Epidural versus other pain relief

Good morning, sisters!!

I've been researching for a couple of hours this morning and decided to just start a new post to get some personal experiences.

I was opting NOT to do an epidural because I wanted to be up and walking as soon as possible to get the "plumbing" going and have read the sooner get walking a little bit, the quicker you heal.

From reading prior posts, sisters who had the epidural liked it because they didn't get nauseous from the pain meds like morphine pump, etc.

I had an epidural with both my children (only had it in for about an hour with both!!) and remembered how I wasn't sick (have had 4 other surgeries and HATE waking up feeling sick and HATE pain meds for anything!!) and how I was walking like an hour after delivery. I know I'll need to take pain meds during my recovery days, but like to take the least as possible because of how nauseous I get!!

I go in for pre-op on 10/17 and surgery on 10/23, so any experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Pat!

Since I am about 2 1/2 weeks postop I felt that I could offer some insight to your question (and feeling fantastic I might add). I had a TAH with both ovaries being saved. I did have general anesthesia, but before the surgery I spoke with the anesthesiologist and he recommended an epidural for pain control. They placed the epidural higher up on my back then they normally do for childbirth, so it only numbed my stomach area. I was shocked at how little pain I did have postop! What this device does is run a continuous dose of some numbing agent (along the novocaine line) and a small dose of narcotic (I think I had Dilaudid). There is also a self-medicating botton that allows you to give yourself an extra dose if the continuous dose doesn't quite do it. When I woke up in the recovery room, they kept asking me about my pain. On a scale of 1-10, I think I was a 1 or 2 for the entire two days the epidural was in place, and I only needed to "self-medicate" three or four times total. It was a miracle! I would strongly suggest it if they are offering it to you. I didn't quite have the nerve to just do an epidural during the surgery, but opted for this postop instead. I was able to walk the day after surgery with little difficulty bc the pain control was so wonderful.

Good luck as you make your decision. I was SOOOOO glad I opted for the epidural!

Florrie

I did both the general AND epidural...added the epidural at the last moment.

Best move I ever made. I too, had a 1-2 pain level for the first two days post op, and then the Percocet handled everything very nicely after they removed the epidural.

I've had four kids, and love epidurals for gyn pain managment. My gyn told me the general AND epidural with the TAH, et al, is the "cadillac" of pain management for women.

I believe him. The two combined worked wonderfully for me.