Episode 145 - Show Notes, Links, Picts, Etc.

royce · 07-07-2009, 10:58 AM

Here are the show notes, links and pictures from PregTASTIC Pregnancy Podcast Episode #145 - Everything Epidurals with Dr. Camann.

Dr. Camann's book Easy Labor (also available in our store)
Epidural video with Dr. Camann
Wikipedia - Great basic info, definitions and picts
Health.com - More epidural info and picts

HeatherG · 07-08-2009, 08:47 AM

I'm surprised no one brought up the epidural headache during this show as a possible side effect. From what I've heard it can be completely debilitating and last for weeks after delivery. There was also a "Baby Story" about a woman who with her first birth suffered six weeks of complete paralysis of her legs after having the epidural. Why weren't any of these serious complications mentioned? I'm sure the paralysis is rare, but I've heard from multiple people who have had the headache.

royce · 07-22-2009, 08:42 AM

Heather,
Thanks for listening to PregTASTIC and thanks for your questions. I will be speaking with Dr. Camann later this afternoon. I will ask him your questions and post it hear. Thanks again

Royce

becoming-mom · 08-03-2009, 12:04 PM

Little known fact about epidurals: Often it will cause baby and mom to have a fever.. not a big deal except that your hospital may then give your baby 48 hours worth of prophylactic antibiotics and make them stay in the special care nursery (or NICU) instead of rooming in.

This is not the hospital experience that most moms want for their babies! (And I speak from experience). My poor son had TERRIBLE GI issues (allegies, reflux, colic) that I am convinced partly stem from harsh and as it turned out totally unnecessary use of antibiotics on his delicate newborn system.

royce · 08-03-2009, 10:44 PM

Heather and others. I emailed Dr. Camann your questions and here is his answer.

The headache occurs approximately 1% of the time after either epidural or spinal anesthesia. Refinements in the technique and needle design have made this headache much less common than in previous years, but it still does happen on occasion. While in some cases the headache can be quite severe, most of the time it is mild and goes away in a few days with taking pain medication, rest and hydration, although it can also be treated by injecting a small amount of blood into the epidural space, a procedure called an "epidural blood patch".

Regarding the paralysis, this is extremely rare! So rare, that almost all anesthesiologists will go through their entire careers and not see such a case.

Again thanks for listening and being active here in the forum.

Royce

HeatherG · 08-04-2009, 12:08 PM

We just learned about that in our childbirth classes! The teacher said she's seen obvious correlation between the epidural and then fever following, and yet they still treated it as infection.

chiara · 10-29-2009, 09:19 AM

Hello,
my son, whom due date was today, was born 5 weeks ago.
I had a c-section (with the spinal) and I have been one of the unlucky 1% that got the spinal headache. I recover from the c-section in no time, unfortunately during my second day at the hospital the headache started and I have to admit it was super painful; I didn't take any painkiller to recover from the c-section, but I took several medicines for the headache... nothing, but laying down, was working.
My doctor recognized my headache as a spinal headache and suggested me to talk to the anesthesiologist about the possibility of doing a blood patch.
The pain was so bad that I didn't care about the fact that he had to use again the epidural needle. The procedure is pretty simple, he got 20cc of blood from my arm and injected it in the spinal... unbelievable the pain went away immediately. I still had the needle in my back and the headache was gone!!!!
Even the nurse that assisted the anesthesiologist during the procedure was surprise (she had heard about that in the past, but never seen a blood patch before).
I hope this help...

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07-07-2009, 10:58 AM	#1
royce Administrator Join Date: May 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 77	Episode 145 - Show Notes, Links, Picts, Etc. Here are the show notes, links and pictures from PregTASTIC Pregnancy Podcast Episode #145 - Everything Epidurals with Dr. Camann. Dr. Camann's book Easy Labor (also available in our store) Epidural video with Dr. Camann Wikipedia - Great basic info, definitions and picts Health.com - More epidural info and picts

07-08-2009, 08:47 AM	#2
HeatherG Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Manhattan Posts: 3	I'm surprised no one brought up the epidural headache during this show as a possible side effect. From what I've heard it can be completely debilitating and last for weeks after delivery. There was also a "Baby Story" about a woman who with her first birth suffered six weeks of complete paralysis of her legs after having the epidural. Why weren't any of these serious complications mentioned? I'm sure the paralysis is rare, but I've heard from multiple people who have had the headache.

07-22-2009, 08:42 AM	#3
royce Administrator Join Date: May 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 77	Heather, Thanks for listening to PregTASTIC and thanks for your questions. I will be speaking with Dr. Camann later this afternoon. I will ask him your questions and post it hear. Thanks again Royce

08-03-2009, 12:04 PM	#4
becoming-mom Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1	Little known fact about epidurals: Often it will cause baby and mom to have a fever.. not a big deal except that your hospital may then give your baby 48 hours worth of prophylactic antibiotics and make them stay in the special care nursery (or NICU) instead of rooming in. This is not the hospital experience that most moms want for their babies! (And I speak from experience). My poor son had TERRIBLE GI issues (allegies, reflux, colic) that I am convinced partly stem from harsh and as it turned out totally unnecessary use of antibiotics on his delicate newborn system.

08-03-2009, 10:44 PM	#5
royce Administrator Join Date: May 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 77	Heather and others. I emailed Dr. Camann your questions and here is his answer. The headache occurs approximately 1% of the time after either epidural or spinal anesthesia. Refinements in the technique and needle design have made this headache much less common than in previous years, but it still does happen on occasion. While in some cases the headache can be quite severe, most of the time it is mild and goes away in a few days with taking pain medication, rest and hydration, although it can also be treated by injecting a small amount of blood into the epidural space, a procedure called an "epidural blood patch". Regarding the paralysis, this is extremely rare! So rare, that almost all anesthesiologists will go through their entire careers and not see such a case. Again thanks for listening and being active here in the forum. Royce

08-04-2009, 12:08 PM	#6
HeatherG Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Manhattan Posts: 3	We just learned about that in our childbirth classes! The teacher said she's seen obvious correlation between the epidural and then fever following, and yet they still treated it as infection.

10-29-2009, 09:19 AM	#7
chiara Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: San Jose Posts: 2	Hello, my son, whom due date was today, was born 5 weeks ago. I had a c-section (with the spinal) and I have been one of the unlucky 1% that got the spinal headache. I recover from the c-section in no time, unfortunately during my second day at the hospital the headache started and I have to admit it was super painful; I didn't take any painkiller to recover from the c-section, but I took several medicines for the headache... nothing, but laying down, was working. My doctor recognized my headache as a spinal headache and suggested me to talk to the anesthesiologist about the possibility of doing a blood patch. The pain was so bad that I didn't care about the fact that he had to use again the epidural needle. The procedure is pretty simple, he got 20cc of blood from my arm and injected it in the spinal... unbelievable the pain went away immediately. I still had the needle in my back and the headache was gone!!!! Even the nurse that assisted the anesthesiologist during the procedure was surprise (she had heard about that in the past, but never seen a blood patch before). I hope this help...