previous experiences with epo?

[eewieew]

i started taking evening primrose oil at the suggestion of my mw today.

i went for my 38 week check up and was intending to decline the vag exam but mw wanted to try to break up the scar tissue on my cervix to allow me to start dilating, as i've been totally effaced for weeks.

due to a really tricky situation with my job and fmla, i need this baby to come out NOW! if i go post dates with her, i'll have to go back to work when she's 3 weeks old. unacceptable. obviously not optimal to rush nature either, but she's already nice and big, and i won't consent to a c or pitocin or anything like that...i prefer gentle pushes if you know what i mean.

sooo...she stripped my membranes today, and it didn't exactly hurt...but yeah, there was a TON of scar tissue to get through and it definitely got uncomfortable.

so now i'm also taking this epo. i got 1000mg capsules, and am wondering if i should take 2...one orally and one vaginally? has this worked well for anyone else in the past? should i poke a hole in it before i stick it up there?

definitely want to hear your experiences.

[mom2tatum]

I have no clue on that...sorry. But, good luck! Hopefully someone will have some experience or info for you...

[Double E]

I don't know either (sorry- no help)...but I'm curious as my MW also recommends it (I'm just not there yet).
Just wanted to say good luck!!! I hope for your sake, she comes sooner than later.

Who knows, maybe the next post we get from you will be to announce Eden's arrival!

[cyrusmama]

It might be best if you asked your midwife exactly what she recommends.

But....

I haven't taken it before, but I am taking it now.

A doula friend told me that she asked in her MW/doula group because her sister was going to be induced and she was told:

She can take 1-500mg cap a day for 3-4 days, then bump it up to 2 per day for 3-4 days, then three per day until induction while also inserting three vaginally before bed (poke pin holes in them. Will cause a brown discharge, so mom should wear a light pad. It is not blood!). This softens and thins the cervix.

ETA: The sister was going to be induced in 2 weeks. So I bumped mine up more quickly.

Currently I am taking 2 orally one in the morning and one in the evening. I am having more cm but don't know if it is doing anything else. I was also told that orgasm can help with progress.

The bottle of EPO I have is 1000mg also. So, later this week I plan on inserting one vaginally at night also.

[cyrusmama]

Other things you might want to try that I have read are worth a shot are nipple stimulation, and pineapple (I am eating quite a bit of it. Thank goodness it isn't giving me heartburn.), and some people think eggplant parmesan works s:

[She2dancer]

My midwife told me I could take one in the morning and one at night or even two in the morning/two at night....starting at 37weeks I took the one/one, and at 39weeks I bumped it up to two/two.....

Last time I did one orally/one vaginally...but I don't think it helped speed things up (my DS was born at 41+1)

[amydidit]

I used EPO vaginally with DD2 and my MW commented how it helped make my cervix the softest she'd ever seen. I don't believe it helps with dilation though, only effacement. So if you're already completely effaced it may not help you.

But then again my memory has been crap through this pregnancy, so maybe it does help with dilation too. I just don't remember it though.

[vanessab23]

Originally Posted by amydidit

I used EPO vaginally with DD2 and my MW commented how it helped make my cervix the softest she'd ever seen. I don't believe it helps with dilation though, only effacement. So if you're already completely effaced it may not help you.

But then again my memory has been crap through this pregnancy, so maybe it does help with dilation too. I just don't remember it though.

No, you're right-- it's more for effacement. BUT if someone has a lot of scar tissue to work thru this should definetly help. Massaging it on there is ideal if you can reach your cervix.

I started epo at 36 weeks both this PG and last PG. Last PG I had a very effaced cervix, but still went to 42 weeks. At least I was SOFT!!!! This time I have had no VE's by OB/MW yet but the part of my cervix that I can reach (yikes that's hard when it's your own!) is starting to soften.

I don't know what to tell you on the oral vs. vaginal insertion-- I was doing both but have stopped the oral as I can't imagine it's nearly as effective as vaginal insertion. This week now that I am 38 weeks, I am up to putting three 500mg capsules in before bed (I am using an old yeast infection cream applicator to get them up to where they need to go!)

I was poking holes (my MW said to last PG) but have stopped b/c I pee every 30 -60 mins in the early part of the night that the oil was coming out too fast. Now that I leave them whole, they dissolve slower and, I imagine, get to marinate the cervix a little better They will totally dissolve-- otherwise I would have had about 100 gelatin capsules come out before DS was born LOL

P.S. You will know if you are taking too much orally if you get lots of diarrhea

[lanielayne]

I used it with ds2 when I was really worried I would go past dates and be induced. I started, I think, around 36 weeks and inserted it vaginally every night at bedtime just the way it comes. Make sure you sleep on a towel though as it will leak out. It really helped to soften things and he was born on his EDD! I would certainly try it and it wouldn't hurt to take it orally as well.

[Aimelet]

My MW has me taking 3000 mg orally! She doesn't do vaginally till the week you are due. As for the amount, let's just say I have not been constipated at all, but no terrible diarrhea either. I do have EPO burps for about 30 minutes in the morning after I take them though.

People have told me to also wear a panty liner when you do EPO vaginally.

[Carhootel]

I was told to take 1000mg orally and 500mg vaginally at night - don't poke or break the capsule - it will dissolve. I started at 36 weeks (38 now) and haven't had my progress measured since.

[eewieew]

Originally Posted by cyrusmama

Other things you might want to try that I have read are worth a shot are nipple stimulation, and pineapple (I am eating quite a bit of it. Thank goodness it isn't giving me heartburn.), and some people think eggplant parmesan works s:

i ate a ton of pineapple over the weekend and had eggplant parmesan last night for dinner.

Originally Posted by amydidit

I used EPO vaginally with DD2 and my MW commented how it helped make my cervix the softest she'd ever seen. I don't believe it helps with dilation though, only effacement. So if you're already completely effaced it may not help you.

But then again my memory has been crap through this pregnancy, so maybe it does help with dilation too. I just don't remember it though.

i actually asked my mw about the dilation vs effacement, because i too had read that it was mostly just for ripening. she said that, with my scarring, it should help by making everything mushier, which in turn might encourage the baby to descend a little more, thus triggering contractions and what not. i believe we're looking at this as more of a domino effect.

so if by vag is better than by mouth, which makes perfect sense, perhaps i'll just start doing it that way and see what happens.

thanks for the input ladies!

[paula444four]

My MW suggested I take two a day starting at 35 weeks...then 3 a day starting at 37 weeks and 3 a day by mouth and 3 a day vaginally starting at 38 weeks! Thats a lot of primrose aye?

I did take epo my first pregnancy..although not as much as above listed...and I did give birth at 39 weeks...of course who knows it the epo had anything to do with it.

[eewieew]

that IS a lot of primrose!
we shall see...like any other "induction" method, there is no way to know if it actually works...i mean, regardless, this baby is going to come out

[carseatqueen]

I took it orally and vag with DS starting at 37 weeks. (We drove out of state at 36 weeks so I didn't want anything starting!) I don't remember how much, but I think it was two at night, two in the am, and whatever else I did vaginally. Not sure if it did anything, but he was born at 39 weeks (DD was a few days early too, and didn't take any with her) and I was 4.5 cm two days before he was born with no painful contractions at all until hours before his birth.