High/total spinal block? Anyone else have this during delivery?

Question

When I was in labor with my daughter I ended up receiving more epidural than I should have and instead of working on my hips down it traveled up and took over my lungs and I had to be put under during my c section so they could control my breathing. I was literally gasping for air on the OR table and thinking I was for sure dying.
The doctor told me this is a super rare thing that happens. So rare that it’s hard to find too much support or information online because there’s not much talk of it. My back is still messed up to this day and I had to have a spinal fusion to help fix some of the problem.
It’s been emotional and still is. It took away the first moments I could have spent with my daughter and I never got to hear her cry when she came out and I spent an additional two hours in recovery so I couldn’t do heart to heart. It took a lot away from me. I’m happy that she’s happy and healthy and I know even though it sucked, I am lucky that her and I are okay. It’s just sort of haunting to me. It still affects me. 
I’m trying to reach out to see if anyone else went through this too.

Answer

So I didn’t have the same experience but I had a c section with a spinal and it hurt SO BAD! I was screaming and sobbing and the doctor ignored me, I have shooting pains down my legs like electric volts and my legs kept kicking without me doing it. It was the most painful thing ever! Turns out she damaged nerves in my legs and the pain after was terrible, my son is almost 7 weeks and my leg is still numb and burns. I had a hard time walking at first and then pain lasted a month. The strongest pain meds wouldn’t even help and I would cry daily from the pain! The doctor denied what she did and by day 6 in hospital she finally admitted it. It was traumatizing and I will not have anymore children after that. They told me that it’s rare this happens 🙄 I feel your pain!

Answer

Not exactly the same, but I had a similar situation. My epidural didn’t work the way it was supposed to for my c-section so I was feeling more than I was supposed to and also started vomiting what looked like coffee grounds. As soon as they pulled my daughter out, they put me under general anesthesia without me even knowing it. All I remember was feeling really out of it and telling my husband to stay with our daughter and vaguely remember someone showing me a picture of her (I have no idea who because I haven’t seen that picture since.) I didn’t get to do skin to skin either and didn’t get to see and hold her until about 2 hours later. I didn’t even know they had put me under and neither did my husband until about a week after I got home and I talked to someone at the hospital.
I struggled with accepting everything for a few weeks and felt like I was robbed after not being able to deliver naturally like I planned and then having the skin to skin experience taken away on top of it after being promised I could still do it when they decided to do the c-section. Every now and then I still have a hard time with it when I hear someone talk about how great their labor and delivery experience was, but it’s gotten a lot better. I just have to remind myself that everything that happened helped my daughter be delivered safely.

Answer

I had an epidural with my last and it didn’t work on one side. They eventually gave me a spinal block right before I had to push.

Answer

Hey momma! Im sonsorry for what happened to you. 
I didn’t have the same experience but I had an epidural, delivered naturally, but ever since i got out of the hospital I have a SHOOTING pain right where they inserted the injection, I’m 4 weeks pp and still feels the same. A messed up spine. 
The side effects of epidural are not much talked about and everyone will tell you either you’re going to heal and/or the pain has nothing to with the epidural. 🙄 i KNOW for sure that what I have has everything to do with the epidural!!!!! I know my body. 
It is kind of sad that we have to go through it but stay strong! I hope you grt to recover and also get to recover time with your bub!!!❤️💕❤️💕

Answer

I was also under general anesthesia for my c-section due to extremely low platelets, which disqualified me from an epidural or spinal. I missed those first moments as well and it still makes me sad to think about. My husband was able to take some photos and he tells me about the birth anytime I ask. He did skin to skin as soon as our son was stable (he needed breathing assistance for about a half hour after birth). I was a bit out of it still when I first met and held our little guy, so that memory is a bit fuzzy too. But I try to focus on the fact that he and I are both here (I’m not even supposed to shave my legs because my doctors are worried I won’t stop bleeding but they cut open my abdomen!). I have a unique birth story. It wasn’t the experience I imagined, but it’s still my experience.