when I was pushing, I needed something to bite lmao) and it definitely took the edge off it and helped with my breathing(I started to panic with DS1).
I had one suck on the gas, went all dizzy, and really wanted to throw up.:barf:
Pethadine did nothing too much for me either, they gave it to me with my first bubs, as they said I would be in for a long time yet, about 90minutes later bubs was born and he was all sleepy due to the pethadine.
my 2nd, 3rd and 5th labours were all drug free, I had learnt to breathe and concentrate on that, and it worked well for me.
4th preg(twins) I had to have an epidural, not my choice, but as it was twins the dr insisited. (had them naturally otherwise)
melfunction
11-05-2006, 17:43
I had a bit of gas. Found it help me 'zone out' but I threw up quite a bit.
ozzysmum
11-05-2006, 17:49
i had the trifecta - gas, pethadine and epidural!
the gas was FANTASTIC - they could not have pried that mask off me for love or money :smiliedance: the pethadine did absolutely nothing at all ... they were giving it to me to get me off the gas but i was in just as much agony (very intense labour). i ended up with an epidural which went fine and provided me with one of my favourite labour moments: my DP said "how was that contraction, honey?" and all i could think was "what contraction!!". it was all smooth sailing from there :D
Well I'll grab the other end of the stick and say that I had both gas and pethadine in both labours and it was great!! lol.
I am so so scared of getting an epidural, so it wasn't an option for me. I had gas to start with and it worked for a while and then had pethadine. I managed to relax/sleep between contractions. I kept on with the gas(even when I was pushing, I needed something to bite lmao) and it definitely took the edge off it and helped with my breathing(I started to panic with DS1).
I am exactly the same ~ scared of epidurals...
was the pethidine worth it- or would you have just been happy with the gas? I have heard that peth. can make your baby sleepy (as mentioned here also...), so I am also worried about that!:confused:
So far I've only requested gas....
With number 1, I had the gas because they offered it and I thought it was fun....it worked right up till 2nd stage, but during 2nd stage it was totally useless, and they wouldnt give me anything else as they were trying to get me to push the baby out......then I had a spinal for the c/sec...
With number 2, again, gas was fun till they broke my waters, but I gave birth in the hour so only was in pain for a really short period, and during the pushing part, I had something to do with the pain, pushing was a great response to it, and made it easier to endure...
With number 3, had absolutely no need for any pain relief till the ob came in and p*ssed me off, and my adrenalin shot sky high......I'd been riding my contractions really well, and was just naturally producing oxytocin I suppose, lulling in the water of the birth pool......till the ob came and pressed the adrenalin button in my brain with his humiliating and negative attitude....I demanded gas then, and it worked for a while, but then I started having really bad hallucinations, which I got flashbacks from for the next 24 hours, and couldnt sleep, and was very sick! (later found out this was the beginning of my PTSD). The epi was given to me only in conjunction for their decision to give me a c/sec, though I was shaking from this for many hours afterwards.
With the gas, when the contractions were peaking, it got to a point where all it was doing was putting the pain in slow motion, so it felt like the peak was lasting about a minute (and it was like burning white light burning my eyes and a high pitched noice in my ears - it's hard to explain, but that was the hallucination I was having).......so I would suck the gas at the start of the contraction, and I would take it out for the peak because in truth the peak only lasts a couple of seconds, and was so much easier to deal with that way - a bit like the old ripping a bandaid off analogy. After that experience I never want gas again!!
Next time, I'm not going to have any pain relief as I'll be at home....but seeing I coped marvelously without it till that idiot came and interfered with my 'zone', if I can maintain the 'zone' uninterupted with this next baby, I cant see why I'd need it.
Usually women in labour with a LOA positioned baby, only start to feel the pain is intolerable when they hit transition - and then it is only about around 10 contractions till full dilation and pushing time.....so usually good encouragement over this small peaking of contractions is enough to bridge the woman to the final part of pushing. this was my experience with my 2nd baby, and I have heard many other women describe the same thing......
There are 2 crucial hormones that your body makes during labour.....oxytocin and adrenalin. oxytocin is like the accelerator and adrenalin is like the brakes. In my experience, if you are put in a position where you make too much adrenalin, then you will feel alot of pain, as your 'fight or flight' response will kick in - this happens to mammals when they give birth, so they can escape from a perceived predator. If you feel safe and secure, then you will produce oxytocin, and more than likely the contractions, though still very powerful, will be tolerable.
