I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
need anything else.
Has anyone head of this or have any information?
Kathy Dooley
doo…@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Katherine Dooley) wrote:
>I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
>called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
>were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
>need anything else.
>Has anyone head of this or have any information?
>Kathy Dooley
When I was in labor with Abby (2+ years ago) and had been at it for
about a day, and was still at 5cm, the midwives finally talked me into a
Nubain ‘cocktail’ by telling me my husband was likely to get another
migraine if he didn’t sleep. They told us I’d be very relaxed, and that
I’d still feel the labor pains but that I’d be able to deal with them
better, and that the effects would last for 4-6 hours.
They gave me the shot and sent us back to my parents house. I slept
upstairs in my parents room, Steve went downstairs to our room.
I still felt the pain, but was able to ‘distance’ myself from it enough
that I wasn’t walking around with every contraction. I dozed lightly –
weird dreams where each contraction was some work needing to be done,
and I was able to put the pain in a box at the back of my desk (put it
away, you don’t need it).
I was relaxed enough that I dozed off and on for 8 hours rather than the
6 my husband was expecting. I don’t remember the rest of the day very
clearly — I was probably still a little bit fuzzy, but by the time I
was ready to push I was pretty much back to myself.
With any luck, I won’t need it this time. I’m sure my labor didn’t
progress during the sleep period, but the rest was needed.
In article <41da76INN…@oasys.dt.navy.mil>, <doo…@oasys.dt.navy.mil> writes:
> I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
> called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
> were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
> need anything else.
Nubain was the only drug I had while I was laboring on Pitocin. I was screaming
through the contractions, but I didn’t want an epidural or anything that would
depress the baby’s system. I had two doses, and hallucinated a third. The
imaginary third dose kept me going without any other painkillers for the rest
of the labor. <wry grin>
Nubain, as I understand it, isn’t really a painkiller anyway, but a narcotic
that doesn’t relive pain, but changes your perception of it. For me, it worked
great. It seemed to take the sharp edge off my contractions, and helped me get
what I wanted, which was to keep working with my body to deliver my baby.
akiy…@cris.com wrote:
> In article <41da76INN…@oasys.dt.navy.mil>, <doo…@oasys.dt.navy.mil> writes:
> > I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
> > called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
> > were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
> > need anything else.
> Nubain, as I understand it, isn’t really a painkiller anyway, but a narcotic
> that doesn’t relive pain, but changes your perception of it. For me, it worked
> great. It seemed to take the sharp edge off my contractions, and helped me get
> what I wanted, which was to keep working with my body to deliver my baby.
It is a painkiller (analgesic), like all narcotics. I used Talwin, a
similar drug. According to the nurses it would "take the edge off." As
near as I could tell it did absolutely nothing. (didn’t even make me
feel "high", and I’m very sensitive to narotics. [Get stoned on tylenol
3!])But I know that some
women have good experiences wih such drugs, so responses may differ.
Naomi
In article <41da76INN…@oasys.dt.navy.mil>, doo…@oasys.dt.navy.mil
(Katherine Dooley) wrote:
> I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
> called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
> were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
> need anything else.
> Has anyone head of this or have any information?
> Kathy Dooley
Hi Kathy,
I received Nubain during my labor. I was trying for a drug free labor and
was staunchly against the epidural. However, I was having doublets every
three minutes from almost the very beginning. I finally broke down and
begged for the drugs. I thought it was great. It didn’t take all the pain
away but it did take the edge off of it making it bearable. I basically
dozed in and out until it started to wear off two hours later. I would’ve
taken more. I actually begged for it but since I was 8cm they refused. Two
hours later I had my daughter(1 hr of pushing) who was very alert. She
didn’t seem drugged out at all(my concern).
Hope this helps.8-)
Suzanne
mam to Erika 1/12/95
> I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
> called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
> were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
> need anything else.
I had one dose of Nubain during a long labor with Pitocin. It was a negative
experience for me. The Nubain made me sleepy, all right, but I would doze between
contractions, and awaken at the peak of each contraction, with no preparation for
the contraction. I felt that it was totally out of control for me–I would awaken
in lots of pain, with no chance to prepare for it…and I did wake up for every
contraction.
*I* wouldn’t do it (the Nubain) again, but of course YMMV.
