Recovery Time After Labor and Delivery

I had my spinal 8 months ago, and STILL have pain.

It took my doc only one try.

Do we have a classaction lawsuit or what???
*J/K)

Goes to show, that to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...

please call your ob and primary care dr
J.

You should contact your doctor. I have treated many patients with this problem (I am a physical therapist). It is very important to take care of yourself so that you can be a good mom, never forget that!

I had that problem with not getting the epudural in right. I had three of them in a row too because it took 28 hours for them to figure out my son's head was too big for me to deliver. I remember that I had back pain for quite a while and felt for the longest time like they had left part of a needle in my spine. It did eventually go away. I know one doc said it can actually take some people about a month to completely come out of it, but with your headaches and ear popping I would be sure to check it out sooner rather than later. Also, I can tell you that exhaustion and pure fatigue can cause bad headaches and the ringing in the ear, too. Because you are not feeling the way you think you should be feeling, you certainly should see your doctor soon.

This sounds all too familiar.... I too had a long induction (20 hours) and ended up having an epidural after 12 hours of contractions ... and it took 2 times before they got the epidural right !!!!! SAD, I know ...

I delivered 12/27/07 and still had very bad back pain, along with headaches so in Feb, when I went for my 6 week check up, my OB sent me for an MRI & XRAYs .... I have a bulging disc right where the epidural went in. I blame the epidural, but everyone else, the Dr and the hospital denies it !!!! However, I have NEVER had back problems or backaches, until now. They would say it was the bone healing from the epidural. I never had an epidural with my first son who is 11 years old.

I found it very painful to lift the carseat/carrier into my SUV, and it caused more pain. I went to phyical therapy a few times and that really didn't help. So then I went to an Anestesiologist (at a pain center in peoria).. & he showed me some exercises to do and he had me bending and twisting trying to loosen up the stiff area, and it did help and now 5 months later, I can say that I feel better, but there is still times, where I feel the pain.

I hope you get better soon ... I know what you are going thru. You just want to enjoy your new bundle of joy. I too had a baby boy and he is just so precious. Congrats !

Amy M,
I too had a problem like that with my first born 10 yrs. ago. I was thinking that it last for about 2 weeks off & on. After reading the other suggestions I wonder if that is why I have been having migraines off & on now. With my first one it took 4 tries to get the right place ( curved back ). I didn't have a problem with the epideral the last 3 times because I ended up having the same Dr. doing the epideral & she remembered my back problem. They got it on the first try after that ( never had the headaches & backaches with them). I would talk to your Dr. if it last much longer. You might want to check with your ENT about the ears too. I too have hearing loss & wonder if that is when it all started. Good Luck
L. W.
A SAHM of 4 ( 10,8, almost 5 & almost3 ) & part-time babysitter of 2 boys ( almost7 & 2 )

Hi Amy,

I am a mother of three children. I had an epidural with two of my kids. After the first one I experienced severe pain at times when I tried to walk. It would hurt so bad that it literally stop me in my tracks for approximately twenty seconds or so and then it would subside. I don't think that I gave myself as much time to recouperate as I needed. I promised myself that I wouldn't have another epidural after the first one but I did. I wanted to try natural delivery but I couldn't do it. My third child was natural and Thank God that's over. I have my beautiful little angels and each one of them are healthy. That's all that matters. I hope that you feel better.

Amy,

there are risks associated with epidural, and it sounds as though you weren't properly informed of these risks. With my first baby I had a 72 hour labor, needed to be induced and had a very heavy epidural - i was not even close to being able to help push and had to have the baby pushed out from the outside by a doctor pushing downward on my fundus and the delivering doc using forceps to pull her out.

Anyway, it is not uncommon to have pains between the vertebrae where the epidural catheter was inserted. That space takes time to heal. The headaches are likely caused by spinal fluids leaking out. I never had migraines until I had the epidural.. now I get them a few times a year. For me, I could feel slight pain up to 2 years after having my daughter, though by that time it had gotten to the point where it was only at the end of the day and if i pushed on the spot where it went into my spine. This was the reason why I chose to do my 2nd delivery without the epidural. Though I can say I chose epidural for number 3 and 4. Partly because I knew my husband would not be able to handle me in pain, and couldnt be the support person I needed him to be (and that's ok because he's an amazing husband and father otherwise).

