I agree with you, Leesa, on the "rotten medicine" opinion.
I suffered severe back pain within a week of the birth of my first child, and after the firth of baby # 2 and #3 a, as well. And I did have epidural injections with each labor and delivery. Not one person, nurse or doctor, bothered to inform me of long term damage that can be done to the spinal canal from the pain meds, as well as the risk of brain herniation. My 3rd child was born in 1998 and soon after I developed chronic severe migraines, back pain, depression, and severe fatigue. Years later, after multiple dr. visits and countless diagnosis, I was finally diagnosed with Chiari Malformation. I still have permanent damage from the years of misdiagnosis and botched medical treatment.