Coni Gehler
In article <NEWTNews.7398.809197632.akiy…@deathstar.cris.com.cris.com>,
akiy…@cris.com says…
>In article <41da76INN…@oasys.dt.navy.mil>, <doo…@oasys.dt.navy.mil>
writes:
>> I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
>> called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
>> were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
>> need anything else.
Nubain was the only drug I had during delivery of my 1st child. It worked
great for me. It took the edge off, it allowed be to doze (or really just
sorta veg.) between contractions. Don’t expect it to releive the pain of
the contraction. It is really used to help you relax during the
contraction so that you can gain strength for the next one. At the height
of delivery – stage 2 & 3 – it’s effects were minimal, if any.
I had a quick delivery. My water broke at 5pm, I was having full
contractions by 7pm, at the hospital by 7:30, Nubain by 8pm. Baby at
midnight.
If you expect a long delvery (due to family background, complications,
baby size) or if you expect to require pitocin, I probably would not
recommend it, unless you understand exactly how it helps. If you’re
looking for something to releive pain, Nubain is not really the best
choice for a long or complicated delivery, IMO.
SonyaC5372 (sonyac5…@aol.com) wrote:
> > I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
> > called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
> > were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
> > need anything else.
> I was offered it and I took it after the pain became unbearable (pitocin
> labor – contractions every 2-3 minutes). I liked it. It took the edge off
> enough that I could relax in between contractions. It does wear off and
> depending on wear you are in your labor you may not be offered it again.
When my first dose of Talwin started to wear off (ok…so it helped a
little…), I asked for a second. (I was still only about 4 cm.) It did
absolutely nothing, and I said as much to the nurse. She said "Oh, the
second dose doesn’t usually help much." or words to that effect.
Grrr… would have been nice if she’d said something BEFORE giving it to me.
Naomi
Katherine Dooley (doo…@oasys.dt.navy.mil) wrote:
: I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
: called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
: were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
: need anything else.
: Has anyone head of this or have any information?
: Kathy Dooley
When I asked for a painkiller, the Nazi Doctor From Hell offered me
Nubain, which they use pretty routinely. I have no experience with it
despite this, because I insisted (thank God) that they check what it’s
preserved with. Yep – sulfites. Could have killed me – I’m a sulfite
sensitive asthmatic. Took ‘em an hour and a half to locate something
that I could take, but at that time the doctor suggested an epidural
instead. That didn’t help at all – seems that they don’t always work
(but that’s a different thread).
Bottom line: if you’re not asthmatic, I gather from other posts that
Nubain is the stuff to take.
In Article <41i4jp$…@meaddata.meaddata.com>,
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
margaret.mi…@lexis.nexis.com (Margaret Mills) wrote:
>In article <NEWTNews.7398.809197632.akiy…@deathstar.cris.com.cris.com>,
>akiy…@cris.com says…
>>In article <41da76INN…@oasys.dt.navy.mil>, <doo…@oasys.dt.navy.mil>
>writes:
>>> I was reading in one of the baby magazines about a drug
>>> called Nubain that was used during labor. These women
>>> were claiming that it was great and that they didn’t
>>> need anything else.
>Nubain was the only drug I had during delivery of my 1st child. It worked
>great for me. It took the edge off, it allowed be to doze (or really just
>sorta veg.) between contractions. Don’t expect it to releive the pain of
>the contraction. It is really used to help you relax during the
>contraction so that you can gain strength for the next one. At the height
>of delivery – stage 2 & 3 – it’s effects were minimal, if any.
>I had a quick delivery. My water broke at 5pm, I was having full
>contractions by 7pm, at the hospital by 7:30, Nubain by 8pm. Baby at
>midnight.
>If you expect a long delvery (due to family background, complications,
>baby size) or if you expect to require pitocin, I probably would not
>recommend it, unless you understand exactly how it helps. If you’re
>looking for something to releive pain, Nubain is not really the best
>choice for a long or complicated delivery, IMO.
I have no objection to using this in a FAQ, though I must explain just
_why_ this drug could have been dangerous to me.
I am a sulfite sensitive asthmatic. Sulfites are a class of commonly
used food preservatives, including sulfur dioxide, and anything ending in
‘sulfite’, ‘bisulfite’, or ‘metabisulfite’ (don’t have any examples in
the house, or I could provide exact chemical names!). They are quite
safe – except for asthmatics. They trigger sudden, severe, potentially
life-threatening asthma attacks in a significant percentage (about 1/3,
if I recall) of asthmatics.
