Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
1884829 tn?1323878324

Need Help and Advice

I have been reading a lot of these post and i'd like to say I think it's great and encouraging to help others. So here goes: I am 23 years old and have been taking lortabs for years, I was in a very bad car accident when I was 15. I broke my leg (femur in half), my pelvic bone was fractured in 3 diffrent places and I have scars on the left side of my face where my head hit the windshield. I also had 19 staples holding my  head together. I almost died. Anyway, they did surgeries, I was in the hospital for almost 2 months. The Dr. put me on lortabs and prescribed them to me until I was 19, when my insurance ran out. I was a child and I feel they could have given me a less addictive pain med but they didnt. After that I would take lortab that I bought myself, but not all the time. Just when I had real pain. Here I am all these years later. Ive been taking them for over a year daily, at least 3 a day. I have a problem, I am an addict. I wont control of my life, I dont want the pills to control me. On top of all this, I just found out im pregnant. I need advice. Please.
22 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
2083449 tn?1381354708
It will bet better Kendra! You are strong and I have a lot of faith in you! You've got so much going on right now and it must be very difficult to stay focused! Work on your health right now! Take care!!
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
I'm not worried about the doctor at all. I know he's there to do the best thing for me and to help. I'm just sharing my story of what I've been through since I quit CT in November 2011 when I found out I was pregnant, up until now. When I quit, I never would have imagined that I'd end up with such pain and health problems that I'd have to be pit back on the pain meds. It sort of seemed as though I just can't get away fron them. Looking back I don't think I was addicted, I think I was very physically dependant because throughout all this I've been able to take my medicine exactly as prescribed. Sometimes even not even taking it. And now I find out I have a very painful kidney disease I'm still on the meds. It's frustrating. I'm hopeful that one day all of this will be better and I won't have to worry about taking pain meds ever again.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
There is no need to worry about what the dr will think. I am weaning myself off i tried ct and it was awful. i worried about my doc since i've been in recovery for so long but the doc's would much rather help you then see you suffer.
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
Bump:
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
UPDATE: I know it's been awhile since I was here but I want to share my story in hopes that it will help someone else going through a similar situation. In November 2011 I stopped taking the pain pills. I was clean until January 12, 2012 when I was about 21 weeks pregnant and I got admitted into the hospital with severe pain in my kidneys. My kidneys were nit functioning properly, I had a kidney stone, and a severe UTI. During my hospital stay they had to give me demerol, the pain was that severe. I was devastated because I had worked so hard to get clean. My doctor explained to me the in benefits outweighed the risk and when i was in pain it put stress on the baby. They sent me home with antibiotics and lortabs. I took them as prescribed and prayed that I wouldn't have anymore problems from my kidneys, because my OB had explained that when you have such kidney problems during pregnancy they are usually reaccurring. I was hopeful that I would be fine, except I wasn't. The pain continued even though i wasnt taking anything at that point except tylenol. Well around 30 weeks I woke up in such pain my husband had to carry me to the car, and I had the highest fever I'd ever had in my life. They kept me in the hospital a little over a week that time. I went in with a fever of 103.7 and was severely dehydrated. They put me on an antibiotic to take every day for the duration of my pregnancy, and gave me pain meds again. Apparently the baby was putting a block on my urinary tract, causing me to get repetitive UTI infections, and blocking the urinary tract so that I could not pass the stone. I was devastated again. It still have me problems all the way how until 10 days ago when I had to deliver early at 37 weeks. I was in such pain and that night before they induced me I started having contractions. With each contraction my baby's heart rate would drop dangerously low. Early that next morning, Tuesday May 8 they induced my labor and told me the baby wasn't getting enough oxygen and my pain was causing him stress. It was a scary day, but I was able to deliver a beautiful healthy baby.boy weighing 6 lb 7 oz 18 1/4 inches long. He was absolutely perfect. The next few days they ran a lot of test on me that I couldn't get while pregnant. On the CAT scan they found out I have a kidney disease called Medullary Nephrocalcinosis. I have to see a specialist next week (urologist) to find out what treatment I have to get. From what the doctor told me, my kidneys are basically calcifying, causing them not to function right, causing severe pain, and if something isn't done I could go into renal kidney failure. I'm scared, and this has all been few so hard on me. I hated having to take pain meds while pregnant, but obviously under my OB's care and supervision it can be done safely. My baby was born with no problems. No withdrawals. Nothing. I'm so thankful. Now I just pray that they can fix what is wrong with me. Sorry this is so long.
Helpful - 0
1831920 tn?1320857757
Best of luck to you.  Keep in touch.
Helpful - 0
1035252 tn?1427227833
If your doctor cannot get you in right away, ask what he would recommend you do in the meantime and emphasize your fear of going through withdrawals. If he still won't help you, I'd call and call until I find an OB who takes you in right away.

I'm proud of you making this choice and it will be scary I know, but you're doing the right thing for baby AND yourself!
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
But wait: What do I do if my doctor cant see me Asap? Whay if it takes a couple days to get me in? My scheduled appt isnt for 2 more weeks.
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
Thanks all of you for your advice and help. I will speak to my OB and be honest about my wreck and history of having to take the pain meds all these years. I just want to do the right thing for my child and myself. It feels great to know I have people who care. I hope you all stay in touch with me. When I see my Doctor, ill let you all know what he says. I'll keep you guys posted.
Helpful - 0
1035252 tn?1427227833
Hi, I was told about your question from a good friend ( love ya Vicki) and I wanted to stop by - I spend a lot of time here talking to pregnant women who are addicted or dependent, and I just want to reiterate what the others have said.

