Could my back pain be from an epidural?

A little back story was when I was younger, I broke my femur bone and was in a cast and did physical therapy for a long time. I haven’t had much follow-up on my leg since becoming an adult. Fast forward to three years ago when I had my second daughter. I got the epidural, and when he first went for it, my bed was crooked, and he literally was DIGGING around in my back. I looked at my nurse and cried, “Is this supposed to hurt?” Cause it did. My first epidural with my first child didn’t hurt at all. This guy had to take the needle out, adjust my bed and poke me again. After her birth, I struggled with a lot of back pain and have been over the years. Fast forward to this most recent year, and it has gotten so bad I have trouble walking sometimes. The back pain is comparable to contraction pains. It’s that bad, and I feel like I am living pure torture. I have gone to the dr, and they did blood work/scans and ruled out my organs, etc. My next step is getting an MRI done. The pain starts in the center of my spine, slightly to the right (very close to the epidural injection point), and the pain extends down the leg I broke as a child. It is brutal, and I feel like I am at my breaking point. Has anyone else gone through this, and it’s been an epidural injury? How can I solve this? I know the waivers make it so you can’t retaliate illegally, but I felt this guy was very irresponsible in his injection and worry he is the one that has caused me this god-awful pain. Mamas. HELP

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Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Could my back pain be from an epidural? - Mamas Uncut

Look up adhesive arachnoiditis.i got it from ESI

Yes. Ive had 4 epis and there are lifelong pain effects

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It’s like they get the most untrained person to do 9 out if 10 epidurals, and stuff like bad back pain is an issue, I’ve suffered for over20 year’s with my back since the epidural, and they asked me (while in the toughest part of my labor) if id mind a young doctor do it, as he was in training, I said no, then they said there was no one else available, and if have to suffer with no pain medication, so I said yes, biggest regret of my life

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The waivers you sign are because the procedure is very risky and very hard to perform and so they wont be held responsible if any thing is to go wrong during or after especially sense no ones back is the same mine hurt as well like shocks on boths sides of my body ulternating back and forth, the entire time it was being done. Yours probably irritated ths nerve that was damaged when you were younger and thats why leg pain is a thing. my back still hurts at the exact points the needed was put in 5 different times. I chose ,to have my next using laughing gas instead. Women arent very well informed on the effect or after effects of epidurals or the other pain management options.

I’ve had 4 epidurals, first one 16yrs ago, most recent one 8yrs ago. No back pain what’s so ever

Yes mam I have the same problem since I had my daughter in 2014. The Anesthesiologist guy hit my spine the first time, said sorry an the second sent a shocking pain sensation only down my left leg. So I felt everything on the right side during labor​:flushed::anguished::blush:. Yeah it is because of the epidural. And yes couldn’t do anything either because I signed the waiver so Now I live with horrible pain everyday. I can’t do a lot with out my back killing me. I hate it so much and Night time is very bad I can’t sleep on my stomach or by back since the epidural either. It hurts to bad… but definitely get seen by a doctor an get a MRI… good luck and hope you feel better soon and get some relief… god bless you :relaxed:

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Yes! I never had back pain! I had 3 kids without epidural but then after I had my 4th one (I had epidural) I have back pain! Sometimes it feels like my back locks! I hate it! I just i didn’t get it but too late now :pleading_face::pleading_face::pleading_face:

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I had asb epidural with my first child 12 years ago and they messed it up so bad the entire left side if my body seized and I have had debilitating back pain ever since, on occasion my last 2 toes on my left foot still goes numb as well. I had my other 3 children naturally because of that experience

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I have nerve damage from 2 of them… It sucks.

Maybe try a chiropractor? Honestly it could just be that you were having back labor and have some left over trauma from the actual delivery especially after having 2 babies! It’s a lot for your body to go through. All the joints are shifting and then have to try and shift back… But while they are shifting back you’re also taking on more with a newborn in your arms 24/7. I would defs check out a chiropractor and massage therapist see if it relieves any of the pain!

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This sounds like what happened with my first born. The anesthesiologist poked me 3-5 times and couldn’t get the epidural in. My boyfriend at the time (husband now) ended up asking him to leave and I never got it. I’ve had back pain ever since. Sorry this happened to you :disappointed_relieved:

Yes. It absolutely could be. This is why I absolutely refused pain relief. I have a few people close to me that have had back issues their whole life cause from an epi.

