methadone while pregnant...

[sarahnsean01]

I am 8 weeks pregnant and on the methadone program.  I was never against woman on the program while pregnant,  but I never thought id be going through it myself. I just cant imagine my baby staying in the hospital when I leave or my baby going through withdrawl because of my previous addition.  I am now 6 months clean and I know I can stay clean if I come off methadone,  but I am very scared to harm the baby or having a miscarriage.  I need advice on what I should do. Can someone please help me??!!

[meg045]

I had my baby girl now three on methadone and she's smart funny and beautiful! Had no withdrawals! I breastfed so I no that helped but after a month my milk dried up and she had no signs of any withdrawal. I no it can be scary though. So ask as many questions you want or need to. I wouldn't detox while pregnant though Hun not safe for the baby. The safest thing at this point is staying on the methadone. One tip I will say is when you get further into your pregnancy always remember if your feeling any withdrawal the baby in you is to so don't hesitate to go up a couple milligrams. Wish you and your baby all the luck in the world God bless you

[Victoriacd96]

Opinion

[Victoriacd96]

I've been on methadone for about 2 years to stay off of pain killers but I don't go to a clinic I get them from a from a friend  I was in the process of getting off of it I'm now on 10to 20 mgs I just found out I'm pregnant but only about a month what should I do??

[vicki595]

Great news! Thanks for checking in and best of luck!

[sarahnsean01]

Thanks to all of you ladies for your advice! I'm now 28weeks and doing great :) I did talk to a lot of doctors and they suggested that I can come down slowly and see how that goes.. I just can't imagine having to leave the hospital without my baby boy! I know everything will work out for the best! I just thank God I have the opportunity to go through this amazing experience and having another baby!

[MaKailynsmama]

Hey, i am on subutex, which is relatively similar to methadone. i am high risk pregnancy because of being on subutex and every single one of my drs told me that it was very unsafe for you and for baby, this is because if you get stressed enough you could relapse, and for baby, will go through withdrawls almost twice as bad as you and you could very likely have a miscarriage if you detox off of it while pregnant. I am 40 weeks pregnant, today, and if you have any other questions pertaining to this i am fairly knowledgable on the subject, and would love to help. If not i hope i was able to help you out, good luck!

[nursegirl6572]

I can't agree more that it would be far riskier for you to try to taper down, possibly going into w/ds, than being maintained on a stable dose.  You absolutely need to discuss this with your OB, who will guide you and watch you closely.  Sometimes, the doc will recommend a woman trying to decrease her dose before delivery (depending on the Methadone dose), but not come off all together...others want the dose left alone completely.  Follow your doctor's lead and keep the lines of communication with you and the doctor open.  If you don't feel well, or aren't sure of something, call and ask.

Your doctor being aware of everything will put a plan in place on the baby's birthday to ensure his or her safety.  The L&D team will watch the baby closely, and be ready to intervene in case the baby shows signs of w/ds.  If the baby DOES have w/ds, they will treat them swiftly and very closely monitor baby.

I'm sure it's very scary, but if you work with your doctor, are 100% honest about everything you're taking, it will be just fine.  Best of luck to you, enjoy your pregnancy, congrats!

[acl1213]

I had my first daughter on methadone. I did not detox off.  I had her while still on methadone.  She was healthy but did go thru withdrawal.  She stayed in the hospital 16 days, then was allowed to go home with a small prescription for me to continue her detox.  Not all states or hospitals let you do that. You would have to call your NICU where you plan to deliver to see if that is something they do.  If she hadn't detoxed at home she would have been there about 5 weeks.  Don't let that scare you. Some babies have no withdrawal symptoms.  I was on a high dose of 95 mg.  Looking back I wish I had detoxed down some.  My obgyn actually said it would always help to decrease down a little, but my clinic doctor said no.  But always discuss these things with your obgyn and your clinic doctor.  The most important thing is the health of your baby.  Good luck. It will all work out.  When I had my daughter, I stressed so much about her being born on methadone. but now almost 3 years later, it is such a small part of her life and it will go by fast. I can't even tell she born on anything now.  After you have the baby you can then focus on getting yourself off methadone.  

[ActingBrandNew]

It sounds like your doing the right thing.

Standard Protocol

    When a pregnant woman wants to detoxify from opiates or other opioids, the recognized standard of care, according to the National Health Institute, is methadone treatment while under a doctor's supervision. Methadone is not known to cause birth defects nor have any long-term affects on a baby. There are other medications available for opiate detoxification such, as Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone), or Subutex, (buprenorphine), but because they are "Pregnancy Category C" medications, meaning they are known to cause harmful and possibly fatal birth defects on a fetus, the are not recommended for use in detoxifying pregnant women.

http://www.ehow.com/way_5634991_recommended-detox-procotols-during-pregnancy.html

[weaver71]

You need to talk to you OB about this. I can't stress this enough, do not try to quit or take this matter into your own hands. Clinical tests have proven that no harm is done to an unborn baby who is given a steady dose of opiates and detox after birth. On the other hand, it is a well known fact that detox can be very dangerous for the unborn. I would follow your Doctors' advice, not the clinic, though it's probably similar. Congratulations, a new life is coming into your world. Try not to feel anxious, talk to your doctor, and keep us posted.