Just how is an epidural given?

Here is a site that has broken down into segments the steps involved in administering an epidural.

The videos seem to have a few more steps then I recall occurring when I had mine but it still gives a good idea of what happens. While it might seem painful I recall mine as being more uncomfortable then painful like one might think. I would actually say that the local anesthetic they applied first was more painful then the actual epidural itself. The anesthetic had a slight burning feeling to it that was explained to me as the drugs itself and not the needle.

Now how effective are epidurals? That all depends on the person receiving them. I had several of them for the spondylolisthesis and had little relief from them. There were several people I met along the way who swore by them and were able to put off their surgery for years because the epidurals worked so well.

Prior to being administered the doctor should inform you that you may not receive any relief from the shot and should that be the case they will suggest a follow up in 2 weeks followed by another one in 2 weeks, 3 epidurals in 4 weeks total. If the epidurals work then the duration is another thing that will vary from patient to patient.

There are some side effects that you may suffer after receiving the epidural, several of which may take some time to manifest themselves such as arachnoiditis. However, you should not let the fact that there are side effects sway your decision to not receive the epidural. Most of the them are very short lived and can be treated on the spot with simple analgesic such as ibuprofen or aspirin.