That sounds like sciatica pain, but seriously see a chiropractor. After my 4the I had horrible back pain. Couldn’t even stand to wash dishes. Seen several drs who said it was all weight issues or whatever, other moms said it was epidural related. I finally went to a chiropractor and he said my pelvis had shifted. Which was common in women who had given birth. After 3 appts with him I was pain free.

Yes the doctor kept poking me over and over. I was just about to tell them to stop he then said he got it. It went in side ways and only numbed my right leg. So now I have permanent pain and felt everything. Totally wasn’t worth it. I have a MRI on the 18th. I hoping I have some answers. I have disk degeneration on top of the epidural pain now.

Please get the MRI. I am going through this right now except I have never had an epidural. I was at the emergency room and primary care Dr every day for almost two weeks. Thry kept saying a muscle. My MRI showed I have problems with my T3, T4, T5 and S1. I had a disc rupture and fragments are all through my back pressing on the nerves causing me pain. I need surgery. I hope all goes well and you pain goes away soon.

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I have back pain as well since my epidural a year ago…idk what to do for it either but take aleive… it helps some but not for long …

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I had a epi with #3 went in worked great but have had back issues since. Then I had a epi with #5 and he had to try 5x to get it in, could hear scraping in my head and everything. I think just any epi in general can cause back issues.

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& I agree with another comment above. It sounds like you’re having sciatic pain.

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You most likely have a pinched sciatic nerve pregnancy can cause this.

It does sound like sciatic pain. Been fighting it for months. Make drs mitigate the pain… Insist on steroids and the good drugs. Yes - he could have damaged a vertebrae .

Oh yes, I’d definitely say so. The “experts” can swear up n down all they want that there’s no lasting side effects from it but I call BS

Age, pregnancy, work, feeding babies, carrying baby around, weight, injury…can all hurt your back.

Could be the epidural but could also be a combo of life experiences

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Yes. Same thing happened to me. Digging around. Never recovered. My oldest is going to be 13 yrs old.

Definitely get the MRI! It was the only way my doctor found a herniated disc and a bulging disc in my lower back!

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I had Epidural in 1998 with my last child.The doctor hit a nerve and it went all the way down my leg and every since then I have had nothing but problems with my back…

I got epidurals with 2 of my pregnancies and had back pain from it. My spine is even crooked at the bottom.

I have pain where my epidural was. 5 years later :upside_down_face:

I believe so even though experts say no. With my second all i heard the doctor say was oops and there was lots of pain,he had to do again. My back still hurts alot and that was almost 2 1/2 years ago.

Yes. I mean I’ve had three children in the epidural always hurt horribly but I will say with my last delivery which was a little over a year ago I would periodically get back twinges in pain. Not so much anymore but at least for the first few months

I have back pain and I tried the tent unit and it’s a wonder drug for my back

I thought it was the epidural with my pregnancy but it turned out my hips shifted and didn’t go back correctly and just needed a few sessions of physical therapy and it fixed it

Back pain is an extremely common life long side effect of the epidural. More women end up with it than women that don’t after getting one. I was lucky with my first 2 but after my third I started experiencing it. It sucks sometimes. Some women end up needing prescription pain meds to deal with the pain.

Sciatica pain, you can to go to physical therapy, and chiropractor.

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Yes. Defiantly can be from the epidural I have 4 kids and had the epidural all 4 times that was a massive mistake because I have had issues ever since. I mean I do have other issues that cause me pain however my pain dr for my RA fully believes that the majority of my back issues are from the epidurals I had since the majority of the issues in my back are in the area or the epidural one of the injuries in the epidural area is bulging disc

Had my last baby 2014 had epidural with two of my kids with my first kid had two epidurals cause the first didn’t take fast forward to now I have bad back problems to this day n have a swollen place come up at times. My husband has to massage my back most nights I’ve tried everything hot shower hot bath heating pad nothing works .

30+ yrs n can feel same the exact spot

Back and hip pain! I had an epidural with my only child and had to get stuck twice. My son is 5 and I get bouts of pain in my left hip and lower back down to my tail bone. I have to sleep with a pillow between my knees.

