I had an epidural, but not because I felt that I needed pain relief. (It's a long story, I won't bother you with it here , lets just say I had a pretty badly malpositioned baby in there) I had a 10 hour first stage, with a posterior baby, and pushed for over two hours before having the epi. I didn't occur to me in that time to ask for anything more than gas, I was coping pretty well with the discomfort. I am grateful for the epi, because there is no doubt that without it I would have ended up with a c/s.

BUT, I will do everything I can to avoid having one again. I hated how it felt after I had it, I hated that I couldn't get up until it wore off (and one leg took awhile). I didn't have any physical sickness, I just really disliked how it made me feel. I sooooo don't see myself ever asking for one with future births, I hated it that much. I hate peth too, so I'll just stick to the whistle LOL.