I'm full of questions this morning lol.

Did anybody use an analgesic (stadol, demerol, tordol) to manage labor pain and do it without an epidural? I was talking to a girl yesterday whose friend managed to do it on stadol alone. Since I'm nervous about what an epidural might do to my labor pattern and everything else about it, I'm wondering if this would be a good option to keep in my mind.

If you used an analgesic, did it still require interventions like a catheter, IV, and/or internal monitoring? Were you able to move around freely into different pushing positions? Or move around during contractions? Or were you still bound to the bed once you received these meds? That's one of my biggest concerns about an epidural.

I understand that I might still want an epidural, but I like options. I have my next OB appointment tomorrow so I want to get his thoughts on it as well.