Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 9/21/2009

Question
Hello - I got an epidural during the birth of my son 2 years ago. I was extremely nauseated immediately after and they gave me different anti-nausea medications which did not help.  Immediately post-partum, I began to stutter, have trouble concentrating, difficulty forming words - felt as if I was "tongue-tied" (I could not speak the words that were in my brain), substituted words and experienced short-term memory loss.  Although the stuttering is a bit better, I still experience these symptoms.  Is is possible I had some sort of reaction to the epidural that was administered?

Answer
No. There is nothing in the epidural that should affect your brain at all. Did you see a neurologist after this happened. My only guess (and this is a pure guess) is that you might have had some kind of a stroke. I cannot explain why or if this is the case but you should certainly see a neurologist and have him work you up for these problems. This is not related to anesthesia so something else must be going on.


Ronald Levy, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston