Butorphanol and Anxiety: What Users Say

• Lys...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 23, 2019

Butorphanol for Labor Pain "They gave me this Stadol rubbish for labor contractions. 5 secs later my eyes were actually rolling into my head, it felt like they were spinning. I was screaming, flipping out. I was in so much fear I passed out and didn't remember anything after that."

• Mel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 25, 2021

Butorphanol for Labor Pain "Quite possibly the worst thing I've ever taken. Within seconds, I could feel my eyes rolling, and the room was spinning. I felt like I wanted to sleep but felt like I didn't know how to breathe, and if I had slept, I would have stopped breathing. I just laid there waiting for it to be over. I threw up three times and finally started to feel the effects wear off. I will never take this during labor ever again. It gave me so much anxiety..."

• Rut...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 4, 2022

Butorphanol for Labor Pain "I was given Stadol early on in labor, and I felt like I could not open my eyes after it was given. This was very anxiety-provoking for me because I like to be in control. But I could not open my eyes. I had visions of fluorescent flowers, a school bus, and swirls of color. But the most scary thing was that I could not snap out of it. It eventually wore off, I am guessing after an hour or two, and then I was given an epidural. In the end, I was given a C-section. Not at all how I wanted my birth experience to go. I felt like I had very little control throughout the birth, but especially when under the effects of Stadol."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 1, 2025

For Labor Pain "I went in for an induction in late July 2025. I had been on Cytotec and had some mild to moderate contractions and wanted to start pain medication. Since it was late at night and I wanted sleep prior to starting Pitocin the next day, I chose Stadol over the nitrous gas so I could sleep through the night. They put it in my IV, and the first 30 seconds was okay. I felt light and out of it, but in a good way. However, the drug quickly kicked in, and my vision got blurry, the room was spinning, and I felt like I didn’t have control of my body or mind. I fumbled to find the call button and proceeded to have a full anxiety and panic attack where I forgot to breathe, thought I would have intrusive thoughts that prevented me from getting a breath, and was fully convinced I had died during childbirth and this was what hell was-a constant state of confusion without control. I begged the nurse for hours to give me medicine to put me to sleep. It will cause me lifelong stress about pain medication."