How my epidural ruined my life.

by Valerie Crouch
(Mesa, Arizona)

I had my oldest son in 2001. I was scared to have an epidural due to previous back problems, but was assured by my doctor that "it's not the 80's anymore, so mistakes just don't happen".

so I agreed to have the procedure done.

The problem started when they did not check to see how far dilated i was before the injection. Then the anesthesiologist told me that when i felt a lot of pressure or pain in my legs to tell him so he could stop. I followed directions, but the anesthesiologist told me he was not deep enough and pushed deeper anyways. He knew immediately that he had torn the tissue causing a spinal fluid leak.

After I had my son, they took blood from my arm and put it into the epidural space. this as called a blood block. They sent us home and told me to lie down for 1 week in order to allow the blood clot to form in my spine, and stop the leakage.

This procedure did not work, I had to have it repeated 3 more times over a 2 month time frame before my spine stopped leaking fluid. In the mean time I suffered from spinal headaches so bad i could not function, i could not even breast feed my son, or sit in a chair to rock him. Once the leak stopped life seemed to go back to normal for me for about 5 years.

Suddenly i became very ill with debilitating headaches, spine pain, muscle pain, muscle spasms, exhaustion with a inability to sleep, and my hair even began to fall out. I saw at least 15 different specialists before a neurologist finally took an MRI of my brain and C-Spine looking for MS but revealing that i had something called Chiari Malformation Type 1. The only cure for it was brain surgery. It turns out when I see a Neuro-surgeon in 2009 to discuss brain surgery, this life long condition is caused by the loss in spinal fluid I experienced after having my child.

The doctor says there was not enough fluid to hold my brain in place so it moved back and down into the opening of my spinal column, and gravity pulled it half way down my neck before I even began showing signs. In turn the pressure my skull put on my brain caused Fibromeyalgia, and the pressure my brain put on my spine caused it to begin falling apart. I have since had one spinal surgery and one brain surgery, and will need multiple other spinal surgeries.

To read about epidural risks Click here.