Pregnancy and Vicodin. Do they mix?

[bakina'cake]

I have been worrying about this for about 3 months now. I am currently 34 weeks and I have been taking no more then 15 milligrams of Vicodin a day. I was prescribed them from my first OB doctor when I was about 5 months pregnant and since then I have become very dependent to them. I am now at a different OB doctor and finding other ways to get this medication because I wake up every morning and my body feels so sore that I need that 3 millagrams to make myself get up and do things that I need to do. I am really worried that I am affecting my baby in so many ways. Even though my doctors say its okay to take this, and I know I am not taking that much, I still feel horrible that I am not strong enough to quit. I recently tried not to depend on them, but I just lay in bed all day and not want to do anything, my body is so sore that I do not want to do a thing. I get really depressed when I don't take them because I think about my husband being gone (he is in Iraq) but when I do take the pills I feel depressed because I am taking the risk of hurting my baby. My good friend had a kid 2 years ago and said that her doctor prescribed them to her through her whole pregnancy and he baby turned out fine... but am I taking to much of a chance? I'm trying so hard to stop taking them, but I keep hearing that it isn't bad to take. I know I will not be taking them when the baby is born and my husband is back because I will have people around me to motivate me and I will have a reason to get up every morning. So if someone can give me some advice about this that would be great! I have read that I'm not the only one in this position and I know the best thing to do is quit. I need some reasurrence that I have not effected the outcome of my baby so I don't have to feel so bad about myself anymore! HELP!

[FLaddict]

If you are dependent on them, quitting will do alot more harm to the baby than taking them will. Many and I mean many women take these meds throughtout their pregnancies without a single issue. I would put faith in your doctor since they do deal with this all the time. They discourage quitting at this stage because the physical withdrawl from the pills can cause serious issues with the baby, even miscarriage. So trust your doctor.. Your baby has a slim chance of being born and having withdrawls at the dose you are on so I wouldn' t worry unless you were taking 10 or more or abusing them..

[lashamummyof2]

Hi
I have two kids right now, so this has to be short. Don't feel bad about yourself. Take care of yourself during the pregnancy and don't go cold turkey. I just had a baby five weeks ago and was on percocet (same as vicodin pretty much) all the way thru. narcotics have very little effect on the fetus. rest assured, you are not harming the baby with the amounts you are taking. the issues about wanting to stop, you'll need to deal with when you are ready, but going c/t ca stess the baby and stress your body. I've posted many times about my experience, so go thru the archives and you';; find all kind of info.
my baby was born fine, no defects, no withdrawal symptoms. no problems.
I could go on and on, but I really just want to comfort you by saying I took 5-30 mg of ocycodone a day and tapered down to 1-2 tylenol 2's by the last few weeks as I was scared the baby would be addicted, I know women who have taken much more with no problems. My ob said it was fine, and I spoke to Motherisk and they said the amounts I was taking would not be harmful other than a slight chane of addiction at birth (didn't happen).
go to: www.babycenter.com - bulletin boards - pregnancy boards - pregnancy complications and go to "chronic conditions" there you will find a thread called "anyone else on pain meds?"

there are 150 posts by women like us. most of the women had the meds prescribed by doc (as in my case), and there were some who took two pills a week, others who took 10 pills a day. All babies are fine!
I am not saying it's safe to pop pills -- however, in your situation, as long as you tell your OB what you have taken, or at a minimum tell the attending physician at the hospital at birth, you and the baby will be fine.
I am so sorry you have no support and your husband is in Iraq. I would be happy to answer any of your questions or give you any support you need throughout the remainder of your pregnancy. I have been in your situation, and even with a legitimate reason for me to take the meds, it was very hard to stop.

please don't worry, and post me any time!

liz

[ohsnap]

Whoa, it looks like you posted this thread, and I was seriously like,"What the heck?!? Steph's pregnant???".  Whew, that was weird.  Do we know why this is happening with some of the threads?  I noticed it a few days ago, too...

[FLaddict]

Its been happening to me alot..LOL  They are working on the kink to fix it.. Hopefully it will only be a few days..

[Ireanna]

Just wanted to send you some words of encouragement.  I think anytime you are taking meds as perscribed by your doctor duing pregnancy and your OB and other doctors are working together, then you are doing the best you can possibly do for yourself and the baby.  My friend has epilepsy and struggled with the meds she had to take while pregnant with her 1st child, which were questionable regarding their effects on a fetus.  She knew she had no choice in the matter, as if she quit the meds, she was at greater risk of harming her unborn child.  (by the way, her baby is now 2 and is a little beautified baby einstein - no problems or delays).

