Debbie & Christy, this is what a woman from AMBA said to me yesterday, that they had just topped up her epidural to do the c/s. This had me really confused, as DH (ex-nurse) is quite sure you couldn't do a c/s with just an epidural.

Have just had another diagram drawn for me. There are meninges, which are membranes surrounding the spinal cord. To get to the spot for an epidural, they have to go through 2 meninges but not through the 3rd, and the meninges are next to each other without a space in between, so it's tricky to get to.

To do the spinal, they DO/CAN go in the same hole they've made for the epi, but they're not just topping up the epi, they go through the NEXT meninge into the sub-arachnoid space where the spinal fluid is. It is easier for them to find this space because it's actually a space, whereas the epidural one is into the extra-dural space which is trickier to find.

So it SEEMS as if it's still the same thing, in fact it's the same drug, but in a different space, making you paralysed from the chest down quite quickly, whereas with epidural the level of anaesthesia can be varied.

Hi Mymagenta. That's interesting that your epi worked straight away. I wonder if it varies with different people or how much of the drug they put in. With the spinal, did it hurt having it put in? I've heard sometimes they can use a local first. Are you expecting your 4th child now or just planning? I agree re preparation, but howling rather than breathing works for me, lol.

Does anyone know if they were given a local first, how big the needle was etc? Did the anaesthetist explain what they were doing. How long did it take to work for you?

I'll see what I can get from the doctor about all this on Wednesday, I hope I'm understanding it correctly. It's so confusing really isn't it.