12 times they tried to get it in my back safe to say I am broke up just in docs yesterday getting painkillers cuz I’m barely walking with the pain and now it looks like I’m 9 months gone with the waddle on me it’s so degrading

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Could my back pain be from an epidural? - Mamas Uncut

I had a c section almost 19 months ago and deal with back pain from the epidural it not like yours but sometimes I get stuck sitting or laying down my legs will fall asleep from the pain. There isn’t much they can do after a long period of time but I do know that sometimes they can put a block where they stuck it and it stops the pain

A broken bone is never the same again and as we age those places become weaker. I believe that’s where the arthritis and others rear their ugly heads. I had an epidural with my 3rd child and I have back pain. I broke my ankle when I was young and I have back pain. I tore my rotator cuff and I now have back pain. I was tolsby my physical therapist to strengthen all those places to help with the pain. So, that’s what I do everyday. Stretch, lift light weights, walk a lot, ice, use good posture, watch how you sit. The MRI should tell you if anything correctable is going on. Good luck.

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That epidural can do a lot so my answer is going to be probably so. After my first child was born I had such bad migraines from the epidural that I couldn’t even take care of my own child for the first week of her life. Thank the Lord for my mother. Now my second daughter I had no time for an epidural. By the time I got to the hospital they told me to start pushing so I had her naturally. No epidural and on top of that they had to yell at me to quit pushing because they had to put her back inside of me get the cord from around her neck and bring her back out. I felt all of it and believe me when they tell you it feels like the ring of fire yes it does there is a reason for that. A girlfriend of mine that don’t have kids she said well I was told it doesn’t hurt. I laughed at her and told her yeah you need to have a baby LOL

I had 3 csections in 3 years with my first spinal block no problem other than anaphylactic reaction to medication in the spinal block until a week post op my hands and feet would go numb but i could move them and it would be ok it lasted about 6 weeks by the time i was 7 weeks post op no more problems with my second spinal block i had multiple problems from the first attempt to give me the injection they stuck me 5 times the first stick they hit my spine and i couldnt move at all second attempt they hit my nerve and couldnt move my left side third attempt same thing but my right side 4 attempt they hit something that was causing my nerves to jumo i actually kicked the nurse because of it thankfully on the 5th attempt they got it right and i had nothing but problems i was barley able to move and i received no pain medications and i was still having issues with my nerves and spine when i got pregnant with my third and when it came time to have him i had no problems at all until about two week post op sane thing with my hands and feet going numb and occasionally my back will hurt so bad it hurts for me to move but its usually when im on my period so im not sure if that has anything to do with the back pain or not my youngest just turned 7 months on the 2nd

I am a firm believer than the epidural will ruin your back!! If I bend over for too long, I get stuck there. Or if I sit for too long my back starts hurting very badly. With my last epidural I had the same experience. He tried the first time, he failed miserably and blood went EVERYWHERE. I jumped because the pain was so bad. He couldn’t get it in. Back pain shot you one side of my back to the point of me knowing it was not normal. Tried the second time, got it in but I could honestly still feel everything! I have horses so when I ride bareback, I can only ride for a certain amount of time before I’m hunched over because of the pain.

Go see The doctor should orxer an orthopedic doctor and if they can’t help go see a good chiropractor. The doctor should order a CT or an MRI depending on what the x-rays show him.

Sciatica! I ended up with it after my second

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I have bad back spasms from my last epidural. It hurts exactly where they put it in. My 1st & 2nd epidurals didn’t hurt. 3rd was the charm. I have a lot of back pain from it.

So many women get horrible back pains after getting botched epidurals

I’m in the same boat. Now my spine grinds when I move. It’s been 4 years since my botched epidural. :frowning:

I honestly haven’t experienced that. I have severe scoliosis of the spine, so its curved like a snake from my neck bone to my tailbone. But both of my epidurals worked and hasn’t made my back pain any worse. Where I got them hurt for a week or more after, but it slowly healed and went away.

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Could my back pain be from an epidural? - Mamas Uncut

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Could my back pain be from an epidural? - Mamas Uncut

I had an epidural with my first child and the anesthesiologist poked something in my back. It caused my leg to twitch and I heard popping in my ears until he pulled the needle out and redid it. That was 9 years ago and I still have loss of feeling in my lower back and one leg is weaker than the other. I think it also contributed to alot of my abdominal problems. But what can you do. It seems like it might be a common thing that doesn’t really get addressed based on the posts here

I had an epidural too late in my delivery to work. I have had traumatic spinal taps BC I have MS & every time you get sick neurologist’s want to do this.
You should NOT have persistent hip pain…if so please consult a doc. I am a retired ERRN so I do know of what I speak!