Sulfites (a.k.a. sulfiting agents) are commonly found in wine, white grape
juice, anything containing dehydrated vegetables, and injectable
pharmaceuticals.
Anyway, though I am not extraordinarily sensitive (my reactions have been
merely frightening, not life-threatening), I pay close attention to what
goes into me. And, despite advance warning that I was sensitive to
sulfites, they tried to give me Nubain without checking the label!!! And
I had to argue with the doctor to keep them from administering it anyway
("What will it do to you" "I don’t know, but I don’t think NOW is the
time to find out!"). Grrr…yet another reason why I would not let that
doctor near me again.
So: you can certainly feel free to include my experience in the FAQ, but
I would suggest you just have a warning along the lines of "Asthmatics
should be aware that this drug is preserved with sulfites, and therefore
might best be avoided; Stadol is a safe alternative".
…Marie and ‘Fang’ (Joey) 8/13/94…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
On Mon, 28 Aug 1995, Sabrina Cuddy wrote:
> Thanks for this potentially life-saving post!!!
> I would like to use your post in a FAQ. My policy is to strip off
> all identifying information to save space (FAQs get long!)… If
> you want me to leave your name on your post, or if you don’t want
> me to use your post, please send me mail!
> Thanks,
> -Sabrina
During my first labor, my contractions were coming so fast and hard that
I couldn’t tell when one stopped and the next one started. Once I was
given Nubain, I could actually tell the contractions apart — which
allowed me to be able to speak enought to ask for an epidural!! Now that
was relief!
I used hypnosis and it worked wonderfully!!!! During the last 6 weeks of
my pregnancy I had three sessions with a licensed psychologist (so
insurance paid for it) and learned self hypnosis. The psychologist’s
name was given to me word of mouth… he was known for teaching hypnosis
for things like chronic pain management etc. He had never worked with a
pregnant woman before… but saw no reason the techniques would not work.
Basically it is learning to be hyper relaxed. I would count backwards in
my head from 5 to 1 slowly and feel my self floating downward… sort of
like sinking under water. I practiced it whenever I was bored…
(during long class lectures was fun), while in the shower, before I went
to sleep.
During labor, when things started to get interesting, I would get on my
knees, and lean over a chair, the bed, the couch, deep breath and count
backward to myself…. my husband would put his hand lightly on the small
of my back and sometimes count for me (especially when the contraction
caught me by surprize.
I labored at home for 15 hours with no problem (just a bit of vomiting)
and got to the hospital at almost 9 cm. I delivered not too much
later…. and did hypnosis the whole time during contractions and
later inbetween pushes…. my OB said he had never seen anything like it.
It NEVER occured to me to ask for drugs or anything and I NEVER felt
like a martyr (sp?). I also used the shower a lot at home ( our apt does
not have a tub) and the tub at the hospital for about 25 min until they
kicked me out so I could push.
Only drawback… I do not remember much… despite no drugs, IV, epidural
or anything… I still have only fragmented memories… but I’ve heard
that happens to most women anyway… also I’m usually a wimp when it
comes to pain…
Gabrielle, mother of Elise 9mos
Hypnotherapy used during labor is something I would be interested in
learning more about also. Two Hypnotherapists, Massage therapist and
recording artisits, Steve and Christine Gordon posted a message, a day or
so ago, about a hypnosis tape that they had come up with and used during
their labor. They say the labor only lasted 6 hours and was *not the
horrible experience that we were led to believe it would be*. They are
selling their tape for $14.95 with a money back guarantee. Check the posts
on this board or e-mail me for their address. I am considering sending
away for it.
Mr and Mrs Gordon, if you’re reading this…write and let us know more
about what this therapy entails. Thanks in advance.
Carol
CNMPAT (cnm…@aol.com) wrote:
: I am interested in hearing from anyone who has used/is planning to use
: some form of hypnosis/trancework for labor as an alternative to
: medications and epidurals.
We used a combination of breathing techniques from child-birth class
We found this really effective for 
for the contractions and then in between my husband described various
really peaceful, calming scenes for me (I’m very non-visual so I
can’t "meditate" without help
the 4 hours I was in labor, I can’t say how it would have gone had
labor lasted longer. I know he was REAL sick of talking about sailboats
on Lake Michigan at sunset
Lynda, mom to Emma Rose, 2.11 and "Junior" due Oct. 3.
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Dogs come when they are called. Cats take a message and get back to you.
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Great story, and great suggestions.