However, it sounds like you really want to quit so I just  I wanted to point out that if you think you are taking them just for the feeling vs. true chronic pain, then what you may be feeling on the "no pill" days is a form of withdrawl symptoms, - "the standard achey (achy) all over, depressive, can't get out of bed except to run to the bathroom constantly - in desperate need of imodium (immodium)" - which will subside.  If you aren't taking that many, and can stand making it through 3-4 of these days, you will come out on the other side A-okay and done with the withdrawl!!  Have you tried more than a couple days without?

Of course, taking any drug is not the ideal thing anyone would want to do, but sometimes we don't have a real choice, especially if you have true chronic pain issues.  However, I think it is SO--- important that everyone follows their gut instincts, as that is always the best bet -- I've learned that the hard way in dealing with doctors. Don't let them intimidate or rule you, they work for you, not the other way around, and they should cater treatment to your best interests/wishes.  Let your inner voice be the one to talk to your doctor on that next visit, and hopefully you can come up with a plan that you are more comfortable with, as it seems you aren't going to rest continuing on with the way things are now....  Remember: You can do whatever you put your mind to!!

[bakina'cake]

Thank you everyone for the great advice. Finding this website and knowing that there is hundreds of women out there just like me makes me feel a lot better. I actually have talked to my doctor about this and he has prescribed me tylenol 3. It makes my stomach churn but it is a better way for me to quit, in my mind. i know that I was not taking that much of the Vicodin but I do know people who are truely addicted to this drug and I have realized that if I dont stop before it gets bad then I'm pretty much screwed.
Thank you lashamummyof2 for giving me the encouragement that I need. It is truely very hard to go through this pregnancy alone, especially since it is my first child. But know that I have posted my question and realized I am not the only one, I don't feel so guilty now.
Thanks again!

[lashamummyof2]

Glad you're feeling better and good to hear you have the Tylenol 3. I went from percocet to tylenol 3, down to tylenol 2 before I gave birth. My doc said Tylenol 2 and 3 was fine for the baby and 1 -2 a day was a low amount.

If you have talked to your doc, then everything will be fine. It's always terrifying when we don't know what to expect, so we hide from the truth. In my opinion, just from the pregnancy standpoint and not discussing any addiction issues, your baby will be fine. I was shocked at how many women were in my same situation, it made me feel better, but I was still nervous up until the day the baby was born.

You're taking a small amount now, so it's good to recognize that it's easier to stop now than later (again - don't go c/t now this late in pregnancy, listen to your doc). I am struggling with taking pain meds since the baby was born as I still have terrible back pain. I hope to get off totally, but with a toddler and newborn, it is very difficult. You are not alone.
Please keep me posted on your birth and the outcome...I'm sure you will have a perfect little baby!

[Two222]

When I found out I was pregnant (at one month) I was taking up to 30 lortab 10's a day. I went into a detox program the very next day after finding out. I then stayed clean the entire pregnancy up until the 8th month. Then I had very horrible back pain from the weight of the baby so I started taking 1 a day until I gave birth. The baby was perfectly healthy and at 5 months she's already crawling. But in my situation I should have never even taken one. Cause after the C-section I was prescribed Percocet and then got addicted all over again. I was even breast-feeding, but the doc said Percs and Lortabs are safe to take when breast-feeding. Now I'm up to 8 a day  and am currently in the process of trying to ween myself off again. All the advice above is great and all, but take it from me...if you are not just taking them for pain and are taking them for emotional reasons (like the situation with your husband), then I would recommend you quit before the baby comes. I wish I did. it was my first baby too and it was a whole hellava lot harder then I could ever imagine it could be, and the pills seemed to help at first with the stress (everything seems easier on pills), and I was able to deal with the colic and all the other hardships cause, face it, I was high. And now I'm screwed cause here i am with this little baby and I'm going to have to go through withdrawal while taking care of a screaming needy baby. And yes, you can still have withdrawal even on the amount you are taking. Don't worry. You haven't harmed your baby, like I said it's perfectly safe, but on the psychological level things will only get more difficult if you are depending on them to help with your emotions. You will build a tolerance. We all do and then it will be harder to get off. I would really suggest you get off of them now, just let your doctor know and make sure you get his advice first. Although when I got off of them when I was pregnant I didn't feel sick at all and I was taking 30! The nurse said it was my hormones protecting the baby and myself from any stress. So you may not feel anything at all. And go to meetings if you can! Good luck,