I had an epidural for my hysterectomy and he hit a nerve and my entire body went into spasm ,I’ve had horrible back problems since then but I also have sciatica so can’t win really I just use the right combination of painkillers when it flares up

Sounds like you had the same anesthesiologist that I had. He stuck me 3 different times and complained that he couldn’t find the right place. I had a C-section with a small amount of numbing on my right side. I felt everything! It was an emergency C-section so they couldn’t give me anything until after delivery. It was a nightmare.

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Someone that I know has experienced really bad headaches & migraines and is still getting them now 18 years later .
So just don’t ever get it done :thinking:

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Word of advice to any pregnant women, never do the epidural!!! Never!!! Luckily I dont have long term issues after having one but i have gone without on another birth and it was a wayyyy better experience. Currently expecting again and absolutely will not do another epidural. Natural is the way to go, quick and easy. With maybe some pain killers or nitros if it gets too extreme.

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Sciatica!
I’ve heard 50/50 reports from women on back pain from labor and epidurals.
I’m convinced however that it is just caused from labor itself, and none of us going to a chiropractor or taking care of our spines.

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Is it your right leg? Does sound abit like sciatica, I’ve had that since I was a teen.

When u say it hurt what kind of pain was it? Like a raw nerve (exposed tooth root) kind of pain? That’s the nerve. They need to get it in the right place, side affects are possible, they won’t always get it in the right place first time. They moved it around and told me to describe the pain and the direction it was in. It was taken out then Done again where I didn’t feel a thing 2nd time.

Sciatica is manageable, painful but manageable. Before I had children it was worse than it is now.

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Side effect of epidural are life ling back pain. I actually have arthritis in my spine 5 kids later and have to do physical therapy. Also, your hips can shift out of alignment (mine did,) and my s2 also has issues from where your ligaments loosen to allow baby to be born.

I don’t have back pain from mine but I do have major nerve sensitivity in the area it was in.

I had severe migraines after my son was born. Later, we discovered i needed a blood patch due to a puncture from the epidural done incorrectly. I would certainly recommend getting an MRI.

It can be arthritis in your back from your leg injury, I had a long term knee injury and walking lop sided affected my back and hip long term.

I get extreme migraines since I got my epidural and back spasms so it is very possibel

I had the same problems. My leg even went numb and it was never broken. The pain really is unbearable! Luckily I have a friend who was also suffering with het back at the time who was seeing a chiropractor. She asked him about my problems and he said I will need some rehab for the spinal which I had. So I went got some rehab for the back pain and now more than a year later still no pain! His first words where to stop pain meds!

Anybody ever suffer rarest complication from spinal anesthesia. I suffered it in 2014 when spinal was done for knee replacement. A day & a half after surgery, started severe back pain to total below waist paralyzation. Lost bladder function, been in a catheter ever since. Got some return with therapy, but limited walking with braces & crutches.

I had an epidural for my daughter and had no issues. I had a Spinal with my son for a planned c section and the anesthesiologist had to do it 4 times. I was in excruciating pain. I now cannot stand for more than 5 mins without my back hurting. Sometimes I get hunched over and can’t straighten out.

Yes I know my back pain is from the 2 epidurals that they gave me. The 1st 1 fell out. It’s been 8 yrs & I still can’t touch that part of my back. Sorry this has happened to you as well. It’s miserable.

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I have had 2 back surgeries. My back kills me. They say i need to walk yes but that causes intense pain :frowning: i started using my tens machine and it has helped my ALOT!

They did a spinal tap with my last just 2 months ago and I still have alot of pain where they did my numbing injections. I think they messed up mine also.

Sounds similar to sciatica. Iv’e had 3 epidurals and 3 C-sections. Years after the birth I suffered migraines that can sometimes be a symptom of epidurals. What it sounds like you have though is sciatica. I have also had that as well and suffered for 4 months with relentless pain running down my leg. At times I thought the pain would never go away. Eventually it did, I suggest you visit a neuro surgeon he will be able to diagnose the cause of your pain and treatment or a plan for surgery if your discs are involved. Good luck! <3

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If the epidural is injected wrong, I think you can be paralyzed from it cuz our spine connected to our legs. This was read to us during labor if we want the epidural cuz it’s a risk. If I were you, go to a doctor and get it seen soon before it get worse.