If you are taking vicoden this can also cause terrible headaches, so can the lack of sleep you are likely experiencing. A spinal headache should not last more than a day or two so at this point, you should contact your OBGYN and ask them what they think.

There are studies that indicate that tinnitus is more prevalent post partum due to heightened awareness of sounds, and fatigue, and also hormone changes. There is no 'cure' for it, but it might not be a bad idea to mention it to your doctor.

Good luck to you, I hope you feel better... a tire iron would DEFINITELY hurt! :) Congrats on your new baby boy!

~J.~

I've had 1 baby & 1 epidural. Your symptoms do not sound normal. I would definitely call your ob/gyn, and call an ENT (ear/nose/throat) dr. as well. I would guess the ear ringing & needing to pop it is related to your other symptoms. However, an ob/gyn is not an ear dr. & will not be able to advise you properly on it. Another respondent mentioned tinnitus (which is a constant ringing of the ear). I have had tinnitus for 6 years in my left ear (well b/4 I got pregnant). I know it's hard w/ a newborn, but I would see your ob/gyn & an ENT right away. If you somehow damaged the nerve in your ear (which is what causes ringing), you have a very limited amount of time in which you can fix it. It quickly becomes permanent. I don't want to scare you, but I made the mistake of not seeing an ENT for 2 weeks after my cold/clogged ears, & by that time it was too late, my nerve was damaged & I have some hearing loss & the constant ringing. Good luck.

Amy,
I would call your OB TODAY!
9 years ago I had an epidural with my first son and still have trouble and pain in my back. They inserted blood to "Patch" the area and nothing worked!
Call (and go see) so your doc knows you are having problems. If you are nursing make sure to double check that the meds are safe for the baby but keep on the doctors until they help you! New moms have too much going on to add extra pain along with it!
Best wishes and Congrats on your new baby!

I had an epidural with both my children and it took them less than 2 minutes to put the needle in my back and it was painless. The only side effect I felt with the second one was an hour or two of nausea. Call your doctor

I think I have heard of some moms having bad side effects to epis but not to the severity you describe. If it is bothering you that badly, which it sounds like it is I would just call the hosp. talk to a nurse or an anestesiologist.

No, that is not normal 12 days after delivery. I had a bruised area that felt a bit sore, and even that was gone by the 12 day mark. I would call your doctor and go back to be treated. It may be that you lost some spinal fluid and need a blood patch. People that have this often have terrible headaches and back pain.

I've had 3 babies and 3 epidurales. My newest was born in february. Some pain in the back is normal as I still have some on and off sometimes from my previous deliveries and some parts of my spine still hurt, even before I had the newest baby. Anesthesoilogist looked at my back and confirmed that it is from the epiduarals. Some back pain is normal too especially if you are breastfeeding because your breasts are bigger and heavier. You may have an infection or maybe simply doing too much. I would call your ob and see what they say and then go to your regular doctor too. Good luck! And congrats on your LO.

Call your Dr. You might be leaking spinal fluid. They will then need for you to come in and have a blood patch done. This is where they will draw blood from your arm and inject it into the spinal area to form the patch or clot. Your headache will be gone instantly. You might need to go home after and be flat on your back for the rest of the day but after that you will be back to normal.

Call your ob-gyn and tell him/er everything you are feeling. Better safe than sorry.

Good Luck!

I would definitely say that is not normal! I still had some soreness 12 days later but it was all surrounding the episiotomy not in the back and I had back labor. I also had to have a few tries before they got the epidural in and then it bent and was blocked. I did not have any of the pains you are experiencing. I remember hearing that some people have reactions to the epidural including really bad headaches, but I didn't think it lasted 2 weeks. I would definitely call your doctor.

Good Luck,
D.