You do NOT want to quit cold turkey unless you have spoken to your doctor. Stopping cold turkey from a drug your body is so accustomed to can cause fetal seizures or death, and stopping this medicine has to be done under the care and supervision of a medical professional when you are pregnant.

You must speak to your OB. They do not WANT to get you into trouble. What they want is a healthy, happy, baby, and a healthy, happy you. They are not going to run to the police and turn you in...they are going to do what is best for you and whatever it takes to get that baby out at the end of the pregnancy with as little effect from the drugs as possible.

I can't tell you how many women who I have spoken to in your exact condition, and the outcome was ALWAYS good when they spoke to their OB..and I've spoken to more than a few who decided not to tell their OB, do it on their own, and were caught later. You do NOT want to get caught later, it will be 100x worse if you are caught being dishonest about drug use during pregnancy.

The first trimester is the most delicate time for baby's development, so this is the worst time to stop cold turkey without medical supervision.

I can't tell you enough..speak to your OB. the worst thing they will most likely do is refer you to a social worker, which is standard procedure and does NOT mean CPS will get in your business or you will get in trouble, they just want to make sure you have all the resources you need for the pregnancy and the baby after birth.

Please, please don't cold turkey on your own. Get medical advice on this...it's not about you getting in trouble, it's about you doing what's best for the baby at this point.

Best of luck to you and feel free to message me if you want to talk, and please come on over to the Pregnancy 18-34 forum here on Medhelp where I am one of the Community Leaders and share some of your pregnancy with us, we'd love to have you!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
We want you to go talk to a doctor(OB) about this. It's dangerous to stop the pills abruptly. You could cause a miscarriage and that is well documented. I don't want to scare you but withdrawal is very hard on a fetus.
Helpful - 0
1831920 tn?1320857757
The cold sweats are from the WDs.  I am sure the doctor has seen much worse cases than you.    When you found out you were pregnant you stopped taking the drug.  How could he take the baby from you/think you are a bad parent?  Tell him you were taking pills that were prescribed to you for a year, you stopped taking them as soon as you found out you were pregnant and you want to ensure that since you stopped taking them all at once your child is not at risk.
Helpful - 0
1827057 tn?1397520277
You need to go to the doc tomorrow.They will understand(especially because of your past history of the accident and pain).They see this stuff everyday and will NOT take your child from you for sure.Go to the doc.
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
I am around 11 weeks. I just didn't want to tell my OB because I dont want him to think less of me, or think i'd be a bad parent, take my child away, etc. I found out a week ago I was pregnant. My symptoms before I stopped taking the lortabs were: tired, fatigue, dizziness when standing to quickly, throwing up, tender breast. Just overall feeling lousy and tired. Since I havn't taken anything in 2days, I feel all symptoms above except now I have cold sweats, cravings, my mind just wont stop telling me I NEED a pill. Thats the only extra symptoms I have. Im scared and worried about my unborn child, if anything should happen because of me I could not live with myself.
Helpful - 0
1831920 tn?1320857757
Yes, WD from opiates could hurt your unborn child that is why Vicki and I suggested that you go to a doctor.  You can tell me your symptoms if you want but I still want you to go to a dr.
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
So it could possibly hurt my unborn child while I go through withdrawals? At this point I just cannot tell how bad they will be. Would telling you my symptoms help?
Helpful - 0
1831920 tn?1320857757
How far along do you think you are?  Why don't you want to go to a dr?  They could make this so much easier on you.  Vomiting or nausea could be from the pregnancy or WD.  What other symptoms are you having?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Kendra-  Talk to your doctor right away. It's so unsafe to stop on your own and,no,it's not good to go into withdrawal.
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
I havn't been to OB yet. I think I can do this myself, I cant even tell which symptoms are from my pregnancy or from W\D.
Helpful - 0
1831920 tn?1320857757
Welcome to the forum.  There are a lot of people here that can help you.  Have you been to an OB/GYN yet?  Go to the dr and tell them you want to get off the drugs.  They will tell you how to safely detox (whether cold turkey or taper).  Ask for non addictive drugs to help you comfortably detox (Clonidine and drugs suggested by the Thomas Recipe bottom right hand corner of the page).  Glad to hear you want to get off the drugs.  Good luck and let us know how you are doing.
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
To add: Since I found out I am pregnant, I have stopped taking them. I'll go a day and ill feel so bad and my mind takes over and I feel like I have to take another. Im on day 2 with nothing. Im already throwing up because of morning sickness and tired all the time bc im pregnant..this can't be good to go through withdrawals on top off that.
Helpful - 0
1884829 tn?1323878324
To add: Since I found out I am pregnant, I have stopped taking them. I'll go a day and ill feel so bad and my mind takes over and I feel like I have to take another. Im on day 2 with nothing. Im already throwing up because of morning sickness and tired all the time bc im pregnant..this can't be good to go through withdrawals on top off that.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Addiction: Substance Abuse Community

Top Addiction Answerers
495284 tn?1333894042
City of Dominatrix, MN
Avatar universal
phoenix, AZ
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Is treating glaucoma with marijuana all hype, or can hemp actually help?
If you think marijuana has no ill effects on your health, this article from Missouri Medicine may make you think again.
Julia Aharonov, DO, reveals the quickest way to beat drug withdrawal.
Tricks to help you quit for good.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.