There is a huge difference between epidural injections for back pain and an epidural during childbirth.
The epidural given during childbirth is a type of anesthesia that is supposed to numb the pain of childbirth.
If given correctly and the dose maintained, it is quite affective in pain control.
Sally tualbee, it sounds like your epidural during childbirth was not properly maintained and monitored, so that it wore off instead of being a continuous administration.
If you are still in pain from it, you should be seeing a doctor about it. You really shouldn't be having pain from that kind of epidural.
On the other hand, the epidural that is given for back pain, in your spine is very, very different.
It is usually a combination of lidocaine and a long acting steroid injection, not to numb the body below the waist as in childbirth.
This type of epidural is done in an OR setting under floroscopy. (if a floroscope is not going to be used, then don't have the epidural injection given by this doctor).
It can be given under sedation or with lidocaine to also numb the area the injection is going into.
The lidocaine will provide a quick relief of pain for about 12-24 hours and it takes up to a week for the steroid to start to work.
The purpose is to relieve inflammation in the area of the spine that is causing the spine pain.
They can be very effective.
I have had several done under sedation so that I felt nothing and when I woke up, roughly 10 minutes later, the injection was over.
It can also be used for a diagnostic purpose to try to locate where the pain is coming from.
Fran