A good analogy is sex (though childbirth does not feel sexy to me!)....if you are safe and relaxed, your body will easily take a male 'member' into it. If you are tense and uptight, that same male 'member' will cause you pain. (I suppose it is the same analogy with inserting a tampon). This is why women have radically different experiences with childbirth, even those who have had multiple babies....because it depends alot what your environment was like when you were in labour and delivering.....
will stop rambling now!
you can tell I'm a gemini.....I always go on and on and on......:rolleyes:
I am exactly the same ~ scared of epidurals...
was the pethidine worth it- or would you have just been happy with the gas? I have heard that peth. can make your baby sleepy (as mentioned here also...), so I am also worried about that!:confused:
Well I guess it was worth it, it was with bub #2 anyway because, like I said, I was able to sleep between contractions, so I was able to push bub out in two pushes(my labour was only 5 hours).
With DS1, it was good in the sense that it took the edge off the pain, but because I was a little out of it, I started to panic, being my first labour, I didn't know what to expect!
I've been told that the contractions are stronger and more painful when you get induced(I was induced with both my kids so I don't know the difference), so you could probably go without the pethadine at all.
As for making bubs sleepy, DS1 had an apgar of 7, 9 and DS2 9, 9. Both attached and fed straight after they were born. I think it can make them really sleepy if they give it to you really close to when u actually push bubs out.
What I would suggest is if you feel the need to have some pain relief, ask for the gas and use it until you don't think you can cope with the pain anymore then ask for something else, the gas might be all you need. You never know, u might not need it at all!!
misskittyfantastico
11-05-2006, 19:03
The gas was my best friend.....they had to wrestle it off me!
LOL milliesmum, me too! I had my teeth clamped on it so they couldn't take it off me.
They tried to take it off me when I was getting stitched up after DS1...let me just say a few very colourful words came out of my mouth...and I got to keep the gas in the end lol. :D
I had the gas (it was on pretty low though) although it didnt get rid of the pain it gave me somthing else to focus on wich helped, as soon as i started pushing they took it off me though!!
mysonroger
11-05-2006, 20:01
I had pethadine during my labour & to be honest it didnt do anything!! There was no pain relief at all! I couldnt tell the difference lol.
that was my experience exactly. the only reason i had it was because they recommended an epidural immediately upon arrival at the hospital because of the level of pain i was already experiencing. and i said 'what about the gas, what about the pethedine?/'; you know how you learn all these things in ante natal classes, and they said 'well honey, you can try.....' knowing it wouldn't work, and so I tried and nothing happened........
was the pethidine worth it- or would you have just been happy with the gas? I have heard that peth. can make your baby sleepy (as mentioned here also...), so I am also worried about that!:confused:
I refused the pethidine as it can cross the placenta! That was my reason for not wanting it! I was told though that the epidural drugs would not cross the placenta and that it was alot safer for bubs, they lied the drugs did cross the placenta and I was fuming about that!
I was induced for my first and only an epidural could help me cope with the continual pain. The syntocin drip can give you really rapid contractions.
I wanted to avoid interventions with my 2nd and have a VBAC, so I just had gas. Initially I started with a tens machine, which was good for an hour or so. I'd just zap the pain when the contractions reached a peak, but after a while it felt like my back was burning.
I then went onto the gas. As I wasn't induced, the pain came at me like waves... as the waves reached a peak, I would take a good gulp of the gas, it would kick in instantly and then the wave of pain would subside. I kept expecting the pain to get really bad (like my first) but it was never totally unbearable as you kind of get a recovery period when things don't hurt. It's a different type of pain to say a cut. I must have done this for 14 hours or so.... I was even going to the toilet with my gas canister. I freaked out slightly when they changed it over as it ran out :D I guess it gave me a bit of a headrush sometimes.
I got some backache and a wheatbag was great for this.
I also used gas when pushing and for stitches. The only really painful bit when pushing was when the bay's head crowned, they didn't ask me to stop and I tore and that was a burning, stingy warm sensation. Once it had happened, it was over though... so quite quick. When they were sewing me up I was giggling with them about taking my canister home with me, so I was in fairly good spirits.
The day after I was a bit spaced out and vaguely wheezy. I'm mildly asthmatic and think I used my ventoolin a bit to clear up a bit of tightness but this was all the next day. I've packed an inhaler for my hospital bag, just incase.
I doubt I would touch pethidine as I worry about it passing over to the baby, and I wouldn't want to get so spaced out that I'd freak?
Good luck :fingerscrossed: So... I'm a gas fan :yelclap:
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.1.9 Copyright © 2013 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.