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My back has been killing me since I had my daughter 3 yrs ago and I had an epidural, I also have scoliosis with a 10 degree curvature.

My daughter suffers from back pain due to epidural

Yup. From the epidural and it’ll never go away.

You probably have the injury that they make you sign off on … mine hurts too and it hurt when it was inserted

I had the exact same thing when my L5 and S1 vertebrae had been broken and had been undiagnosed until after it healed wrong. Healed bones don’t show up as problematic in x-ray

I had 2, no issues. I have Sciatica and arthritis. Overweight and not active enough. I also have a though bruise from 16 that caused nerve damage. At this point it’s many things. Who knows what?

I would think that injecting anywhere around the spine, COULD cause nerve damage for sure

If it’s on your right side I would have them check your gallbladder too. Just because the tests don’t show anything doesn’t mean u don’t have stones. I almost died from a ruptured gallbladder because a doctor misdiagnosed me several times. Keep going till u get it honey

My partner complains of mild back pain now and then, in the same spot.
From 7 years ago….

sounds like your sciatic nerve.

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I had epidurals FOR back pain.

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I’d see a physio/ chiro and have x-rays to check everything over

So sorry. I refused anything because I was afraid of damage.

It sounds like sciatic nerve problems probably from the epidural. They did mine with my first son at 28. Afterwards I was bent at a 90°angle for 6 months with a new born bc they screwed up. I’ve had 2 back surgeries and still walk with a cane now in my 40s. Havent been able to work a 40hr work week since. Its terrible pain that has never went away. Running down ur leg is a sign of sciatic nerve. I guess welcome to the club… it sucks

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Try a chiropractor, I used to have terrible back pain and sciatic nerve pain down my leg horrible. Since I had treatments and therapy done by the chiropractor I have little to no back pain now. It would hurt so bad I was like unable to move.

No it should not hurt. If you could prove it there would be a medical negligence case

Could be you were older & your body handled the 2 kid different after already going through 1 and not taking care of the other issues you had prior

I hid in my house and gave birth twice, coz fuck epidurals :nauseated_face: You ladies are braver than me :scream:

All i did was one hour walk in the morning and 30- min workout twice a week.

sounds like sciatica, physio helped me alot and haven’t had it since. also yes first epidural I had a pain right where they put the needle and it hurt bending and when I moved the area, drs didn’t help, the pain would not go away , 6 months after birth I just went to a kinesiologist/naturalpath he did something with his tweezers on my back and The pain disappeared!!!

Your story is exactly same as mine. I was pregnant in 2016, i was healthy, slightly overwight but worked everyday as a manager. My son was born 2017 by elective c section. Epi dural killed and was uncompfortable. 3 weeka after birth, i found i couldnt walk, the pressurs from my back was horrific. Fast foward now, trauma from the epi, caused fibromyalgia, carpell tunnel,back im still having ongoing now 4 years later, i still feel the sensation of the point, arthritis, low immune, erythema nodusom, gout, chronic sciatica in both legs, horrific headaches, and nightmares. Mu bottom and middle back causes walking difficulties, my hips are damaged and my knees too. After investigation, it was all found that all this trauma on my body was from the epi dural x

I wish I could give a more informed answer but I don’t know the terminology, but I had a friend who got an epidural and they messed up, weren’t listening to her when she said she felt wrong, and it turned out a lot of her spinal fluid had come out and it caused spine and bone pain and other things but she was able to get treatments, she had to go in and get shots every week unfortunately. Hopefully yours isn’t that severe but maybe it’s something worth mentioning to your doctor

I have had 2. I xan feel the places in my back where they were after 24 and 18 yrs. And the hospital lie like cheap rugs over it. I have had back issues and sciatica since.

Suggest you wait for the MRI and have an orthopedic doc evaluate it. Could be from result of 2 childbirth, or age. I’ve never had an epidural. I chose “not to be there” when our girls were born! Now, I have issues with lumbar and thoracic scoliosis.

That’s why they make you sign a waiver. Nothing you can do now and it will be very difficult to have any medical professional blame another doctor for your pain, they stick together and do not want to be the one exposing malpractice. Sciatica pain is unbearable. Pain starting in the lower spine and radiating down either or both legs is most commonly sciatic nerve related.

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