I wanted an epidural too. I didnt think i could handle the pain and i wanted my first time to not be so rough and slightly enjoyable. I had my son 6 days ago. I asked for the epidural and it worked great at first. After about 2 hours the darn thing came unhooked and non of the idiot drs knew why i was in so much pain,and didnt bother checking so yea i felt every bit of pain at the end. But right after he came out all that pain was immediately gone. Sorry about the awful sorry but if you feel like yours isnt working make,sure they check yours that its still hooked in!! I wish i would of knew but i thought nothing of it.
a liittle horror story from me, sorry..
i asked for an epidural aswell, because the contractions were horrible..but it didn't work.. so be prepared for the "experience" aswell :) but, once the baby comes out, the contractions stop, and you forget about it..it'll be okay :))